Romance and Noble Character.

The book of Ruth—a powerful story of the Messiah who is our Kinsman-Redeemer—can also be read as the simple story of the romance between Ruth and Boaz.  The love between the two provides a good example of some of the keys to a good relationship. 

To begin, Ruth was LOYAL to her mother-in-law Naomi.  After her husband died, she followed Naomi back to Israel, a land she had never seen:

“Where you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live.  Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried” Ruth 1:16-17.

Ruth also had INTEGRITY.  Boaz noticed: “Everything you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband’s death has been fully reported to me…. All the people in my town know that you are a woman of NOBLE CHARACTER” Ruth 2:11; 3:11.

And Boaz also had INTEGRITY: “He was a prominent man of NOBLE CHARACTER” 2:1.  Naomi knew Boaz to be a MAN OF ACTION.  “My daughter, … HE WON’T REST UNLESS HE RESOLVES THIS TODAY” 3:18.

Ruth and Boaz were people of integrity, loyalty, hard-work, and kindness. Traits such as these support good marriages and strong families. 

Watch and pray for a spouse of NOBLE CHARACTER.

And work and pray to BE a person of NOBLE CHARACTER.

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Kinsman-Redeemer.

You sometimes hear it said that Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer.  But what is that?

The phrase comes from the book of Ruth.  Naomi and her husband and sons left Israel during a famine and moved to Moab.  In Moab Naomi lost her husband and both sons.  She eventually returned to Israel accompanied only by her loyal daughter-in-law, Ruth.  Old and bitter, Naomi considers her life all but over.  But Ruth is young and Naomi encourages her to present herself to Boaz, a “prominent man of noble character” from her husband’s family.  At this point, Ruth has spent many weeks around Boaz during the barley and wheat harvests.  Perhaps Boaz will “redeem” Ruth. 

Boaz understands what is being asked of him, but says there is a redeemer who is closer in the family line than Boaz.  In order for Boaz to redeem Ruth, the other man must first decline the opportunity.  So Boaz gathers ten elders as witnesses and presents the situation. 

It’s about LAND. 

The land of Israel was divided among the tribes.  Tribal lands were then divided among clans, then families, and so on.  The land that once belonged to Naomi’s deceased husband must stay in the family.  But in order to stay in the family, the land must be REDEEMED by a close relative, a kinsman, who will pay the widow Naomi for the land.  But these lands also come with Ruth—the redeemer must marry Ruth and provide her with sons who will officially be considered the sons of Ruth’s deceased husband.  The closer family member declines, and Boaz then agrees to spend his money to purchase or “redeem” both the lands and Ruth.  Boaz becomes Ruth’s KINSMAN-REDEEMER, her family member who buys her back and keeps her in the family. (Boaz also becomes the great-grandfather of King David.)

And so it is with Jesus.  He is our kinsman-Redeemer, our family member who buys us back and restores our position in the family.  (Isn’t it amazing to know you are part of Jesus’s family—that He gives you a seat at His table?)

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The Bible is Filled With Unsavory Characters–Just Like Life.

Serving as a juror for a murder trial proved to me the soft or “delicate” nature of some members of our first-world culture.  Then at work I discussed one aspect of last week’s trial and a female engineer covered her ears and hurried away—it was too much for her.

The Bible does NOT avoid hard content.  The realities of life on earth have always included wars, massacres, murders, rapes, genocide, and violent crimes.  Biblical writers address it, gazing at humanity’s evils with an unflinching eye.  Consider Judges 19-21: 

A man on a journey is taken in for the night by a host, when “all of a sudden, perverted men of the city surrounded the house and beat on the door. They said to the old man, bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him!” Judges 19:22.

At first, this sounds like Sodom & Gomorrah—but this is a DIFFERENT time when perverted men beat on a door demanding to rape the guests. 

The traveler gave the men his concubine and they raped her until she died.  Then the husband took her home, sliced her remains into a dozen pieces, and mailed her twelve parts to cities all over Israel.  It was a shock, the nation raised an uproar (the desecration of the corpse went viral), and soon Israel rallied its troops and destroyed the city of perverted rapists.

