The One Place of Worship
하나의 예배 장소
신명기(Deu) 12장
4. 너희의 하나님 여호와께는 너희가 그처럼 행하지 말고
4. You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.
5. 오직 너희의 하나님 여호와께서 자기의 이름을 두시려고 너희 모든 지파 중에서 택하신 곳인 그 계실 곳으로 찾아 나아가서
5. But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
6. 너희의 번제와 너희의 제물과 너희의 십일조와 너희 손의 거제와 너희의 서원제와 낙헌 예물과 너희 소와 양의 처음 난 것들을 너희는 그리로 가져다가 드리고
6. there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
32. 내가 너희에게 명령하는 이 모든 말을 너희는 지켜 행하고 그것에 가감하지 말지니라
32. See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.
The place that God has chosen to put His name there for His dwelling must be the tabernacle in the wilderness and churches in this modern society, where there is the blood of sacrifice of Jesus. I can guess that the pouring out the blood of animals, regardless of eating or offering, beside of altar of the Lord (27) means that the blood, which is life itself and the Creator of it as well, shouldn't be eaten, except for the spreading of it on the ground, in case they are far away from the worshiping place of God.
This chapter leads me to think of the meaning and the role of the churches today. These days, I am in deep thought, wondering about which are good or bad churches and, if it is bad, then where I should go to worship Him or should I worship Him alone at home, etc.
Through this chapter, I feel like i've got the answer of it. That is, God wants me to worship Him in His designated place, where there is Jesus' blood, and some kinds of offerings, including tithe, are necessary. Of course, I have done it freely and mandatorily as a Christian and I believe that I have got blessed a lot because of my faithful acts and thankful offerings, and, surely, thanks to His grace.
Actually, offering itself is not my problem, rather whether the church I go is good or bad is my problem. I know for sure that it has some problems, but the worries I have is if I could deal with it on my own and with the power of the Holy Spirit or not.
Nevertheless, i try to think that if it has the believers of Jesus sincerely and faithfully, it has the possibilities of glorifying His name, which, i think, is the main role of His place.
Lastly, what I should keep in mind is that God wants me to do all He commands, not adding to it or taking away from it, not judging what is good or bad in the eyes of mine, but doing what is good in His eyes.
