FRIDAY
Today is the last day of the first week of our two conference weeks in the devotionals. For these two weeks we are looking at some stories of people’s encounters with the presence of God to give us some perspective on the various ways we can experience the presence of God. This week we are looking at biblical characters. Next week we will explore the stories of some believers’ encounters with God in the history of the church. In the campaign we saw Moses experience God in various ways: daily in the tabernacle, his glory on Mt. Sinai, the 10 plagues, etc. These experiences we will add to that list.
In this story, Cornelius, a Roman centurion, encounters an angel who tells him to call for Peter, so he does. While his men are on the way to retrieve Peter, Peter has a vision:
Acts 10:9–16 (NIV)
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.
This vision, as Peter will unpack later, reveals to Peter that the Gentiles are a part of the people of God. In the Judaism of Peter’s day, he would not have been allowed to enter the house of a Gentile because of the food they ate. The food was not kosher, so a Jew would be unclean for a time if they were to enter their house. So, the meaning of this dream serves two purposes:
- It confirms to Peter that all food is clean, so the dietary laws of the Old Testament are no longer binding on Christians.
- The Gentiles are now a part of the people of God. The former dividing walls (Eph. 2:14) between the Jews and Gentiles in the Law are no longer in effect. God is now making the two people one in his kingdom.
This was obviously a major barrier for Peter to accept in the early church, as he needed to be chastised by Paul for his inconsistency on this (cf. Gal. 2:11-21). This vision convinced Paul. As we read when he is speaking at Cornelius’s house:
Acts 10:28 (NIV) 28 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.
God had to reveal this reality of the New Covenant to him for him to accept it.
Reflection
How have you encountered God in dreams and visions, whether yours or someone else’s for you? Of course, these dreams and visions will not contradict what God has already said in Scripture. However, dreams and visions are one way that God can communicate with his people.