Is that story hard to take? Perhaps. But you have to at least give the Bible credit for NOT being some Pollyanna, pie-in-the-sky fantasy. 

The message is NOT: FOLLOW GOD AND LIFE WILL BE A BOWL OF PEACHES AND CREAM.

The message is NOT: FOLLOW GOD AND ALL YOUR PROBLEMS WILL BE OVER.

God does not take us out of this sometimes cruel world. Instead, he leaves us in it, giving us the message, the love, and the POWER to reach people struggling against the chains of evil and addiction.

God, give us courage, love, and hope to share with others. Use us to bring great light to a world of great darkness.

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The Monarchy.

The book of Judges might be re-named “the Book of Committees.” Protestant churches love committees, right? Ours even has a Committee on Committees, a committee whose members nominate people to serve on other committees. But without an executive–without a chief at the top–committees can devolve into a league of partisan teams battling over authority (“vision”) and money (“budgets”). Israel during the time of the judges seems to have suffered from a lack of clear, decisive leadership.

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25.

These words are repeated over and over in the book of Judges, a refrain lamenting the nation’s lack of leadership. Is the Bible monarchist? Having seen the coronation of King Charles over the weekend, I must ask: should America have a king?

The famous words above are used as bookends around a terrible story:  A woman is brutally gang-raped by the men of Gibeah and she dies—then her husband cuts up her body and mails it all over Israel.  His publicity stunt works, the matter goes “viral,” and the nation rallies to prosecute the crime.  Unfortunately, the locals are in no mood to surrender and civil war breaks out killing 65,000 men.  The conclusion?

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes” Judges 21:25.

The point appears to be that a king might have prevented this horrible evil.  Or the evil could have been prosecuted without the death of 65,000 men, most of whom had no part in the crime. 

So does America need a king? Was the Revolutionary War a big mistake? 

I don’t think so.  The American system DOES employ kings, in a manner of speaking: we call them “executives”—mayors, governors, and the president.  Though these executives are elected, their term in office is long enough that they can provide some real leadership against crime.  Presidents appoint an Attorney General to lead the Department of Justice.  Governors and mayors have similar opportunities to fight crime.  In that sense, our system does have a king.  In other words, in America’s highly complex system of government, the voters elect executives who ensure that every man does not simply do “that which is right in his own eyes.”

God, thank you for a system that allows us enough freedom to have a say in the way we are governed, while also protecting us from many types of crime. Thank you for the Bible’s wisdom about the practical problems of governance.

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Talk About Being Scalped!

Have you ever had a bad haircut? One so bad, you wanted to wear a hat?  In first grade, everyone laughed when someone got a haircut.  It could be the tiniest, most imperceptible trim, but the class would point and laugh, chanting in their sing-song way: “Brian got a hair-cut! Brian got a hair-cut!” That continued till we were teenagers.

Yet, a truly bad haircut remains embarrassing, I don’t care how old you are.  But I wonder what it was like for Samson.  He had never had a haircut.  His hair had always been longer and heavier than everyone else’s. He kept it braided and bound behind him, but it was always there like another limb. (In fact, researchers say long hair actually has a use, providing a sixth sense about danger—every long hair is an antenna picking up vibrations and transmitting them to the nerves near the roots.  American Indians joining the US military have wept when losing a full head of hair, aware they had lost the “radar” they had relied on all their lives like an extra set of ears.) 

Samson lost even more.  He lost his “antenna” for danger, his super-human strength, and his vision (because the Philistines took a grapefruit spoon to his eye balls). He had led Israel for twenty years. Now he was a slave, turning a miller’s wheel like a mule.

“But his hair began to grow back after it had been shaved” Judges 16:22.

When you read that line in context, the whole story changes.  There’s hope!  God is not finished with Samson! 

No matter what you have done, no matter how you fail—your hair will grow back.  God’s grace will return.  Be faithful, follow God, and He will bless you again! Don’t give up!

God, thank you for your grace! Restore us and use us like Samson to do more than we have ever done before!

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Samson!

