The Presence of God in Worship
Leviticus 9:23-24
Introduction.
When we worship, does it ever feel like it’s fruitless, like it doesn’t go beyond these four walls, that God doesn’t hear us?
In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Jesus is always among us when we worship Him.
Certain denominations hold to what’s called Real Presence of the Lord in Communion, that the bread and the cup are the literal body and blood of Christ.
While the Bible does not teach that exactly, I do believe in the presence of the Lord during worship.
I believe He is here with us in spirit when we worship, not just in Communion, but when we sing and pray, too.
Part of the reason is because of what’s written here in Leviticus 9.
He was really present with them during their worship, and the covenant we have in which we worship is better! (Heb. 8:6).
The first seven chapters of Leviticus cover all the various sacrifices that the Israelites were to offer.
This is a prelude to making use of these sacrifices by consecrating the priests.
And now these sacrifices are offered in the worship that the priests were to lead in.
The culmination of this worship is the presence of God among them.
Preview:
Preparation (9:1-7).
Sacrifices for the High Priest (9:8-14).
Sacrifices for the People (9:15-17).
Sacrifices of Praise (9:18-21).
High Priestly Intercession (9:22-23a).
Divine Confirmation (9:23b-24).
Body.
Preparation (9:1-7).
As before, preparations had to be made.
First, this had to take place after their consecrations, when they were perfected.
They had to gather the animals for the sacrifices.
These were for sin offerings, burnt offerings, a grain offering, and a peace offering.
They gathered together and “stood before the Lord.”
They had to do as God commanded them.
They received a promise: the glory of the Lord will appear to them.
How awesome a sight must that have been!
We must be prepared whenever we come to worship as well.
In our preparation, most of us come with a mind prepared to worship.
Our songs and prayers are designed to help us get into that frame of mind.
Though we should strive to be here in that frame of mind.
There is some external preparations we must do as well.
Someone must prepare the Lord’s Table, have songs ready, have a lesson prepared.
There are some other, not necessary but still important things, like preparing the sound system, the climate control, etc.
The point is, we come prepared to worship.
Sacrifices for the High Priest (9:8-14).
Aaron then offered sacrifices for sin and atonement.
Aaron, as a mere human being, is sinful.
Yes, he did just make such offerings before in his consecration, but he had to make them again.
I don’t know what sins he might have committed between then and now, but he still had to offer the purification offering.
Perhaps he sinned, perhaps it was a ritual uncleanness, but whatever the case, this gives the pattern for what the high priest was to do before serving as high priest to the people in worship.
Then he had to offer a burnt offering, an atonement, to bring himself closer to God and mete for His approval.
Christ, our High Priest, has no need to offer sacrifices for Himself.
While we are all priests in service to God, our High Priest is Jesus.
He is perfect and better than any earthly high priest for many reasons, not the least of which because He does not need to atone for anything, but is the atoning sacrifice Himself (Heb. 7:26-28).
He serves as both sacrifice and High Priest.
In this way Aaron (or perhaps Melchizedek) is a type of Christ, but so much greater.
Sacrifices for the People (9:15-17).
After Aaron atones for himself, he offers sacrifices for the people.
He offered the sin offering, purifying the people of any uncleanness, both moral and ritual.
Then he offered a burnt offering, to make atonement for the people, bringing them closer to God.
Then he offered the grain offering, showing their dedication to the Lord.
These sacrifices were in addition to the daily burnt and grain offerings they were to make.
Our sacrifices have been fulfilled in Christ.
As we’ve noted before, Christ has taken care of our sin by purifying us.
He has also taken care of the atonement, as of a burnt sacrifice.
We remember this sacrifice in Communion, in the Lord’s Supper.
While we do not make animal sacrifices, we honor the ultimate sacrifice of our Lord for our sins to be washed away as the propitiation for our sins.
And as the Bread of Heaven, He has been offered for us.
At the same time, the grain offering was analogous to our contribution, giving back a portion of what we’ve been blessed with.
Sacrifices of Praise (9:18-21).
Now Aaron offered the peace offering for the people.
