Worship (Picture from a Friend)

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. You are to worship at a distance, but Moses alone is to approach the LORD; the others must not come near. And the people may not come up with him." (Exodus 24:1-2 NIV)

The fear of the LORD may be the beginning of wisdom, but it is only the beginning.  Fear-driven worship is prompted by God’s Power, but God doesn’t just want us to see His power.  He wants us to see His Plan.

When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do." Moses then wrote down everything the LORD had said. He got up early the next morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. (Exodus 24:3-4 NIV)

Sometimes I think we get the wrong picture about God’s Law.  We think it’s a list of rules designed to stop us from having any real fun.  When we really look at God’s Law, however, we see God’s design and desire for our lives.  If we all lived by the law, there would be no stealing, no murder, no rape, no broken marriages.  Parents and children would actually get along and people would truly love their neighbor as themselves.  This beautiful picture comes from our love for a God who truly cares about us.

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. (Exodus 33:7-8 NIV)

Maybe we should look at God the way Moses did.  He didn’t live in fear of an all-powerful God.  He drew near to the God who designed us, who created us, who loves us, and who wants to walk with us.

As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. (Exodus 33:9-11a NIV)

How about you?  What would help you draw near to God as a friend?