Peter
used to think that anyone who wasn’t circumcised (a foreigner) was no friend of
God, but God changed his mind, and later he says, “I now realize how true it is
that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who
fears him and does what is right.” Think about that as you read these passages.
From
the Torah: Deuteronomy 14:1-21
From
the Former Prophets: Judges 13:1-25
From
the Latter Prophets: Ezekiel 4:1-17
From
the Books of Wisdom and Poetry: Psalm 20:1-9
From
the Late Books: 2 Chronicles 19:1-11
From
the Gospels and Acts: Acts 10:1-48
From
the Epistles: Romans 14:1-23
From the
Torah
You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not
cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for
you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the
peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to
be his treasured possession.
Do
not eat any detestable thing. These
are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep,
the goat, the
deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild
goat, the ibex, the antelope and the
mountain sheep. You
may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. However,
of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the
camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a
divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. The
pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud.
You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.
Of
all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. But
anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is
unclean.
You
may eat any clean bird. But
these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, the
red kite, the black kite, any kind of falcon, any kind of raven, the
horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, the
little owl, the great owl, the white owl, the
desert owl, the osprey, the
cormorant, the
stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.
All
flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. But
any winged creature that is clean you may eat.
Do
not eat anything you find already dead. You may give it to
the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may
sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.
Do not cook a young
goat in its mother’s milk.
Deuteronomy
14:1-21
From the
Former Prophets
Again the
Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord delivered them into
the hands of the Philistines for forty years.
A
certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of
the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give
birth. The
angel of the Lord appeared to her and said, “You are
barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a
son. Now
see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not
eat anything unclean. You
will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never
to be touched by a razor because the boy is
to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God
from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering
Israel from the hands of the Philistines.”
Then
the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked
like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him
where he came from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But
he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine
or other fermented drink and do not eat
anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until
the day of his death.’”
Then
Manoah prayed to the Lord: “Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man
of God you sent to us come again to teach
us how to bring up the boy who is to be born.”
God
heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in
the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The
woman hurried to tell her husband, “He’s here! The man who appeared to me the other day!”
Manoah
got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, “Are you the
man who talked to my wife?”
“I am,” he said.
So
Manoah asked him, “When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that
governs the boy’s life and work?”
The
angel of the Lord answered, “Your
wife must do all that I have told her. She
must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or
other fermented drink nor eat anything
unclean. She must do everything I have
commanded her.”
Manoah
said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like
you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.”
The
angel of the Lord replied, “Even
though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a
burnt offering, offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the
angel of the Lord.)
Then
Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may
honor you when your word comes true?”
He
replied, “Why do you ask my name? It is beyond
understanding.”Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering,
and sacrificed it on a rock to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing
thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As
the flame blazed up from the
altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the
flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. When
the angel of the Lord did not show
himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized that it was the
angel of the Lord.
“We
are doomed to die!” he said to
his wife. “We have seen God!”
But
his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill
us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our
hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”
The
woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, and
the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in
Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and
Eshtaol.
Judges
13:1-25
From the
Latter Prophets
“Now, son of man,
take a block of clay, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on
it. Then
lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up
camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then
take an iron pan, place it as an iron
wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be
under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the people of
Israel.
“Then
lie on your left side and put the sin of the people of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear
their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I
have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390
days you will bear the sin of the people of Israel.
“After
you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear
the sin of the people of Judah. I have
assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. Turn
your face toward the siege of
Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. I
will tie you up with ropes so that you cannot turn from one side to the other
until you have finished the days of your siege.
“Take
wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a
storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself. You are to eat it during
the 390 days you lie on your side. Weigh
out twenty shekels of food to eat each
day and eat it at set times. Also
measure out a sixth of a hin of water and drink
it at set times. Eat
the food as you would a loaf of barley bread; bake it in the sight of the
people, using human excrement for fuel.” The Lord said, “In this way
the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive
them.”
Then
I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never
defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild
animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.”
“Very
well,” he said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human
excrement.”
He
then said to me: “Son of man, I am about to cut off the food supply in
Jerusalem. The people will eat rationed food in anxiety and drink rationed
water in despair, for
food and water will be scarce. They will be
appalled at the sight of each other and will waste away because of their sin.
