Today’s Devotional Theme Peter and Prophecy
Daily Scripture2 Peter 2:19-21
“[W]e have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”
Encouragement
The planet Venus has long been known as the morning star as it leads the sun into a new dawn. It was a welcome sight to the children of Israel, because it meant the blackness of night would soon give way to the first rays of sunlight heralding a new day. However, Venus, the third brightest light in the heavens (after the sun and moon), can’t seem to make up its mind. Sometimes it shows up in the evening instead of the morning, following the sun as the sky darkens into dusk. Anyway, the apostle Peter likens the words of the prophets to a “morning star” that rises – in our heart instead of the sky. The morning star can also refer to Jesus the Messiah, Who would lead Peter and his fellow believers into a safe and light-filled place, away from the looming military might of a Roman Empire gearing up to put down a rebellion of fractious Jews in the late 60s AD.
Apply God’s Word
On the eve of the rebellion that precipitated the siege of Jerusalem and destruction of the second temple by the new Emperor Vespasian’s son Titus, Peter reminds those of Asia Minor and beyond that the words of prophecy were a light shining in the darkness of the Jews’ hearts as they lived in dread of the Roman army amassing around them. Peter wants his audience to hold on to the hope – the promise – that Jesus represents the fulfillment or confirmation of prophecy. The writer also reminds them and us that although the prophets were men (and women) like you and me, the words they spoke came at the behest of the Holy Spirit. They were by no means words concocted in the minds of people. True prophets were conduits of God’s word to man – for our spiritual growth. Take for example the scripture, 2 Timothy 3:16. We looked at this scripture in previous devotions, and for our encouragement to hold fast to the sure hope and promises of God that we read in today’s scripture.
Come into His Presence
Lord God, we rejoice that especially when we’re lost in a dark valley in our lives, Your sure words switch on a floodlight by which we can find our way out and climb up into the warm sunlight of a new day. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
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