The children of Israel were not allowed to worship God and enjoy the offerings they presented to God in the place of their choice (vv. 8, 13, 17). They were to worship God in the place of His choice, the place where His name, His habitation, and His altar were (vv. 5-6), by bringing their tithes, offerings, and sacrifices to Him there (vv. 5, 11, 14, 18, 21, 26-27; 14:22-23; 15:19-20). To fulfill these requirements was to have a unique center of worship, as Jerusalem would be later (2 Chron. 6:5-6; John 4:20), for the keeping of the oneness among God’s people, thus avoiding the division caused by man’s preferences (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-33 and notes).
The revelation in the New Testament concerning the worship of God corresponds to the revelation in this chapter in at least four ways: First, the people of God should always be one; there should be no divisions among them (Psa. 133; John 17:11, 21-23; 1 Cor. 1:10; Eph. 4:3). Second, the unique name into which God’s people should gather is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 18:20; 1 Cor. 1:12 and notes), the reality of which name is the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:3). To be designated by any other name is to be denominated, divided; this is spiritual fornication (see note Rev. 3:83). Third, in the New Testament God’s habitation, His dwelling place, is particularly located in our spirit, i.e., in our mingled spirit, our human spirit regenerated and indwelt by the divine Spirit (John 3:6b; Rom. 8:16; 2 Tim. 4:22; Eph. 2:22). In our meeting for the worship of God, we must exercise our spirit and do everything in our spirit (John 4:24; 1 Cor. 14:15). Fourth, in our worship of God we must have the genuine application of the cross of Christ, signified by the altar, by rejecting the flesh, the self, and the natural life and worshipping God with Christ and Christ alone (Matt. 16:24; Gal. 2:20). Hence, the meeting of God’s people for the worship of God should be in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the mingled spirit as the place of God’s habitation, in the place where the cross is, and with the enjoyment of Christ as the reality of the tithes, the offerings, and the sacrifices (see note John 4:244). This is the oneness of God’s people, and this is the proper ground for the worship of God.