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The book of Esther opens with a banquet being given by King Ahasuerus of the Persian Empire that lasted 180 days for all the nobles of the 127 provinces of Persia. Presumably this gathering was to get all the nobles on board for the upcoming Persian invasion of Greece.
After the Greco-Persian War, King Ahasuerus came back home and Haman offered to pay 10,000 talents of silver for the privilege of killing and plundering (for one day) the Jewish population of the Persian Empire. Keep in mind in todays dollars that would be about 450 Billion US dollars.
Now, I really don’t think Haman had 450 Billion dollars. I think he expected to plunder the wealthy Jews of the empire to swell the coffers of King Ahasuerus. It’s surprising that King Ahasuerus would agree to this unless the Greco-Persian war had left him with a cash shortage. Wars are not cheap.
It also brings to the forefront why Mordecai cautioned Esther not to reveal that she was a Jew. The obvious answer was that a significant part of the population hated the Jews. After all Mordecai engineered the deaths of some 75,000 enemies of the Jews across the Persian Empire.
Which begs the question, why were the Jews a hated people? Certainly as in the case of Haman there was ancestral hatred for the Jews. God had ordained the decimation of King Agag and the Amalekites. But in addition, God had caused his people Israel to prosper in the Persian Empire and there can be jealousy and hatred for those who are doing better than you are, especially if a people like Israel carried themselves with a sort of spiritual arrogance as we know that Mordecai did.
Of course we know the end of the story. Mordecai becomes second in command of the great Persian Empire and Esther is Queen.
Like with Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylonia and now Mordecai/Esther in Persia God’s people… like cream… rise to the top.
The Book of Esther introduces Esther as a young jewish virgin from one of the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. She has had some tragedy in her life… both her parents have died and she is being raised by a cousin.
She has been chosen as the most beautiful young woman of her province and immediately with all the other young girls became concubines of King Ahasuerus and a candidate for being Queen of the Persian Empire.
Of course these young women would be political capital for their provinces and could influence the King for political favors… especially if as a young woman you became Queen.
The story of Esther starts off with her being in subjection to her father Mordecai and to Hegai the chief Eunuch of the Harem. She listens to them and follows their advice.
But then a plot against the Jews is revealed and Mordecai has to convince Esther to approach her Husband/King at the risk of her life. She agrees to Mordecai’s demands but then the “worm turns” so to speak… and she tells Mordecai what she wants to happen. A three day fast for all the Jews, etc.
She devices a plan to approach her King and and defeat Haman the enemy of the Jews.
After the death of Haman the role between Esther and Ahasuerus changes. She can come to him unbidden. He continually asks her… what more can I do for you Queen Esther? And she is not reluctant to let him know.
Esther has transformed from being a naive young jewish girl with limited experience with men to becoming Queen of the Persian Empire with all its political intrigues.
It helps when God is on your side and God still has the power to transform his people.
There’s an interesting thing that occurs in the Genesis account of creation. After creating every kind of life on earth God decides to create something “in his own image”… man… he made them male and female. Genesis 1:28
Now… I’m not sure I understand everything about God creating man in his own image and all that implies, but what I do understand is that God gave man dominion over all the other life on this planet earth. God gave man responsibility over the animal world.
Adam and Eve were like God because God had dominion over his whole creation and he shared that power with Adam and Eve.
There’s another way that Adam and Eve were like God. In Genesis 2:24 God said that Adam and Eve would become “one flesh”.
The account in Ephesians 5:22-33, when comparing the relationship between Jesus and the church with the relationship between a husband and a wife, states that “the two shall become one flesh” and that it was a “great mystery”.
Some say man and woman become one flesh just by engaging in sex.
Sorry… that’s not a great mystery.
In my opinion, becoming one flesh with a woman is progressive and involves the close relationship that comes with experiencing life together with all its successes and failures.
And following the recipe for becoming “one flesh” found in Ephesians through love and subjection to each other.
Adam and Eve were created in the image of God because their becoming “one flesh together” mimicked the spiritual oneness that we see in the relationship between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Here’s a question… can a man and woman living with each other in a sexual relationship without having made vows to each other or vows to God and having not invited God into their relationship be of “one flesh”?
Let me answer this question with another question… can a Bull and a Cow be “one flesh”?
Do you want to be like cattle or do you want to be like God? Follow God’s plan and you can reap the full benefits of being made in his image rather than following and becoming the image of Satan.
Get married and quit sinning
1 Peter 3:6, gives perhaps the best example of submission by a wife to her husband when the verse said Sarah called Abraham “Lord”
Certainly if Sarah was the queen of submission then Ruth has to be the princess of submission because Ruth in similar fashion called Boaz “Lord” (Ruth 2:13) and even bowed to him (Ruth 2:10).
Some might say that Ruth was not in subjection but rebellious when Ruth did not follow Naomi’s advice to stay in Moab and in her mother’s home and when Ruth did not follow Naomi’s exact instruction on how to woo Boaz.
That would be a mistake.
Submission does not mean you disengage your brain and become a mindless robot repeating memorized words.
Ruth did not stay with her biological family in Moab because she would have been violating God’s Law on helping widows and especially widows in your own family. She was in subjection to Naomi but obeying and subjecting herself to a higher law.
Like wise when wooing Boaz, Ruth obeyed the scheme of Naomi’s plan but also recognized that it had been a long time since Naomi had wooed Elimilech and used her own words… not Naomi’s.
Boaz did not tell Ruth what to do… Ruth told Boaz what to do.
Personally speaking the last thing I would want in a wife would be drone-like and robotic submission… merely a reflection of my own self. I value independence and admonishment from time to time and that in no way diminishes subjection.
Even Sarah had to tell Abraham how the “cow ate the corn” from time to time.
There was an employer here in Corpus Christi who brought three of his employees into his office and handed them the keys to three identical !951 Chevy pickup trucks all painted jet black and retrofitted with Chevy 350 short block engines.
He gave all three a credit card and said come back in one year and report back to me.
When they got back the first guy stepped up and said…
I set out in my truck and headed to the east coast and traveled up the coast to Boston and parked on the beach and slept in the bed and watched the sun come up in the morning. Then I headed to the west coast to San Francisco and parked on the beach and watched the sunset. I met a beautiful young woman I bought her a wedding ring and we drove to Las Vegas and got married. I want you to meet her.
The second guy said. That truck you gave me was beautiful. I parked it in the garage so it would be protected it and occasionally I would take it to car shows sometimes as far away as San Antonio. I kept it cleaned and polished so I could return it to you in good shape.
The third guy said, it was a great truck but I used your credit card to improve it. I lowered the suspension, made some modifications on the engine and painted it Candy Apple Red with flame accents.
The employer told the first guy… this truck is now yours and I’m putting you in charge of my business. Let me see that wedding ring you bought on my credit card and congratulations on your new wife.
The employer told the second guy. You took really good care of my truck. Thank you. He took the keys and put the guy in charge of maintenance.
The employer told the third guy. You really fitted that truck to suit your own tastes. I suggest you find a job in that profession I don’t need you here.
Then the employer gave the keys to the head of maintenance and told him to change the truck back the way it was.
The employer is God. The truck is the Gospel and the employees are Christians.
The first guy took the Gospel all over the country and experienced the blessings associated with it. He had experiences that were of incalculable value.
The second guy was a caretaker of the Gospel. He loved it but only used it to associate with other people who loved it.
The third guy changed the Gospel and its message to suit his own tastes. He was not worthy of it.
I hope when Jesus comes that you all have put 100,000 miles on the Gospel message and it shows the signs of wear and use and your spiritual growth that comes from making the Gospel a part of your life.
When Boaz was considering taking Ruth as his wife he understood that their was a closer relative who scripturally had the right/obligation to take Ruth as a wife.
The un-named relative said he could not because it would “ruin his own inheritance” So Boaz took Ruth as his wife.
