Unity in Worship

Exodus 24

v. 1 Now He said to Moses, “Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, Nadab and
Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship from afar

v. 9 Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10and they saw the God of Israel

v. 12 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.”

v. 13 So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. v. 14 And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we come back to you. Indeed, Aaron and Hur are with you. If any man has a difficulty, let him go to them.” v. 15 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered
the mountain.

In Exodus 24:1 the word—worship--in the Hebrew language means to bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make)obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. Just like Abraham in Genesis 22, Moses is given the command to go to the mountain of the Lord and worship. However, unlike Abraham’s story, God commanded the priests Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu as well as the seventy elders to go along with Moses. (Note that in verse 13 Moses’ apprentice, Joshua, went with him as well.) Now, let’s look at these seventy elders. These seventy elders are not just a bunch of old guys that hung around with Moses. These men were armor bearers. They did a lot of the work to take the load off of Moses.

Num. 11:16 through Num. 11:17

v.16 So the LORD said to Moses: “Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them….

v.17 ….I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.

These men assisted the man of God. So God put the same spirit that He placed on Moses and placed it on these men. There is something to be said here about armor bearers. They are not just spiritual suck-ups. They are people who are called alongside Godly leaders to assist them. God regards armor bearers so highly that he will anoint them just as much as the leader they are working for.

So Moses took these men to the foot of the mountain to worship (to bow down or become prostrate). When they worshipped, something amazing happened. They saw God. Not just Moses, not the priests, but they all saw God, and they all saw the exact images.

So what does this teach us about worship? This is an excellent example of corporate worship. 1. These men were all traveling together. They were in unity. 2. They were armor bearers. Galatians 6:2 says Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. God’s will is that we be one another’s armor bearers. I care for you and you care for me as we all lean on Christ and He cares for us. 3. When they all worshipped God showed Himself to them corporately, not individually. You see, in today’s church you have five different people in a worship service that all feel like they have the perfect word or revelation, and they all end up being different. Why? Because we are a selfish people. We are holding grudges and unforgiveness. So when God does want to move through us our flesh gets in the way.

Have you ever noticed that each church has it’s own personality? Even churches of the same denomination all have different personalities. That is because people are different. The little country church won’t work in the big city. Likewise, the flashy lights and the big multimedia presentations won’t work in the little country church. Despite the differences God wants to move in each of those churches, but He will move differently in each church. If we would all come together in unity in our respective congregations and genuinely worship, God will show up and reveal Himself to everyone that is seeking. And He will show up in a way so that the mission that He has given to that church can be carried out. He won’t show up at 1st Assembly to meet the needs of 2nd Baptist.

God has given a vision and a mission to your church, and He will show up in a way that will add power to that mission.

So bear each other’s burdens. Bear the burdens of your pastor and leadership. There’s an anointing there. Get in unity with those that you see every Sunday. God won’t show up in the midst of discord. And when you are all in one accord—just worship. Seek his face together in the direction of Psalm 34:3. “Let us exalt His name together.”








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