More treasures in unexpected places

Moving into 1 Chronicles after finishing 2 Kings, we come into the first nine chapters to find name after name after name. It is chapters like these that people who volunteer to read in worship often dread. Names like Azrikam, Azmaveth, Jehoiarib, and so forth often trip people up.

It is very easy to skip over genealogies and lists of names when reading through the Scriptures, but there are often wonderful little treasures mixed within.

This morning, I was struck by these words from 1 Chronicles 9:33-34:

And then there were the musicians, all heads of Levite families. They had permanent living quarters in The Temple; because they were on twenty-four-hour duty, they were exempt from all other duties.

I have read through this book several times before and truly do not remember this reference.  The musicians all had permanent living quarters in the temple because they were on twenty-four-hour duty.   Choirs, are you listening?  (sarcasm).  Anyway, what strikes me about this is the implicit message in this statement that the worship of God is never finished.  We may end a worship service and go to our homes or head out to a fellowship time or to Sunday School or to some other pursuit, but the worship of God never ends.  It continues while we commute to work, while we work out, while we play, while we teach, while we learn, while we watch TV, while we read, while we sleep, while we sit in silence, while we write a blog post, while we do so many of the things in our lives.  But it continues only when we view these things as an act of worship, when we turn those areas of our lives over to God in deliberate and intentional ways.

And most importantly, when we do this, worship moves outside the walls of the church building and moves into all the venues of life where others may be brought into this joyous experience and this vital relationship with God in their lives.

Off to worship while crafting a sermon...