The patriarchs of Israel and the leaders or elders of the Israelite tribes are portrayed often in Scripture as taking the lead in their family or community worship of the Lord.
The Hebrew Patriarchs
The Hebrew patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—led worship as the heads of their families, bowing down to the Lord and offering sacrifices to him. Abraham built altars to the Lord and “called upon his name” because of his promises of the land and a multitude of descendants (Gen. 12:7–8). Likewise, Jacob, at the Lord’s command, built an altar at Bethel (Gen. 35:1–3). He had wrestled with the messenger of the Lord at Penuel and prevailed (Gen. 32:22–32) yet bore in his body the marks of that nocturnal struggle even to the end of his life when he “worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff” (Heb. 11:21). Job, who might have been a contemporary of the patriarchs, offered sacrifices on behalf of his family (Job 1:5), and prayer on behalf of his friends, that their offerings might be acceptable to God by virtue of his intercession (Job 42:7–9).
Tribal Leaders
Family and tribal leaders, or the elders of the community, held responsibility for the worship of their people throughout the history of Israel. Emblematic of this responsibility is the repetitious accounting of twelve identical offerings brought by the leaders of the Israelite tribes at the consecration of the Mosaic tabernacle (Num. 7). The tribal leaders saw to it that their clans and families were represented at major events in the place of worship, “where the tribes go up” (Ps. 122:4). The Passover, though a festival of the entire community, was family by family (Exod. 12:21). The same was true for the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles; each home erected a shelter and lived in it for the duration of the festival (Lev. 23:42; Neh. 8:14–16). It was also the responsibility of family heads to arrange for participation in these festivals and to preside over the family’s observance.
Psalm 68 pictures a festival procession into the sanctuary led by dignitaries from the tribes of Israel (Ps. 68:24–27). The “assembly of the people” and “the council of the elders” were settings in which the Lord and his wonders were extolled (Ps. 107:32). The prophet Joel called for the elders to take the lead as the people gathered at the house of the Lord in penitent, solemn assembly (Joel 1:14).