"They shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven." – Leviticus 4:31b (NIV)
"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." – Hebrews 13:15-16 (NIV)
Part of my squad's identity is a desire to worship. It is not something that we purposefully set out to do or be but as we have prepared for and started down this road it has become almost second nature to us. As a collective body we are always seeking new ways in which to enter in to the presence of God in addition to listening and watching for him to reveal himself in a fresh way. It is something that we place a high importance on and practice on a regular basis as a large group, in our small teams and when we are alone as individuals. In the broader scheme of things, worship is at the core of who we are as the Church. It is the reason that we gather regularly during the week. It is what gives us the energy and motivation to live lives worthy of his calling and it is not something that should be taken lightly. Before the nation of Israel entered the Promised Land one of the first things that God established was a system of worship. It was such an important part of who God wanted the Israelites to be that he took the 27 chapters that make up the book of Leviticus in addition to 16 other chapters in the book Exodus and 16 chapters in the book of Deuteronomy (that's 59 chapters total, almost as long as the entire book of Isaiah!) in the in order to lay out what this worship of this holy yet intimate God should look like. Exodus reveals the initial set of Ten Commandments and some other preliminary laws. It describes the priests' clothes as well as the construction of and materials for the tabernacle/temple and Deuteronomy is a review of everything that God had laid out for them during their wanderings in the desert. For now I want to focus on Leviticus where Moses tells the nation the specifics of who the priests were to be and how they were to serve, how and when they were to do the sacrifices, how and when they could enter the tabernacle/temple and how far in they could go in each time. It also includes the institution of several feasts and festivals and, for the Israelites, what living a clean life looked like on the practical everyday level. If you've ever read the book of Leviticus you know that it is a tough book to get through, understand clearly and apply appropriately to your life. You also know that everything in it is pretty cut and dry. Do this activity at every available opportunity but this practice is strictly forbidden. Eating this food is ok but don't even think about touching this meal. Under the new covenant there are not nearly as many specific restrictions but the principle remains the same. God is still holy. He is still perfect. He is still jealous of anything that removes our attention and service from him.
Once a week in Honduras, because we were all together, we worshiped corporately as a squad. Even though we have been split up for this month and it is just my team and one other, that practice of community worship has continued. For me, the sacrifices that are described in Leviticus have come to life during these times. As we come into his presence just as we are but with repentant hearts he is gracious to us. He looks upon us through the cross and sees us spotless and our worship becomes a pleasing and pleasant aroma.
