READING: 1 Samuel 17, 1 Chronicles 2, Acts 12
Sometimes you just see things in the Scripture that you’ve quickly read over in the past. I’ve read Acts 12 many times, and I’m usually captured by these things:
- The fact that James was killed but Peter was rescued—both in the sovereign plan of God
- The almost comical description of Peter’s wondering what’s going on even while the angel was rescuing him
- The power of a praying church, even though they were surprised by how God answered their prayer
- The dramatic picture of an arrogant king learning the hard way that God alone is king
Today, though, I’ve caught some details I hadn’t really looked at before. First, Peter had to silence the folks in Mary’s house by motioning them with his hand to be quiet. I can just hear their commotion when they realized he was really Peter, but then I can see the apostle simply raising his hand with quiet authority as if to say, “Quiet. I have something to tell you” – and indeed he did. He described his angelic rescue, and he told them to make sure that James and the brothers knew what had happened. Then—and here’s the second detail I hadn’t considered much before—Peter “left and went to another place” (Acts 12:17).
The writer of Acts doesn’t tell us where Peter went, apparently because that detail wasn’t important. It’s likely that Peter left the dangerous area of Jerusalem as long as Herod was alive. Wherever he went, it’s striking to me that he just disappears off the scene. Because I’m arrogant, I would have been very tempted to hang around and make sure others knew how God had worked a miracle in my life. Had such options been available, I would have wanted Baptist Press and a cable network to know. I doubt I would have wanted simply to move on, but that’s what Peter did.
After all, the story was not about him in the first place – and he knew that.
PRAYER: “Lord, thank You for the details in Your Word. Please keep teaching me.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Weekend is for catch-up and review
MONDAY’S READING: 1 Samuel 18-19, 1 Chronicles 3, Psalm 59, Acts 13