RESTORING LAWFUL CHURCH WORSHIP
"V. Restoration of the Temple Church

This series is on restoring the church of the Bible is in answer to the assertion that we should restore all the church of the whole Bible, not just "the NT" church.

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LAWFUL CHURCH WORSHIP, I: TERMS

RESTORING THE TEMPLE CHURCH

Definitions: ekklesia (original Greek) = KJV "church" (e.g., Matt. 16:18) or "congregation"

"And all the congregation [ekklesia^G1577] worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded" (2 Chronicles 29:28).

A TIMELY SUBJECT: "Hundreds of activists and supporters attended the annual exercise of the Passover sacrifice that was conducted for the first time next to the Southern Wall, at the foot of the Temple Mount."ⁱ Should people of God support restoring the temple worship today? Can those in Christendom that think it is proper to restore some of the temple worship be pleasing to Christ?

WHERE ARE WE IN OUR STUDY? We have established that according to the LXXⁱⁱ there was to be an ekklesia^G1577 in each city "within the gates" in conquered Canaan which included all the men, women, children, and foreigners residing there (Deuteronomy 31:12).ⁱⁱⁱ There were special ones such as that of the prophets (1 Samuel 19:20). After Jerusalem was chosen for the name of the Lord a national ekklesia was called there and scheduled according to the Law (1 Kings 8:14; 1 Chronicles 28:2; 2 Chronicles 20:5; 2 Chronicles 29:23, Ezra 10:8, etc.).

THE LAW'S REVELATION WAS PROGRESSIVE. Jesus confirmed the divine plan of God's progressive revelation of the Law when He included the "Prophets" as divine authority, Matthew 7:12; 11:13; 22:40; etc.^iv Moses warned of false prophets such as a "dreamer of dreams" in Deuteronomy 13 but in Deuteronomy 18:18-20 he taught the equal authority of subsequent authentic prophets "like unto himself." This naturally included Jesus as the antitype Messianic prophet but also predicted the immediate sequence of prophets of the Old Testament, both oral and written, that the people were to obey, which, by the way, included David and Nathan (2 Chronicles 29:25). "All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern" (1 Chronicles 28:19). Jesus confirmed in the NT the inspiration of David as a prophet, "For David himself said by the Holy Spirit" (Mark 12:36).

NO PROGRESSIVE REVELATION IN NEW TESTAMENT. No one except a prophet can speak for God. Prophecies ceased when the complete (perfect) revelation came according to 1 Corinthians 13:8; compare the complete "faith" of Jude 3. Without prophecies the Bible cannot be added to.

DAVID'S OFFICE FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. "And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest. And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the LORD in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order" (1 Chronicles 6:31-32). "And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy" (1 Chronicles 5:16). "Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the LORD with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith" (1 Chrionicles 23:5). For "David gave to Solomon his son the pattern" of that worship which he had received "by the Spirit" (1 Chronicles 28:11-12) which included the "courses of the priests and the Levites, for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels" (verse 13). There's a pattern for the tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5) and there was a pattern for the temple.

TRUMPETS AND MUSIC INSTRUMENTS. When the ark was brought to the Temple under Solomon, "Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets: It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD" (2 Chronicles 5:12, 13).

TWO AUTHORITIES GOVERN THE TEMPLE WORSHIP. When Joash was made king, "...behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise..." (2 Chronicles 23:13). "Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David" (2 Chronicles 23:18). The Law of Moses authorized the offerings while David as prophet authorized (what and how) the music.

TWO SEPARATE OFFICES. The priests then were the only ones appointed and authorized to offer sacrifices. That was their office. On the other hand, only the Levites were authorized to sing with the musical instruments.^v The historical account informs us that these musicians were appointed to "prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals" (I Chronicles 25:1).

"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS (OFFICE)." "And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood" (2 Chronicles 7:6). The priests had their appointed business and no one was allowed to violate that: e.g., the king UzzIah defiantly offered incense: "And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron" (2 Chronicles 26:18). God punished Uzziah with leprosy. Would not this usurping business also apply to the functions of the Levites, who were given the business of singing with musical instruments per commands by such as David and Asaph (the seer [prophet]).

CORRUPTION OF THE TEMPLE CHURCH IN ISRAEL. The prophet Amos tells about the judgment coming upon the northern kingdom for its adulterated "church" worship that was established by the kingdom's usurper Jeroboam who competed with God's authorized worship in Jerusalem (2 Kings 10:29, Amos 4:4, Amos 8:14). Jeroboam's successors "did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made (northern) Israel to sin"(1 Kings 15:34). According to Jeroboam's new arrangements, anyone could become a priest who wanted to (1 Kings 13:33;1 Kings 12:31); they worshipped the wrong object (1 Kings 12:28); they used the wrong methods, wrong priesthood, wrong feasts, wrong altar, wrong places, wrong music (1 Kings 12:31-33; Amo 5:5; 6:1 --LXX version). Where did Jeroboam get the idea for his new worship? It was that"which he had devised of his own heart" (1 Kings 12:33). That is the bottom line: Jeroboam did what HE wanted to do, and what God commanded did not matter one bit to him! Are we to restore worship like that? God's judgment upon them would be the destruction of them as a nation by the Assyrians.

JUDAH'S APOSTASIES. Meanwhile those that inherited Solomon's throne in Judah had become influenced by the false religions of the land along with the influence of their apostate brethren to the north to the point that King Ahaz even closed the doors to the authorized Temple worship (2 Chronicles 28:24). It was at this time that the Assyrians began wiping away those in the north. But Ahaz's son Hezekiah wasted no time when he was made king in making needed religious reforms in the wake his father's apostate reign. He reopened the doors to the temple and endeavored to restore Jerusalem "church worship." Hezekiah pledged to lead his apostate nation (including a remnant from the northern kingdom) in covenant faithfulness (29:9f) and he restored the sacrificial worship that had been abandoned in Jerusalem. "He [Hezekiah] removed the high places,^vi smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles [associated with a sacred goddess]…" (2 Kings 18:4). Hezekiah encouraged all to bring peace and burnt offerings again to Jerusalem (verse 31). In other words he restored the worship authorized both by the Law and by David and fellow prophets.

HEZEKIAH RESTORES THE TEMPLE CHURCH.^vii "And he (HEZEKIAH) set the Levites in the house of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king's seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. And all the congregation [ekklesia^G1577] worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped" (2 Chronicles 29:25-30). ^viii "And the men did the work faithfully: ... and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick" ( 2 Chronicles 34:12).

Application. Hezekiah's restoration followed the Law and David to the letter. If we try and restore David's authorized temple church, we have many, many problems. We must use only authorized Aaronic priests. We must use only the Levites for the instruments? Can we determine what the authorized instruments are? Are the Gentile Christians to compete with the Jews and Muslims for a Jerusalem space? Will non-Levites surrender their music programs to identified Levites?

Did Jesus die for naught? Must we revive Moses and David in our worship? Those that are reviving Psalm worship with instruments should be prepared "to go the whole hog"^ix with animal sacrifices. That's the way Hezekiah had to do it. This reversion means a complete repudiation of the New Testament of Jesus for which He died (Hebrews 10:1).

-Gaylon West

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