In Exodus 25:8-9 God said: “Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.” Here after the giving of the 10 Commandments, God gave instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, where Israel would meet with God and offer sacrifices. Although we are not, in the New Testament era, under obligation to build such a tabernacle, there is yet a principle here which is important for us to remember.

God gave His people instructions on how to build a place of worship in which He would dwell. They were not free to construct anything they wished; they were obligated to do it the way HE commanded them: “just so you shall construct it.” And as we see in the ensuing chapters, these instructions were many, and were meticulous.

The point for us being: we are not free to worship God any way we choose. If we would worship Him, we must do it in the way which HE has prescribed. This runs counter to the “consumer mentality” that many modern Americans bring to worship, in which participants feel like they should be able to pick and choose the way they will worship. They believe they can worship how, when and where they want to – even regarding it is a “right” to be able to do that. But there is no such mentality commended in scripture. There was no “consumer mindset” at the mountain in Exodus, and the Bible knows no such outlook anywhere in its pages. God never says “worship as you wish”; rather He says: “Just so you shall construct it.” This is a good reminder: we don’t come to God on OUR terms, but on HIS!