Romping Through Ruth

  

 What a short book!  What an introduction to the kinsman redeemer model! What a picture of trusting in someone who knew God so much that the one true God became her God!

This was a short journey but full of challenges for us in these modern times.  Here are the links to the scripture and messages.

Be blessed!

Ruth 1

Seeing the image and likeness of God

Ruth 2

Who are these people?

Kinsman-Redeemer

Ruth 3

Just Report for Duty

I Will Do Whatever You Say

Ruth 4

You have survived 100% of your worst days ever…

Do your part

Kinsman-Redeemer

 Read Ruth 2

Leviticus 25:47-55

And so we come to a term not used much in the Bible, but of importance to us. The term is kinsman redeemer. To understand it, we need to understand the word redeem.

To redeem is to compensate for something in one definition, but the concurrent definition is to regain possession of something. For instance, you pawn your guitar because you are a musician, and if you want to be a good musician you have to do this at least once in your lifetime if you want the lyrics to come later on.

You get your hundred bucks from the pawnbroker, which just happens to be what you told your wife you paid for the instrument, and you receive a pawn ticket.  What’s the ticket for?

You may redeem your guitar with this ticket and a specified amount of cash. You have the right to redeem the property within the specified time.

Back in the day, when you finally filled that book with S&H Green Stamps, you could redeem them for a toaster, or an oven mitt, or a Corvette—if you saved enough.

You could be redeemed by a close relative, if somehow, you had sold yourself or your property because they were out of money. Most of the instructions involve calculating the time between the redemption and the Year of Jubilee, and thus the price of redemption.

A kinsman redeemer could also be a brother who stepped into the role of a deceased husband to give his brother’s wife a child.  

And so we come to the fact that every Christian must wrestle with: Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. The law was not and is not bad, but it was obtainable only by Jesus. We do our best to do what God wants us to do, but we continually fall short.

We fall short of complying with the law.

We fall short of getting close to the intent of the law.

We fall short on those things that God tells us to do as he answers our prayers.

We fall short of putting the words of our Master into practice.

We fall short of taking the yoke of our Master and learning from him.

We fall short on so many things, but God did not leave us there. He does not leave us there.

But we are redeemed.

The person who was not able to make it in the world and had to sell property or themselves just to survive could be redeemed. The redeemer did not have to ask how did you get into such a mess?

That question may come later or that discussion may have transpired already,  but at the point of redemption, all that matters is relationship and means. Are you a close relative and do you have the cash? The transaction required a close family relationship and some cash.

Whether the one being redeemed was just a hard luck story in progress or the sum of consecutive bad decisions did not come into the equation. Are you a close relative and do you have the means?

If the guy in debt or otherwise without means was a real bum, the kinsman redeemer might not want to redeem him or might just seize the opportunity to increase his holdings.

We see Christ as our Kinsman Redeemer. He is Savior, Lord, Master, Friend, Priest, Intercessor, and more. But he is our Redeemer as well.

He is bringing us into his Father’s family as was intended all along. That makes us kin and Jesus is our Kinsman-Redeemer. We are now related by blood, blood that was shed for our atonement.

This Kinsman Redeemer concept is part of taking care of your family. God does this and continues to do this. We take care of our families on a regular basis.

We need to have eyes to see those who are in our family. It’s growing with each profession of faith.

God is redeeming people from all over the world every day. He is redeeming people right here in western Oklahoma as well. We must welcome them and disciple them and be brothers and sisters to them for they are now kin.

The story of Ruth continues with what approaches something of a courtship. It concludes with Ruth coming into the line of David and the Christ. It is good to know stuff.

Today, my challenge is to take this simple story and give you a challenge or charge to apply in today’s world. How about this?

You are redeemed. God thought you to be worth enough to pay a huge price to reclaim you from sin and death and bring you into his kingdom. You have been redeemed from your sin and death because of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He took the sin of the entire world upon him and died in our place.

