Theological Perspectives

The Lord has exposed me to the various evangelical theological perspectives in a major way throughout my life. This has given me a broader perspective than I would have if I'd stayed within one denomination all of my life. It has helped me see the nuances of each perspective.

This is not the same as church-hopping. I firmly believe that where I worship is not for me to decide, and endeavor to follow the Lord's leading in this. I am firmly Arminian, and believe this is the Lord's will. And my love affair with theology has revealed some surprises.

I have found that the United Methodist Church has given me a good idea of what Arminianism is as a whole. Nazarenes and Wesleyans tend to get lost in the trees, and misses the big picture. The UMC looks more at the big picture, and could do well to look more at the trees. Many Arminians practice their faith like Calvinists, and need to have a better look at what it really means to be Arminian.

One discovery of mine has been how relevant the Bible is for today, and how Biblical concepts are not to be seen just as something for those people in Bible days. They are to be lived out today in much the same way they were lived out then. Ruth, for example. As I've said in a previous blog. I am Ruth. A friend and I are an illustration of how redemption should be worked out in practical living.

Ruth, Final Chapter (4)

At the beginning of this chapter, Boaz goes to the city gate immediately and finds the other kinsman-redeemer he had told Ruth about. He invites him and ten elders of the city to sit down as a kind of court (common in those days), and consider the matter before them. Here the character of the two redeemers is made obvious.

Boaz had told Ruth that he would settle the matter of marriage, but in the beginning of the debate, he doesn't mention her. He talks about Elimelech's property, which Naomi is offering for sale (and she had a right to, even in those days), and invites the other redeemer to consider buying it. The unnamed redeemer bites. This is a good deal, the property and an old woman who couldn't bear children presented no risk.

Then Boaz throws in the kicker. Whoever buys the property gets Ruth in marriage, and raises up an heir for the dead man. The redeemer backs out of the deal, saying it would ruin his inheritance. What did he mean? He now knew that the property wouldn't ultimately be his. It would belong to the heir of Elimelech. The benefit he would gain from the property would be only temporary.

What was he thinking? Wouldn't it ruin Boaz's inheritance, too? Would God actually make a law that would ruin the one who kept it? The man was revealing his character. He had a secular mindset. He was unwilling to sacrifice for someone else. For him, God had no part in this deal. He was in it for the money. He was a redeemer in name only. It was probably a good thing that Ruth didn't end up having to be married to him. (But the people didn't follow what the Law prescribed to shame him publicly).

But Boaz had an eternal and godly perspective. He was willing to sacrifice for Ruth. And he did. This deal was about giving oneself for another with no thought of what he would get out of it. Boaz's and Ruth's firstborn son became the grandfather of King David and part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

What about the women? It is clear from chapter four, that this child was a redeemer of Naomi (verse 14). And the son was said to have been born to her (verse 17). What about Ruth? Wasn't he the son and redeemer of Ruth, too? Yes! Ruth gave herself for Naomi and her deceased father-in-law, and found herself redeemed (in the social sense). She was already redeemed by God, under Whose wings she had come for refuge (Chapter 2 verse 12). The women of the town said she was better to Naomi than seven sons (4:15). This was the ultimate compliment for a woman in Israel at that time. No woman in Israel was considered better than even one son, let alone seven. And Ruth the Moabitess became Ruth the Israelite. Can you see why this is my favorite story in all of the Old Testament?

Ruth, Chapter 3

Naomi is so encouraged that she begins to play matchmaker. She tells Ruth what to do, and Ruth does it.

She goes to Boaz's threshing floor after dinner, and after Boaz has lain down to sleep. She lies down at his feet, uncovering his feet. There is nothing sexual in this encounter. She is claiming her rights as a widow in Israel.

Boaz awakens in the middle of the night and sees a woman lying at his feet. He demands to know who she is. She answers that she is his maid Ruth, then said, "...spread your covering over your maid, for you are a redeemer." This is a proposal of marriage. She is challenging him to do his duty as kinsman-redeemer.

Boaz blesses her for doing and saying this, and agrees to take the matter in hand immediately. However, he told her there was a redeemer closer than he, and he must settle it with him first.