Ezekiel
4:1-17
From the
Books of Wisdom and Poetry
For the director of music. A psalm of
David.
May
the Lord answer you when
you are in distress;
may the name of the God of
Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from
Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt
offerings.
May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans
succeed.
May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in
the name of our God.
May
the Lord grant all your
requests.
Now
this I know:
The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of
his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of
the Lord our God.
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand
firm.
Lord, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!
Psalm
20:1-9
From the
Late Books
When Jehoshaphat
king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son
of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, “Should you help the
wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Because of this,
the wrath of the Lord is on you. There
is, however, some good in you, for you
have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your
heart on seeking God.”
Jehoshaphat lived
in Jerusalem, and he went out again among the people from Beersheba to the hill
country of Ephraim and turned them back to the Lord, the God of their ancestors. He
appointed judges in the land, in
each of the fortified cities of Judah. He
told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not
judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Now
let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully,
for with the Lord our God there is no
injustice or partiality or bribery.”
In
Jerusalem also, Jehoshaphat appointed some of the Levites, priests and heads
of Israelite families to administer the law of the Lord and to settle
disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem. He
gave them these orders: “You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the
fear of the Lord. In
every case that comes before you from your people who live in the
cities—whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law, commands, decrees or
regulations—you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord; otherwise his wrath will come on you and your people.
Do this, and you will not sin.
“Amariah
the chief priest will be over you in any matter concerning the Lord, and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the leader of the tribe
of Judah, will be over you in any matter concerning the king, and the Levites
will serve as officials before you. Act with courage, and may the Lord be with those who
do well.”
2
Chronicles 19:1-11
From the
Gospels and Acts
At Caesarea there was a man
named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He
and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously
to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One
day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw
an angel of God, who came to him and said,
“Cornelius!”
Cornelius
stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered,
“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now
send men to Joppa to bring back a man
named Simon who is called Peter. He
is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by
the sea.”
When
the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a
devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He
told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
About noon the
following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter
went up on the roof to pray. He
became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being
prepared, he fell into a trance. He
saw heaven opened and something like
a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It
contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill
and eat.”
“Surely
not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I
have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The
voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call
anything impure that God has made clean.”
This
happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While
Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by
Cornelius found out where
Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They
called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While
Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon,
three men are looking for you. So
get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent
them.”
Peter
went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you
come?”
The
men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and
God-fearing man, who is respected by
all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so
that he could hear what you have to say.” Then
Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter
started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The
following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had
called together his relatives and close friends. As
Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But
Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
While
talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He
said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to
associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown
me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So
when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you
sent for me?”
Cornelius
answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in
the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and
said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the
poor. Send
to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the
tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So
I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here
in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to
tell us.”
Then
Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show
favoritism but
accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You
know the message God sent to the
people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus
Christ, who is Lord of all. You
know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee
after the baptism that John preached— how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under
the power of the devil, because God was with him.
“We
are witnesses of everything he
did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him
on a cross, but
God raised him from the dead on the third day
and caused him to be seen. He
was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses
whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after
he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that
he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All
the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.”
While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the
message. The
circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished
that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For
they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, “Surely
no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received
the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So
he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked
Peter to stay with them for a few days.
Acts
10:1-48
From the
Epistles
Accept the one
whose faith is weak, without quarreling
over disputable matters. One
person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak,
eats only vegetables. The
one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does
not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does,
for God has accepted them. Who
are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own
master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to
make them stand.
One
person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers
every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever
regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to
the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord
and gives thanks to God. For
none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies
for ourselves alone. If
we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether
we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For
this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be
the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You,
then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with
contempt? For we will all
stand before God’s judgment seat. It
is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says
the Lord,
‘every
knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’”
So
then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Therefore
let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the
way of a brother or sister. I
am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean
in itself. But if anyone
regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If
your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer
acting in love. Do not by your
eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore
do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because
anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human
approval.
Let
us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual
edification. Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for
a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It
is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause
your brother or sister to fall.
So
whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed
is the one who does not condemn himself by what he
approves. But
whoever has doubts is condemned if
they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not
come from faith is sin.
Romans
14:1-23
