1. Believers under oppressions

Today we will read Peter’ letter addressed to the early Christians in Asia Minor. He wrote them to encourage believers there, who were suffering oppressions by non-christians. The christian life style was completely different from that of others, therefore they were always excluded or portrayed as nuisances by the surrounding societies. Peter’s writing reveals the harsh and difficult living conditions of the believers.

We begin the lecture with chapter 1 from the first letter, and read Peter’s encouraging words. “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance” (1 Peter 1:13-14).

Peter is implying that although the suffering seems to have lasted a long time, it will ultimately come to an end when Jesus returns. So he compels them to be patient and not turn back to their previous non-christian lifestyle. “The evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance,” suggests that many of them were gentiles before their conversion.

We, who live in the modern world, still find “evil desires” everywhere, desires which push humans to conduct themselves in hypocritical and fraudulent ways. For example, recently in Japan, some illegal rice trading cases were discovered.* Traders bought from the Japanese government, imported rice meant for industrial use only, but they sold it as a nutritional product, at abnormally high prices. It was monetary greed that persuaded them to perpetrate such acts.

We find a similar case, including exploitation, in ancient Israel and recorded in the book of Amos: “When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?”—skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales, buying the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the sweepings with the wheat” (Amos 8:5-6). As it reveals, the human inborn nature without faith in God, was evil. Hence Peter compels us: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do” (1 Peter 1:15).

” Be holy” means to live by following God’s will. So we must change our inborn nature, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” (1 Peter 1:18-19).

God resurrected Jesus form the dead, and gave us hope for eternal life through our faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith and hope depends on God, whose words are eternal, and will not alter. Peter says, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever” (1 Peter 1: 24-25).

2. Consoling News for Suffering People

The verses from Peter above are a reflection of Isaiah 40:6-8), “Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” And the background to Isaiah 40 is the historical event of the Babylonian captivity. In 587 B.C. Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians, and the Jewish leaders were brought to the conquered country as war prisoners. During the captivation period prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah received God’s calling and relayed His messages to the people. The messages from God contained a repetitive theme which implied that they were being punished because of their sins. But if they repented God would forgive them and bring them back to their homeland, Jerusalem.

Prophesies and predictions were plentiful and fifty years passed by. Nonetheless the promise was not fulfilled. Jerusalem was in ruins and the majority of the first captured generation were dead. Therefore their descendants thought it was impossible to ever come back to their Jewish homeland, and so they commenced to adapt themselves to the Babylonian way of living. At that very moment, new words from God came to Isaiah, predicting that the time was close for the people to return to Jerusalem.

However the prophesy was more perplexing rather then enlightening because they were already adapting to a new life in Babylon. Their hope of going back to homeland had already disappeared. Isaiah recognized their feeling: “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass” (Isaiah 40:6-7).

God destroyed Jerusalem and brought the Israelites to Babylon. During 50 years under captivation the people felt abandoned by God. It was natural that desperate people were doubtful of God words. But Gold says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

After all, the prophecy was ultimately realized. Though the punishment of God was harsh, that painful experience changed the Israelites. After the emancipation from Babylonian power they began to contemplate why God put such a burden on them, presumably, His chosen people.

Those reflections were drawn from the repeated readings of the holy books, inherited from their ancestors. And, as its consequence, they compiled and wrote down the Torah. That experience and action brought the Jewish people to again believe and have faith in God’s word. After some time, Assyria and Babylon were destroyed. Greece, and the Roman empire, the world’s dominating powers were defeated and quietly dissapeared. But the country of the Israelites, who rediscovered their faith in God, continues to exists even today.

Once Peter wrote to encourage oppressed believers: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

He encouraged early Christians by saying in effect that just as the trials of the Babylonian captivity purified and fortified the Israelites, so too will they benefit from their current harsh circumstances.

3. Life based on God’s word

Do we who live in the modern world today, undergo similar trials like the early christians? To reflect upon the theme, I chose today’s invocation verse from Isaiah 10:12, “When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes.’”

The background to Isaiah chapter 10 is God’s judgement of Assyria.** Assyria obtained control over surrounding counties in the 8th century B.C., including Palestine. Isaiah thought God used Assyrian power as His rod, which would punish unfaithful Israelites. But Assyria became so arrogant that it went beyond that assumed role by considering itself to be the supreme power.

Therefor God decided to destroy Assyria. Isaiah predicted the event, which today’s invocation verse shows. Indeed the incident happened historically. In about 701 B.C. during the siege of Jerusalem, the Assyrian army was severely inflicted with a certain disease. The damage was so grave that they were obliged to return to their home country. Historically, it seems that the incident triggered enfeeblement of its domination and power, then its total demise.

Referring to Isaiah’s prophesy, Yanaihara,*** a Japanese Christian of a non-church movement, wrote a dissertation in 1937, which criticised the Japanese invasion of China at that time. It was published in a magazine, under the title: “Principe of the State.” Yanaihara, wrote in the article: “the principe of a state must be based on righteousness and peace, not on military power. A state which seeks to take control of weaker nation by using armed forces cannot prosper. Even if it seems to work for a certain period of time, it eventually declines in the future.”

Assyria successfully occupied Palestine as “God’s rod,” but once it considered itself to be supreme and dominant, its power declined and they self-destructed. Yanaihara alluded to the Assyrian case to denounce the Japanese government’s policy, which was to occupy China by force. The writing was censured, and the magazine was prohibited from being sold. Yanaihara himself, lost his title and position of professor.

I wonder whether such a brave act was only possible for a special and exceptional man like Yanaihar, having incomparable intelligence, and being highly respected by society. Yanaihara said “through harsh trials, like the Assyrians’ threatening pressure, followed by the Babylonian captivation, the Jewish people regained their faith in God. So too, should the Japanese people. For that goal we Christians must continue to spread the news of God’s righteousness.”

Perhaps we can see that the course of action chosen by Yanaihara was inspired by God. We today are not heroes, but we are sincere believers who could be inspired to attain that high purpose, through our daily lives.

Early christians were obliged to worship the Roman emperors, an act which would be condemned by God as idolatry. So many of them refused that and were arrested or even killed. Many Korean Christians experienced similar trials under the Japanese occupation, regarding the worship of the Japanese Emperor.

How could they endure those painful conditions? Because they wanted to follow in the foot steps of Jesus. Peter wrote to suffering believers, “He (Jesus Christ) himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

The followers of Jesus accepted secular disadvantages and through that act they received the spiritual peace from God. We too might suffer painful trials like the early Christians but we should always remain courageous as Peter says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” 1 Peter 4:12-13).

As long as we live a life by standing on the promises of God’s words, we will find spiritual peace and happiness. I invite you all now to continue in your walk with God, and follow that way of life.
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references
*Rice scandal - http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/?p=797
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43945
** Assyria - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Assyrian_people
*** Yanaihara - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadao_Yanaihara
Nonchurch Movement - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonchurch_Movement
Japanese invasion of China - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_invasion_of_China_1937