Lesson 1 Part 1: The Altar

A priest without a theology of the altar has a title without a function.

In the opening lesson of Priests and Altars: Worship, War, and the Surrendered Life, we establish the foundation everything else is built on: the altar itself. Beginning with the first implied altar in Genesis 4 and moving through the ancient world, the pagan altars of Canaan and Mesopotamia, and the Old Testament progression from Noah to Elijah on Mount Carmel, this teaching uncovers what the altar truly is — a place of sacrifice, meeting, covenant, and war.

Before God ever fills a house, He establishes an altar. Elijah understood it: you cannot call down fire from a broken altar — the repair precedes the fire. If the altar is the place where God meets His people, seals His covenants, and wins His battles, then the condition of your altar determines the authority of your life.

The question this lesson leaves with you: What altar are you currently maintaining — and whose altar is it?