To find out how the un-named relative’s (Let’s call him Barney) inheritance might be impacted lets go back and look at the other example of Levirate obligation… Judah and Tamar.
After God killed Er (Tamar’s husband) Judah instructed his brother Onan to couple with his sister-in-law so that his deceased brother Er would have an offspring.
Onan refused to and God killed him as well. The reason Onan didn’t want to provide an heir for Er was because Er’s son’s inheritance would be greater than his own but if Er did not have a first born then Onan would receive the greater inheritance.
Onan’s greed trumped his righteousness and God killed him for it and he inherited… zero.
So how does that apply to Barney? If Barney took Ruth to be his wife it would somehow impact the inheritance of his existing children. Perhaps Barney only had daughters and if Barney had a son with Ruth the girls inheritance would be diminished. Who knows exactly?
Here’s what we do know exactly… Barney’s self interest trumped his spiritual obligation.
Barney was the real loser in this scenario because Ruth was the “Pearl of Great Price” and Barney, if his spiritual eye sight had been focused, should have been able to see that.
Boaz and Ruth were a marriage made in Heaven.
I’m in a discussion group with others who also proclaim Jesus Christ as their savior and I was surprised and even shocked at the response of several to something I had written. They said things like the Gospel should be so simple that a child could understand it and that we can’t really trust English words that were translated thousands of years ago from then original language.
These folks are leaders in their congregations (I don’t know where they attend). My feeling is that as a leader (myself) in a congregation that I am obligated to study and understand as much of God’s word as I can so I can help guide the flock in an intelligent manner.
I am dismayed that so many are content to suckle on the breast of spiritual naivety instead of partaking and dining with the family of Jesus Christ on a Thanksgiving feast provisioned by God himself.
Don’t be satisfied with leaders who only want to feed you with spiritual pablum. You deserve better.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also” Matthew 5:38-39.
This passage is a general truism and perhaps meant to not only prevent aggression from escalating but also to illustrate a Christ-like behavior to the world. Certainly Jesus Christ provided the example for this when he let the Roman soldiers slapped him around.
But, in my opinion, its not a premise to be obeyed in an absolute sense.
For instance, If your child cursed you and slapped you should you turn the other cheek and invite him/her to keep slapping you? No, you would recall the passage, “spare the rod and spoil the child” and correct that behavior.
If you saw someone attacking your wife would you sit on the side line and remind her to “turn the other cheek?” Or would you intervene and give the scoundrel a good thrashing?
I’m afraid that I would correct the child and protect my wife and I think Jesus Christ would pat me on the back and say “good job Rob”
So when we read a passage like Matthew 5:38-39 (and others) we must consider why it was written and apply it in that circumstance.
Sometimes “turning the cheek” can advance the cause of Jesus Christ and other times “turning the cheek” can bring ridicule to the cause of Christ. Let's be careful how we interpret scripture so we can always advance the cause of Jesus Christ.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation” Mark 16:15
Just before Jesus’ resurrection into Heaven he gave the Apostles the so called “Great Commission”. He commissioned them to go to the whole world and preach the Gospel. Of course he equipped them to do so by giving them the Gospel message to be preached, the Holy Spirit and the ability to speak that message in foreign languages.
Naturally some questions come up like “how could they accomplish this in their natural life spans?” And how were they to travel to lands and peoples who had not even been discovered yet like Eskimos and Peruvians and Japanese and Amazon Jungles?
Notice this passage…
“…if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister” Colossians 1:23.
Colossians was thought to have been written by Paul in about 62 AD and according to Paul, the Apostles had already “preached the Gospel to the whole creation”
Which seems to be impossible that in thirty years or so and without recorded miraculous means the Gospel message had gone to the whole world including the,,, Eskimos, Peruvians, Japanese and Amazonians.
Now maybe an Apostle paddled up the Amazon river and we just have no record of it (biblical or historical) or maybe words like “all” and “whole” shouldn’t be interpreted in a strict literal sense.
Perhaps “all” doesn’t mean all and “whole of creation” does not mean the entirety of creation. Perhaps it means the whole known world or perhaps the entirety of the ruling Roman world.
So as Bible students when we run across words like “all” or “whole” we should at least consider that those words might not be literal and in so doing not paint our selves in a position that does not seem to be probable.
There are 5 named women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Two of them were gentiles… Rahab and Ruth. And two of them were women of Levirate marriage… Tamar and Ruth.
One of the gentile women, Rahab, had a son who married the other gentile woman… Boaz. Boaz married Ruth and Ruth became the daughter-in-law of Rahab.
So the intersecting point between being a gentile and a levirate wife in the lineage of Jesus Christ was Ruth.
Boaz’ mother was a gentile and Boaz’ wife was a gentile.
Consider the similarities and differences between Tamar and Ruth.
- Tamar’s father-in-law, Judah, had two sons killed by God because they were evil.
- Ruth’s father-in-law, Elimilech, also had two sons who died. The text doesn’t state that God killed them but that idea has to be considered because of the obvious parallel with Judah’s sons.
- Judah considered Tamar to be cursed and the cause of his son’s deaths.
- Judah started with three sons, lost two of them then gained two more. He finished with three sons.
- Tamar’s un-named mother-in-law died but Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi lived and reared Obed. Naomi was named because of her obvious righteousness.
- Tamar’s father-in-law, Judah, lived but Ruth’s father-in-law, Elimiech, died.
- Tamar seduced her father-in-law to have sex with her. There is no record that they ever married. Tamar’s twin sons were sired unrighteously but in spite of that her son Perez and his household became famous.
- Ruth carefully and righteously followed Naomi’s instructions to “court” Boaz and the text says they were married and had a son conceived out of righteousness named Obed.
- The people of Bethlehem blessed Ruth and recognized the parallels between her and Tamar.
- The people told Naomi that she was blessed to have Ruth and that Ruth had been better to her than seven sons. Poor Tamar never received such acclaim.
- Tamar and Ruth were both famous but one was better than the other.
In Deuteronomy 7, God made a “Covenant of Love” with his chosen people of Israel. He promised them that if they obeyed his laws that he would bless their families, their livestock, their crops and would protect them from disease. Great promises but great promises come a great cost.
God’s laws, given through the hand of Moses, regulated almost every aspect of their lives… what they could eat, who they could marry, what was clean and could be touched and what was unclean and could not be touched. Additionally, God required days and events that were to be commemorated on a weekly and yearly basis. They also were required to give back to God 10% of everything they owned.
And yes… this people who had been servants in the Land of Egypt were to become soldiers and killers. Killers of men, women and children to cleanse the promised land.
Of course the children of Israel could not or would not keep all those laws so they were cursed with famine and infertility and death and slavery at the hands of surrounding nations.
In Matthew 6 Jesus made another type of covenant people who chose faith. If his people would put God first in their lives and love him with all their hearts he would make sure they had all the necessities of life… food, shelter and clothing.
One system was a system with a focus on the strict obedience of laws and the love of laws.
The other system’s focus was on the loving of God and letting the obedience of laws take care of themselves
If you were offered either of those deals today which would you choose?
When God let Solomon choose anything he wanted… you know what happened… Solomon chose wisdom and in addition to wisdom God granted him great wealth.
Choose God and put him first and maybe like Solomon God will bless you with not just the necessities of life but also some of the niceties as well. It is a better and achievable system.
Someone on Facebook used the Parable of the Good Samaritan to justify all the illegal immigrants coming over the border and the necessity of our government to care for them. I responded with this...
"The primary point of the parable was to expose the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. Of course we are instructed to do good to all but even Jesus said we would always have the poor and it certainly was not his mission to make everyone materially rich. If the good Samaritan acted like the USA he would be inviting all the poor over to his home and would soon be overwhelmed. Similarly the USA cannot be responsible for all the poor of the world."
“If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel” Deuteronomy 25:5-6
The preceding verses describe something called Levirate Marriage. “Levir” meaning the husbands brother.
Levirate marriage was not an exclusive practice for Jews. In fact, it was commonly practiced historically among many peoples.
