Reminder : 137-147 = Judges

Snapshots: Day 137

The Snapshot: “ the people wept aloud, and they called that place Bokim.” (Jud 2:4,5) An odd verse and yet one that stands out. Israel have taken the Land although not fully and for this they are rebuked. We don't like to talk about the Lord rebuking today, but that is what His word does (2 Tim 3:16). If we have hearts open to Him, sometimes He uses His word – in love – to rebuke us, to reprimand, to scold us, as a challenge to put things right. Bokim means ‘weepers', a reminder for the future that here they had been rebuked and here they wept in contrition before the Lord. When we are reprimanded, we can either sulk or weep. Our response reveals the sort of person we are. May we learn to be those who respond to the correction of God's love with open hearts.

Further Consideration: Judges is one of those books that, in some ways, I confess I would rather miss. It seems it is a book about failure and our starter verse is about just that. The Lord has spoken (apparently through an angel visitor) and reminded them of the their calling out of Egypt to go to take the Promised Land (Jud 2:1). But then He confronted them with the fact that although they were in the land they had not managed to clear out all the previous occupants and their false worship (v.2,3) as they had been told to do.

In the previous study in Joshua, we observed that correction is part of the package of us with the Lord. The truth is that the Lord has saved us out of the dominion of darkness (see Col 1:13), a life of sin (see Eph 2:1-3) and brought us into the kingdom of the Son where we learn all over again how to live, for now it is a life conforming to the will and design of God, a life that is very different where we put off the old life (see Col 3:5-9) and put on a new life (see Col 3:10-17).

Thus, if we are aware of these things our lives will be a constant combination of praise and thanksgiving and worship as we realize the wonder of what He has done for us, as well as acknowledge a sense of weakness, inadequacy and failure as we look back on the past. Humility is always a balance of these two sets of things.

Snapshots: Day 138

The Snapshot: “ another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” (Jud 2:10) Be careful how you read this. Oh, this people, the next generation, ‘knew' because the previous faithful generation would have told them according to the Law, but they had not known Him in that they had not experienced Him in the same way as their parents. If only you could inherit memories! But you can't and so every generation has to experience the Lord in their own way and cannot rest on the experiences of their parents. That's the biggest thing that divides generations – experience. Similarly, I can't take on board the life and experience of any great man or woman of God- I have to live out today with God – myself! I know Him. Lord let me know you more.

Further Consideration: I sometimes think the most important day of any of our lives is today. I may have had great experiences in the past and, to pick up on what we were saying in the previous study, I may have great failures in the past, but none of that counts for today. Today is a new day with the Lord, today I have got to cast off any remnants of the old life, refuse to let them blight my present life, refuse to be pulled down by them. The successes and the joys of the past certainly help and remind me of the Lord's goodness that is always there for us, but today I have to apprehend that goodness, take hold of it, experience it and let it impact me – now!

Now there is a hard side to all this: we cannot apply this to those around us, our loved ones. They have to take hold of today for themselves, put off the past failures, claim the resources for today and as much as we wish we were able to do it for them, they have to do it for themselves, so don't feel guilty on their behalf. The best we can do is love and testify but their responses are down to them.

Snapshots: Day 139

The Snapshot: “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them.” (Jud 2:16) In many ways Judges is depressing, for Israel reveal the folly, stupidity and sinfulness of mankind who are so prone to turning away from the Lord and forgetting all His blessings. It happened again and again throughout the period of the judges. And it shows again and again the pathway to salvation – calling on the Lord. When Israel got desperate, they cried to the Lord and the wonderful thing was He never turned around and snapped, “Oh, go away you stupid people!” He always responded positively and raised up a new deliverer, a new judge, to save them. As gloomy as it is, it is a book that reveals the wonder of the Lord's incredible and wonderful persevering love, grace and mercy. Thank and worship Him for it.

Further Consideration: I have written in a previous study here that I find the book of Judges somewhat depressing, this book that reveals a cycle of turning away from the Lord, getting into a mess being oppressed by their ungodly neighbours, crying out to the Lord and Him then raising up a saviour-Judge for them, a cycle that is repeated again and again and again!

And yet I have to add, that having recently done a study on the history of Israel through the Old Testament, I have seen more clearly than ever before, that this turning away from the Lord is not restricted to Judges, for it appears right the way throughout the entire Old Testament period history. I find myself writing again and again in such studies that one of the reasons that the Lord brought Israel into being must surely be to reveal the sinfulness of mankind and our need for a Saviour.

Yes, it also reveals the wonderful grace and mercy of God and that is revealed here in our starter verse today: “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them.” If He hadn't have done that the we would be left wondering if their period of survival would have been much shorter than it was after what became the divided kingdom. The northern kingdom lasted a little over two hundred years and the southern kingdom a little over three hundred years before being taken into exile, Even then, amazingly, the Lord leaned on a pagan king, Cyrus, to get him to send His people back to the land after forty years.

