1 Peter 2:4-10

Peter refers back to the *Old Testament. King Solomon built a temple in the city of Jerusalem about 950 years before the birth of Jesus (BC) (1 Kings 6-8). The temple was a special building where the *Jews went to *praise God. But an army from the country of Babylon destroyed the temple in 587 BC (2 Chronicles 36:19). Some *Jews built it again about 70 years later (Ezra 3:6).

When they built the temple, they first had to prepare the ground. They cleared the area. Then they made it flat and level. They built the temple with very big stones. The *cornerstone was the first stone that they put in place. The *cornerstone is the most important stone in a building. It is a very big, square stone, which has very straight sides. The builders put it at one corner of the building. Then they built the walls in a straight line from the *cornerstone. They also built straight up on top of it. The building was then the right shape. The walls were straight. They did not lean or fall down.

In the temple, the priests offered *sacrifices to God. To make a *sacrifice they killed a special animal and burnt it on an *altar. Then they asked God to forgive the people. This was like a picture of what Jesus would do on the cross. People do not need to kill animals as a *sacrifice now. Jesus was the perfect *sacrifice. He forgave all *sins when he died. Now, people can turn to Jesus and tell him that they have *sinned. Then Jesus forgives them.