Explore the Bible: 1 Peter 2:1-10

Peter uses many quotes from the Old Testament in his epistle. This is natural, since what we call the Old Testament was the Scriptures not only for Jews, but for all the new Gentile believers who were responding to the gospel. There was no set of writings in the early days of the church that were already recognized as part of the Biblical canon, although recognition of a number of apostolic writings as Scripture arose very early. (We’ll talk about this more in 2 Peter.) Peter is clearly familiar with the Scriptures and uses them both to make his theological and practical points and to illustrate truth.

In 1 Peter 2:10, Peter doesn’t directly quote an Old Testament passage, but he does make a strong reference to one. This verse is influenced by the names the Lord tells Hosea to give his children in chapters 1 and 2 of his prophecy. There, the children, probably born as the result of an adulterous affair by his wife Gomer, symbolized the Lord’s rejection of Israel as His people. Their unfaithfulness caused Him to turn away from His chosen people. Yet even in this rejection, God states that He cannot entirely give up on them, and that one day they will once again be His people and He will be their God.

This was a comforting promise to Israel, but it may have left Gentiles wondering how they fit in to the people of God. Did you have to become a Jew? Were Gentiles second-class Christians? Peter uses the experience of Hosea and the words of his prophecy to assure all believers, Jew and Gentile, that they were now part of God’s people. They had been called out of darkness into light, received God’s mercy through Jesus, and were now included as part of the people of God.

Some have seen this passage as one that indicates that the church has replaced Israel as the people of God permanently. In this view, Israel served as God’s people until the cross, but since the death and resurrection of Christ the church has now become the object of all of God’s promises to Israel as a kind of new “chosen people.” I believe that the very fact of Peter’s using Hosea as his cue in this verse shows the opposite: that while the church is certainly the people of God, He is also not letting go of Israel forever.

The key point here is that all believers, who by nature are sinful and deserving of God’s rejection, have been brought into the people of God through Jesus’ work. By grace we have been shown mercy, and through that mercy we gain a great salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We do not have to fear what our status before the Lord is if we have put our trust and hope in the One who calls us out of the darkness of sin and into the light of His eternal presence.

What we really are

In my annual reading through the Bible, I've reached the book of Hosea. This is one of my favorite books of the Bible. I know, most people don't even know how to find the Minor Prophets, much less read them. And for those who do, it's probably more of a slog than a pleasure. I have found the Minor Prophets to be a truly fascinating section of the Bible, and Hosea in particular moves me every time I read it.

You  may know the story of Hosea. He was the prophet commanded by God to marry a "wife of harlotries," whether she was one at the beginning of the marriage or became one later. (The translation I am currently reading, the NET, makes an interpretive translation which leaves out the fuzziness and calls her a prostitute, but there is some dispute as to her character at the time of marriage.) She bears Hosea one son, then gives birth to two other children who are apparently not his. Eventually she abandons Hosea (and presumably her children) for other lovers.

The Lord then interprets Hosea's home life for Israel. Through Hosea, he says, "This is what you are to me-people who are pledged to me in covenant, but who have rejected me and pursued other gods. You aren't the faithful bride I rescued from distress, and you are giving what belongs to me to others." If the story ended there, you would expect the "divorce papers" to follow quickly.

But Hosea is told to go and buy his wife back. He pays a paltry sum for her, and, after a time of waiting, their relationship was restored. (Interestingly, the Bible doesn't tell us about their future together. Some scholars think this means the "restoration" was actually another object lesson with another woman, but I think that  undercuts the message of the book.)

This is what God does with us. We are estranged from God, people who should be His but who follow after other gods, whether money, sex, career, power, or whatever takes His place. The Lord has every right to send us away, to condemn us to an eternity of judgment for our unfaithfulness. Yet Jesus Christ bought us back from our slavery to sin through His own blood, and makes it possible for us to have a new relationship with God.

There is a heart-rending passage in Hosea 11 that speaks about God's love for His people Israel:

“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man— the Holy One among you. I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord; he will roar like a lion.
When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt, trembling like sparrows, from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord. (Hosea 10:8-11, NIV)

This is the love God has for us. Who are we? Not the good, godly folk we sometimes pretend to be, assuming we're good enough that God has to accept us as we are. We are the rebellious, the unfaithful, the ones who scorn and reject God's love. Who is He? The one who loves us and who paid the price to redeem and restore us.

I encourage you to go read Hosea. It will break your heart, but it will also give you a glimpse into God's heart.