Ruth

We are all family; related to one another no matter how distant our connection the fact remains that we all occupy a single link in a finite family chain. If we are willing to look logically at this question the answer we arrive at is that all human life can be traced back two unique individuals.  Even though there was a worldwide deluge that wiped out the entire planet, a remnant survived and begins to multiply through Noah and his three sons and their wives.

Historical, genealogical proof exists in bible prophecy proving that Jesus is the foretold Jewish Messiah. Digging for, uncovering these prophecies, fulfilled by Jesus, catalyzes our Christian faith. There’s enough evidence buried in the genealogies alone to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. These texts written by 40 different authors, over a period of thousands of years, stand up to the test of time and prove the son of Mary to be the long awaited Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world.

Woven into this historic tapestry are many women who form essential threads in the genealogy of Jesus. Mary, the most renowned, was a virgin when she became pregnant with Jesus. However, there are many other women who also became essential links in the family chain of the Messiah. Tamar, Rahab and Ruth are three that stand out and are included in genealogies found in the gospels of Matthew 1:1-16,  Luke 3:23-38. Both Mary and Joseph are related to King David, Jesse, Boaz and Judah which fulfilling several requirements pointing to Jesus as Messiah.

A prophecy found in Psalm 132 makes reference to an eternal King that will be coming from the house of David, who will occupy the throne in Jerusalem forever.  What’s interesting to me is that both Mary and Joseph’s genealogies trace Jesus back to the tribe of Judah; more specifically through the house of King David.

In the gospel of Matthew chapter one, we find the descendants of Joseph listed which include Tamar, Rahab and Ruth.  For this discussion we will focus on Ruth.  One question that should come to mind is why did ancient Rabbis include the book of Ruth into Jewish history when it spotlights a gentile woman of Moabite ancestry?  What purpose could the books inclusion fulfill except to showcase the fact that a gentile woman could be redeemed through Jewish law? Many believe that this inspired book illustrates the fact that the entire gentile world has a role to play in God’s plan of salvation.

The book of Ruth recounts a story of redemption. It’s a story about a family where a widow is redeemed by her mother-in-law’s dead-husband’s brother, Boaz.   As Boaz goes through the proper steps to become Ruth’s   goel or kinsman- redeemer, he first asks his older brother if he would like to redeem the family property. In front of several elders sitting at the city gate his brother declines when he realizes his own property might be in jeopardy by having to marry Ruth and produce an heir.  Boaz is now free to accept the role of kinsmen-redeemer and becomes Ruth’s goel. 

“Then the elders and all those at the gate said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’” Text from Ruth 4:11-12, written over 1000 years before Jesus was born.

These Jewish elders prophesied that Ruth, who was not only a gentile woman but also a Moabite, would be responsible for building up the house of Israel. In addition this special someone would come from the village of Bethlehem Ephrathah.  Let’s put some icing on the cake before moving on ; Micah 5:1-4 states “But you, Bethlehem  Ephrathah, though you are small among the tribes of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Written 700 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

 Ruth demonstrated great faith in her dialogue to Naomi recorded in Ruth 1:16-18 “Where you go I will go. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Her desire to commit herself to the God of Naomi demonstrated a step in faith foreseen by an omniscient God. The precious story of Ruth’s redemption helps us to see the entire picture of God’s plan for salvation in a clear light. W e are seen by God as cleansed and faithful, not on our own merits but on the merits of Jesus Christ alone; our goel or kinsman-redeemer.

 

 

 

 

 

Sampson

The period of the judges helps the nation of Israel towards a time of national coalescence. Through a series of thirteen judges, Israel suffers and survives repeated cycles of turning away and returning to fellowship with God. One of the judges, Gideon, admittedly being from the weakest clan in Israel, allowed God to be his strength leading him to victory.  Unlike Gideon, Sampson was born with super human strength. Where Gideon admitted his weakness, Sampson exploited his strength. The text in Judges 14:6 describes Sampson ripping apart a young lion with only his bare hands. Later in chapter 15:15, he kills a thousand Philistines with the jawbone from a donkey. Then in one defining moment of strength, Sampson uproots the city gates carrying them a distance of thirty-eight miles to Hebron. Sampson was swimming in confidence, self-confidence that would lead to his ultimate downfall.

When Sampson was born, the angel of the Lord appeared to Sampson’s mother and told her that no razor should ever touch his head. The boy was to be a Nazarite set apart for God. In the book of Judges 13:1-25,  the angel of the Lord prophesied that Sampson would grow up to begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines.

Sampson made several mistakes in his life; his biggest was allowing his unbridled pride and self confidence to take the place of God. As Sampson experienced repeated victories over his enemies, he began to operate more and more in his own flesh. The bible states that pride always comes before the fall; if a man will not humble himself, then God will do it for him. In the case of Sampson, after Delilah arranges to have his head shaved, his strength leaves him.

At the mercy of his enemies, Sampson’s eyes are gouged out and he is set to work grinding grain in prison. Weak, humiliated and shackled he now has plenty of time to think about God. Humiliation in life has a tendency of getting our attention off ourselves and onto our Creator. It refocuses our own life, illuminating our desperate need for Divine Guidance. 

