Dubbisa Har'aa: November 14

Insight from 1 Peter 2:

Verse three is a quotation from Psalm 34. It is evident, based on this quote and another quote in chapter 3 (verses 10-12) and several allusions (i.e., references that aren’t direct quotes) scattered throughout 1 Peter, that Peter has been thinking deeply about this particular psalm as he writes this letter. He has been obeying his command to long for pure spiritual milk himself !

Peter has been thinking about this particular psalm because it concerns a persecuted man (careful reading of the psalm reveals that, ultimately, Christ is THE persecuted man) who is delivered by God. The persecuted (and now delivered) man in the psalm has experienced God’s goodness. He has delighted in God’s care for him. Based on his experience with God, the delivered man calls other people to “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8). This verse, Peter thinks, applies to his audience and to their situation. The careful reader will notice that Peter doesn’t quote the verse verbatim. He doesn’t command his readers to taste and see the goodness of the Lord. That’s because he is confident that his readers have already “tasted” the goodness of the Lord! Now that they’ve done this, however, there’s a need to keep eating! He says, in effect, “Now that you have had a taste of Christ and have found him good, ask for seconds! Like a baby who won’t be satisfied with anything but more milk, keep crying out for more of Christ.” To put it another way, Psalm 34:8 is a command (“Taste and see that the LORD is good”), but Peter doesn’t use a command because his readers have already obeyed the psalmist’s command. The psalmist called his readers to an initial meal. Peter calls his readers—who have already tasted that meal—to keep eating.

We have been commanded to “long for the pure spiritual milk”. This pure spiritual milk is the truth about Christ—who he is and how we relate to him. Peter fills the next seven verses with truth after truth about Christ. It is almost as if, upon calling his readers to long for more of Christ, he brings out the most mouth-watering temptations he can bring. He is wanting his readers to taste more of Christ and to grow up into salvation.

As a final note regarding verse three, it is significant to see that Peter considers the Lord whom his readers have tasted to be Christ (he calls him “the Lord” in this verse). The psalmist, however, tells his readers to “Taste and see that Yahweh is good” (in English translations, the name Yahweh appears in all capital letters as “LORD”). In other words, Peter applies the name Yahweh to Christ! Peter is not confused. He does this because (1) he is quoting from a Greek translation of the Old Testament (sometimes referred to as the LXX or Septuagint) and this is the word used in that translation, and (2) because Peter understands that God has, because of Christ’s death and resurrection, given Christ this name! See also Philippians 2:8-11. Tom Kelby, The Book of 1 Peter with Study Notes: A Preacher’s Guide to the Book of 1 Peter (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2017), 49.

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Based on the verses he quotes, Peter clearly believes that the promises made in the Old Testament to Israel have been received by the “elect exiles of the Dispersion”. But Peter’s readers are, for the most part, not Israelites. They are Gentiles! How can Peter take promises that were spoken to Israel (in Hosea) and apply them to the church? Beyond this, how can Peter quote a passage with conditional promises spoken, again, to Israel (in Exodus 19:5–6) and say that the church has received these conditional promises?

Carefully consider the conditional promise God made to Israel in Exodus 19:5–6. God said, “if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant” then “you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples … and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”. But Israel never met this condition. Israel never obeyed God’s voice and kept his covenant! The prophets consistently charge Israel with disobedience. Peter himself says that Israel was never able to keep the law (see Acts 15:10)!

How, then, can Peter say that these verses are true of the “elect exiles” when (at least in regard to the promise in Exodus 19) the conditions were never met by Israel? Here is the key: the conditions were met by Israel! Not the Israel that, after passing through the Red Sea, grumbled against God, worshiped false gods, sinned mightily, and perished in the wilderness. Not the Israel that, immediately after crossing over the Jordan River, ignored God’s command regarding Jericho. Not the Israel that killed the prophets. Not the Israel that ran after Baal and built altars under every shady tree and on every green hill. No, the conditions of obedience and covenant keeping were met by the “Israel” that, after passing through the Jordan (via baptism), went into the wilderness and, when tempted by the devil with all the treasures of the world, chose to obey God! The conditions of obedience and covenant keeping were met by the one who not only kept the outward law, but also the law in his heart. Jesus is obedient Israel!

The gospel writers clearly present Jesus as the “people” of Israel. He, like Israel, was called out of Egypt. He, like Israel, was tempted in the wilderness. He, like Israel, was called God’s son (see Exodus 4:22 and Matthew 3:17). Unlike Israel, however, from the beginning of his life, Jesus obeyed God’s voice and kept his covenant. He did what the nation as a whole never did. His actions were done so that he might “fulfill all righteousness” (see Matthew 3:15). God, in response to Jesus’ obedience and covenant keeping, declared, “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (see Matthew 3:17). As the one who perfectly fulfills the law, Jesus is the inheritor of all of God’s promises to Israel. He is the inheritor of all that was promised to Abraham and all that was promised to David (see Matthew 1:1).

Peter is able to take what has been given to Jesus and apply it to the church because the church is counted as “in Christ”. Because Christ is the son of Abraham (see Matthew 1:1), those who are in Christ are also “Abraham’s offspring” (see Galatians 3:29). The path Jesus walked is counted to all those who, by faith, are “in him”. The death he died to sin is, by faith, counted to all those who are “in him” (see Romans 6). This “in Christ” language is repeated throughout the New Testament. Because we are “in him” we are inheritors of all that he has inherited! He is the reason why the church can be called “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession”. He is the reason we are able to “proclaim the excellencies of him who called [us] out of darkness into his marvelous light”. He is the reason we can be called the people of God. He is the reason we have been shown mercy. None of the descriptions here apply to the church without being mediated through Christ. Tom Kelby, The Book of 1 Peter with Study Notes: A Preacher’s Guide to the Book of 1 Peter (Webster, WI: Hands to the Plow, 2017), 55.