Peter had used both terms earlier in his letter already (1 Peter 1:1, 1 Peter 1:17). The terms are borrowed from Genesis 23:4, when Abraham sought to buy a burial plot for his deceased wife Sarah. Though he had lived in Canaan for numerous years already, he did not become “one of the locals” but remained a resident alien (Hebrews 11:8–10). Though neither of the terms is used of Israel’s time in Egypt, each term nevertheless characterizes Israel’s experience. Once Israel was settled in the Promised Land, they were not to get attached to their land (or property) but live in a fashion that showed that God was their inheritance (Leviticus 25:23). More broadly, though they could be “at home” among themselves, they were meant to remain aliens in relation to the nations around them (Deuteronomy 7:1–6). Precisely because they failed to remain sojourners and aliens in relation to the surrounding nations the Lord sent his people to Babylon to literally be “exiles” there (2 Chronicles 36:15–21). Paul tells the saints of Philippi that their “citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20), thus implying that they are sojourners and exiles here—that is, they are not at home. By using these terms in relation to his readers in the Dispersion of Asia Minor, Peter is doing two things: 1) telling them what their identity is in relation to their neighbours and compatriots (in distinction from their identity in relation to God; that was detailed in 1 Peter 1:3 – 2:10); and 2) capturing in Old Testament language what they are experiencing in their community.
11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.