For the most part, Moses is a pretty steady hand. Outside of his original waffling when God told him to head to Egypt to lead His people out of captivity, Moses has walked hand in hand with God.
It should come as no surprise then, that when Moses met God on the mountain and received the pattern for the Tabernacle, that Moses followed those commands to the letter. God told him to “follow the pattern” (Exodus 25:40), and the Bible explicitly states that Moses followed through (Numbers 8:4; Acts 7:44).
But what would have happened if Moses didn’t follow the pattern on the mountain? What if Moses—just as he did later by hitting the rock instead of speaking to the rock—interjected his own directives and made something slightly askew from the original plans? Or what if he went completely off the rails and made something totally different?
It’s impossible for us to know exactly what would’ve happened for sure, but it’s safe to say that the end result would’ve not achieved the effect that God wanted. Either God’s presence would’ve never descended on the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34), or the worship would’ve been muted somehow.
Most likely, the worship at the Tabernacle would’ve been totally ineffective. I know that because in Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu follow the commandment for worship to the letter…with the exception of offering “strange fire.” Strange, in this case, means getting your fire from a source outside of what God authorized. A simple mistake, but one that cost them their lives.
Moses would have most likely paid a similar price. It makes sense though, doesn’t it? If worship is designed to honor God, then shouldn’t God have the final say over what He wants? And if we deviate, doesn’t that mean we don’t respect God as we should?
This naturally forces us to think about our own worship in regards to God. John 4:23 says that God is seeking “true worshippers” to worship Him. Am I doing that? Is my worship structured to emphasize both truth and Spirit?
There are two sides to this verse and I’ve seen both neglected at the expense of the other. Those who emphasize spirit-based worship think it trumps the truth of what God says, whereas others adhere so strictly to the pattern that they forget what worship is all about. That was the Pharisees’ problem, after all (Matthew 23:23).
New Testament worship must follow a pattern also. It must be done in spirit and in truth—both with our spirit and according to the truth found in Scripture. Can you say that about your worship to God?