You might conclude from the text that this only applies to a deceased husband who had brothers.
However, the Bible gives examples of others it applies to. For example, Tamar was married to Judah’s first born Er. But God killed Er because he was wicked. Judah then instructs his second son, Onan, to impregnate his brothers widow. He too was evil and God killed him.
Ultimately, Judah himself impregnated Tamar and gave him twins… Perez and Zerah. Who became his sons and grandsons.
Ruth (widow of Mahlon) married a near-relative of her father-in-law Elimilech. A man named Boaz. Boaz might have been a cousin or an uncle or nephew of Elimilech, but not a brother to the deceased Mahlon.
In fact, if God indeed wanted an heir sired by Boaz, then Elimilech, Mahlon and Chilion had to die. If anyone of them survived they would have been obligated to take Ruth as a wife.
And Boaz and the house of Perez would have been excluded from the lineage of David and Jesus Christ.
Ever since Elimilech and Naomi had left Judah because of a famine things had not gone well with Naomi. Yes they had plenty to eat but then Elimilech dies and Naomi becomes a widow.
But then her two boys Mahlon and Chilion married, and sure Naomi would rather that they had married from their own people (and not moabite girls) but at least now she would at least have the prospect of grandchildren.
Ten years go by and no grandchildren and then both Mahlon and Chilion die and she buries them also. Moab had not been a pleasant place for Naomi. She had buried the three dearest people on earth to her. What to do with her daughter-in-laws?
So Naomi hears there is food in Judah and predictably decides to go back, and then something unusual happens… even though Ruth and Orpah want to go back with her to Judah, Naomi tells them not to and argues with them why they shouldn’t go with her.
Naomi was testing Ruth and Orpah.
What older widow woman wants to take a 75 mile trek by herself where she has to depend on the hospitality of strangers and perhaps even have to sleep on the road? There were thieves and wild animals along that road. I don’t know of anyone.
Orpah of course takes Naomi’s logical advice and returns to Moab and the house of her mother.
And then Naomi directs her attention to Ruth and said this… “Behold your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods…
Ruth with great faith and an unknown future said this… “your people will be my people and your God, my God” Ruth was not about to go back to her previous Moabite life and Moabite gods, even at Naomi’s urging. Naomi had found her true daughter.
Naomi knew she had ancestral land in Judah and she knew she had near relatives that could marry both her daughter-in-laws but she wanted it to be their choice and their decision and not a decision based on pity for her.
Orpah wasn’t a true proselyte, she hadn’t bought into judaism and quickly turned her back on Jehovah God and went back to the “gods” of Moab.
Ruth, of course, hammered the test because she like Naomi lived by faith in God. Poor choice Orpah, you have been lost to history but your sister-in-law Ruth and her example of faith lives on and on.
Lesson for us… faith trumps human logic. Choose faith. Don't be like Orpah... be like Ruth.
Ruth (and probably Orpah) was undoubtably a convert to Judaism. Ruth was familiar with Mosaic Law… she knew about Levirate marriage and she knew about gleaning the fields.
And then there is this…
But Ruth said, “Do not plead with me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you sleep, I will sleep. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Ruth 1:16
Ruth was from Moab and Moabites followed the false Gods Chemosh and Baal. Their destructive practices included sacrificing their own children.
So, presumably when Ruth met young Mahlon and his God fearing parents (Elimilech and Naomi) and started going to the Synagogue with them she saw the superiority of Jehovah God and the character of his people. She converted from the false gods of Moab to the one and true God and became a person of faith.
By faith, Ruth refused to abandon her mother-in-law even after Naomi told her to.
By faith, Ruth left her own parents and her own country and followed Naomi to a people and a land which were not her own.
By faith, Ruth provided for her widowed mother-in-law by “gleaning” in the fields.
By faith, Ruth followed Naomi’s instruction and the instruction of the Mosaic Law and married Boaz the family's close relative.
By faith, Ruth became the great grandmother of David, King of Israel and progenitor of Jesus Christ King of the World.
Ruth, follower of the gods of Moab, became a follower of faith in Jehovah God and was richly rewarded for her faith.
I stated in a previous post that nothing in the Book Of Ruth happened by accident. The events recorded there were not random nor haphazard but rather were carefully planned and orchestrated by God.
Those aren’t just my thoughts. The best evidence for them comes from Naomi herself.
At the loss of her husband and sons Ruth said this…
“For the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me” Ruth 1:13
and this…
“The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me” Ruth 1:20
and this…
“The Almighty has afflicted me” Ruth 1:21
Naomi, even in the face of losing her family, attributed that loss to God and yet she was still faithful and didn’t question him. Perhaps she knew something better awaits the faithful.
Once we understand that this whole sequence of events came from God then it allows us to look into the mind of God almighty and ask some questions.
- what was it about Ruth that made her so special that God would choose her to be in the lineage of his son?
- how did Ruth become so faithful? Was it through the influence of Naomi?
- how was Ruth spiritually superior to Orpah?
- why did God not allow Mahlon to sire the heir?
- what was so special about Boaz?
I look forward to exploring this with you.
I’m on a political discussion group and some were arguing that Israel was God’s covenant people “forever” and that’s why America should support them. Anyway this was my response.
"When Jesus was crucified God tore the veil to the Holy of Holy place in the Temple signifying that his deal with the followers of the Mosaic law was done. Jesus himself prophesied that God would send the Roman armies to destroy Israel for killing his son. He warned the Christians to leave when they saw the Roman armies coming.
He didn't destroy Israel immediately, he gave the Jews 40 years to witness signs and miracles and believe in Jesus. All who remained in Jerusalem had richly denied Jesus Christ and were complicit in his death and received a just punishment.
As a side note sometimes the scriptures use words like "all" and "forever" which don't really mean "all" and "forever". They are apocalyptic language.
The Israel of today and Jews of today are not God's Chosen people. They reject the deity of Jesus Christ which is the unforgivable sin (at least in the old Law) of Blasphemy. Those who support the religion of Israel support Blasphemers and are perhaps complicit in that great sin.
I support the Israel of today politically as an ally in the middle east and I pray for them that they will accept Jesus Christ."
One thing I’ve noticed about the scriptures is that they are lite on mental illness. No multiple personality disorder. No Bipolar disease. No PTSD. No Schizophrenia. No Bulimia. No serial killers. No Depression, etc., etc., etc. And yet we all interact with folks who have those maladies.
We have to be careful about attributing those things to Demon possession as found in the scriptures. Yes some of the cases of Demon possession in the scriptures sound like seizure activity. But we have to remember the text says it is Demon possession and the Demons recognized Jesus Christ and even talked with him.
What the scriptures are not lite on is love and wisdom. We should always love those with psychological disorders but be wise enough to know that some of these conditions are incurable and unmanageable and we shouldn’t feel guilty that we can’t do more. We just have to do the best we can and leave the rest up to God.
A crucial key to understanding the Book of Ruth is understanding practices defined in the Law of Moses.
One of those is the possession of land. Elimilech and Naomi owned ancestral land in Judah. That land was theirs and their heirs in perpetuity. Yes it could be sold but ultimately would be returned during the year of Jubilee.
“But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property” Leviticus 25:28
So even though Elimilech and Naomi moved to Moab because of the famine they still owned their ancestral land.
Of course Elimilech and Naomi were in Moab for 10 years. Did the famine really last that long or was there some other factor in play? Also Moab was only 75 miles from Judah.
Another curious practice in the Law of Moses was the practice of levirate marriage.
“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel" Deuteronomy 25: 5-6
So in the case of Ruth there are no brothers that she can marry. In fact Naomi tells Ruth that she is too old to have other children. So apparently since there are no brothers to marry then it was the obligation of the nearest available relative. Enter Boaz.
The other Law of Moses practice to consider was that of gleaning fields.
"When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow" Deuteronomy 24:20-21.
