Sacrifices as Part of Worship
Read Nehemiah 12:43. What was special about offering “great sacri-
fices” as part of their worship celebration?
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Sacrifices were the most essential aspect of worship during the
time of the temple. Several different sacrifices were used, either for
the promise of forgiveness or to express the joy of fellowship and
gratitude to God. Sacrifices provided the substance for worship, as they
reminded the worshipers of the truth of God and who He is, and pointed
to the Promised Seed, the Messiah, who would sacrifice His life for
them, because He is the Lamb of God.
Read John 1:29, 36; 1 Corinthians 5:7; and Revelation 5:6, 12, 13.
What do they teach us about what the sacrifices ultimately pointed
to? If the ancient Israelites could rejoice over a dead farm animal, a
death that could reveal only so much truth, how much more reason
do we have to rejoice than they had?
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Notice, too, how many times the idea of joy and rejoicing appears
in Nehemiah 12:43 alone. That is, amid the reverence, and perhaps the
godly fear that the people experienced in their worship service (after
all, the killing of an animal for their sins was a solemn thing), there was
joy and rejoicing, as well. When we approach God, it must be in awe
and reverence, as well as with rejoicing. Psalm 95 demonstrates that a
true act of adoration involves a summons to sing, shout joyfully, and
make music to celebrate God (Ps. 95:1), as well as to bow down and
kneel before the Lord (Ps. 95:6). Striving to achieve a balance between
joy and reverence is crucial for adoring, praising, and worshiping our
Creator.
When we think that, at the cross, the Creator of all that is created
(see John 1:1–3) hung there, dying for the sins of His creation,
what emotion do we first experience? What role also can, and
should, joy play in our experience of the Cross?
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