Snapshots: Day 140

The Snapshot: “Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them.” (Jud 2:16) [yes, same verse] How easy it is to miss key points. When Israel cried to the Lord, He didn't wave a magic wand over the situation to make it right, He raised up a man (or woman in one case) who He poured His Spirit on so they would rise up and act into the situation to deal with their invading enemies, pull the nation together again and set them on a new course with Him. But God used people! Today, we cry, “Lord, change this world!” and I believe He replies as He had done with Moses, “I have come down to rescue them … So now, go. I am sending you.” (Ex 3:8,10) You and I (with the Holy Spirit) are God's ‘executive arm' to change this world. Are we up to it? Do we see it? The world is waiting. Check out Rom 8:19

Further Consideration: There are two thoughts that flow on from these starter ones above. The first is the need to recognise the plight of the world and refuse to accept it as the way things have to be. So often we look at what is going on around us and we dress it up to imply that it is not as bad as the ‘Jeremiahs' of the church would make out. I recently read the State of the Union Address of a President of the USA and thought what a clever speechwriter he had.

Through a variety of clever gimmicks of oratory he did an amazing job of glossing over the low points of modern Western society – and we are grateful because we don't want to be reminded of these things because they either depress us or they make us feel guilty that we are tolerating mass murders, the staggering numbers that are murdered every year, the number of children in the womb being terminated (murdered), the numbers of family breakups, the phenomenal number of drugs taken, the spirally numbers of those suffering from mental disorders. No, these things we try to ignore.

The second thing is the Lord's desire to change all this. It wasn't how He designed the world to be, it's not what He wants – except in so far as these things are the fruit of self-centred godlessness, signs to us of the folly of this way of living.

Snapshots: Day 141

The Snapshot: “ The Spirit of the Lord came on him.” (Jud 3:10) The words, ‘came upon' occur a number of times in Judges (also 6:34, 11:29, 14:6,19, 15:14) describing the partnership between God and man, and when He did come, the person was changed. On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers, it was to fulfil Jesus' words about them being baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5) and “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 2:5) – immerse or ‘baptize' a cup and it will be filled. These Old Testament judges had the Spirit ‘come upon' them for a task, how much more wonderful, therefore, that we have been given the Spirit to indwell us (1 Cor 3:16, 6:19) to empower us for life, every one of us. Rejoice in His presence in you. Be open to His speaking from within. Hallelujah!

Further Consideration: In another context recently I have been considering the vital elements that should be seen as parts of a functionally biblically-based, vibrant New Testament church and have, in that process, marvelled at how so many parts of the church play down the role of the Holy Spirit.

The Expression of this? They do that by not teaching about Him, rarely waiting upon Him or calling for Him to come afresh, and by not giving Him space to come and move and bring change in the life of the Church, whether that be in worship or in personal ministry.

The Result of this? A church that mostly relies on human wisdom and not revelation (I have witnessed this in days gone by in leadership meetings or deacons meetings that go on for over three hours, desperately struggling to come up with solutions to problems, rarely pausing to pray and rarely getting words of revelation – words of knowledge or wisdom – that break open otherwise insoluble difficulties, and paving the way for the Lord to move the church on and become a beacon to the watching world.

More than anything else, it is the power and revelation of the Holy Spirit, I believe, that should differentiate us from our unbelieving neighbours. Yes, His presence in us will be seen as love and goodness, but it will also be our testimonies of His moving in power and showing us the way ahead that will make us stand out.

Snapshots: Day 142

The Snapshot: “Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.” (Jud 4:4) I wonder what Lappidoth (what a name! it means torch or light) felt about that, having a wife who is both a prophet, a judge and leader of the nation? Awesome! In a day when women were ‘just' mothers and wives, she is awesome. When God anoints a woman with such power and authority, never get stuck in out-of-date stereotypes, stand back and give her space, she's got God with her. This isn't about feminism versus tradition (deliver us from women or men who purport to be leaders but don't have either God's calling or anointing!) this is about people, male or female that God chooses, God calls, God anoints and God sends. When you see that, get out the way, God is on the move!!!!

Further Consideration: So often in church we focus on titles and role names as if they were the all-important thing, but they are not. Sometimes people take titles to themselves, like ‘Christian' for example. When I was a teenager, without giving it much thought I would have said I was a Christian and argued with my communist friend from that perspective. The only problem was that he knew what he was talking about, but I didn't. But it wasn't merely a matter of knowledge, was it, it was the experience of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when I was born again when I truly met Christ.

Sometimes I look around and observe those in a church's ‘leadership team' and am saddened because there is not a leader there. A leader in the church is someone God has called and anointed for the task and they go ahead, and people follow them willingly because they carry the presence of the Lord in that way. These are spiritual leaders.

Back in Study no.135 I used the New Testament words for leader – elder, pastor, overseer, but you aren't one because you have the name, you are one because you have the wisdom and maturity of age, you look after, care for, feed, heal up and lead the sheep, you guard and protect them and are there for them. You can have the title because you wanted it but that doesn't make you it, only the calling and anointing of God does that. And that doesn't matter if you are male or female.

Snapshots: Day 143

The Snapshot: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” (Judg 6:12) I love this! Unashamedly this is one of my most favourite verses in the Old Testament! Here is lowly Gideon, hiding away from the Midianite invaders, threshing his wheat, not on a rocky outcrop as he should have been doing, but in a winepress, hidden out of the way. And the angel of the Lord turns up and greets him: “Hi dude, mighty warrior,” At this point, if this was a film, we'd all be falling around the aisles laughing. Gideon is not amused. He objects to the theology, but this is God who sees potential, God who knows what He can do with us. Gideon, with God you're going to do the stuff, you're the next judge-deliverer! Next time someone gives you a mind-blowing prophetic word, remember that God knows what He's about, He knows you!

