By Staff
What is the Lord's work? There are almost as many categories as there are people.
Jesus said there are two great commandments, as recorded in the gospel of Mark, chapter 12, verses 30-31, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus summed it up in the last phrase in verse 31, of Mark 12, "There is no other commandment greater than these."
Almost all ministry is driven by the "love your neighbor as yourself," with very little time or attention given to the first and greatest commandment to love God with all your being. We even restrict loving our neighbor to ones who can reciprocate to us rather than seeking out the true neighbor Jesus described in the gospel of Luke, chapter 10, verses 25-37 (The Good Samaritan). How do we really serve God?
The Apostle Paul refers to the "service of God" in referencing his brethren in the epistle to the Romans, chapter 9, verse 4: "Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises."
Paul was referring to God's chosen people to whom was divested the full ministry of worshiping God and declaring Him to the world. Maybe serving God in our day and culture needs to be coupled with "the service of God."
The "service of God" given to the Israelites involved one of the 12 tribes, the Levites, who were assigned full time to caring for God's dwelling place. God first dwelt among His people in the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34), and later in the Temple (2 Chronicles 5:14). Only the Levites could approach the dwelling place of God, and only the high priest could actually enter the specific room, the Holy of Holies, where God touched down.
The Levites were instructed to do several things that had no direct ministry to any person; it was exclusive for God. There was the lighting, the trimming, and the keeping of the golden candlestick which sat inside the holy place out of sight of almost all the people. God did not need the light, but this candlestick was to burn all night every night.
There was the shewbread. Several loaves of bread were baked daily and put on a table in the holy place before the Lord. God did not eat the bread, but it was there every day.
The altar of incense was maintained to always offer a sweet aroma to God. The incense had to be compounded in a very strict formula given by God.
The daily offerings (i.e. two firstborn lambs) were killed and sacrificed every day, one at morning and one at evening. The blood of these lambs was sprinkled in a prescribed manner.
All of this was "service to God." No person benefited directly from these activities in any significant way (Exod. 25:30); it was ministry to God. When God was properly ministered to according to His directives, He dwelt among the people and the blessing of God touched every person and improved their lives in many tangible ways.
We no longer have tabernacles, temples, holy places, etc., but we still have God and we still have ministry.
What if the Levites had neglected the "service of God" and either began tending to themselves or just spent their time in direct ministry to the people? Several things would have happened. The enemies of the people would have risen against them. The livelihood of the people would have been directly affected by famines, disease, or some other catastrophe.
God has not changed. He still wants our "first" and our "best" for Himself. Every item in the Old Testament worship scenario was a picture of Jesus Christ-His sacrifice, His life, His Word, His love, etc.
How do we serve God? We build a relationship with Him by seeking Him in personal prayer and worship.
We must live our life as holy and set apart, like those whose lives are highlighted in the Old Testament. After we have been with God in our quiet place and worshipped Him, we go forth to serve others.