the offering of blood sacrifices to atone for sins as a temporary measure of reconciliation. This priestly role of worshiping and ministering to God through blood sacrifices was performed without a tabernacle to house the presence of His glory. Having no tabernacle to dwell among His people, or to be touched by their worship, did not please God.
Therefore, God sought for a man to build Him an earthly tabernacle to show His people that He wanted to dwell among them, and He found Moses. God gave Moses the pattern of worshiping in the priestly role of ministering to Him, and the instructions for teaching His people to worship. In order to accomplish this, God set apart the tribe of the Levites from the common people; then Aaron and his sons for the specific purposes of ministering to Him. This priestly function could only be presented by consecrated, holy men with an offering of a blood sacrifice gift. Although this pattern was a solemn ritual of going through the natural motions, it was a great schoolmaster in training God’s people how to worship. Because of this pattern and a tabernacle, man could once again experience the glory of God, though it was not yet in its fullness.
Israel kept the pattern of ritualistic motions, but few actually worshiped from the heart. Therefore, because their hearts were far from God, they rejected Him and cried out for an earthly king, so God appointed Saul. After Saul disobeyed, God sent Samuel to anoint a young shepherd named David as king. David received the anointing, but he returned to the fields to care for his sheep. It was there in the fields and in the shadows of darkness where David learned to freely worship God in singing, dancing, making music, and declaring God’s glory and majesty. He knew he was destined to be the king, but right now it was all about celebrating the God he loved, and fighting and caring for his sheep. In these places, he came to know the God of battle as he slew the lion and the bear thus becoming a mighty warrior. Learning to worship and fight was necessary because it was preparing him in the natural for the spiritual battles he would encounter. Together they became a dynamic duo: David ministered to God from the heart, and God fought David’s battles.
Many years go by before David takes his reign as king, but when he does, that same anointing of worshiping from the heart follows him from the wilderness into his kingship. By now, the Ark of God’s presence has been stolen by the Philistines as a spoil of war because Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, took it from the Most Holy Place into battle against God’s will. This angered God, so He smote the Philistines with a deadly disease until they returned the Ark along with sacrifices to the country of Israel. The sacrifices were made and the Ark rested in Obededom for three months, and Obededom prospered.
The report of Obededom’s prosperity came into the ears of David, and he was determined to bring the blessings back home to Jerusalem. Therefore, David made haste in preparing a tent inside his fort called Zion for the Ark of God’s presence to dwell (1 Chronicles 15:1). David went to Obededom to bring the Ark home. It was at this time where the priests put the Ark on a cart driven by animals and Uzzah died because the Ark shifted and he touched it. David first grieved the loss of Uzzah then sought God’s purpose for smiting him. The priests searched through the scrolls and found the pattern of how the Ark was to be transported that Moses had recorded (1 Chronicles 15:2). David spoke to the priests, “For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order. So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel” (1Chronicles 15:13-14). Thus, the priests prepared themselves properly to carry the glory of God.
David was so overjoyed in discovering how to transport the Ark home that he called for the Chief of the Levites. Within the tribe of the Levites, appointments were made for singers, dancers, trumpeters, and musicians, to bring home the Ark in a joyful processional. David single-handedly orchestrated a new pattern of worship that included what he knew best – music, joy, dancing, and celebrations; never before had worship been done this way. He was unashamed and proud to display his love for God upon the triumphal entry of the Ark into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:14-17). It did not matter that his wife chose not to celebrate God, because it was a personal thing between him and his God. Whereas the pattern God gave to Moses for worship was done through the priestly function in a solemn, ritualistic way, David’s new institution was a pattern of joyful worship from the heart. This is what God wanted all along, this is what pleased God. God said, “I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him” (Psalms 89:20). Indeed, God had found the man he was looking for in the earth to follow His pattern of worship.
David set precedence by building a new tabernacle exclusively for worship which was prophetic for the new, fleshly heart that God was intending to put into man (Ezekiel 11:19-20). God was immensely pleased with this tabernacle for His presence. Therefore David’s pattern was an earthly form, yet it was spiritual. God determined in His heart to rebuild this pattern of worship that David started.
Down through the centuries, God has sought to rebuild this heart-felt, jubilant, celebratory type of worship, and He has found a few; however, after their death this worship would cease. God promised in His Word that He would once again build the Tabernacle of David but this time it is being placed in the heart of His people so it will never again cease.
This priestly function of ministering to God is no longer with animal blood sacrifices; it is covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. He is our High Priest who makes intercession for us in the heavenly places (Romans 8:34). As we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and separate ourselves from the worldly ways to become holy unto God, we all become the priests. Our ministry to God is now by the pattern of David with a joyful heart because the blood of the Lamb is sprinkled upon our hearts (Hebrews 10:22). The manifestations of ministering to God will bring many changes in our lives and character as we become one with Christ.
Furthermore, the era of no tabernacle for God’s presence has ended; the era of only a high priest entering the tabernacle of God’s presence has ended; and even the tabernacle that David built in the natural has ceased, yet it remains established in the spiritual realm. Now the tabernacle of God’s presence lives in all of us, we are the priests that will minister to Him. Therefore, we no longer have to be separated from the presence of God, and this is what God has wanted all along.
Touching God’s heart in ministry comes from a heart of passion for Him. Jesus has already forgiven and reconciled you back to God, which gives you access to enter into the Holy of Holies to minister to Him (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). Therefore, you are no longer lost or separated from God; He is Immanuel, God with us. His heart is open for you to enter His glory and waits for you to touch His heart in joyful celebration so He can touch yours. It is here in the heart of God where your inward man will feel more alive than you’ve ever known before.
Minister to Me: The Priest’s Office
The pattern of the priestly office was originally given to Moses on Mt. Sinai during the 40 days that he communed with God. At this time, God also gave the pattern for the Ark of His presence and the tabernacle so He could dwell among His people. Both the Ark and the tabernacle had to be in place before the priestly role could function in the earth. God’s detailed instructions and strict commands for all preparations or presentations of His pattern were to be exact.
Although God was very specific about the Ark and the tabernacle, He was very intentional about confirming the purpose of the priest’s office. With each detailed step of making the garments and functions of ministry, God repeated that purpose; and He fully meant for them to remember why they were doing what they were assigned to do. As we walk through these passages together, you will see why God asks you to do what He does. God deliberately gave you these keys to open His heart in worship and to come in.
Isaiah prophesied, “And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open” (Isaiah 22:22, emphasis added). Jesus is that One who holds the key of David as is apparent when God recites the words of Isaiah, “… saith he that is
