The peaceable priestly kingdom (Exodus 19:2–8a; Romans 5:1–8; Matthew 9:35–10:23)
If it's in the first verse of Romans 5, it must be important to Paul.
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Our reading from Exodus identifies Israel as a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. (First Peter 2:9 takes this up as an identification for the church.) Anciently and today, kingdoms come into conflict, and nations war.