You have been redeemed!

So, whenever you are feeling good, don’t forget to thank God for your redemption.

Whenever you are feeling down and out, don’t forget to thank God for your redemption.

Whether you feel up or down, always be inclined towards thanksgiving for we have been redeemed.

We have been redeemed. God has said that you matter. While humankind was given over to sinful ways, Christ died for us. You matter.

We are redeemed in the blood of Jesus.

We are redeemed!

Let us continue to invite others to be redeemed and join the family of faith.

We are redeemed!

Amen.

Who are these people?

 

Read Ruth 2

Leviticus 25:47-55

What have we gotten ourselves into? Ruth looks like a short book, but do we know if it’s history or just a story, perhaps a story with a lesson.

If it were fiction, what would be the significance of Ruth coming into the line of Christ? So if we hold the line of Christ which we have canonized in our Bibles, should we not also hold this story as historical as well?

There is a lot of stuff out there. I’m going with this as an account not a work of fiction for some teaching purpose. The Good Samaritan didn’t end up in the lineage of David or Christ. That’s a story with a purpose which also happens to be a parable.

Ruth, I put it in the historical category. It is part of the story of God and his people. Yes, we are an odd bunch now and again and again and again. Perhaps that’s why I am drawn to the Cumberland Denomination. I didn’t say church. The church belongs to Jesus, but those of us who come to the building that says Cumberland Presbyterian Church are an odd bunch.

If you don’t believe me, I keep notes. It’s good to come to a place where I feel at home.

So who are these people from 3100 years ago?

Who is Ruth?

·       Widow.

·       Daughter-in-Law to Naomi, Elimelech’s widow. I will add a faithful daughter-in-law from what we can glean from the scriptures.

·       From pagan ancestry. The false god Chemosh was the main god of Moab. There are some parallels to Molech and Baal, but Chemosh appears to be a separate god, not just another name for one of the many others.

·       Foreigner now that she is in Judah.

·       A stranger in the land (but Naomi is not).

Who is Boaz?

·       A man of some standing in his community. That would be the Jerusalem and Bethlehem area.

·       Relative of Naomi on her husband’s side.

·       God fearing man.

·       Man of compassion.

·       I will add, concur or not, that his heart was taken at the first sight of Ruth.

What does Boaz see in this pagan girl whom he has never met before?

·       Loyalty, noted specifically towards her mother-in-law.

·       A solid work ethic. She isn’t begging. She is working.

·       A caretaker. Ruth provided for Naomi and her needs.

·       Something godly that prompts Ruth to do good again and again.

·       A relative. Even though there is no blood relationship, Boaz treats Ruth like family from early on.

Who is Chemosh?

·       Pagan god, sometimes considered the god of victory.

·       A national god. Chemosh is often considered to be Moab’s god.

·       On a peer level with Baal and Molech.

·       A god who is out of the present picture. There is no pressure here to worship him or be alienated from her own people.

Who is Naomi’s God?

·       He is the one true God. Jehovah, Yahweh, Elohim. He is the great I Am!

·       And now, Ruth resides among his Chosen People.

·       And now this God of Abraham—who was Lot’s God as well, though it didn’t continue for long with Lot—is Ruth’s god as well. 

·       Your God will be my God!

This could have been a daytime soap set for sure but it turned out to be a story in which God provided every step of the way. What a clear-cut story. You all should feel guilty about getting off so easily this week.

Did you notice that Ruth caught Boaz’s eye early in the story? I think the whole Kinsman Redeemer thing worked out well for Boaz.  He will soon enough throw in Ruth as his wife in addition to redeeming Naomi’s land.  I hope that you have read the whole book and I didn’t spoil it for you.

Did you notice that despite having a first-chapter attitude from hell, Naomi’s advice and direction to Ruth have been very sound?  Naomi can surely see her part in God’s plan for her, and yes, it’s that part that women love so much—match-making.