Further Consideration: Gideon had a problem with being addressed in this manner because he looked at the circumstances, mis-interpreted them and did not understand either the Lord or himself. And that is exactly where so many of us are.

Let's start with the circumstances. They were being oppressed by the enemy, the Midianites, and for that reason he felt the Lord could not have been with them. Moreover, he concluded that this situation was ongoing and so he didn't try to do anything to change it.

But then there is the Lord. He didn't realise that the Lord had not given up on them, He had just stood back to allow them to be disciplined by the enemy, but that wasn't what He wanted to continue. It would only continue until Israel came to their senses – again – and called on Him – again – so that He could then step in and raise up a deliverer – again! Oh yes, the Lord was there, and the Lord was listening and watching and indeed stage two of the cycle had already occurred: “Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.” (Judg 6:6) so what is about to happen is stage 3 – the Lord raising up a deliverer, but Gideon doesn't realise that yet.

So then we come to Gideon, addressed as a “mighty man of valour” (NKJV & ESV) or “mighty warrior” (NIV) or “mighty hero” (NLT). Gideon doesn't exactly think this is a joke, but not far off from it. He doesn't realise his own potential, especially his potential with God leading, empowering and directing – just like so many of us don't!

Snapshots: Day 144

The Snapshot: “And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord.” (Jud 11:30) Space forbids recording this man's vow, but it is crass stupidity. Don't call it anything else. What had he in mind when he talked about sacrificing, “whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me”? A stray goat??? But it gets worse. When his daughter comes out he agrees to sacrifice her to the religious superstitious rubbish he has in his mind. I get angry when I read this. Today, you and I know Jesus died for all our sins and if I have to ‘sin' by breaking a most stupid oath that will harm others, I will trust the Lord to judge me, discipline me or take my sin to the Cross. This man should have known about sacrifices for sin and relied on them for his stupidity. This is the sinfulness of mankind in the form of ‘religion'. Let's not have any of it!

Further Consideration: There is so much about this man's sin. First, as above, there is the shear thoughtlessness of it. Second, there the awfulness of a charismatic (with the Spirit on him v.29) who is anointed for the task of delivering Israel but who doesn't realise it so that, third, there is the bargaining-with-God aspect (v.30) which is always a mistake: “If you…” Doesn't he realise that this is exactly why the Spirit has come on him, to beat the Ammonites? So fourth, there is nothing so terrible as someone who has experienced the power of the Lord but doesn't realise the Lord's love! Gifting and grace must go together.

But then it's the nature of the bargain – which he doesn't need – as we said, the shear thoughtlessness of it. Doesn't he realise it is a human being who is likely to come out of the door. Whatever is this charismatic pagan doing talking about a person to express his thankfulness? Everything about this makes this the most idiotic incident in the Bible.

But then it starts raising questions in the faint-hearted: couldn't God have spoken with him more clearly so that he didn't get into this mess, couldn't the Lord have stopped his daughter coming out, couldn't the Lord have spoken to him (like to Abraham Gen 22:11,12) and stopped him killing her?

All of that presupposes a man who listens to God, presupposes that when the Spirit comes on a person He makes them wise and spiritual and holy. He only can do that for those who are open to it. Otherwise they just have the charismatic experience. What about God letting this girl die, I hear some critic asking. Haven't you ever caught the anguish that has to fill the Lord's heart – My God, my God why have you forsaken me? Or here, why have you stood back and let this mess develop? That, my friend, is the cost of free will that everyday heaps up more and more sin to be carried by Jesus on the Cross, and without it we cease to be humans. Wonderful and awful.

(PS. What is remarkable is that Jephthah is mentioned in the gallery of faith in Heb 11. This isn't to approve what the did that we've been considering, merely that along the way he did seek to be a man of faith. The lesson is surely that we can get it right sometimes but also terribly wrong at others!)

Snapshots: Day 145

The Snapshot: “ the woman went to her husband and told him, “A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome.” (Judg 13:6) Funny old story this one that opens the way for Samson. An angel comes and communicates with this childless woman. She half believes and shares with her husband – he doesn't believe (see. v.16), but it poses the question, why do we so often struggle to believe the divinely supernatural? Non-Christians struggle to believe in Jesus, Christians struggle to believe in the Holy Spirit. Is it that the world – life – has taught us not to believe in good news? Why do we struggle to believe that God loves us, really loves us? Are we suspicious of offers that appear too good to believe because they usually are too good? Time to take hold of our unbelieve and confess the good news.

Further Consideration: We don't like talking about unbelief, for it makes us feel defensive as we shield our guilt, but the above snapshot is all about unbelief. We make excuses why God can't use us: “my clan is the weakest… and I am least in my family,” (Jud 6:15) and call it low self-esteem. We say the times have changed and Jesus' gifts of the Spirit are no longer operative, although Jesus never changes. (Heb 13:8).

Unbelief comes in lots of different forms, whether it is no longer believing in demons or angels, or in a God who performs miracles and heals people or speaks to His people, or in prayer or spiritual warfare, so many ways that we can back away, muttering, “I'm not sure.” We allow ourselves to get run down physically and spiritually so we hide away in a cave, like Elijah (1 Kings 19:9), hoping the Lord won't notice us – but He does and the voice comes, “What are you doing here?” We can make excuses (v.10) but He always knows the truth.

