Last month we pointed out that worship can be—and has been— changed, but that only God can rightly change worship. Biblical transitions in worship involve significant changes in both the placesof God-ordained worship and the mannerof God-ordained worship. We first consider the successive changes in the places of biblical worship.

Prior to Moses and during the lives of the patriarchs, worship was performed before God with sacrifices on altars built by the patriarchs, at places seemingly of their choosing. When Abraham entered Canaan, he came to a place “with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord” (Gen. 12:8).

When God redeemed Israel and brought the people out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses (Ex. 1–18), He formed them into a covenant community (chaps. 19–24) and also into a worshiping community (chaps. 25–40). God commissioned the building of ...