“The Gem of a Tanner”

BIBLE READING: Acts 10

                One of the unique aspects we have of Scripture, is that we can see things in hindsight.  That means that since the Bible is the complete will of God for us, in having that we can look back in hindsight and see little gems that add depth to His story.  One of those little gems is found in today’s passage of Acts.  In Acts 10 we are introduced to Cornelius, who by the end of the chapter will become the first non-Jew to obey the Gospel.  The reason why this is such a huge deal is that according to Jewish Law Cornelius would have been considered unclean because he was an uncircumcised Gentile.  However, in hindsight we can see that this story is just as much a part of Peter as it is about Cornelius.  As we get into the text, we see that God sends a dream to Peter to set the stage for his introduction of Cornelius.  In this dream Peter sees a huge white sheet that contains all types of unclean animal.  Then a voice from heaven says, “Arise, Peter; kill and eat…what God has called clean, do not call common”. It is easy for us to see that God is preparing a somewhat reluctant Peter, to understand God has opened His Kingdom to more than just the Jews.  However, what we may not have noticed is that God had been preparing Peter even before his vision.  Take a special notice as to where Peter is staying, at the house of Simon…the tanner.   Just a note, it isn’t unusual for the Bible to mention a person’s trade with their name, but it is unusual for it to be mentioned twice.  Simon was a Jew, but his trade made him an unclean "outsider" in his own community. Tanners worked with the carcasses of dead animals. For Jews, although tanning was not forbidden, it was considered an "unclean" trade according to the Jewish law. Ceremonial and extensive washings would be mandatory before tanners could hear the Torah read in their synagogues -- let alone worship or sacrifice in the Jerusalem temple. Not only that Simon the tanner was an unlikely host for the Apostle Peter, Peter would have had to take extra precautions to remain kosher, or clean, in the Jewish sense. There were risks involved in associating intimately with Simon. Others had probably offered Peter hospitality, but maybe Simon had asked first or with an eagerness Peter couldn't refuse.  Either way, we find yet another gem in hindsight of seeing how God is always working behind the scenes to accomplish His purpose.