For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
1 Pet. 1
What does it mean to be holy? How are we called to live? To love? I have never really paid attention to the wording of the last part of Peter’s greeting here. He describes our transformation in Christ – our salvation – in an interesting way. When we come to God through Jesus, the Spirit sanctifies us “to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood” (1 Pet. 2b). It was the “sprinkled with His blood” part that caught my attention this morning.
In the Old Testament system of Temple worship that God specified for His people, everyone and everything had to be consecrated in order to be a part of it. The primary part of this process was the sprinkling of blood. The blood cleansed and consecrated, rendering the person or object holy and thus acceptable to God. Of course, the blood of an animal did nothing to change either person or object. It was the faithful obedience of the people that God credited to them in advance of the life giving sacrifice of Jesus and the true sanctifying work of His Spirit in us.
So Peter’s wording here connects the old – the representation of what was to be – with the new, which is the reality of what the old represented. God’s Spirit, who is already holy, does the sanctifying work once performed by the priests. However, the blood God’s Sprit sprinkles is the blood of the true sacrifice that cleanses and consecrates completely for all time, rendering us holy and acceptable to God forever.
The Old Testament system, then, accomplished two things. One, it gave the people born before Christ a means of demonstrating their devotion to God and their faith in His promise before Jesus’ work was accomplished. And two, it gives those of us born after Christ a deeper understanding of what it is that He did for us. Pretty cool.
Is. 17-18
These prophecies reveal God’s sovereignty over all nations. How does that change the way you pray? “In that day people will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.” (Is. 17:7). God made every person in every nation that ever was and ever will be. Thus, no one on earth is beyond His salvation or will escape His judgment if they refuse it. I don’t know if there is any special significance to the specific nations called out in the Old Testament prophecies, or if they just happen to be the nations associated with Israel at the time. I am certain, though, that they represent the whole world. We all need to pay heed to every warning and promise of God’s word.
Ps. 106
This teaching psalm retells the history of Israel with an emphasis on God’s salvation, and finishes with the prayer of v. 47. Where do you need God’s salvation right now? Remember His activity in your life, then ask with confidence. I’ve been thinking a lot about words lately, and it keeps coming up in the passages I read. So here it is again in this Psalm. In recounting Israel’s history, this Psalm mentions how the people tested God at the waters of Meribah. This is the place where Moses lost his opportunity to enter into the Promised Land. I used to always think that it was because Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it as instructed. But I am coming to see that his disobedient action was merely the manifestation of a deeper problem.
I believe the last time I read that Meribah passage, I commented on Moses’ words. He said, “must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Num. 20:10). The implications of that one tiny little word, “we” run pretty deep. And now I read what the Psalmist says of this incident. “…for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips.” (Ps. 106:33). There is no mention of Moses’ actions; only his words. So I think of Proverbs 21:23 from a couple of days ago, which warns us that unguarded words lead to much calamity. And then back to recently read James 1, where James told us the tongue steers the ship. Moses’ rash words solidified his defiant attitude, leading to his disobedient action. It all certainly makes me want to give better attention to what is coming out of my mouth!