April 03, 2023 | Be On Mission
Peter's Vision of Animals
Scripture: Acts 10:1-16 (NIV)
1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 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!”
4 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. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 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. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. 13 Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
15 The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
Devotional
Joppa is a coastal city in Israel (known as Jaffa today). It was an important shipping port, connecting Israel to northern Africa and southern Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. It was in Joppa that the Old Testament prophet Jonah boarded a ship and sailed west for Spain, in defiance of God who had commanded him to walk east to Nineveh to offer repentance and forgiveness to an enemy of Israel. When a big fish swallowed Jonah, then spit him back on the beach, the reluctant prophet grudgingly obeyed God. The people of Nineveh turned to God, much to Jonah’s dismay. Jonah just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that his God would also be the God of non-Jewish foreigners.
Eight hundred years later, Peter is in Joppa with exactly the same sentiments. The love of God was for the people of God. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah for the Jewish people. The Gentiles (that is, non-Jewish people) were outside of the covenants, both old and new. Like Jonah, Peter just couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea that God could be the God of Gentiles.
In the Old Testament, there were a number of regulations about what kinds of animals could be eaten, and what kinds would make a person ritually unclean. Peter knew these protocols well. He was Jewish to the core. In this vision, God presented Peter with both approved and unapproved animals with a command to kill and eat. After Peter protested, the Lord said, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (v. 15).
Peter didn’t fully get it, as verse 17 says, “While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision….” But he soon would get it, as we shall see in tomorrow’s reading. For now, ask yourself if you have any ministry barriers that God wants to tear down. Spend some time in prayer, asking Him to bring to your mind the faces of some people who need to hear about God’s redeeming love.
Prayer
God Almighty, may our lives be an offering to You. Today’s verses tell a story of visions. Peter had the same vision 3x of animals, reptiles and birds. All these creatures were considered unclean by Jews, inedible. But, You said to Peter "they are clean (kosher) if I say they are clean". If GOD says it’s OK, then it's OK. Correct the unsound doctrine that we hold onto. Align our beliefs with scripture. Teach us, like you taught Peter, “GOD's messages are for everyone...Jews, Gentiles, the world”. Help us receive Your messages and provide the understanding and acceptance we need to follow You.
Poem
Ninth Hour - Sixth Hour
Acts 10:3: One day at the ninth hour of the day, Cornelius had a vision.
Ninth hour
Minchah
I offer my gift to you
My prayer bowl of faith
Jesus, remember me
Jesus, think on me
Jesus, consider me
Tear the curtain for me
Open the gate to salvation for me
Hear your servant, Cornelius
May this humble “horn”
Be united with your mighty “Horn”
Hear my prayer, O Lord
Acts 10:9a: Peter went up on the housetop at the sixth hour to pray.
Sixth hour
Hour of Light
I offer my rest to you
My Sabbath break at midday
Your promise to Abraham
Your hands pierced on cross
You blanket covering the earth
Tear the darkness from me
Open my eyes to your great plan of salvation
Hear your servant, Peter
May this humble “rock”
Be built upon your mighty “Rock”
Hear my prayer, O Lord
