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February 21, 2016 |
| Precious Stones - Priests | ||
In 1 Peter 2 Peter takes about living a holy life as many other authors and epistles do, but Peter takes a slightly different approach. He uses the book of Leviticus and its instructions about precious stones and priests to bring that point to the reader. In our time, however, most Christians know very little about what Leviticus says about these things.
In this lesson we will look at how Peter uses these topics to support his point that we should live lives that are separate from the world.
1 Therefore, put away from you all wickedness, all treachery, partiality, envy and slander, 2 and be as nursing infants, and yearn for the word as for pure and spiritual milk by which you shall grow strong for life,
When Peter says "grow strong for life" he is speaking of both our current physical life and our future spiritual life. That spiritual milk prepares us to avoid the wickedness, treachery and other things he mentions and it assures and prepares us for everlasting life.
3 if you have tasted and you have seen that the Lord Yahweh is good, 4 he to whom you draw near, the living stone, whom the children of men have rejected, and is chosen and precious to God.
Peter makes a subtle but important point here. In verse 3 he mentions Yahweh and then in verse 4 describes him as the stone the builders rejected, a clear reference to Jesus. In doing this is saying that Jesus was the fulfillment of that prophecy in Psalms 34:8 and that he was in fact the God of the Old Testament - Yahweh. Today no church disputes this but in the early church there were many fights over this
There is also something Peter says here that his readers, both Jew and Gentile, would have understood immediately but most Christians now do not. The problem we have now is that the Bible book we know as Leviticus had a completely unrelated name. Leviticus is from a Greek word meaning "relating to the Levites."1 The original Hebrew title means "drawing near". While the Greeks saw the book as being boring stuff about the Levites, God saw it as instructions for the select people who would draw near to him in service.
So when Peter says above "he to whom you draw near" he is making a reference to those instructions and saying that we too draw near to God. This reference is going to relate to the following verses where he will refer to precious stones and to priests. To fully understand that we need to understand the garments worn by the priests
2
The stones he will refer to are those in the breastplate and the two on the shoulders of the priest. These stones are symbolic descriptions of God's people, both physical Israel and spiritual Israel, us. So Peter will refer to us as living stones, the living fulfillment of the stones on the priest's breastplate.
5 And you also, as living stones, be built up and become spiritual temples and holy Priests to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable before God by Yeshua the Messiah.
In verse 1 he encourages us to become strong by drinking spiritual milk. Now he says we should become spiritual temples and priests. We should be temples in the sense that we are places where God resides. If you recall the dedication of the first temple by Solomon, you will remember that smoke or cloud appeared in the temple when God entered it. Oddly perhaps we are both temple and priest of that temple. As priests of our own temples we serve God according to his will and make sacrifices to him.
Paul says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells within you?"
As priests of our temple we have other duties that Peter doesn't mention here. One duty the priests had was to keep the fire going in the sacrificial altar. That fire was started by God one time when the tent of meeting was first setup and it was to be continual. It was never to go out. So there were night shift priests to keep it burning.
It was the duty of the Chief Priest to occasionally check the priest who was watching that the fire does not go out. It is said that when the priest on duty was found asleep, the High Priest would rebuild the fire and use coals from the altar to start the clothes of the priest on fire. When the priest woke up and tore off his burning clothes, his only choice was to return home naked or not fully dressed.
This is what Revelation 16:15 is talking about when it says “Behold, I come like a thief. Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
The priests also were responsible for keeping the Menorah filled with oil so it could give its light.
6 For it is said in the Scriptures, "Behold, I lay down in Zion an approved and precious stone at the head of the corner, and whoever believes in him will not be ashamed."
This is a quotation from Isaiah 28:16. Peter again speaks of a stone but this time it is God speaking through Isaiah about Jesus. God is saying this is a precious stone, his only son, and has been approved for the task - no one else could do it. This stone will be what we now call the corner stone. It is the first stone laid when making a stone building. Its placement is very important because it will be the reference for every other stone. Peter's bigger point is that we are all those stones whose placement uses Jesus as a reference. We are the stones of the temple that Jesus is building.
7 This honor is given therefore to you - those who believe, but to those who are disobedient, 8 he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, and they stumble on it, in that they do not obey the word, for they are appointed to this.
We, the believers, are honored to be stones in his temple, but it isn't that way for everyone.
In the cities of the time the roads would often wear down to the point where a buried stone would be exposed. This stone would cause people who walked the road to trip and stumble if they walked without care. What Jesus taught was just such a problem to the religious elite of his time. They expected the road to be a certain way but he was always tripping them up.
9 But you are a chosen race who serve as priests for the Kingdom, a holy people, a redeemed assembly; you should proclaim the praises of him who called you from darkness into his excellent light.
This translation uses the word "race" where I think "line" or "lineage" would be better. The line of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob, was the lineage of the Levites. The Levites were not priests though; not just anyone could be a priest. The priests were also of the line of Levi but they were also of the line of Aaron. God had chosen Aaron, the helper of Moses, to be the first priest to the Israelites. So all priests had to be sons of Aaron who was a son of Levi.