When I was a little boy I had a book about Samson. It had great pictures and told the stories—he captured 300 foxes, tied their tails together in pairs with a torch between them, and set them loose to burn the Philistines’ grain. He killed a thousand men with a donkey’s jawbone, and more.

I loved those stories. I thought Samson was a great hero. And what an amazing story of heroes we have in the Bible: Adam, the first man; Noah, the great ark builder; Moses the law giver; Joshua the warrior; David the giant-slayer and king. But Samson—wow. You have to admit—the Bible has an amazing cast of characters!

When I got older, I learned Samson was not such a perfect hero. He was selfish and had a weakness for beautiful women. He had no self-denial or self-discipline. And for a while he protected the secret of his God-given power (he had never broken his Nazirite vow). But when Delilah kept begging and whining, he gave in. Three times he made up lies—and she DID exactly the thing he told her would weaken him. Then the fourth time, he told her the true secret and, predictably, she cut off his hair. Suddenly he found himself captured and his eyes gouged out. Now he was humiliated, and all was lost. He broke God’s rule, and God’s power left him. Worse than that, it was his own fault.

“The Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes. They brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles and he was forced to grind grain in the prison [he was harnessed like a donkey, pulling a grinding wheel around in a circle]. But his hair began to grow back.” Judges 16:21-22.

HIS HAIR BEGAN TO GROW BACK.

That is grace. That sentence is one of my favorite sentences about God’s grace: His hair began to grow back. More importantly, God’s strength returned to Samson. God used him to destroy the pagan temple and “the dead he killed in his death were more than those he killed in his life” v.30.

When you fail God, repent, confess, and focus on God’s grace. Your hair will grow back. God’s blessings will return. God’s grace is still with you. He still loves you, He still has a plan for you. He will still use you. He will bless you again. All may seem lost—but all is not lost when you love Jesus. God’s grace remains—and God’s power will return. He is not finished with you. Embrace Him and embrace His amazing grace, no matter what you may have done. God is for you and God will bless you again!

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He’s a ‘Creative.’

It has become fashionable to describe people as “creatives,” converting the adjective to a noun.  I’ve heard the trendy, slangy noun used to describe musicians, artists, marketers, even entrepreneurs.

The Bible records the biography of an interesting “Creative.”  He showed up at a party ready to stump the crowd with a riddle he had written.  (How many people you know have ever written a riddle?)  Even his revenge was creative; it was so complicated and original, it’s a symphony of vengeance.  This was not a rash, hurried man: he captured 300 foxes, tied them together in pairs by their tails, mounted a torch between each, and released 150 pairs of foxes all over the Philistine lands, destroying wheat, vineyards, and olive groves.

Next he killed 1,000 men swinging a donkey’s jawbone.  He gave God credit for that amazing victory. Then he did another imaginative thing: he took revenge on the city of Gaza not by killing, but by pulling up the city’s gates and posts and carrying them to the top of a mountain, leaving the walled city exposed and unprotected.

Samson was smart, imaginative, and creative. But he had a weakness for women–particularly Philistine women. When his fiancée cried for seven days, he told her the solution to his riddle—which she immediately shared with her Philistine people (who later killed her).  Twenty years later Delilah wore him down and he told her the secret of his great strength—which she immediately shared with the Philistines, who then captured and blinded Samson.

But God was in control.  When Samson chose a non-believing Philistine fiancée, “his mother and father did not know that this was from the Lord, who was seeking an occasion against the Philistines” Judges 14:4. God continued to use the flawed “Creative,” allowing Samson to judge Israel for 20 years before his capture and dramatic death—in which he killed more Philistines than he had in life. 

God was with Samson: He was creative, strong, and flawed.  But God’s plan was fulfilled nevertheless.

God, please use us greatly in spite of our weaknesses!

P.S.–I like the picture above because it is the only one I could find–out of hundreds on the web–that shows Samson as something less than a bodybuilder. There is no Biblical support for the idea that Samson was a huge, muscle-bound man. After all, his enemies were always asking about the secret of his great strength. If he were huge, there would be no secret. I like to imagine a film about Samson with someone like David Schwimmer or Ethan Hawke playing the strongman. I got this picture from the website of the Triangle Community Church in North Carolina. https://tcc.org/

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Ask God for Wisdom.