So when Naomi and Ruth, both widows, get back to the land of Judah they take advantage of this jewish social security program and Ruth goes out to “glean” the fields. What a coincidence that the field she gleaned belonged to her future husband Boaz! Coincidence or the hand of God?
The Book of Ruth is an amazing book and it tells the story of an amazing woman named Ruth. Unpredictably a moabite woman enters the genealogy of Jesus Christ and the question is why?
Weren’t their plenty of Israelite women who could have filled this role? So why Ruth the Moabite woman?
After all God himself did put a curse on Moab…
“An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever:
Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee” Deuteronomy 23:3-4.
So why would God select a woman from Moab to be in his son’s genealogy?
Before we answer this question, gentle reader, note that nothing in the Book of Ruth happened by accident.
The famine didn’t happen by accident. The move to Moab was no accident. It was no accident that Elimilech, Mahlon and Chilion died in Moab. And it was no accident that Boaz was selected to be the husband of Ruth instead of the “near relative”
Ruth the Moabite woman was a convert to Judaism and was selected by God because there was no woman in Israel who was as righteous as she was. She was amazingly righteous. Stay tuned.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.” Jeremiah 9:25-26.
Circumcision of course was the mark of God’s covenant with Israel. In this text it is applied figuratively to “all” and to “various nations”
These nations were only “circumcised in the flesh” they were not “circumcised in their hearts”.
The mark of God’s people today that parallels circumcision is baptism. With baptism comes the “gift of the Holy Spirit” and the initiation of our relationship with God.
So what happens if we have our flesh baptized but our hearts remain un-baptized? Presumably the “day of punishment” awaits for those just like it did for the ones who were “uncircumcised of heart”
So is it possible to have only our flesh baptized? Of course it is. Especially if we do it for the wrong reasons… maybe to please a spouse or a parent or an employer or just to bring attention on to ourselves.
Here’s a question… does a baptized baby only have its flesh baptized? I think we know the answer to that one.
God wanted the hearts of his people of old and he wants the hearts of his people today. You may appear to human eyes to be baptized but human eyes can’t do what God’s eyes can do. They can’t look at the heart.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” Romans 12:2
Of course these verses introduce the concept of the “transformation” process that is necessary in Christians. Christians become new people by eliminating sin and selfishness from their lives and replacing it with goodness and caring about the needs of others.
Which begs the question… are you really a Christian if you are not being “transformed”?
The greek word for transformation is “metamorphoo” which is the same word from which we get the english “metamorphosis” i.e what happens when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
Imagine then a dark world full of caterpillars. Teeming masses crawling on their caterpillar bellies. Not very pretty.
As Christ’s light begins to shine in the world those ugly spiritual caterpillars are transformed (metamorphosed) into beautiful spiritual Butterflies.
You might be an ugly old caterpillar crawling on your belly on the earth and you might even be a baptized caterpillar but unless you begin the transformation process you will never be a beautiful Butterfly floating on the wind.
Help your former caterpillars transform it makes you an even more beautiful Butterfly.
“…speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” Ephesians 5:19-20
These verses are used generally to affirm the idea that musical instrumentation should not be associated with Christian singing because musical instrumentation is not mentioned in the text and would be a human addition to our singing. Kind of like adding Peas and Carrots to the Lord’s Supper.
That obviously is not the primary intent of these verses. However if this text could be used to prove that instruments of music are forbidden by the scriptures then I have a few questions.
- is this verse talking about singing in the assembly or singing by individuals outside of the assembly? Or both?
- what exactly is a “Psalm, Hymn or Spiritual song?”
Let me suggest that functionally the way we define “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” are those songs that are contained in our song books.
Of course that begs the question… what were “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” before there were song books?
There are plenty of songs in our culture that contain segments of scripture, spiritual themes and that mention God that are not in our song books.
Consider the song “Turn!Turn!” by Pete Seeger which quotes directly from Ecclesiastes. It’s not in our song book and yet most Christians who hear it on the radio would enjoy listening to it and even feel comfortable singing along with it.
Consider also the song “God’s Will” by Martina McBride which I recommend and is on my play list. Every time I hear that song I cry. It tell’s the story of a handicapped boy named Will. His mother calls him God’s Will. A neighbor meets Will and the lyrics go like this…
I've been searchin', wonderin', thinkin'
Lost and lookin' all my life
I've been wounded, jaded, loved, and hated
I've wrestled wrong and right
He was a boy without a father
And his mother's miracle
I've been readin', writin', prayin', fightin'
I guess I would be still
Yeah, that was until
I knew God's will
You see she learns God’s will by meeting God’s Will.
If that’s not a spiritual song then I don’t know what is and the fact that it is accompanied by instrumental music doesn’t diminish the message and the impact (on me) that the song has.
So if we take the position that Ephesians 5:19-20 regulates both the singing of individuals and congregations in terms of being accompanied by musical instruments and yet we feel comfortable even listening (and singing) to spiritual songs on the radio then we have a problem with our hermeneutic (method of interpretation).
Now don’t get the idea that I am campaigning for the use to instrumental music in our worship services because I am not. There are other reasons not to use musical instruments in our assembly.
One test of a hermeneutic is it’s application. Like when a Pharisee forbade healing on the Sabbath but would be okay with pulling an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath.
We must be careful that our hermeneutic doesn’t make us hypocrites. Like forbidding instrumental music accompanying “Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs” and yet singing to them on the radio.
I had a dream about my brother last night. I wanted to write it down because I know I’ll forget about it. I dreamt that I was walking to a friends house to help him with something. As I was walking down the street someone was walking towards me. As he got closer I thought… that looks like my brother Scott. And then as he got closer his eyes opened wide and he yelled Rob! It was my brother! We hugged each other and both cried and I said… how? how?
My brother then said Rob… I didn’t have any choice I had to fake my death. Which raises a lot of questions but I didn’t care… I just didn’t care, I was so glad to see him.
I don’t know for sure if we will recognize loved ones in Heaven. I mean there is that thing about the Rich man recognizing father Abraham and the Poor man. And there is that thing about the twelve Apostles surrounding the throne in Heaven. So I tend to think that we will recognize people and that is a very comforting thing to me and perhaps an extra motivation to strive to be there.
What a great day that will be when we enter the gates of Heaven and are reunited with people whom we have loved the most in the world and to get to meet the storied Apostles. And also, hopefully a dream come true when I see my brother again.
There’s a story I like to tell about my potential career path I considered when I was about to graduate from High School. Path #1 was to be an internationally famous Rock Star and Path # 2 was to be a simple country Veterinarian.
As I considered those two options I weighed the pros and cons of each.
As far as being a Rock Star goes I realized that Rock Stars traveled a lot and I am more of a homebody. Strike 1.
Also Rock Stars seem to be involved in the drug culture and make poor choices and tend to die early because of addiction. I could just see myself becoming a drug addict and seeing my mother crying at my funeral. Strike 2.
Also Rock Stars are pursued by groupies… primarily women… seductive women. That could potentially be a weakness for me. I mean you could say “no” a thousand times but the one time you don’t could have disastrous consequences. Strike 3 to becoming an Internationally Famous Rock Star and hello to becoming a simple country Veterinarian.
Of course that whole story is one big joke and yet it illustrates a concept.
There is not anything inherently wrong with being a Rock Star and yet it is an occupation that provides several opportunities for sin.
The child of God shouldn’t naively go down a path that has great potential for sin. I could name you several occupations that are not family friendly and have a high percentage of marriage failures.
The child of God should be smart and wise and make good choices.
Of course I did become a simple country Veterinarian and am still with the wife of my youth and we are surrounded by our children and grandchildren.
Far, far better than being in some strange town, drowning in drugs with some wild and wicked woman.
Choose wisely grasshopper.
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3.
There are two types of people contrasted in the above verses. Those people who have accepted Jesus Christ and have conformed themselves to his teaching and those who have not.
- The behavior of those who have not are…
- insubordination to authority… government and otherwise.
- not caring about doing good.
