What Is For Dinner? - Acts 10:11-12

Acts 10:11-12

“(Peter) saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.”

See also Lev. 11:1ff

This seems to indicate that the “eating” laws given to Israel (Lev. 11ff) had to do with bringing them into relationship with God, not health reasons etc. as some propose.  The laws were not moral, but relational, i.e. will you abstain because I ask you to.  Because the laws are not moral there is no problem when God changes the playing field and declares them now clean.  To eat will not and does not interfere with the relationship.

The take away here for me seems to be, that God initiates, He determines what opens the way for relationship, it begins with Him not us.  He sets the table and invites, we can respond by moving toward or away.  The particulars are not the point, submission/humility, the moving toward and opening oneself to those to whom God opens Himself is the point.

In the larger story of history we see God moving toward a human race that essentially wants nothing to do with Him.  He is willing to start small, one man, Abraham, through a long span of time ~ 1500 years, to shape and mold a people through whom He can bless all nations.  What is needed to shape and mold Israel into a model and a conduit for His redemptive process is not the same thing that is needed after the resurrection and the wider invitation to the whole world.  God is more interested in calling a people to Himself than in maintaining processes that have served their place in time, but are no longer helpful.

We can see the same idea currently in denominational, or church organizational structures for example, that become tied to traditions, policies, and practices, that hinder rather than helping our relationship with God and with the community of believers.  The how of things is usually of secondary importance to the why of things.  Hows matter, but are secondary to whys and the first why is usually, “Do you want me more that this?”

**3/3/20 This is one of what I hope will be a regular entry in my blog.  This is a shift from what I have done in the past which has mostly been episodic accounts of things I experience in life.  I may continue to post more of the same from time to time, but the drift of the blog, at least for now, will be my observations, prayers, questions, and grappling with the Bible as I read through it over the next two years with some friends.  We are together following a 2 year reading schedule and meeting monthly to compare notes.  Your comments are welcome and if you are interested in what the reading schedule looks like reply in comments and I will be glad to send it to you.