03 August 2009 Devotion for Today "Laying Foundations in Worship" Ezra 3:10-11

03 August 2009 Devotion for Today "Laying Foundations in Worship" Ezra 3:10-11

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood[d] in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD:“For He is good,For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”
Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid."

The scene portrayed in this passage is the dedication of the laying of the foundation for what would be the newly rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. This followed soon after the repatriation of Israel from their exile in Babylon. Under Ezra their chief priest, they engaged in an assembly of worship and praise to the Lord. It was certainly a time of celebration- almost like a party! They sang, they shouted, they played musical instruments, and gave thanks. The mood was joyful and exciting. This was somewhat different than what one finds in many churches today where some worshippers are too scared to open up their mouths. The Temple of the Lord was built on bedrock, yes- but the foundation was literally built upon worship and praise.

As I reflect upon our culture of Christian worship, we tend to have things reversed. When we call a pastor, we want to know if he can preach a good sermon, but no one ever asks if he can lead a good worship service. The center of the worship service is built around the sermon- because people want to hear something they can take away from the service. The pressure is on to keep the service short, familiar, and predictable- after all, we don't want to take too much of God's time! It just occurs to me that the whole pattern in our culture is built around what we want, rather than what God wants- out of worship. Clearly this is not the right foundation- or attitude- for worship.

The passage doesn't tell us how long it took for the dedication service but it lasted as long as they wanted it to. They had 70 years of expression to get out of their system and they were not about to be limited by a few cranks holding on to a rigid order of service. We should worship as long as it takes for our spirits to connect to God's Spirit where there is the fullest expression and communication between God and the people. Few can qualify that in terms of the dimensions of time since God does not operate on our timetable. But if our worship services are driven by the clock, then they are not built on the right foundation. If our motivation centers around what we get out of the service than what we put into it, we are building on the wrong foundation.

Prayer: Lord, is my worship built on the right foundation? Have I spent the time that it takes to give you a sacrifice of praise as I came into the house of the Lord this week? Does my love for You reflect how much time I spend with You? Father, am I just more concerned from what I get from You rather than what I bring to You. May I bring a sacrifice of praise to You today, and may I continue in it until You are satisfied and not just myself. May I celebrate all that You have done and praise You the way You deserve to be. Help me not to be self-conscious, but aware only of the time I have with You. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Have a blessed day!