- Slanderous speech against others
- troublemakers and being inconsiderate
- treating others harshly
- lives characterized by following after passions and pleasures
- maliciousness and envy
- hating others and receiving hatred
The text says we all used to be like that but then something happened… God saved us by his mercy and that’s the only way it could happen. We couldn’t find salvation because we deserved it because we were totally undeserving of it.
Some have the idea that all we have to do to be saved is just to be good… sorry… goodness does not deserve mercy. Goodness does not earn mercy.
Mercy is conditional, he saved us through…
- the washing of rebirth.
- the renewal by the Holy Spirit who comes through Jesus Christ.
- we are then justified by his grace and become heirs and then (and only then) have the hope of eternal life.
Remember and cause others to remember to behave in a manner worthy of this wonderful, merciful gift.
Here are three or four cases on greetings and my observations on them.
I think the worst kind of greetings are the ones I have experienced at local convenience stores. You walk in and the cashier has been trained by corporate policy to say “hello” they don’t look up, no eye contact and they don’t really mean it… they’re just following corporate policy.
I thought that was the worst until I walked into a store recently and they had an electronic greeting.
The second worst kind is what I experience at the local athletic facility. There’s always 2-3 people at the front desk. You scan your member card… they make eye contact and smile and say hello. They do that when you leave too. It’s certainly better than the convenience store but for crying out loud they have your information on their computer screens right in front of them. They could at least greet you by your name and pretend that they know you.
My third example is the front desk at our office. They have been trained to recognize not only our clients but the names of their pets. Most of our clients make appointments so our receptionists have all the clues they need to make a personal greeting. When the client walks in they say “hello Mrs. Brimerlee… how is Barney today?” (for example). As they are checking out our receptionists ask about the visit and thank them.
Greeters and greetings are very important in congregations. Of course what happens in between the Howdies and the Adios' are also important but greeters at the beginning are the first impression and greeters at the end are the last impression. So… like really important.
The reality in congregations is that everyone is a greeter. Greeting is layered and somewhat continuous from the time the visitor walks through the front door, as they run the gauntlet through the foyer and finally when they find their seats.
I was told by a practice consultant that at the front desk you hire for personality and then teach front desk skills.
The skill of greeting can be taught and learned and as we engage in greetings and observe other greeters our skills are honed.
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was previously a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor.
Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement… that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost.
Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life… ” 1 Timothy 1:12-17.
Paul was the worst of sinners… the very worst of sinners. He was guilty of Blasphemy because he insulted Jesus Christ by saying he was not God that Jesus was just a pretender and Paul treated with great violence those who disagreed with him.
Paul should have been punished with death but Jesus had other plans for Paul so he extended mercy to Paul and he was patient in doing so. Jesus let Paul continue to blaspheme and violate with violence true believers for some period of time.
You see when the world views a sin like “Blasphemy” it instantly judges and condemns the guilty and the verdict is as good as carried out. We treat them like they are dead. Predictable, Logical and Biblical.
But Jesus is not all that predictable (as illustrated by these verses.) He unpredictably extended mercy because he could do something we can’t… he could look into a heart and see faith and what the seed of faith can become.
Lesson #1… Jesus is patient. Probably much more patient than we are. Jesus doesn’t give up on people… even the worst.
Lesson #2… it doesn’t matter how bad you have been or how long you have been bad. If, like Paul, he “considers you to be faithful” he can extend mercy and erase all of those bad things.
Jesus extended mercy to Paul to demonstrate these concepts to the world so that the world might be encouraged that if God could extend mercy to the worst of sinners… then he could also extend mercy to those who are not the worst… people like you and me. Super encouraging.
1. Full name
2. Contact information
3. Address
4. Drivers license
5. Social Security number
6. Photograph
7. Church affiliation or character recommendations
Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached… ” Barnabas wanted to take John Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Acts 15:36-41.
Very interesting. Barnabas gets in an argument with the Apostle Paul and it’s a “sharp” disagreement. I read this as there were some emotions involved… maybe even some level of anger.
I can imagine Paul’s end of it. John Mark agreed to go with us and then he quit on us… he’s a quitter. He left me in a big bind and I’m not going down that road again. I need someone who I can rely on and his name is not John Mark!
On the other end of it Barnabas defends John Mark… John Mark made one mistake and now he’s sorry… I say we give him another chance. Paul… if you’re so set on your opinion then I don’t want to go with you. You take Silas and I’ll take John Mark.
Interesting that Paul didn’t play the “Apostle Card”. Like… I’m an Apostle chosen by God on the road to Damascus. I’ve been whipped and abused, etc. I walked with Jesus Christ and what I say goes.
Nor did Paul compromise for the sake of…
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”
Which he wrote with his own hand in the letter to the Ephesians (4:3)
Neither Paul nor Barnabas was accused of any kind of sin. They apparently in all the emotion didn’t call each other names or ascribe their choices to the influence of Beelzebub. I’m guessing in their disagreement they still respected each other.
I guess if you can disagree with an Apostle then you can disagree with any other kind of Christian; Elders (as much as I hate to say it), Preachers, the aged and maybe even your parents.
And we don’t have to compromise our principles for the “Bond of peace”
However in any kind of disagreement, even an emotional one, it should be done with respect and shouldn’t sever the relationship… and the cause of Christ should not be harmed.
“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” Matthew 10:16
Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them out like sheep among wolves.
First of all what shepherd sends his sheep to wolves? The wolves could and would make a great feast of the sheep.
Jesus knew the wolves would kill his sheep and the disciples understood that… but the sheep had a job to do… a dangerous job and Jesus helped protect his sheep by giving them the tools to protect themselves.
He told them that the wolves would have them arrested and flogged. He warned them that even their own momma’s might betray them… like a momma-wolf. He told them that the wolves would hate them and persecute them.
Knowing these things they were prepared for everything the wolves could do to them.
The two great tools that they possessed were “shrewdness” and “innocence”. Be shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.
- don’t worry about what to say.
- when persecuted… get out of town.
- don’t be afraid… all they can do is kill you.
- learn the magic words and don’t be afraid to say them no matter what the situation is… “Jesus is the Christ the Son of God”
And in fact that is exactly what we see the Apostle Paul doing during his ministry.
Kind of reminds me of an old western TV show... "Have Sheep... will Travel"
A funny thing happens in Luke 16. First in the previous chapter Jesus told parables about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Then in chapter 16 he switches gears and decides to tell a parable about a rich man.
At the conclusion of the parable, the Pharisees who also happened to be in the audience, ridiculed Jesus for his teaching. The text says they ridiculed Jesus because they loved money. Jesus answered the ridicule and then said this…
“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”
Then in the next verses continues on the theme of the rich and told the tale of the Rich man and Lazarus.
So why did Jesus interrupt his teaching on the rich to discuss marriage, divorce and remarriage?
I think I know exactly why. You see the Pharisees not only had a problem with being lovers of money but by implication had a problem with their marriages. They must have been marrying, divorcing, remarrying, so forth and so on.
They ridiculed Jesus on his teaching about money and richness but when he taught about marriage, divorce and remarriage they kept their hypocritical mouths shut so light might not be shined on their hypocrisy.
Don’t you just love Jesus? He knew how to shut them up.
If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Matthew 18.
A neat thing has been done with these verses. These verses have been used to differentiate between the individual, a plurality of individuals and the church. Ostensibly to illustrate that the church has a different work than the individual and individuals. Like I said… its really neat but there is a problem… its not true.
First of all the purposes of these verses is not to define the work of the church and differentiate it from the work of the individual.
Secondly, the church wasn’t in existence and the word “church” in this text probably means the jewish congregation or the Synagogue. Jesus was still just trying to make them better Jews and prepare them for the coming of the Kingdom.
Thirdly if this was to be the formula for discipling an individual in sin… there is no example of it in the New Testament.
It is true that the word translated in this text is “ekklesia” which is the same word used when describing the church in the New Testament after the church was established.
