24 hours

I remember hearing once, that when the Temple was built by Solomon, that there was continuous worship. That before Solomon began the construction, his father David, had selected a group of Levites that were skilled in playing instruments and singing to be the "worship leaders" for the Temple when it was finished. I had heard that the worship was going on for 24 hours each day, every day.

Twenty-four hours!?! I mean, I like to play and sing, but twenty-four hours of playing and singing. I had always thought that maybe this was an exaggeration on the part of the people that were sharing this information with me. Maybe they were wanting to add to making the description of the Temple even more magnificent than it was; just to give us a mental picture of what was taking place then. Then, the other day I was reading in I Chronicles 25, and I came across where David had assigned singers and musicians for ministry in the Temple. There were 288 "young and old alike, teacher as well as student." They cast lots to determine, basically, when they were scheduled to play. There were 24 lots cast. 24 time slots. 24 hours in a day.

How important were the people that helped to lead worship in the Temple? How important are the people that help to lead worship here at HRCC? To me, they are very important. Not because they can sing and play, and are willing to rehearse for hours to get ready for a weekend of services. Not because they show up at least one hour before the services start, or for their willingness to learn new songs for the church to worship with, or even their understanding of changes that come about between services. What makes them so important to me, and to the church body, is the fact that God has given them all a talent and a willingness to allow God to use that talent in leading His people, the church, in worship.

I know that the people that entered the Temple in the Old Testament were surrounded by music and singing. There had to be an excitement and anticipation in the eyes of everyone that would be participating in worshipping God. I also know that when we come together on the weekend, I can sense the excitement and anticipation of worship just by looking at the faces in the room. I truly believe that it is a reflection of the same excitement and anticipation that the members of the Praise Team have as we all join as one body to worship the God that has brought us all together.