There are a number of direct
quotations from and direct allusions to the Old Testament in 1 Peter. First Peter 2:9-10 is rich with
evocative Old Testament themes and language.[1] Most prominent in use are Exodus 19:6;
Isaiah 43:20-21; and Hosea 2:23.[2] In selecting these Old Testament
passages Peter has drawn upon titles and images pertaining to Israel’s identity
in the Old Covenant. This is
significant in light of the fact that the audience intended by this epistle is,
in all likelihood, predominantly Gentile.[3] This has implications for the
relationship between “Israel” and the “Church”—an issue that continues to
divide theological systems.
Furthermore, as will be seen, the texts from the Old Testament utilized
by 1 Peter 2:9-10 have “missional” overtones that also suit Peter’s purposes in
writing to his recipients. A quick
discussion of the individual Old Testament texts will be followed by a
discussion of the implications of these texts for Peter’s context.
Exodus
19:6 is an important statement made to Israel by God at a crucial moment in
their history. Three months after
the defining moments of the exodus from Egypt Israel is at Mount Sinai and the
living God is going to make a covenant with his people. Yahweh speaks these words to his
people:
Now then, if you will indeed obey
my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession among all
the peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of
priests and a holy nation. Exodus
19:5-6a
Israel is chosen out of the nations
for the special privilege of being God’s people. This sets them apart from the other nations on the face of
the earth—the Gentiles.
Furthermore,
there is an implicit call to Israel
that she is to be God’s people on behalf of the nations. Terence Fretheim argues
that the phrase in Exodus 19:5—“for all the earth is mine”—is significant:
This suggest that the phrases
relate to a mission that encompasses God’s purposes for the entire world. Israel
is commissioned to be God’s people on behalf of the earth which is God’s.[4]
This election by God is a calling
to be God’s people on behalf of the nations, thus election and mission are
intertwined.
Isaiah 43:20-21 is set within a context
of God’s promises of deliverance for Israel from Bablylon.[5] Israel is called God’s “chosen people”
and a people formed for God himself so that they may “declare my praise.” It is also of importance to note that
this section of Isaiah is set within the larger context of the “servant” of
Yahweh. Israel as the Lord’s
servant has a mission to be a light to the Gentiles (Isa 42:6; 49:6). As with the Exodus 19 there is the dual
emphasis on election and mission.
Hosea
is an eighth century prophet who is called to minister to the Northern
Kingdom. The children born to Hosea
through his wife Gomer are symbolic of God’s judgment. Their second child is called “Lo-ruhamah”
which the Lord states to mean that he “will no longer have compassion on the
house of the Israel, that I would ever forgive them” (Hosea 1:6). Their third child is called “Lo-ammi”
which means “for you are not my people and I am not your God” (Hosea 1:9). This judgment is not the last word for
Israel. For in Hosea 2:23 the Lord
states:
I will sow her for myself in the
land. I will have compassion on
her who had not obtained compassion, and I will say to those people who were
not my people, “You are my people!”
And they will say, “You are my God!”
Thus, Israel is judged to be of the
status of the Gentiles as “not his people” but the day is coming when they
shall again be called “my people.”
This will entail them coming to acknowledge the Davidic dynasty as
indicated by Hosea 3:5.
The Lord had tolerated their
secession from the David dynasty (931 B.C.). But people may not enter into the era of restoration unless
they completely abandon their former ways, submit to Yahweh, and express loyalty
to Yahweh’s Messiah.[6]
Israel’s promised return will be
their reception by God from the status of a Gentile-like people and unto the
blessings of the promises of God.
In
utilizing these texts from the Old Testament Peter is evoking glorious names and associations of the
people of God and applying them to believers in Jesus Christ—both Jew and
Gentile. In that the primary
audience in these scattered churches was Gentile in nature it is amazing to see
the covenantal names, associations, and mission of Israel spoken of and applied
to Gentiles in the church. Peter
is not simply speaking about Gentile inclusion among the people of God. Had that been his desire he could have
quoted any number of other Old Testament texts to demonstrate this reality.[7] Rather, Peter is stressing the reality
that those who have come to the “living stone” (1 Peter 2:4) and believe in him
are those who are the people of God.
Peter is able to take these Old Testament statements and apply them to
believers in Jesus (Jew and Gentile) since in his conception it was the “Spirit
of Christ” that was at work in the Old Testament writers (1 Peter 1:11). For Peter all those—and only those—who
are found believing in Jesus Christ are the true people of God. Peter can refer to believing Gentiles
with the language of Old Covenant Israel.
These Gentiles have been incorporated into the people of God by virtue of
faith in Messiah Jesus.
Conversely, Jewish people who reject Jesus are “disobedient to the word”
and appointed unto doom (1 Peter 2:7-8).
The
subtle missional overtones in the Old Testament passages cited also serve
Peter’s purposes. In 1 Peter 2:9
God’s people are to “proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.”
Although there is debate about the exact nature of this “proclaiming”
Torrey Seland argues that it refers to some manner of proclamation to the
outside unbelieving world. Seland
writes:
According to our reading of this
text then, it most probably reveals that the author of 1 Peter envisioned and
even encouraged his readers to proclaim the gospel to their neighbors and
family.[8]
Peter is utilizing Old Testament
texts with a focus on election with a corresponding call to God’s mission. These emphases fit the needs of Peter’s
recipients as well. They are to be
a people with “excellent behavior among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in
which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as
they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).[9] The communities to whom Peter is
writing this epistle are called to holy lives which serve as notice as a counter-culture
people who attract the unbelieving world.
For Peter election serves the cause of mission or, as I. H. Marshall
puts it, “Thus, to be a chosen nation is not only an indication of privilege
but also a summons to service.”[10]
Peter’s
use of Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 43:20-21; and Hosea 2:23 is full of profound
meaning. The use of covenantal
language which is used in the Old Testament to designate Israel is taken up by
Peter and applied to all those who believe in Jesus—Jew and Gentile. The people of God is now centered
around those respond to the word of Christ and believe in him. Furthermore the Old Testament texts
utilized by Peter also had elements of a missional context; Israel was called
as God’s people to serve the nations.
This missional theme also is evident in 1 Peter and Peter’s use of these
texts furthers his agenda to set the churches on a correct course in this
regard.
[1]
D. A. Carson notes that, “Scholars disagree on how much is quotation and how
much is allusion, but even those who insist on some direct quotations cannot
find more than two words at a time that apparently spring from specific texts.”
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary
on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007),
1030.
[5]
As Alec Moyter states regarding this section: “it is explained that the fall of
Babylon is an Egypt-exodus event, followed by a homeward journey full of divine
provision.” J. Alec Moyter, The Promise of Isaiah: An Introduction and
Commentary (Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity, 1993), 335. There may be a faint echo to this text
in 1 Peter 5:13 in which Peter references “Babylon.” Many scholars argue that this a reference to Rome.