However dear reader please note this… sometimes the Lord’s Church is described as a Synagogue…
“My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come into your synagogue a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, and there come in also a poor man in vile clothing” James 2:2
Please don’t force Matthew 18 to teach the distinction of the work of the individual, the work of individuals and the work of the church. It may be neat but it’s really sloppy hermeneutics.
Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.” Matthew 19
The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus with tough questions and this was a really tough one. Obviously the Pharisees saw some inconsistencies in their marriage and divorce practices or they would have never asked this question.
I guess the Pharisees expected Jesus to either say… Moses had it right you can divorce your wives or Moses had it wrong you can’t divorce your wives.
What they didn’t expect Jesus to say was that if they divorced their wives (except for fornication) and married another woman then the man and the new wife were both guilt of adultery.
You see under the Law of Moses the sin of adultery was punishable by death. In other words if you divorce your wife and marry another you will both be stoned to death.
Even the disciples were shocked and exclaimed… it would be better to not even marry than to risk the possibility of the death penalty.
Jesus basically responded… well boys… marriage isn’t for everybody but if you decide to marry you better take it seriously because I sure will.
There is no example in the New Testament of anyone being killed for committing adultery. In 1 Corinthians 5 a guy had sex with his father’s wife. That was adultery and it severed his relationship with the church and with God… but he wasn’t killed.
I suspect Jesus is still dead serious about people remaining true to their marital vows. We should be serious about our vows as well. After all… it could have deadly consequences.
In Ezekiel 16 God describes in figurative language how he found the nation of Israel and made her his wife.
- he describes her as newborn baby… a neglected baby.
- he took the neglected baby and made her grow.
- she grew into a beautiful young woman and he clothed and adorned her and married her.
- but she turned into a prostitute and sacrificed her children to idols.
so he turned her over to her adulterous lovers and they used and abused her and she was ashamed and disgraced for what she did.
Jesus uses similar language about his wife the church in Ephesians 6… she was unclean and blemished, spotted and wrinkled but Jesus loved her just like God loved his wife Israel.
- Jesus gave himself up for her because he loved her.
- He set her apart as his one true bride and cleaned her up with his word.
- She like Israel was “glorious” and without any defect.
- He continually cherished her and nourished her and he was “one” with her.
But like God’s wife Israel some of Jesus’ people rebelled against him and…
- left their first love (Rev 2:4)
- left the teachings of Jesus and followed after others (Rev 2:15)
- became followers of Jezebel and her teachings of fornication (Rev 2:20)
Jesus warned them if they didn’t repent they could no longer be his wife. (Rev 2:5)
He portrayed himself as having eyes like fire and a loud angry voice and a sharp sword coming out of his mouth. (Rev 1:13-17)
Don’t forget when we were lost in sin and Jesus cleaned us with his very own blood and gave us the great honor and privilege to be his wife.
Don’t forget that he won’t tolerate adultery against him and allow us to be abused by the demons we might find so attractive.
Remember how handsome and loving Jesus Christ is and don’t take your eye off of him… or things could be bad… very bad.
The New testament reveals that Jesus had some people that he cared about more than others. For instance… Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Mary told Jesus “the one that you love” is sick. Jesus didn’t correct her so i assume that she hit the nail on the head. The Apostle John referred to himself in the third person in his Gospel as the one who Jesus loved. Jesus certainly showed that he favored John.
What a great feeling that must have been to know and understand that even though Jesus loved all that there were some that he loved more. And what it must be like to be that guy/gal.
It makes me wonder if from his seat in Heaven today if there are some that he just likes to watch a little bit more because of his love for them. And what it might take to be that guy/gal.
I also wonder if at the end of time when all the saved are gathered together and after the newness of it wears off a little bit if Jesus would find a few that he liked to hang out with. Some like Lazarus or the Apostle John who he had some special feelings for.
Even if I am not that guy it’s okay… I still get to be in his presence and that’s enough.
I learn a little bit about myself from time to time. Recently I had a surgical procedure and kept it kind of quiet. Like a need to know basis… my kids, my office and some Volleyball players who wanted me to play in a tournament with them.
I didn’t ask for a bunch of prayers because first of all I have a lot of confidence in the surgeon and the anesthesiologist. Plus, I have a lot of confidence in God. The morning of the surgery I prayed to him and requested that I live a long life with my wife surrounded by my kids and my grand kids. I know he heard me.
Logically, I know that probably I am not God’s favorite son but I do feel like I might be his favorite… its possible… maybe not probable but possible. After all he has blest me and blest me and there is no other explanation except that he must like me.
So, for me, it felt a little bit like an insult to Him that I would beg for the prayers of others when I know that he is watching me and listening to me. I hope you understand that.
When I was in recovery and in some pain my first thought was about Julie and I felt the emotions well up in me. In fact I told the nurse… I think I’m going to cry. Every time I thought about Julie I felt emotional until finally I did some sobbing. Julie told me later that the nurses said “He’s asking for you”.
Totally surprising to me… I had not anticipated that.
I guess that thing about the two shall become one flesh must be true. Neither one of us is perfect and in fact we annoy each other from time to time but we have learned that those feelings are of little consequence compared to the deep love we have for each other. And I guess I understand that a little bit better when I sat in a recovery room with pain and only a stranger who had no idea who I was to keep me company instead of the love of my life.
Sometimes I think she understands me better than I understand myself.
Like I said… sometimes I discover things about myself and that makes me appreciate my friend and Father all the more.
Luke 13:6-9, contains the story of the fig tree that didn’t have any fruit on it. The master wanted to cut it down put the gardener wanted to fertilize it first and see if that would do any good.
I made the point to my Bible class that God wasn’t interested in trees that just looked good. You know stately tress with a lot of beautiful foliage. God wants trees that produce a fruit. He’s fruit oriented.
One of my students asked a good question. He said what about the young Christian who is just a sapling and needs to learn his Bible better to become more productive?
That’s a great question but its based on a faulty premise. The premise that you have to be Bible experts to produce fruit. You see… you don’t have to be a great biblical genius or a spiritual brainiac to produce the kind of fruit that God wants. You just have to live according to biblical principles and let your light shine.
The example I gave was of the newest christian at Parkway baptized just a few weeks ago. Her husband has since been baptized and the last two Sundays she has had several family and friends in attendance. She is not the little Einstein of Bible knowledge… yet. But she knows enough and is spiritually smart enough to be productive. You see… her family asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she said I would like you to go to church services with me. Smart… very smart. But wait! They were at services the next Sunday too! I asked her… is it still your birthday?!?
Let’s make some Figs.
In Luke 12 Jesus tells a parable about being ready for when the Son of Man comes. Then in verse 41 Peter asks a great question…
“Lord are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
That’s a question we should always ask ourselves while reading the scriptures… for instance, are all christians supposed to sell all of our goods or was that specifically for a few? Were all christians supposed to go to all the earth (the great commission) or just some specific individuals? Like I said it was a great question.
It was a simple question and could have been answered simply. Yes Peter just for you disciples or no Peter to all the multitude. It was a simple question.
Jesus, however, didn’t give simple answers. Instead he told another parable. In that situation I, for instance, might have been a little frustrated and thought… can you just answer my question plainly and succinctly?
Let me suggest that Jesus answering with a parable was by design. It was designed to stimulate Peter’s brain and make him think because if you just give answers then you will always be answering. But if you can make someone think they can come up with their own answers.
Kind of like if you feed a guy a fish every day you will always be doing that but if you teach him to fish then he can feed himself and more importantly he can teach others how to fish.
So in short what was Jesus’ answer? In verse 48… “Everyone to whom much was given (the disciples), of him much will be required. And from whom they entrusted much (the disciples), they will demand the more”
I’m sure Peter went home and thought and thought about Jesus’ answer and was better off for the process and was prepared for when the Son of Man might come… even if the Son of Man came unexpectedly because the Son of Man had entrusted him much and Peter knew that much was expected of him.