This is the connecting part of the story. It’s a courtship with no flowers or good night kiss, but with plenty of anticipation. Ruth is on Boaz’s radar and Ruth is on her way into the line of Christ.

Naomi and Ruth will be redeemed by Naomi’s Kinsman-Redeemer.

We are redeemed by our Kinsman-Redeemer! That's Jesus, in case you needed a reminder.

So as you had an easy week of reading, I will include an easy takeaway. It’s a simple challenge.  Just remember:

You are redeemed!

You are redeemed!

Let us praise the Lord, we are redeemed, in spite of ourselves.

You are redeemed!

Amen.

 

Seeing the image and likeness of God

 Read Ruth 1

In the life of God’s people, the Book of Ruth looks at a time after the exodus from Egypt and before the time of kings.  This was the time of the judges.

Government was more tribal. A unified Israel wasn’t really a thing at this point. God’s people were trying to do the best that they could, but mostly they were a loose association more than they were a confederacy or syndicate of tribes.

So the stories of God’s Chosen People vary a little from tribe to tribe, but this one deals with the tribe of Judah.

There had been famine in the land and so a man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi headed to Moab with their two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. The sons took wives, Orpah, and the other Ruth. We see no children of these unions.

Realize that these two women had been pagans. They were part of Moab. Moab came from the line of Lot and his oldest daughter after they had escaped the destruction of Sodom.

Later on, in the time of kings, Moab would revolt against Israel. That means that Israel would later have some leverage over Moab as they had required tribute from them, but that’s after the time of the judges, most likely from the time of David.

The women are central in this story. Why? All the men died.

Naomi’s husband died and then their two sons died.  This family consisted of 3 widows, one Hebrew, and two Moabites.

Things had gotten a little better back in Judah so Naomi decided to return home. She told her daughters that they would be better off remaining in their own country. The chances of them finding a husband among God’s Chosen People were slim.

Orpah chose to remain. Ruth chose to go with Naomi in spite of her mother-in-law’s counsel.  Ruth was determined. And so, early in this short book, we come to words that are still powerful today. Listen to what Ruth said to Naomi.

Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. 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, and there I will be buried.

Those are some defining words.  Where you go I will go. Your God will be my God.

There is a little more to the chapter that we discussed in the first service, but let’s look at these words of the Moabite widow named Ruth.

How does someone make that sort of commitment?  Why make that commitment?  How well did Ruth know this God of Israel and of Naomi?

I think from her last comment in this section, she at least knew he was the one true God. She had a little fear of the Lord working in her.

If I don’t follow my mother-in-law and her God, then I deserve whatever consequence or punishment that God will give me.

This was prompted by:

·       Weekly Bible studies with Naomi

·       Faithful attendance at the Synagogue

·       Naomi had given out over 1000 God Loves You wristbands

Or, we just don’t know.  We don’t know what it was that caused one daughter to seek after this woman and her God and the other to be content to stay in her pagan homeland. We don’t know.

We can speculate all we want, but we just don’t know what influenced Ruth to go with Naomi and to make this bold commitment.

And that lack of information will be the basis of today’s charge and challenge to you.

You don’t always know what impact you make on those around you.

You might not have all of Psalm 100 memorized, but people see you coming into God’s house with thanksgiving and praise.

You may not have reached that point where you can put all of your trust in God without any anxiety, but you are leaning hard into Proverbs 3:5. People notice when you trust God more than most.

You might not know all of the scripture addresses about God being love and his command to us to love one another, but people see you loving your neighbor on a regular basis.

You may have never held a Bible Study in your home, but people know that you go to God’s word for your answers. People see God’s word judging the thoughts and attitudes of your own heart instead of you judging them.

Maybe people see none of these things. Maybe they see some or all, but you are who you are and God sees the heart.

If your heart is genuinely seeking the Lord, I proffer that people will see a genuine likeness of God in you.

