Offerings And Worship Series

We continue to learn about God and people from the Book of Exodus. We are now in Exodus 30 where the Israelites are in the desert on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan but they were waiting for their Leader Moses who was up on the mountain getting instructions from God. Before we read and learn from Exodus 30, what did the Israelites learn about God so far beginning from Egypt??

In general, beginning in Egypt, the Israelites experienced the power and the love of God and He is worthy of praise!

I’ve asked Janet Hansen to read for us this morning; open your bibles to Exodus 30, page….. Let’s read along with Janet….

Let us summarize the chapter…

v1-9: a special altar was to be built for burning fragrant incense to God every morning; it is to be in front of the curtain that is before the Ark of the Covenant (which will hold the 10 Commandments)

v10: the High Priest Aaron was to keep the altar holy with an annual sin offering

v11-16: Moses was to take a census (a count) of the people; and as they be counted in, they were to give an offering to the Lord; the offerings were to be used for ministry!

v17-21: a bronze basin was to be made to be used for daily washing of hands and feet of the priests to be cleansed for ministry; how important was this cleansing??

There was a consequence (death) for priests not cleansed before ministry!!

v22-38: sacred anointing oil and incense were to be made by skilled people and only used for God’s work!

And so from Exodus 30, the Israelites were to make an altar, incense,process of cleansing, offerings, wash basin, and anointing oils.

Putting all of this together, what would you say is the main reason for all the things called for in Exodus 30??

Because God is a Holy God, God specified the sacred way to give offerings and worship!

There was actually the possibility of losing a life if offerings and worship was not done properly!

1. A personal question for all of us: How is our offerings and worship of God today?

And according to our Lord Jesus Christ, how are we to worship??

Jesus said in John 4:23-24, “True worshipers are to worship in spirit and in truth!”

What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth?

We are to worship with a right heart, yielding to the Holy Spirit, and follow God’s Word!

2. We noted that there was a consequence for priest not cleansing themselves prior to ministry. I believe there is a principle here that all ministers should follow. Let us note that every Christian today is a minister in many ways.

3. Anyone who ministers for the Lord must always keep their hearts and spirits cleansed (i.e. not have unconfessed sins). We need to pray for one another in this area.

And we noted from Exodus 30 that part of worship is giving an offering if one counts themselves in God’s family! And so,

4. If we see ourselves belonging to God then we should give back an offering to God! Giving an offering to God is worship not an obligation!

And what made the Israelites of old worship God??

The Israelites experienced the power and the love of God and so God was worthy of praise! And so, what should move us to worship God?

5. Everyday, we should meditate on the power and love of God which leads us to worship Him! Everyday, we should tell ourselves…

Romans 8:38-39… neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Of course this truth but people can reject the truth. There are people today who still believes that the earth is flat! Jesus Christ is light to the world; but if we turn away from that light, we will not experience truth. turn to Jesus Christ, let us fix our eyes on Him, and listen always!

Just another quick note regarding truth as the end of October approaches; there are only 2 places to go once a person dies, either heaven or hell. We must be careful in turning the realities of death into entertainment. The devil knows he is headed for hell and so he lures people into thinking that we can make a joke out of death and be blurred of the truth. Halloween is one of those times that the devil lures people into turning something serious as facing the reality of death into something to be entertained with. Please be alert of the devil’s schemes! All Christians are called to be holy in everything. Anything not godly is unholy!