So the next time someone asks you a question… consider, like Jesus, answering with a parable. That will exercise your brain too.
In Luke 12:1, Jesus told his disciples… “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy”
In the preceding verses Jesus had illustrated some characteristics of the Pharisees… they liked to look good on the outside but inwardly were rotten, they were over zealous for the relatively minor points of the law but neglected the major points and they loved attention.
A friend of mine told me that she used to attend one of the mega churches locally but quit attending because the leaders acted one way during the assembly but behaved the opposite way outside the assembly.
Instead of assembling with fellow christians my friend now prefers just to listen to preachers on the radio.
This particular church my friend attended (in her opinion) was like the Pharisees… it looked good on the outside but with closer inspection was … rotten.
Hence Jesus’ warning to his disciples who were the future leaders of his people. Sometimes leaders and preachers are affected by their position of prominence and the adulation that accompanies and let it go to their heads… please don’t.
I asked my Bible class how you might recognize Pharisee-like leaders today. They said those who liked to look good on the outside, those who liked to sit in the best seats, those who loved attention and those who neglected kindness, love and compassion.
That certainly fits the text but another way to tell is if people leave the congregation because of the rottenness of hypocrisy.
An old adage is that congregations will never rise above the level of its leadership. If true, and I suspect it is, fellow leaders let’s see how high we can set that bar.
In Luke 11:1, Jesus’ disciples requested that Jesus teach them how to pray whereupon he said… like this…
“When you pray, say: “ 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation”
If that was the extent of his lesson on prayer it would be a short lesson indeed but consider dear reader that the lesson goes though verse 26.
In the model prayer Jesus introduces the concept of the coming of “kingdom” that word is mentioned two more times…
- If Satan is divided is divided against himself how will (Satan’s) kingdom stand?
- If by the finger of God (Jesus) casts out demons then God’s kingdom has come upon you.
In the model prayer Jesus introduces the concept of praying for food and contrasts asking a neighbor for food and his reluctance to provide said food with God’s quick answer for the request to provide the necessary provender.
And contrasts their ignorance in even knowing what to ask for by adding… if you asked for the “Holy Spirit” he would give it to you (instead of mere victuals).
This giving of the Holy Spirit segways nicely into Jesus casting out an evil demonic spirit from a human being (who could have prayed for the Holy Spirit)
Then Jesus tells the story of a man who had an evil demonic spirit removed from him… perhaps referring to the individual he had just removed the demonic spirit from. Jesus describes the demonic spirit wandering around looking for another human host… and being unable to find one goes back to his previous residence and original host and finds a nice, tidy home and invites seven other demons to live with him… the house was vacant.
That poor human being… his last state was truly worse than the first.
How did that happen?
Let me suggest that if the individual had invited the Holy Spirit to live in him it would have been impossible for a demonic spirit to live there.
It may have even been the case that the individual became a believer but as suggested in the model prayer… don’t expect forgiveness of sins if you don’t have the capacity to forgive others.
You see that attitude is like inviting a demon to come in and live comfortably within you.
Jesus gave a brief example of a prayer but used it to educate his followers about the coming kingdom, what they could ask for and when to expect results and how to live in Spirit without having to worry about demon possession.
Now the disciples could pray better.
Aaron was a weak leader. When his brother Moses was preparing to go up on Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments he gave Aaron one job to do until he got back… to keep the people under control. Aaron failed his one job.
Moses was gone longer than expected and the people were worried that maybe he had died and approached Aaron to make for them a god that could lead them.
When Moses came off the mountain and found the people worshipping a golden calf and partying and celebrating and running wild. Moses was furious. He asked Aaron… what did they do to you for you to allow this?
Like did they torture you? Did they threaten you? Did they tickle you until you couldn’t stand it and finally gave in? No they didn’t… Aaron just bowed to the will of the people. He failed.
Moses accused Aaron of “leading the people into sin” The wrong kind of leadership indeed.
God wanted to kill all of Israel except Moses and make another nation out of Moses.
Elders are leaders in God’s church. Like Aaron their job is not only to keep the congregation under control but to help make the bride of Christ beautiful… not ugly and running wild.
I’ve heard of Elders who poll the congregation to make a decision. I’ve heard of congregations whose Elderships basically allow the Preacher to be lead the congregation and just rubber stamp his decisions. I’ve heard of congregations whose members make all kinds of decisions without even consulting the Elders.
God qualified and appointed Elders based on those qualifications for a reason. To lead with wisdom and strength.
Elders shouldn’t have backbones made of cartilage. Elders need to protect their position against any and all who would seek intentionally or unintentionally to weaken it. Otherwise like Israel God might want to kill the congregation and start over.
Elders… don’t be weak like Aaron. Be strong leaders. Listen to the congregation and carefully evaluate what the congregation tells you but in the end the decision is yours… don’t be afraid to make it.
Publicans in the New Testament were Jews empowered by the Roman government to collect taxes on behalf of the Roman Government. They were not very popular among the Jews generally and among the Pharisees specifically. Even today Tax collectors are not very popular.
First of all the Jews couldn’t have been happy about paying taxes in addition to paying their 10% tithing. And the fact that the Roman Caesar claimed to be a God had to be bothersome. The general opinion among Pharisees was that Publicans were sinners and spiritually filthy.
Lukes Gospel contains five references to Publicans:
Luke 3:12… at the preaching of John the Baptist the Publicans asked “What should we do” whereupon John says “Extort no more than that which is appointed you”.
Luke 5:27… Jesus told Levi the Publican… “follow me” (to become ultimately an Apostle)
Luke 7:29… “all the people (and the Publicans) when they heard, justified God, being baptized” but “the Pharisees and Lawyers rejected the counsel of God”
Luke 18:11-14… contrasts the self righteous prayer of the Pharisee with the humble prayer of the Publican.
Luke 19:1-10… the story of the rich, Chief Publican Zaccheus (presumably rich due to extortion). Jesus goes to eat supper with Zaccheus and the people murmur… Jesus is eating with a sinner! Whereupon Zaccheus stands up and defends himself… “Lord I give half of my goods to the poor and if I have wrongly exacted anything of any man I will repay four times the amount”
Keep in mind that Jesus used the dregs of jewish society to attack the self righteousness of the Pharisees.
The Pharisees hated Samaritans so Jesus elevated Samaritans, they hated unclean women so Jesus elevated them, they hated Publicans so Jesus chose one to become his Disciple, he baptized Publicans when the Pharisees refused to be baptized, he commended the prayer of a Publican over the prayer of a Pharisee and he found a righteous chief publican (who was rich) and went into his home and ate with him.
If there is any lesson in this at all its that we shouldn’t be so spiritually arrogant that we despise those who have been marked up by Satan and the world and choose to have nothing to do with them.
I wonder who would fall in those categories today? Racists? Those we differ with politically? Sexual misorietation? Muslims? Atheists?
I was listening to a comedian the other day and he said he went out to dinner with a guy that was worth 100 million dollars. He said he himself was worth only 40 million dollars but they still ordered the same steak. Lol.
That seemed to validate the idea to me that you can only do so much with wealth… there’s only so much you can buy. And yet its almost like a game or contest with rich people to see how much wealth they can accumulate.
It must be a real struggle to figure out what to do with money unless your real goal is just to use it to make more money or to risk it in a big gamble just for the thrill of a big pay out.
Those who don’t love money try to figure out how they can help other people. i.e. they love people more than money.
I’m all for responsibility in handling wealth. I think the Parable of the Talents suggests that concept. Invest it wisely and use the proceeds to help others.
I heard of a group of Christians who pooled their monies and went to some of the villages of fellow Christians in Africa and drilled water wells for them so they wouldn’t have to walk to the river.
That seems to me to be the perfect example of people who love others more than they love money.
I like eating a nice steak every once in a while but I’m also quite happy to eat a chili cheese dog.
Lets be careful not to pamper ourselves so much that we neglect the paupers. Maybe we should pamper the paupers.
