Religion & Spirituality
Leviticus 1-7 Pastor Steve Ruetschle Today Pastor Steve taught on the practice of ritual sacrifice as described in the Book of Leviticus. The purpose of ritual sacrifice was to bring the Israelites closer to God. The Hebrew word ‘korban’ means both offering and sacrifice. The Hebrew language regarding sacrificial offerings connotes an offering ‘of you’ (ourselves) to the Lord. There are five are different sacrificial offerings described in Leviticus 1-7. 1. -The burnt offering (voluntary): in the burnt offering the whole animal, representing one’s whole self was offered and burned. The smoke of the offering ascended to God. What are your practices for offering your whole self to God? How does this bring you closer to Him? 2. -The grain offering (voluntary): the grain offering is an offering of thanks to God for His provision of food and the necessities of life. What is your practice of giving thanks to God? Please describe and share with the group. 3.- The peace offering (voluntary): the peace offering is symbolic of maintaining fellowship and harmony with one another. After the peace offering was made a meal was shared. Describe a time when you shared a celebratory meal with family or friends? What was the occasion? Was God a part of your time together? Did it bring you closer to one another? 4. -The sin offering, Leviticus 4, (mandatory): the mandatory sin offering was made to cover the sins of the people. What do you offer to God to atone for your sins both unintentional and intentional? Is there a difference between the two? Please share. 5. -The guilt offering, Leviticus 7, (mandatory): Leviticus 7 tells us this offering is especially holy. Why is this? Pastor Steve stated that the guilt offering had to be made for a breach of faith such as trusting in something other than God. How are we guilty of trusting in things other than God during our time? Is there something you tend to trust in rather than God? Is it ever OK to do so? 6. Take some time to read the following verses out loud and discuss how they parallel the five ritual sacrifices of Leviticus. 1 Peter 1:19, Ephesians 5:2, John 12:24, Colossians 1:20, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:10, Hebrews 10:11-12 & 14.