There are only one or two comforting things about all this: the Lord knows what we're like and He persists with us. I always laugh over the two-chapter long conversation (Ex 3,4) that God has with Moses at the burning bush and near the end of his constant prevaricating Moses has the audacity to claim, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” (4:10) You have got to be joking. But then we're all like that; given half a chance we'll go on and on explaining why we're like we are, but it's just unbelief in disguise.

Snapshots: Day 146

The Snapshot: “Samson… grew and the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him.” (Judg 13:24,25) I've heard Samson described as a ‘carnal charismatic'. He's a walking disaster, utterly self-centred with a life focused on personal pleasure. The trouble is that he's been chosen by God, his birth was miraculous (to a barren woman), his job is to deliver Israel from their enemies, and God's Spirit is on him. Whatever is God up to? As Habakkuk declared, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;   you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.” (Hab 1:13) Yes, well just watch this! God is going to use this self-centred character's carnal appetite to upset the enemy and when he does God will give him the strength to sort them out. Wow, God who works into and even uses the sinful world for His purposes (see also Acts 2:23).

Further Consideration: It is one of those things that upsets Pharisees, nice believers who like everything straight forward and fitting their pattern of how things should work. The only trouble is that the Bible is littered with people who don't fit the pattern. For instance, there is Rahab the prostitute or innkeeper (in those days bad as each other) who lied to her authorities and became part of the Messianic family tree. I bet you didn't see that one coming.

When it comes to guidance there was that hilarious time when the Lord send Samuel back to scare the life out of the witch of Endor and Saul (1 Sam 28:12-20) or Balaam's ass that spoke to him (Num 22:28), and Balaam himself, a money-seeking seer who couldn't help himself prophesying great things for Israel (Num 23,24). I always think the Nativity ‘Wise Men' are like this, pagan philosophers, maybe even astrologers, who come to herald the newly born king of the Jews.

If it's not specific people it's the Lord's general strategy of pushing the religious elite to reject and crucify His son so he could be the redeemer of the world (see Acts 2:23).

But you can't help but get dragged back to the people the Lord works with, for example Jacob, twister and inheritance stealer, Joseph arrogant and full of pride, destined to become saviour of the Middle East. Moses, hasty murderer. David, adulterer and murderer. Solomon, most wise and most stupid king in history. Peter, loud mouthed God-corrector and denier. James and John arrogant, angry would-be fire bringers. And so it goes on and on, so don't be surprised about Samson; he just fits the mould, just like you and me.

But that's the thing about ‘Sin' this propensity that we all have to be self-centred and godless. It makes us like cracked earthenware (2 Cor 4:7) or even pots of clay that need constantly remaking (Jer 18:5-7), even bones in a graveyard needing His life (Ezek 37). Amazing! Wonderful!

That is the wonder of the ‘big picture' we call Redemption. Hallelujah!

Reminder: 147-172 = Ruth

Snapshots: Day 147

The Snapshot: “ At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing.” (Jud 21:25 Msg) Prov 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint.” Put the two verses together and you have the truth, “where a person has no supreme ruler over them they cast off restraint and do whatever they feel like doing.” The world all around us, in this first part of the twenty-first century in the West, does just this thing, a highly dangerous state where self-destruction so often follows. Jesus has come to save us, yes from Satan and from Sin, but mostly from ourselves! Sin not only blinds, it is also stupid (foolish and irresponsible) and cannot see the path of destruction ahead when we ‘do our own thing'. How practical is the Gospel!

Further Consideration: If it wasn't for the fact of Sin, doing your own thing might be all right. Some might ask, hasn't God given us common sense, wisdom, intellect and so on, shouldn't they be able to help us make good decisions in life, why does it always have to be related to God? Well, stop and think about the definition I so often use for sin – ‘self-centred godlessness that leads to self-destructive unrighteousness.' It's that self-centred thing that inhibits wisdom, as does the godless part of it. Let's consider these.

When we are ‘self-centred' that concern for ‘me' distorts my thinking and leads me to do unwise things, things that are actually harmful to me in the long-term. Yes, so often I will make decisions based on the pleasure I can get at the moment but in the longer term that isn't always good. Eating wrong food will eventually harm me. Being lazy and never taking exercise will definitely harm me.

Godlessness means I don't bother to turn to the One who knows everything, specifically how I work best and what is good for me and what is not. His knowledge and wisdom are beyond anything I can dream of, so why do I so easily forget to turn to Him for help. But instead we so often do ‘what we feel like doing', we don't go on what is sensible or wise, but what our emotions tell us – and what a roller-coaster they can be! Don't let your emotions rule you.

Snapshots: Day 148

The Snapshot: “So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.” (Ruth 1:1) We don't often see the coming of a start of a story of anguish, for they tend to creep up on us quietly. Even more, the causes for such stories of anguish often elude us, or we just don't realise what we are doing and find ourselves in circumstances that we would have preferred to avoid. This man, Elimelek, was an Israelite and his home was the land of Israel, and that's where he should have stayed. Did he not know the story of Abram, who got into deep water trying to avoid a famine? (Gen 12:10) ‘Famines' are best sat out as difficult as they may be. The alternatives are often worse. Cry to God for help sounds tough talk but it is the answer (1 Kings 17:1-6,16, 2 Kings 4:5)

Further Consideration: The circumstances of life sometimes seem to press on us and seem to require us to go down paths which, on a better day, we know are unwise. Famines occur a number of times in the Bible – before the days of refrigeration, and mass storage – as events that either naturally occurred or sometimes occurred as the disciplinary judgment of God. In one sense it doesn't matter what the cause was, the big issue is how will we respond to it?

