January 28, 2022: Day 22 – Exodus 39-40 and I Peter 1-5

What a relief it is to make our way out of Exodus and the description of what they made so that Moses and Aaron and his sons would be outfitted appropriately.  Again, this Scripture describes them fulfilling exactly what God had commanded previously and so we are ready for the presence of the Lord to fill the tabernacle and to be the  presence of God in the midst of the people.  That happens at the end of this chapter, the cloud descends and resides in the tabernacle.  The people stay put on their journey to the promised land until the cloud lifts.  I would say mission accomplished, at least in regards to the tabernacle.

I love being able to read entire books of the Bible in one sitting.  Normally we would read a few verses, or maybe a chapter or two, but this morning we have an entire book of the Bible.  I Peter talks to those in the diaspora.  So, in 70 AD the temple would have been destroyed and all the Jews in Jerusalem and in that region would  have been dispersed because the Romans were blaming the Jews under Nero of uprisings against the Roman state.  The diaspora is simply the scattered Jews who left Jerusalem and settled elsewhere.  Since that time there has been no region ascribed to the people of Israel until after WWII and the creation of the nation of Israel, hard to believe.

So Peter’s primary emphasis is to ensure that those who are scattered abroad who are disciples of Jesus Christ act in a way that distinguishes them from the rest of the culture around them.  Not only were they not to sacrifice to idols, that is an obvious one, but they are to act in  way that they would not be identified as troublemakers and as people who were set against society and culture and so as a result would have to be constantly reprimanded for that.  Basically, Peter was saying, fit in without compromising your faith in Jesus Christ.  

Do not be brought before the authorities for doing something wrong, that is a bad mark against Jesus.  But if you are brought before the authorities because of your faith in Jesus, well, that can’t be helped, wear that as a badge of honor.  We are given lists of moral imperatives that we ought to follow.  It is a good reminder that in our society and culture, even today, we ought not to make anything more important than our following our Savior.  If anything within our life becomes more important than what Jesus teaches us, well, then we have moved the goal posts and maybe, just maybe, we are no longer worthy to be called his disciples.