I will note that I do not think that it was Naomi’s bubbling attitude and personality that influenced Ruth to go with her.

Naomi was in something of a funk. She was in a poor, poor, pitiful me mindset. God was out to get her. He was punishing her for something. She did not feel like she was living in God’s favor.

And yet, God used her to bring this pagan widow into not only the land of Judah but into the line of David and ultimately into the line of the Christ.

So today, consider all that you do and realize that the Lord can use it for good. We may not know exactly how our actions impact others, but we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and let God use us as he will.

We have to trust that God has good plans for us. He wants to prosper us and not harm us.

We don’t always know exactly what those plans are. Sometimes we do, but often we don’t get the whole picture.

Sometimes, it just seems like life is tough for us and we don’t see what impact our lives might have on others.

Sometimes the good that God uses the circumstances and events of our life for, are also for the good of someone else. Something or some mannerism or some practice in Naomi’s life made a difference in the life of Ruth.

We don’t know for sure what it was.

Those times or events or practices may not even be noticed by us, but God is using something in our lives for the good of others. We often only think of ourselves as we consider the good that God does in our lives.

Let’s consider that God uses our lives to do good in the lives of others even when all we can see is how tough our lives are. So, what do we do?

Keep on keeping on.  We keep on doing what God is calling us to do knowing that one day there will be a harvest and our efforts will have counted for something.

We walk by faith not by sight. We trust that what God has called us to do is exactly what needs to be done.

So Naomi did what she thought best. She counseled her two daughters-in-law to remain in their pagan land where they might have a chance of getting another husband. In Naomi’s own understanding, this was the best course of action.

But God…   Yes, it’s one of those but God deals.  God had other plans, which we know from experience to be good plans.

God chose a pagan girl, a widowed pagan girl, to be in the line that led to King David and ultimately to the Christ. That’s a little farther into this short book, but things move quickly in this story.

God is very much at work in our world. He is at work in you. Something working within you is working on someone else.

Yes, like it or not, we are the light of the world and salt of the earth. We don’t always know how our light and salt impact others, but God does.

And once again, we must trust God with all of our hearts. We must draw nearer to him. This is not just for our own good, but for that of others.

If God could use those pagan Romans to be the instrument by which Christ would make his sacrifice, can he not use you—you who believe and profess Jesus is Lord!

If God could use the pagan Pharoah to show his glory in the land of Egypt and for those all around to know what he was doing for his own people, can he not use us to help liberate those enslaved by apathy and ambivalence today.

If God could use a giant, pagan, uncircumcised Philistine warrior to bring the one who sought after God’s own heart into the forefront of men, he can and will and does and is using us. Goliath’s role was short-lived, but he surely put this ruddy shepherd boy center stage before the army of God’s Chosen People and the pagan Philistines.

We will talk more about the times—this story took place over a thousand years before Christ came as God in the flesh.

We will talk more about the faith of a few and the faithlessness of many, and surely you will make connections to our time when so many continue to fall away.

We will talk more about the false god of Moab, knowing that we have many more false gods in our time than in any time past.

So, we will look at some of these as we continue through Ruth, but today, consider how important your choices and actions and your life are to God and to others.

You matter.

Your choices matter.

Your attitude matters.

Your thinking matters.

You can make bad choices or your thinking can be a mess and God can and will still use you, but we should know that we matter to God and our lives are the vehicle by which some will come to know God.

When you are seeking God before all things, don’t be surprised when people see the image and likeness of God within you.

You may be the very vehicle by which someone sees the image of God. You may be the only person who ever truly demonstrated love in the life of a certain person.

You might be the one who is bringing hope—God’s hope—to someone ready to throw in the towel on life.

God may be doing great things through you and you might just be oblivious to it if we only think and pray about ourselves. So keep on trusting. Keep on trying. Keep on praying. Keep on loving. Keep on living for God.

Keep on keeping on. Be open and available for God to work in your life to reach others.

Amen.