It doesn't have to be a famine; it can be any trial or tribulation that appears on our horizon. It can be a multitude of different things but the common feature is that there is a threat to our future. How will we handle it, how will we act in the face of it?

It almost seems trite in such difficult times to quote scripture but the truth is there: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6,7) Whatever the trial, whatever the pressure, whatever the mishap, the answer is the same – take it to the Lord. Hold on, cries the skeptic, I don't just want, peace, I want answers, I want this situation changed! Yes, of course you do but IF you have prayed and the peace comes, it comes because as you prayed the awareness also came that you are in God's hands and, as one who loves the Lord, you can know that “ in all things God works for the good,” (Rom 8:28) your good!

Let's not mutter about trite verses, these are the truth. We either learn to see they are the truth, or we will abandon our ‘land' and end up in a foreign, hostile land where it goes even more wrong. Stay where you are, seek God, receive His provision for your present circumstances and still be in the right place when the trial has passed. No, it's not always easy, but it is right, until He tells you to move.

Snapshots: Day 149

The Snapshot: “ Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died.” (Ruth 1:3) In a foreign land with two sons and no husband. What does one do? Marry them off to the locals. But they're not Israelites. So what, in desperate straits desperate measures are called for. And then, ten years later, the two childless husband-sons died. Can this get any worse? Ah, the famine in Israel is over. Can I go home, possibly in disgrace? What will people say? There are times when the world dumps on us, the sky falls on us and maybe it's our own fault, but in desperation who is counting? It's a mess, a total mess. Who could believe in such a situation anything good could come out of it? Yet the end of this story speaks of honour and the Lord's grace, but in the crisis we can rarely foresee that, but that's because we forget God. Ooops!

Further Consideration: Redemption – the act and the process of redeeming us from our negative state and circumstances and taking us or changing us into a new and better place – is at the heart of the Bible – and a mystery!

As much as we may talk about it, the love of God is still a mystery, how someone could love such messed up people as we sometimes are and sacrifice His own Son so that we can be redeemed! That IS a mystery! For the Jews throughout the Old Testament period there was a mystery as the prophets kept hinting about a coming one, a saviour, a servant, a criminal, a king. How could all these things be true?

But then how He goes about it in our lives is a mystery. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things.” (1 Cor 1:27,28) God doesn't work the same way we do.

He works into impossible situations and brings life from death, He takes the foolish to confound the wise, He takes weakness to reveal strength, He takes what is small, insignificant and unappreciated to blow the minds of the onlookers. He takes you and me and digs us out of the mire of the lives we lived, He takes the weakness of the people we were, and transforms us, and people are left wondering.

Snapshots: Day 150

The Snapshot: “May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” (Ruth 1:9) Good advice, good intentions and such things test the heart. It makes sense, stay here in this your land and start again and get a man from your own people. But good advice, good intentions, common sense, don't take into account the moving of the heart. This is all about relationship, how these two girls, young women (and maybe not so young!) feel about their mother-in-law. Mothers-in-law are often the butt of music hall jokes which makes the challenge of being one who builds a deep and lasting relationship with the son or daughter-in-law, when you are a Christian, even more important. Watch what's coming; it is beautiful.

Further Consideration: It is difficult not to run on when you know what is coming in Scripture sometimes, but we will discipline ourselves and hold back and remain with this verse as Naomi speaks to her two daughters-in-law. Her words are gracious as well as wise and they come out of a genuine concern for them. They reveal something of the inner beauty of her heart here which we might consider surprising.

Many people in such a situation, having been dragged off to a foreign land, having lost their husband and then having lost their only two sons, might have felt seriously jaded with life and when we allow such feelings to overtake us, they impact on the way we cope with life and the way we respond to others around us.

We can cease to be ‘nice' people, cease to be those who others enjoy being around – and that is understandable because it is sometimes really difficult to cope with the knocks of life. That phrase, “It's a hard knock life” has even been part of a musical or we sometimes speak of ‘the school of hard knocks', referring to the way this fallen world can sometimes be, and Naomi must surely have felt that. (In fact we'll see later that this is just how she feels, but here she holds it back).

Snapshots: Day 151

The Snapshot: “but Ruth clung to her…. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die.” (Ruth 1:14,16,17) If you want to know what that word ‘commitment' (that is so often bandied about in Christian circles) means, this is it. Ruth demonstrates commitment that flows out of love. It is love not law that gets her to respond like this. It is love that should bind us one to another in ‘the church', not rules, not requirements, not membership rolls, but love being worked out and demonstrated and when the world sees that they will be moved and challenged because there's not much of the real stuff out there these days. Let's work on this love thing and shock the world!

Further Consideration: It may seem a strange place to start this continuation section, but there is a place where the apostle Paul says we, “are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory,” (2 Cor 3:18), referring to the natural work of the Spirit who is changing us into the likeness of Jesus.

I would like to suggest, although I've never heard it preached, that Ruth's words, “ Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die,” actually are expressions of the attitude that you and I are called to have when we come to Christ and follow him as a disciple. It was Thomas who, when Jesus is talking about going to raise up Lazarus, says, “ Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (Jn 11:16) Whether he meant, let's go along on this hopeless quest with him, or whether he was inspired to refer to Jesus' coming death, is uncertain, but whatever it was, it expressed the true calling of a disciple to go wherever the master went – wherever!