The best answers to parenting questions come from God. You have to realize your deep need for wisdom, and you have to ASK. Jesus says, “You have not because you ask not.” So ASK. Always ask God for answers.

When the Angel of the Lord (not a typical angel, but likely a vision of the pre-incarnate Christ) tells Samson’s mother that she will have a son who will deliver Israel, she reports it to her husband, Manoah. Manoah immediately prays:

“Please Lord, let the man of God you sent come again to us and teach us what we should do for the boy who will be born.” Judges 13:8.

So that very day, God sent the angel a SECOND time. Then Manoah ran to the angel and asked him:

“When your words come true, what will the boy’s responsibilities and mission be?” Judges 13:12.

What EXCELLENT questions. We should all ask these questions. As young people, you should ask God these questions about yourself—and about your future children. Ask Him to help you understand:

(1) What should you do to prepare yourself?, and

(2) What will your responsibilities and mission be?

As parents, we need to ask these questions about our kids. What would God have us do, not in general, but specifically, for these SPECIFIC children. Every child is different, with different talents, gifts, and callings—and weaknesses. Parents may need to enroll one child in music lessons and another on a sports team. And God can give you those answers. He knows the best way to raise each child—and no two children, not even siblings—have the same needs.

Pray the prayer of Manoah: Dear God show me what to do for myself and for my children. And please help me understand my responsibilities and mission, and that of my children. Give us the wisdom of Manoah, a father humble enough to beg God for insight.

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Oh Soul, Are You Weary and Troubled?

All of us know weariness.  All of us have been tired, exhausted, depressed, and worn down by grief and struggles.  But does God become weary? Do our troubles affect him, or is he impervious?

Yes, our problems affect God. When the children of Israel cried out to God about their slavery in Egypt, He said their cry reached him.  And when the nation was oppressed by the Canaanites, they again cried out to God.

“So they got rid of the foreign gods among them and worshipped the Lord, and HE BECAME WEARY OF ISRAEL’S MISERY” Judges 10:16.

If you are miserable today, be encouraged—God will become weary of your misery.  He DOES care and He will deliver you.

Talk to the God who loves you.  Praise God and thank Him for His compassion.  Thank Him that He SEES your misery.   He KNOWS your suffering and your struggles.  And He will BECOME WEARY OF YOUR MISERY. He will deliver you.

God, we praise you for your infinite love and compassion.  Thank you that you are touched by our struggles and you do not want to watch us suffer.  Thank you for the deliverance that IS COMING.  And until it does, help us to walk by faith, knowing that we are growing in you through everything that we suffer.  Make us more like you every day.

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And God Became Weary. Judges 10:16.

How can God be weary? Does God become tired or worn out? Are not His power and patience infinite?

The author of Judges says that God became weary. I wonder why.

The story was, Israel had rebelled again.

“Then the Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. They worshipped the Baals…. They abandoned Yahweh and did not worship Him. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to the Philistines and the Ammonites. They shattered and crushed the Israelites that year, and for 18 years they did the same.” Judges 10:6.

Finally, God’s people repented. Finally, they returned to Him and cried out for forgiveness and restoration: “We have sinned. Deal with us as You see fit; only deliver us today! So they got rid of the idols and worshiped the Lord, and HE BECAME WEARY OF ISRAEL’S MISERY.” Judges 10:16.

Are you suffering today? Are you miserable? Repent and return to God. Cry out to Him alone for deliverance, because He is “WEARY OF YOUR MISERY.” Like any loving parent, He does not want to see you suffer. He grows weary of your misery—just like you do! Give Him your heart, your worries, your fears, your anxieties, your misery. He will deliver you.

Pray. Dear God, thank you for your infinite love for me. Show me when I do wrong. I surrender to you anything in my life that may be an idol. Help me to love you faithfully and to obey you fully. Thank you that you grow weary of my misery. Deliver me from misery today, Lord. Give me the peace and the hope that can come only from you. You are Yahweh Shalom, the God of Peace.

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