Recall, this was an offering of thanksgiving and an acknowledgment of God’s great works.
They had reason to celebrate because they had been blessed so much.
The Lord had just revealed how men could have fellowship with Him.
And the priests had been consecrated.
The spiritual blessings abounded, not to mention their freedom from Egyptian bondage.
This sacrifice of praise is the fruit of our lips (Heb. 13:15).
Surely God has done more for us than He had for the Israelites, so we have a greater cause to praise Him and celebrate!
He gave His Son; what more could He give?
With our lips, we sing praises to God and offer our prayers to Him.
In these prayers we do make supplication, but we offer our thanks as well.
He only freed the Israelites from Egyptian slavery; He has freed us from the shackles of sin through His Son.
We are to be eternally grateful for what He’s done for us, and certainly express that gratitude when we come together to worship Him.
High Priestly Mediation (9:22-23a).
Aaron served as an mediator for the Israelites.
After he had offered the sacrifices, he blessed the people came down from the altar.
Then he and Moses went into the tabernacle, no doubt to sprinkle the blood in the places that earlier chapters required.
Then they both came out and blessed the people again.
This blessing is not recorded here, but is believed to have been what was recorded in Numbers 6:22-27.
This was a blessing that bestowed the grace and peace of God upon the people after they had all done what God required of them.
This was meant to assure the people of their status with God.
“Did it work? Did we do it right? Is God pleased with us?” “Yes!”
Christ is our Mediator in heaven.
He goes into the Most Holy Place today, which is heaven where God dwells.
He offered His blood for us as our Mediator.
He did this after He ascended into heaven in Acts 1.
He is our Advocate with the Father and the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-2).
And He blesses us, as He has shown us in the Beatitudes, and as many NT writers often greet their readers with grace and peace.
No longer do we need to ask, “Did it work? Did we do it right? Is God pleased with us?” – We know He is if we worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).
Divine Confirmation (9:23b-24).
In a dramatic display, the Lord confirms His approval with His presence.
Fire came out from Him and consumed the burnt offering that was meant entirely for God, and the fat (the best of the animal) that was reserved for Him, too.
The people were awed and couldn’t help but to worship Him.
In this He showed that He approved of what they had done, and that He kept His promise to show His glory.
The people were now assured of their status with God.
He was with them, present in their worship, and they knew it.
He did not always appear to them in their worship, but He did here as a confirmation.
In a dramatic display, the Lord confirms His approval with His presence.
This is true in the Christian age, too.
When Jesus ascended into heaven, the Most Holy Place, the blood of His sacrifice was sprinkled in the appropriate places.
Then in Acts 2, we see God’s divine approval in the coming of the Holy Spirit.
It was all confirmed with the miracles the Apostles were able to perform, particularly speaking in tongues.
We are now assured that God has accepted the sacrifice of Christ, and we are to listen to Him now on how to be right with Him.
Contrast the reactions of the people.
The Israelites in Lev. 9 couldn’t help but to shout and worship Him.
But in Acts 2, how many of them mocked what was going on? (Acts 2:13).
While Peter set them straight, only 3000 people obeyed the gospel that day.
Many more would later, but many would remain stiff-necked.
He is with us now when we worship, though we may not see Him or feel Him.
And we now know that the house or temple of God is His church, and that the Spirit of God dwells with us (1 Cor. 3:16-17).
We may not detect Him, but His presence is with us here now as we worship Him in spirit and truth—let us be assured.
Conclusion.
Worship can often seem rote and mundane.
But we can know that we are right with God if we do as He says.
Time again the principle is found throughout Scriptures, but also stated explicitly (1 John 2:3).
And we can know that His presence is with us, whether it can be felt or not.
So let our worship reflect the truth, that He is here with us in spirit.
When we sing, when we pray, when we take the Lord’s Supper, He’s here—praise God!
That worship really won’t do much for you unless you are a Christian.
Even the priests had to go through a consecration ritual before they could engage in true worship.
We must be purified and sanctified in the blood of Christ through baptism, too.
Only then will our worship be fruitful.
Don’t let your sin get between you and God, have them washed away tonight!