Ruth has been moved by the love and concern of Naomi for the two Moabite girls; why should she be concerned for two foreigners, especially ones who appeared unable to bear her any grandchildren? But she was, and perhaps it was that realization that moved Ruth to make this declaration. Should not Jesus' demonstration of love for us – dying for us, accepting us just like we are – move us similarly, and if not, the simple realization of what it means to be called to be a ‘disciple' of the Son of God, into whose likeness the Spirit of God is changing us?

Snapshots: Day 152

The Snapshot: “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” (Ruth 1:20) Always be careful how you read the Bible; not everyone has an accurate picture of the truth. Naomi has the view that many have – that God punishes haphazardly. It's tough to tell a hurting person the truth but if it helps correct misapprehensions, do it. If God does judge it is always with a warning, for it to be avoided if possible. If He does take His children home it sometimes is for their good (Isa 57:1) but more often than not death is simply seen as an aspect of the fallen world – it happens and sometimes happens unexpectedly. There are occasions in Scripture where it happened because of sin, but those are clear examples. No, this was not God; He's simply there to bless her and Ruth, as we'll see. Don't misjudge God.

Further Consideration: Understanding what is happening in life and, even more, why it is happening is often a difficult task. When everything is going well we are happy to attribute it to the Lord, but when it isn't going so well, it raises questions in us, is this caused by God, is this God chastising me? And, of course, there can be different answers.

There may indeed be times when God is proactive in bringing trying circumstances, but I suspect they are far fewer than we might think. Naomi has gone through difficult times. A famine had come to Israel. That had not been her fault. Her husband decided to leave the Land and seek food elsewhere. He hadn't learnt that God provides even in wilderness or famine-type times. He made the choice to go to an alien land, Moab, a regular enemy of Israel. Naomi went along with him. Their sons married Moabite women – contrary to the Law of Moses. God remained silent. No children were forthcoming. No sign of God in this but there is also no sign that like Hannah (1 Sam 1) they cried out to the Lord for children. (Perhaps difficult to do that with unbelieving wives). The two sons died. People die prematurely in this fallen world

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Naomi returns home with Ruth, feeling despondent, perhaps feeling shame. Did the Lord make her bitter? No, it was her choice. Did He cause it all? No, they made the initial moves. If the Lord was in it, it was to remain silent. So often He does not force Himself into our affairs but waits until we ask Him to. This in this fallen world, things go wrong. It is dysfunctional, we are dysfunctional, we do wrong, we make bad choices, we make mistakes.

Snapshots: Day 153

The Snapshot: “as the barley harvest was beginning.” (Ruth 1:22) Such simple words, words that most would consider insignificant but the truth is that the harvest is going to be a resource for Naomi and Ruth, and eventually a means of Ruth receiving a new husband and a new future. We might say it was an accident that they turned up at this time or we might suggest it was providence (the proactive unseen hand of God behind the scenes). Timing, circumstances, settings, all things that we can miss but things that often have significance in the divine economy, things that God will use in the general redemptive process with His children. Do you write things off as simply ‘coincidences'? Pause up and look again, it may be the unseen hand of God working for your good.

Further Consideration: We sometimes tend to live in an insular little bubble of our own affairs. We focus on getting up in the morning and often think little of it. If we were a gardener we would be looking at the weather and the weather forecast to determine what needs doing and what can be done. If we were commuters and weather brought down power lines and prevented us getting to work, we would perhaps plan how we could work from home. If one of our children goes down with a fever, we immediately start a course of action to enables us to care for them at home, for school to know they won't be there. In the Pandemic of 2020 the government-instigated lockdown meant we had to give consideration to how we would cope at home, or still get into work, or care for loved ones not in our home. It was the epitome of having to rethink life, taking into account all the various things that limited us, all the new possibilities that were before us. All of these examples we've just cited force us to look further afield, beyond that ‘bubble' of self-concern I just referred to.

Seasons, weather, personal and national circumstances all go together to make up the package of life around us that requires us to give thought to these things, but much of the time, putting aside illnesses, loss of jobs, accidents and the other things that occur in life without warning, we just carry on day by day not giving thought to the new opportunities that changing life is giving us.

Snapshots: Day 154

The Snapshot: “Naomi had a relative…. a man of standing…. Boaz.” (Ruth 2:1) I like the way this story is told. Here's a single man, a wealthy man, and a man who had been related to Naomi's dead husband. All these three things are significant and will become more so as the story unfolds, but for the moment, he's just a mention at the start of it. Things have got to happen first, then the significance of these three things will come to light. This is going to be a beautiful story of redemption and adoption into the people of God but for the moment that is not clear. So often in life, it just carries on (with God moving in the background without our knowledge) and it is only later that the various threads of life come together. Until it becomes clear, rest in the present, trusting that God is there in it all.

Further Consideration: People are important, family are important, friends are important, employers or employees are important, teachers, tutors and students are important. All of these people I have just listed play different roles in our lives. Often we take them for granted but the way we interact with them means that our futures can be changed, the acts of these people impinge on our lives and it may be for good or bad, and how we respond and the sort of relationship we have had with them previously may determine the outcome now.

