The NIV 365 Day Devotional

Revolving Around Worship

God prescribed a specific arrangement for the people of God as they lived in the wilderness. The central point around which all the people were encamped was the tent of meeting—that is, the tabernacle. In this tent, God dwelled among his people, and they worshiped him by means of the sacrificial system. The members of the tribe of Levi who oversaw Israelite worship encircled the tent. From there, the twelve tribes of the people of God were broken into four groups with three tribes in each group. The tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali camped to the north of the tent; Issachar, Judah and Zebulun to the east; Gad, Reuben and Simeon to the south; and Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh to the west. This alignment demonstrated that the focal point for the life of the people of God was the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Worship was not an arbitrary, additional task to which the people of God were required to attend to from time to time. Rather, their whole lives and, in fact, their entire community revolved around worship. Also, any other nation which observed the camp of the people of God immediately understood that God was central to their identity and mission.

John, the author of the book of Revelation, pictured a similar reality in heaven when all things will be made new; however, John wrote, “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language” will gather around the throne and declare, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev 7:9-10). God’s people will one day gather around the presence of God in all-consuming worship.

The Christian life, as a foretaste of this coming reality, is meant to center on the worship of the true and living God. Worship, as described by the New Testament authors, is to be the hub around which all of life revolves. In fact, Paul wrote that Christians are to give their entire lives to God as an act of “true and proper worship” (Ro 12:1). Whole-life worship is made possible through the finished work of Jesus and empowered by the Spirit of God. The beauty of Jesus’ work should prompt believers to organize their lives around worship. As they do, others will be able to see the centrality of God among the people of God.

Jesus, I don’t want to worship you only on Sunday mornings. I want to worship you with every word, every thought, every breath, all the time. Amen.

Taken from The NIV Jesus Bible.