Peter's point is that we are a chosen lineage of priests as well but not one chosen by bloodline. Though it isn't said here, we were chosen before the world was created. That choice became reality when we accepted that calling. As Peter says, at that time we were redeemed and became priests in the Kingdom of God. As priests we are called to live a holy life, separate from the world. As a result we should praise him, for we are no longer walking in darkness.
10 You are those who at the first were not considered a people, but now are the people of God, neither were mercies upon you, but now mercies are poured out upon you.
Here Peter is using Hosea's words from Hosea 1:10. Hosea, speaking God's words was prophesying a time when God's people would not just be Israel. Prior to Jesus, God did not count people of our races (or any race but Israel) as his people, but now we are and God shows mercy on us through his Son.
Peter has now finished the section on how and why we should view ourselves as stones in the Kingdom of God and as priests of our own temples and as such we should lead holy lives as the priests did. He now begins to relate that back to the point he started with, putting away wickedness.
11 Beloved, I beg of you, as wayfarers and as foreigners, depart from all these desires of the body that make war against the soul, 12 And let your way of life be beautiful before all children of men, those who speak wicked words of you, that they may see your beautiful works and praise God in the day of examination.
Peter is reminding us that we should treat the world as though we are outsiders from distant lands. The evil of the world gets into us through our desires and he calls us to depart or leave or walk-away from those. Instead of living out the body's desires for the world, we should live a beautiful life that can be seen by the world. The world will still hate us and say wicked things about us but on the judgment day, when the truth comes out, they will only be able to praise God for the things you have done.
13 Submit to all the sons of men for the sake of God; to Kings, because of their authority, 14 and judges, because they are sent by him for the punishment of wrongdoers and for the praise of the workers of good. 15 For it is the will of God in this way that by your excellent works you may shut the mouths of fools - those who do not know God, 16 as free children, and not as persons who make their liberty a cloak for their evil, but as Servants of God.
As part of that beautiful life Peter says we should submit to kings and judges. Be careful though, submission is not necessarily obedience. Remember what the apostles told the religious elite in Acts 4:19, "Whether it is right before God to hear you rather than God, you judge." But submitting to kings and judges you shut the mouths of these people who speak evil of you.
Peter continues on from that thought to say that we should do this as free children who have chosen to be servants of God. We should not use the freedom from sin that we have been given as an excuse to sin again. There are people who intentionally sin with the expectation that they will be forgiven afterward.
17 Honor every person, love your brethren, worship God and honor Kings.
More advice on living that beautiful life includes honoring everyone, loving our Christian brothers and our relationship with God and kings. One we honor; one we worship. Don't get those backward.
18 To those who are servants among you: submit to your masters in reverence, not only to the good and to the meek, but also to the severe and to the perverse; 19 for such servants have grace before God who, for the sake of a good conscience, endure distresses which come upon them by the evil one.
We see in many epistles this charge for Christian slaves, treat their masters with reverence and submit to them. This applies not only to masters who are good but to those who are mean. It isn't said here specifically but it's clear that the idea is to live a beautiful life. What is said is having a good conscience, knowing you have done what is right, despite the evil done to you.
20 But what honor is it to those who endure suffering because of their foolishness? But when you do what is good and they afflict you and you endure, then it magnifies your honor with God.
The point is that if you have done something wrong, and the weight of the law is being applied to you because of it, the suffering you are going through achieves nothing. But if you have done what is right and endure suffering because of it, that is something God admires.
Peter now uses the Messiah as an example for us. After all Jesus did everything right and was killed for it.
21 For you are called to this, for even the Messiah died for our sake and left us this example, that you would walk in his steps,but he handed his judgment over to the judge of righteousness.
- 22 he who did no sin,
- neither was deceit found in his mouth;
- 23 he who was insulted and did not insult, and
- he suffered and did not threaten,
We understand how hard it would be for us to endure what Jesus did, especially if we had Jesus' power. We can all imagine retaliating and feeling justified by the unfairness of the treatment. Instead of exacting justice from them, he forgave them and left the judgment to his father. Likewise, we are called not to strike back, in word or action, but to leave the judgment to our father.
24 And he took all of our sins and lifted them in his body to the cross, for as we are dead to sin, we shall live in his righteousness, for by his scars you have been healed.
Peter makes an important theological statement here that many people miss. Jesus did not become guilty of our sins on the cross, nor did he become a sinner. He died as an atoning sacrifice. In those sacrifices the sinner put his hand on the sacrifice, admitted his guilt and prayed for forgiveness and his sin was transferred to the animal. The animal did not become guilty of adultery, or blasphemy or whatever the sinner had done. The animal was a carrier for the sin that, with the animal's death, was atoned for.
Peter says he took into his body all the sins of those who would receive his offer to be their atonement. When his body died they were atoned for - "by his scars you were healed". When he was resurrected to that body the sins were already gone. It was utterly important that Jesus would die without sin.
25 For you had gone astray like sheep, and you have returned now to the shepherd and the caregiver of your souls.
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Leviticus
2 http://www.bible-history.com/tabernacle/TAB4The_Priestly_Garments.htm