July 21 - Made Perfect in Worship

July 21 - Hebrews 10:1-4 - Made Perfect in Worship

In the Old Testament sacrificial system, worship was part of the entire system. When people brought forth their sacrifices to atone for their sin, this was part of their worship before the Lord.

But, the sacrifices that were made under the Law never were enough. There was simply no way to atone for all of the sin that had been committed. Hebrews 10:2 says that if perfection could have been achieved, wouldn't they simply have stopped offering sacrifices? But, those sacrifices were an annual reminder of sins.

Being made perfect by drawing near to worship is such an amazing concept. Christ sacrificed Himself once. The paradigm of the entire process shifted.

Worshipers are cleansed. We no longer have to bring an earthly sacrifice so that we can approach the Most Holy Place. We have access to the throne of the Lord God Almighty because of the sacrifice of Christ. Our sins are washed away with His blood.

While it is difficult to imagine the importance of this cleansing, because the symbolism is lost on us, the reality is that we are given access to continual worship in the presence of the Creator.

The Israelites couldn't imagine such a thing. Their understanding of Yahweh was of an incredibly powerful ruler that required the blood sacrifice of a perfect bull once a year so that a priest could approach to offer prayers of atonement for the entire community.

The children of Israel couldn't imagine a personal relationship with Yahweh. We are given such an amazing gift and we take it for granted, we abuse it or we ignore the power that comes from this relationship.

Christ sacrificed Himself once so that all of us would be able to continually come before the Almighty God. Why do we come before Him? To worship. To be made perfect in worship.

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.
Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! (Revelation 4:8; 5:12)