Wednesday, September 19, 2018: 1 Peter 2:9-10
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
In the short story, “Revelation,” Flannery O’Connor introduces her readers to a character named Mrs. Turpin by pointing out that Mrs. Turpin always noticed people’s feet. It’s an illustrative statement. Rather than telling her readers that Mrs. Turpin looks down on other people, she shows her readers through this illustration.
Peter did the same thing for his readers in today’s passage. The privilege of belonging to God’s people is conveyed by Peter with a number of Old Testament allusions. The first two, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, are a reference back to Exodus 19:6 in which the people of Israel were charged to mirror the glory of God to the nations through their special relationship with Him. The third, a people for his own possession, is likely drawn from Isaiah 43:21.
What was Peter trying to show his readers with these illusions back to the Old Testament and the people of Israel? Why does it matter? Peter reminded us of who we are as God’s chosen ones because doing so reminds us of our purpose. We, the church, are to declare the virtues and glory of God to a decaying world, which we can only do to the degree that we know who we are.
- What spiritual disciplines or practices help you nurture your identity as a priest of God?
- What are your responsibilities as priests both inside and outside the church?
- Pray that God would help you to be faithful to your calling as one sent to proclaim the truth about Him to the world.