We have all been prideful before when things are on track and going well. That’s when we usually begin to avoid fellowship, church, bible reading and prayer time contently pushing them away. Confidently sailing through life, with no hands on the tiller, we cast our fate to erratic winds. Each day we grow more and more self confident until our fellowship with God has all but evaporated into thin air. Eventually, we become shackled to the fleshly choices we make, fettered to the storm we have created.

There, in the bottom of our pit, while wading through the muck and mire of our choices, we see ourselves for what we really are and cry out for Divine intervention. At that very instant, as we cry out to our Creator, our deliverance begins. God hears our cries and sends us help through various people He places in our lives.  Though God will catch us, we still have to reap what we have sown during this time of disobedience.

 Here are Sampson’s last words from the book of Judges 16:28-31 “Then Sampson prayed to the Lord, ‘O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes.’”   As the story goes the Philistines were all crowded into their temple to be entertained by Sampson. He asks the servants who were guiding him to place his hands on the pillars that supported the entire temple of Dagon.  His last request was granted by God allowing his strength to return and with one last, mighty push, the temple collapses killing about three thousand people.

There is a season of life between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one, where some more than others, reject good teaching and wisdom in favor of youthful independence. This rebellion is nothing new and not unique to this present generation. Jesus talked about it two thousand years ago recorded in the gospel of Luke 15:11-32 in the story of the prodigal son. As the story goes the younger son spent all of his inheritance on wild living. When his money ran out, his so-called friends left him to the ravages of a sever famine. After realizing that the pigs he was hired to feed were eating better than himself, he humbly returned home.

Our heavenly Father is like the father in the story where He waits for us to come back to Him and return home. Standing with open arms, He waits to put His signet ring on our finger and His best robe over our shoulders. Humility is the first step we must take in turning back towards God.

 

 

 

Faith, hope, love

While another year has sped by us, the earth has made another revolution around our star. Our world will revolve around its axis bringing a new day every twenty-four hours. Our national economy continues to improve as new industries grow, expand and prosper. As we leave winter, our days will gradually grow longer preparing for the advent of spring. Hibernating animals will slowly begin to awake, hungry they will begin foraging for food. Many people, on the other hand, will decide to put restrictions on their daily intake by limiting the amount of food they consume.

Like a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis, the New Year brings limitless possibilities and opportunities. To life there is a cycle, an endless tide of situational ups and downs, where we are blessed with many opportunities and challenges. It’s like a sine wave that can be both freighting as well as exuberating all at the same time. But careful planning for the future can limit risk and pay out dividends to all faithful investors who are not living just for today. The prudent pilgrim will carefully take one day at a time while carefully observing and planning each step he is about to take.

What we choose to build our lives on, our foundation, is the most important part of our building. Inside of every human heart there is a missing part, a God shaped hole that only can be filled by an omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent Creator; and it’s during this time of the year that many are forced to look inside at this emptiness, desperately searching for the missing piece. Many turn to illicit drugs and alcohol to avoid the reality of their situation. Substances numb them temporarily but never repair completely the hole that only God can fill. Many will disagree with me on this issue but until the One, true and living God becomes part of someone’s life, true happiness, satisfaction and contentment will never be a reality.

For all of you that are hurting, struggling with life, relationships and day to day living know that you can find comfort in Jesus. In Matthew 11:28 He calls and invites each one of us “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and My burden is light.” The bible says to endure the storms of this present world we must build our lives with God as our foundation. He doesn’t promise us smooth sailing here on earth but He will help carry our burdens.

Our hope is not of this world but rather the one that is yet to come. It’s not about gaining and storing material possessions here on earth, where moths and rust will destroy them; it’s about an eternal life that God promises us. The very first step on this wonderful journey is to first lay our foundation, which is putting our faith in Jesus Christ. Once we have realized our short comings and our need of an all loving God, then we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Master, to fill the missing part in our heart, then and only then can we begin building on our foundation.

Our hope of an eternal future coupled with our faith in a living God will transform us into new creatures. As the old fleshly man dies, a new man is born and our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit. This new transformed vessel is now intertwined with Jesus Christ and capable of carrying us through very dark, turbulent waters of life to safe harbor.

Many of you are asking yourself “But what is life all about? Why was I created? And what do I do now?” Once restored by our Creator we are ready to let our light shine in a dark world. A true relationship with God will produce fruit in our lives. We don’t have to plan or cleverly scheme how to win souls it’s more a matter of surrender, letting go of the old man and letting God’s Spirit control us.

So as this New Year gets off the ground, and we look for resolutions to make let us choose to let our lights shine on others around us. As we build beautiful dwellings on our foundations we add flavor to life, spicing up the bland existence of others around us. Spreading God’s love is the reason we are here. Because He first loved us we can now love others causing them to see Jesus inside of us. “And now abide faith, hope, love these three; but the greatest of these is love” 1 Corinthians 3:13