The Olah Offering

In one paragraph

This message was the fifth installment in Tribe's ongoing series through Leviticus. Pastor Brian walked the congregation through the Olah offering in Leviticus 1, a free will burnt offering, and drew a line from that ancient practice to Paul's call in Romans 12 to present our bodies as living sacrifices. The whole direction of the morning was toward a moment of personal surrender. The series has...

Read together

1. Luke 17:17-19 Jesus healing ten lepers, only one returning to give glory to God as a free will act of gratitude
2. Leviticus 1:1-9 the Olah burnt offering instructions, read aloud by members of the congregation
3. John 12 woman breaking alabaster jar and pouring perfume on Jesus's feet, Judas objecting to the waste
4. Romans 12:1 Paul's plea to offer our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice as the true way to worship
5. 1 Samuel 1 Hannah weeping at the altar, promising to give her son back to God's service if she conceives

What was said

• Set aside a few minutes this week to get on your knees and tell God out loud that you are giving him the specific thing you find hardest to surrender.
• Open Leviticus chapter one and read through it slowly, writing down every detail you notice in the margin of your Bible or a notebook.
• Listen to at least one episode of the Bible Project podcast series on Leviticus that was sent out in the text blast.
• When you wake up each morning this week, say out loud, 'Lord, here I am, you know every part of me, speak to me,' and then sit quietly for a moment before your day starts.
• Read Luke 17 verses 17 through 19 and ask yourself honestly whether you are more like the one who turned back or the nine who kept walking.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about how the fellowship offering required you to bring an animal from your own herd, not someone else's. Where in your life are you tempted to let someone else carry the weight of your relationship with God?
2. Jay noticed that laying your hand on the head of a large animal would have been an intimate and maybe even frightening act. What does it look like for your own offerings to God to carry that same weight and intentionality rather than just going through the motions?
3. The Olah offering required the entire animal, the very best one, to be completely consumed on the altar. Is there something you have been willing to give God in part but not entirely? What makes that last piece hard to lay down?
4. Brian described a moment when he felt the Lord ask him to surrender something specific after he had already said 'you can have it all.' How have you experienced the gap between a general surrender and the specific things God actually asks for?
5. Amanda brought up Hannah, who gave back to God the very son she had prayed and wept for. What is the thing in your life that, like Hannah's son, would feel like the hardest possible thing to release? What would it mean to trust God with that?