‘Dating' among young people appears a nightmare, so often a self-centred calculation. Dating websites call forth characteristics of two people and we assume this is all that is needed to form a meaningful lasting relationship. Ruth is going to show us another way, a way that is gentle and allows both sides to show something of the reality of who they are to each other, two people who don't force the circumstances but allow them to proceed and open up slowly in learning about each other, understanding each other, and going with that.

Snapshots: Day 155

The Snapshot: “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.” (Ruth 2:2) There are two very simple but profound thoughts that flow from this verse. First, Ruth had learnt the ways of her mother-in-law's people. She knew it was harvest time and she knew there was this practice of the needy being allowed to go out and follow the harvesters and collect grain from the left-overs in the field. (Lev 23:22). Second, she was clearly a worker. The epitome of such a worker has surely got to be seen in Prov 31:10-31. Industrious is not the word for it! But it was this understanding the godly culture of God's people and a willingness to work into it that opened the door for all the good that was to follow. Do these two things speak to us today?

Further Consideration: Let's pick up these two threads: learning the culture and a willingness to work, two things we see in Ruth. First, learning the culture. Culture is about ways of life and when we come to Christ we leave behind the old life that was sin-and-self dominated and move into a completely new lifestyle (at least that is how it is supposed to be). Read Eph 2:1-10 and study the contrasts between the two lives. Now the new believer finds this all very strange and different and so learning and teaching become two of the basic and fundamental goals for them, to find out about Christ more fully, to find out “the incomparable riches of his grace,” (Eph 2:7) what he has achieved for us and what we can expect now as children of God. It is a long-term learning project and does not come quickly. It is why we encourage new believers to start reading a Bible, especially the New Testament in the early days, to learn these things. It is why we encourage new believers to be part of the congregation and learn from the teachers or the Church who can help us along the way. ‘Learning the Culture'.

Snapshots: Day 156

The Snapshot: “As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz” (Ruth 2:3) Ruth goes out and randomly chooses the first field she comes across. It just happens to belong to a relative!!!There is this strange thing that unwise unbelievers struggle with and wise believers come to learn, that when you are under the watchful eye of God, ‘coincidences' start popping up all over the place and although we cannot explain how He does it, somehow the mysterious hand of God seems to behind it. Had the Spirit whispered into her mind, “Hey this looks a good field,” and she just went with it? Let's not worry about how He does it, but let's remember the Lord promises to be there working for our good (Rom 8:28). Let's live with that joy.

Further Consideration: “As it turned out.” Oh my goodness, how simple those words are but they cover up the world of ‘coincidences' which, when you are a Christian, perhaps turns out not to be ‘luck' or ‘chance' but something far more meaningful, either simply foreseen by God or even maneuvered by God.

Was it just ‘chance' that there was a Samaritan woman of dubious background who came to a well outside town at midday shortly after Jesus had arrived and opened up the Samaritan population to him? (Jn 4:6,7) Was it chance that Rachel turned up just when Jacob had arrived and was enquiring about her family of the shepherds at a well? (Gen 29:6) Was it ‘chance' that Rebekah turned up at the well where Abraham's servant was praying about a wife for his master's son? (Gen 24:12,15) Interesting, three ‘well experiences' where people gather.

Were they ‘coincidences' the things that happened to Saul that Samuel had predicted? (1 Sam 10) Clearly some of these things are the foreknowledge of God, God who knows what is going to happen before it does happen, but when these things turn out to be pivotal in bringing about a chain of highly significant outworkings, you realise it is far more than just ‘foreknowledge'. Somehow there is within it somehow the working of God.

Snapshots: Day 157

The Snapshot: “ Just then Boaz arrived.” (Ruth 2:4) He sees her, enquires about her, and then goes over and reassures her about working there and encourages her to keep on. Her heart, her openness to this new people, this willingness to work and provide for Naomi, have brought her to this field that just happens to belong to Boaz and he just happens to turn up to reassure her and confirm her security. There is a beautiful combination of the good heart of a woman and the working of God that is working together to bring a good conclusion. We always have our part to play in the drama of life in the kingdom but it is always in partnership with the One who rules over it. Be aware of both things, play your part and praise and worship Him as He does His.

Further Consideration: We have to continue to pursue this chain of thought about chance, coincidences, call them what you will, for this story is filled with them. But the more we look into the chain of events that seem to flow in this story, the more we come to realise that, if God's hand was subtly moving in the background, it was because He knew the heart of the people concerned and knew how He could edge them along to a really amazing outcome.

We will overcome the temptation to jump ahead and see how this works out in this way, but let's just note the chain of events and the people involved that we've seen so far.

First there is Naomi, swept along in not good circumstances, by the will of her husband. She has nothing (to our knowledge) to do with her husband dying, her sons getting wives, them not having children and then dying, but we see her grace and concern for the two younger women as she tried to get them to establish new lives back in their country. Yet somehow something of her grace rubs off on Ruth who will not stay and thus returns to Israel with Naomi. Back in the Land Naomi confesses her misfortunes but it is Ruth who makes the first move, when they realise it is harvest time and clearly Naomi has explained the custom, to go out into the fields to collect leftover grain to feed them. Her willingness to work takes her to a field that just happens to belong to a slightly older but kind-hearted relative.

