I wanted to go with something a bit lighter after the house we built the last couple of months around Abraham...
...but on my own, I'm no good. I prayed to God for inspirations, and He reminded me of my life verse:
1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.”
For me, this reminds me that every day, every moment, is a stone, a monument for what God has done for me. And in my prayer, my spirit and brain said in unison, "Stones..." I had my topic. And as I have studied, I found the rich tapestry (and AM finding) woven around the word 'stone'. The plan I see- assuming I let the Lord drive and don't go off-roading- is an arch reaching to a summit at the cornerstone- Christ the Lord. For me, that means building up the 2 sides to reach that top- an Old Testament side and a New Testament side. And I found 2 characters who basically sum up the foundations of each side. My question to you is- have you ever stopped to consider the commonalities of Moses and Peter?
First, the stones. Moses spent 40 days and nights on the mountain, and God carved the Ten Commandments and the Law onto stone tablets...
Exo 34:1 The LORD said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
Broke? Yes, because no more had God gave Moses the first set, than the people revolted and had Aaron make the golden calf, and Moses broke the Commandments and made the Israelites drink the calf (Exo. 32:19-20). Still, God carved the second tablets, and they were the Law that founded the religion of the Hebrews.
How does Peter fit in here? Remember this scene...
Mat 16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Mat 16:16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Mat 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Now, the word "Peter" means, a PIECE of rock, whereas "this rock" is 'a MASS of rock; Christ is not going to build the Church around Peter (as the Catholics suggest), but he is going to be the first piece from that rock of revelation in building that church. Just like with the Tablets, it is not the stone that is key, but God who reveals His Law and His grace to us.
"But, you said, Moses no more received the tablets from God, then he broke them." Yes, and what happened to Peter right after HIS revelation?
Mat 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Mat 16:22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
Mat 16:23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Peter immediately broke his piece of the rock! And both were broken because of the inability of man to grasp the plan of God.
There are so many other parallels. Moses brought the Israelites the dietary Laws that God gave him. Peter brought the new Laws on this subject:
Act 10:9 The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
Act 10:10 And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance
Act 10:11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.
Act 10:12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
Act 10:13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”
Act 10:14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.”
Act 10:15 And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”
Act 10:16 This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.
But the one that struck me most, you might think is a bit obscure, but hang with me. As the Israelites moved towards the Promised Land, they had to battle the Amalekites. And a curious thing happened. While Joshua and the army fought, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, watched from a nearby mountaintop. Moses lifted the staff which with he divided the Red Sea, and Joshua prevailed. But when he got tired, and his arm drooped, the battle went against them. So...
Exo 17:12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Exo 17:13 And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.
As Moses was supported by the stone (symbolic of God, his Rock), and helped by his faithful, the battle went well- so well in fact, that the name of Amalek was obliterated from the earth, as God said it would be. Note that they could have took turns holding the staff, but they didn't. The power wasn't in them, or in the staff itself, but in the faith of Moses. As long as he stretched his hands to God, they were fine.
So where did Peter stretch HIS hands? Observe:
Joh 21:17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Joh 21:18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”
As indeed he did, some 40-odd years later when Nero had him crucified, And indeed, this leads to one last thing that the bases of our arch of faith have in common. Consider Moses's end:
Deu 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD,
Deu 34:6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day.
Is this important? Consider:
Jud 1:9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.”
Why would they dispute? Because, if the people knew where Moses was buried, they would have made a shrine and worshipped Moses, just like they did the bronze serpent. Don't believe me? Try this. Because God- who in His mercy let Peter stand as a martyr- DIDN'T hide the burial of Peter, we have this:
Along with relics of supposed other saints- some of them in multiple places, and one at least in every Catholic Church.
And I can't believe I almost forgot the biggest thing I share in common with both of them- shooting off the mouth at the wrong time. For both of them, more than I so far, it cost them dearly:
Num 20:10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
Num 20:11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
Num 20:12 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
Moses lost the Promised Land; Peter lost himself:
Luk 22:59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
Luk 22:60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
Luk 22:61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
Luk 22:62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
Still, this 'name recognition' shows that they deserve the title of God's Founders. But it also shows how their names can keep you from going far enough (Jews that stop at the Law and don't go forward to Christ), or lead you too far( to praying to Peter, the saints, and Mary like the Catholics). If you really seek out their stories, they were only strong so far as they were led by the Lord- and so too you and I.
Posts