Luke 7:28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Interesting verse. I wonder why Jesus said this?
Jesus, of course, in this text identified how great John (the Baptist) was. John’s mission (successfully completed) was great and John performed it with great humility.
I suppose Jesus said this to give believers in Christ great hope that as great as John was that they could be greater.
1 Corinthians 12:12-31, illustrates God’s people as a body. I don’t know what body part John was just like I don’t know what body part I am or what body part you are. But I do know that whatever part we are the body of Christ needs all of its parts… that’s important.
I also know that the members of the body had God given spiritual gifts and could perform miracles but that the spiritual gifts (as great as they were) were not greater than love. Although God worked through people with spiritual gifts we are the ones who control how we work our love.
So you may not have the great mission that John the Baptist had but we still have a great mission… a world wide mission.
The only way therefore that we can be greater than someone like John the Baptist is in the mission of love that we demonstrate to each other and to the world. Even the least in the Kingdom can be great in love. Love is the greatest.
Luke 10:17-27 tells the tale of the rich young ruler. Then in verse twenty-one Jesus says this…
“Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But he was deeply dismayed by these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property”
The question is raised who does Jesus’ instruction apply to? Does it include all believers? Because if it does apply to all believers then all believers would be obligated to sell all of our possessions and follow Jesus. So who does it apply to?
This verse specifically only applies to the “rich young ruler” and no one else. He didn’t tell Nicodemus to do this. He didn’t tell the Samaritan woman to do this. He didn’t tell Zaccheus to do this (for instance)
Jesus gave specific instructions to specific people and the instructions often differed widely.
So what can we learn from this? We can learn by studying Acts and the Epistles how they applied Jesus’ and the Apostles teaching.
Generally people who had money were generous to those who did not have much. They even sold things. There is no example of anyone selling all that they had.
We can also learn to question how we interpret the Bible and how to make applications.
We see a lot of behavior problems in dogs. Primarily anxiety/fear and its manifestations like aggression and biting. A lot of these issues are owner related… they let their dogs get away with inappropriate behaviors as puppies because they think they are cute then when the pets get big they are too big to control. Sometimes the pets are dangerous and owners choose to euthanize their beloved pets that were so cute as puppies.
Certain breeds are worse than others.
Usually ugly/dangerous behavior problems can be addressed by simple training in the basics… sit, stay, heel. You are not training them primarily not to bite but you are exerting dominance in smaller areas (sit, etc.) that translates over to larger areas (Biting, etc.)
This also (in my opinion) translates over to the behavior of children and training them.
Sometimes we run across believers that hold some pretty strange doctrinal issues and the root of the problem is they don’t know their Bibles very well. Sometimes then instead of butting heads on an issue and just ending up with head aches it makes sense to go back to the basics and re-learn the Bible.
Of course that takes time and patience and may not have the exhilaration that comes with a good fight and the recounting of the fight… whether you are talking about your pets, your children or the weak in faith.
Love is patient, love is kind.
In the middle school class that I teach we have been reading about manna and how the Israelites got tired of eating it. I asked the kids if they ever got tired of eating the same thing over and over. One of them raised his hand and said he got tired of eating Hot Dogs. Later his mom told me that he went through a spell of just wanting Hot Dogs. In the pm class he told me that he would never get tired of eating Pepperoni sandwiches that it would be impossible to get tired of those. When Lauren worked at the Chicken Shack she brought home fried chicken every night. I loved it for a while then got tired of it.
Have you ever noticed about God that when his people complained about something and grumbled that he gave them exactly what they wanted but in such quantities that they got sick of it. He was teaching them a lesson.
I’m sure if the Israelites had been more polite that on Mondays he would give Manna, Tuesdays - Hot Dogs, Wednesdays - Quail, Thursdays - Friend Chicken and Fridays - Pepperoni sandwiches. But knowing the complaining nature of the Israelites they probably wouldn’t be happy with that either… they didn’t have the confidence in God that’s called faith. People of faith shouldn’t complain and then we wouldn’t have to learn lessons from God the hard way.
I got a notification on my Veterinary class of 1981 Facebook page that one of our classmates passed just the other day. I hadn’t seen him since 1981. When I saw his photo on Facebook I barely recognized him.
I figured out the other day that I remember people like the last time I saw them. I remembered this classmate as young and energetic and happy.. That’s how I remembered him. I can still see his face.
Here’s the thing… our physical features are not the only thing that changes… the way we think, the things we believe, our emotions, our accomplishments… everything changes.
We have to be careful that we don’t categorize people according to their past and don’t give them the benefit of the doubt. Someone may have offended us years ago and maybe we didn’t get an “I’m sorry” so we still hold a grudge. Let that go… let it go… people change.
In 2 Corinthians 3:16-18 a spiritual mirror is revealed. As we turn to Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit and look in that mirror we see the reflection of our spiritual selves. We see our spiritual face slowly but surely transformed into the face of Jesus Christ.
Those who know us closely can also see the transformation in us. Some folks can’t see it though because they have closed their minds. They’ve been offended and can’t get over the past. They can’t see past the end of their nose… and have short noses.
If you’re in that situation just don’t worry about that… it’s not your problem it’s theirs.
I looked at the photo of my deceased classmate and I thought I saw happiness and contentment and a good life lived. I wish that I could have sat down with him and heard his story and his life’s experiences but whatever they were I choose to believe the best about him because I want to have people believe in the best in me.
Julie and I went to Christine Torno’s (1926-2023) funeral yesterday. On the drive over to Sinton, Texas we were guessing on who might be there.
Parkway was well represented but one of the nice things about funerals are the old friends you see who you don’t expect to see. My old friend and former member Ron Guzman was there. Seems like I only see him on Facebook and at funerals. We get along together like peas and carrots.
We got to see Brad and Beth Roach and we also got to see Steve Torno (Ray’s cousin) who we had known since college days. Also my old friend Richard Besselman who lives north of Dallas. He came a long way for someone he’s not related to.
Warren Miller who is married to Joy Torno Miller emceed the whole thing. I was impressed that he referred to Christine Torno as “our mother”. Nothing says love like that does.
Warren also said something I liked… “we preach our own funerals by the way we live our lives”
Glen and Christine Torno were just everyday small town working people.
Christine’s dad was an oil field worker who bought some land on Papalote creek and farmed and raised a few cows. There are a lot of Rattlesnakes on Papalote Creek and one of the games Christine and her siblings played was “jump the snake” (If you can imagine that)
The other story I liked about Christine was she had to walk about two miles to the bus stop and she would walk barefoot no matter the weather carrying her shoes. When she got to school she would use the school water hose to wash her feet and legs off then put her clean shoes on and go to class.
One of the grandsons said his grandmother had taught him five things… how to fish, how to grow things, it’s okay to have an opinion and to change it, to dream big and to love the Lord big.
Tim Rogers (who I know well) had a speaking part and I really felt for him. I’ve been in the position where I’ve been asked to speak for someone who I greatly loved and knew that I couldn’t get through it without crying but did it anyway because I knew no one else could say the words that needed to be said and that I was the only one who could say them. I guess tears are the currency of love. If so then Tim Rogers is rich.
I heard that during the depression there was a Veterinarian in the community and if you couldn’t pay your bill he would waive the fee if you would visit at the local Church of Christ. That’s how the Torno’s became members.
I looked at that great gathering of Torno’s… sons and daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews and marveled at their love for each other and their great spiritual legacy that started because their ancestor was too poor to pay a Veterinary bill and too proud to not pay a debt.
I was talking to one of our members today who knows about Papalote and sharing some of these stories with him and I told him… in your spiritual journey you need to start attending some of these funerals… it will make you better and he agreed (I knew he would).
Certainly Julie and I go to funerals to comfort the family and to see old friends but the real reason we go is kind of selfish I guess. We go because it makes us better and I guess thats kind of hard to understand unless you go and share some tears and laughter with the loved ones of the deceased.
God bless you Christine Torno.
