It has never been easier to snap a good photo.  The sophistication of our jankiest smart phones is mind-blowing.  Even burner phones have cameras that excel the past century of photographic technology.  Anyone and everyone can get ‘the shot.’  Yet artistry is still required to truly get ‘the picture.’  Angle, lighting, and expression are not variables easily solved with better cameras and software.  The skilled photographer tells a story and puts the beholder’s feelings, dreams, and aesthetic sensibilities in the frame.

This distinction between a good camera and a good photographer explains why it is hard to get the picture we want.  Holiday gatherings illustrate this well.   Only my skillful wife can turn our festive family clump into an artful rendering.  Left to our own devices, my glasses reflect light, my mouth will be agape, and this or that child will look at anything except the camera.  And someone always makes what we call the “cheeeee” face, displaying more teeth than ever necessary for a polite smile.  Then, of course, if it is an outside shot, all children are utterly and irrecoverably blinded by the sun for the 30 seconds required for a family portrait.

While beauty is easy to recognize, it is hard to express.  And even harder to capture. Often it is best captured and expressed through art, architecture, literature, and ceremony.  And when these media converge, the beauty can be quite breathtaking.   Christian worship is such a convergence.  Art, architecture, literature, and ceremony, all appointed by God and regulated by his command, unveil a transcendent beauty that brings joy, peace, comfort, assurance, and faith.  Like springs to thirsty souls, God speaks through each of these means of grace by his Holy Spirit to fill us with awe and wonder.   Worship should always be like that.

This is exactly what we see in Leviticus.   Though we expect Leviticus to be dry, repetitive, tedious, and obsolete, in it God works in all his appointed media to unveil for us what the Psalmist described as the “splendor of holiness.”   The New Testament never lays out for us a ‘Directory of Worship.’  We already have that in the Old.  The beauty, trajectory, and also dangers of worship are clearly expressed in Exodus and Leviticus. 

And that beauty, trajectory, and danger is the same for us as it was for Israel of old.  The significant difference being that the rite, ritual and ceremony of the old all pointed to Christ.  As Peter noted, “we have the word of prophesy more fully confirmed.”   Though now expressed in different forms because of this, the beauty, trajectory, and danger of worship remain.

Leviticus 8-10 interrupt the ceremonial rules and regulations to offer one of the few narrative passages in Leviticus.  Here we encounter the pageantry of the ordination and installation of Aaron and his sons but also find the sad story of Nadab and Abihu’s deadly rebellion.   And in the liturgy of the ordination ceremonies, the Lord paints a picture of worship that shows its beauty, trajectory, and danger.

Join us this Lord’s Day as we examine Leviticus 8 and consider the beauty of Christ, of forgiveness, and of fellowship expressed in and through Christian worship.  We meet on the square in Pottsville, Arkansas right next to historic Potts’ Inn for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.