Snapshots: Day 158

The Snapshot: “Boaz replied, “I've been told all about what you have done.” (Ruth 2:11) Ruth has a history and it is one that reflects well on her and it now contributes to the good feeling Boaz has about her. Solomon was later to write, “A good name is more desirable than great riches.” (Prov 22:1) and, “A person is praised according to their prudence.” (Prov 12:8) What do those who know us say about us? No doubt they will be able to find faults, but can they speak well of our reputation for graciousness, always looking for the good in others, wisdom, insight, understanding goodness, kindness, gentleness, industry, thoughtfulness, compassion, spirituality and perhaps creativity? All of these are the things that build a reputation and open doors to further blessing.

Further Consideration: Reputation can be a funny thing because it really resides in the minds of others, and people think about other people through the tinted glasses of their own prejudices and insecurities. So perhaps an individual's reputation should be considered as what the majority of people think about them.

Having said that, we follow a Lord whose reputation varied according to what a whole variety of different groups thought about him. The religious establishment thought badly of him (out of their insecurities), and his disciples seem to have had mixed feeling about him, often questioning and rarely getting understanding. Even today various religions around the world hold questioning views about him perhaps, again, from a defensive standpoint.

And that is it; so often we can't help ourselves but have ideas about other people and those ideas may be built on untruths or partial truths, they may be what they are, as we've said, as a result of our own insecurities and our defensive feelings that are brought to the surface because of them. Reputation, from our viewpoint, can be something we should be very careful about.

We live in an age of mass-communication, no longer just TV but of social media brought by the phone in our hand, and it means we can express our views about other people to other people and in so doing we either exalt or destroy the reputations of others. In the Final Judgment, I have a feeling this particular sin – of what we call character assassination – will rate as highly as murder for it has the same potential of destroying a life, and it happens regularly today, tragically.

Snapshots: Day 159

The Snapshot: “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:13) These early verses of Ruth are a mix of the providence of God and the character of Ruth being revealed. To her other attributes must now be added humility. Very often people in difficult and trying circumstances exhibit a brash defensiveness, not so Ruth. She is a foreigner and foreigners often try to make their mark, prove their worth, not so Ruth. Humility recognises weakness in a good way. Mother Teresa once wrote that we practice humility by never standing on one's dignity, i.e. we never make demands for our worth to be respected. We simply trust God with our reputation. That is being godly. Let's be godly people today.

Further Consideration: Humility is not something much talked about today. It rarely features in the lives of politicians or ‘celebrities' it seems, yet I have observed it in one particular quiz expert on TV. This man, who must have a photographic mind and able to hold an incredible number of facts in his mind, competes against members of the public in a way that can only be described as gracious, humble and encouraging. He often praises his competitors, either when they have won or lost. His humility never exalts his own amazing capabilities; in fact he often comments on how he's not doing well or having a bad day. It is almost as if he is wanting to lift up those competing against him. Now that is humility.

Humility has a modesty that recognises both the good and the not good in self. Dickens' Uriah Heep was the epitome of the not-humble, with his hand-rinsing movements and his declaration that, “I am but a humble man,” declaring the falseness of it. One of the things about humility is that it does not declare itself.

But, as we just intimated, humility is able to speak honestly about both our good points and no-good points. When God has enabled us to achieve something or do something well, it is not wrong to acknowledge that. Paul's description of us being ‘jars of clay', (2 Cor 4:7) earthen pots that hold the glory of God, remind us of Isaiah's words, “ We are the clay, you are the potter.” (Isa 64:8). This recognition is the balance of true humility, recognising that of ourselves we are nothing, and yet in His hands we can be used to achieve great things. Never be afraid to balance and acknowledge both things, the grubby and the glorious aspect of our lives.

Snapshots: Day 160

The Snapshot: “ she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.” (Ruth 2:17) A footnote suggest this is about 30 pounds or 13 kilograms of barley. Not bad for just picking a few grains at a time from the ears of leftover crops. We commented previously that she was a worker, that she was industrious but now we see that she also perseveres. The recent news has reported on young workers who gave up after a single day working for a farmer because the work was too hard. Ruth shames such people. To be workers in the kingdom of God sometimes means we have to endure or persevere in the face of hard circumstances or enemy activity. Will we let Ruth's example challenge us to be those who see it through to the end – whatever!

Further Consideration: ‘Work' in the world has sometimes had a bad press and at a down time Solomon agreed: “What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? All their days their work is grief and pain,” (Eccles 2:22,23) and Proverbs fourteen times refers to the ‘sluggard', the idle or lazy person.

But Ruth could never be considered lazy. Already above we have observed how she is diligent on behalf of Naomi and herself. And this is the point of work, it is frequently on behalf of others, we work to provide for our families so often.

Jesus implied in various parables that God expects His children to be workers who take what He has given them and work with it and multiply it (see Mt 25:14-30). In that parable we are seen as stewards of God's provision, who are required to put it to use to bless His world.

In more general teaching the apostle Paul taught, “ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” (Col 3:23) and also, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat .” (2 Thess 3:10) That particular dictum seems to appear nowhere else in the Bible as such, but may come from such thinking as, “ Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry.” (Prov 19:15)

We might say that character is built through work OR work is an expression of character. Whichever it is, the “wife of noble character” (Prov 31:10-) is the classic example of a worker who receives abundant praise for efforts in providing through work for her family. In a day when society provides for those out of work, the temptation is always there to take the money and avoid work where possible. That is sad for it demeans the person, even if they do not realise it. In a fallen world money does not grow on trees – unless you own a banana plantation, but even then it needs picking. How we go about work reveals much about our character.