Before daybreak, Boaz fills Ruth's cloak with barley, and she goes home to Naomi. Naomi is pleased with Ruth's report, and assures her that Boaz will settle the matter that day.

Naomi is really the one to be redeemed here, as you will see in the last chapter, but see how the Lord does this.

Ruth Chapter 2

In chapter 2, Ruth shows her character. She's industrious, and full of initiative. She doesn't sit around and wait for someone to do something for her. She takes advantage of one of the Law's provisions for the poor, that of gleaning.

The Lord leads her to a field of one of the kinsman- redeemers. Ruth asks permission to glean. She doesn't assume she should be allowed. Her hard work attracts attention.

When Boaz comes to visit the workers, he asks about her. After learning her identity, he speaks to her, calls her "my daughter," encourages her, offers protection and work opportunities through for the duration of the harvest (which could have been months), orders his servants to leave extra grain for her, and gives her privileges not normally given to gleaners. He invites her to drink from the water jars, and invites her to lunch! This is "way over the top" in regard to behavior of landowners toward gleaners. Boaz has amply displayed his godly character.

When Ruth went home and told Naomi about her day, hope begins to arise in Naomi's heart, and she feels encouraged.

Ruth Chapter 1

Chapter 1 gives the setting, and explains Naomi's dilemma. Her husband had moved them to Moab due to famine in Israel. Then he and their sons died. Widows, especially childless widows, in that day and culture faced destitution. They were totally dependent on a male provider, with few exceptions. They could own property in some situations.

The Law provided that if a woman's husband died, the husband's next of kin, usually a brother, was obligated to marry her, and raise up a son to the deceased brother's name. He would have to buy the property of the deceased, knowing that the firstborn son born to the union of him and the widow would inherit it when he came of age. So there was nothing in this for the brother who married the widow. He could use the property until the son inherited it, but that was all. Everything was done for the widow and her deceased husband.

Naomi was aware of this provision, and we see later in the Book of Ruth, how this came into play. Naomi suspected that her foreign daughter's-in-law would not fare well in Israel, which is why she tried to persuade them to return to Moab. Ruth chose to stay with her. Orpah did not. Naomi was bitter due to her circumstances, and doesn't seem to harbor any hope at the beginning of the story.

The fact that we are told they arrived in Israel at the beginning of the barley harest, tells us that the Lord is up to something. So far in the Book of Ruth, the story is about Naomi, but that is about to change.

Keeping the Spring

I've been teaching Sunday School in the Book of Proverbs lately. This week we dealt with Proverbs 4. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for from out of it flow the springs of life."

The author of the lesson used his cat for an illustration. He told of how his cat sits on a perch in the yard and takes in everything going on there, never missing a thing. We need to have our spiritual antennas up at all times. Everything "out there" is bent on doing us in spiritually. Nothing is neutral spiritually.

How do we do it? Immerse ourselves in the Word. Read it with the intention of obeying it. Obedience solidifies our relationship with the Lord. Obedience is not about legalism. It's about relationship. Use Scripture as a filter to keep all the spiritual poison out. If we don't immerse ourselves in God's Word, we won't know what poison is. Alot of professing Christians are going astray today, and this is one reason why.

Stay in a solid Bible-preaching and teaching church. Pray daily, as often as you can. Keep that relationship open. Ask the Lord to protect you from all the spiritual poison, and to give you spiritual discernment.

People say they can handle it. If you think that, you are already off track. You can't handle it. That's why you need a Savior. All the time. We're in a war. We can't take a vacation from spiritual diligence. Don't even try it.

Ruth

Ruth was written during the time of the Judges. If you remember anything about that time period, you will understand that the story of Ruth was a refreshing contrast to everything that was going on when "everyone did what was right in his own eyes."

Israel went astray from the time of the Exodus until the time of their captivity. Ruth, on the other hand, was a foreigner who turned to God, behaved faithfully and came under the protection and blessing of the Almighty God. Her reward was to be redeemed eternally as well as socially.

Boaz also showed himself to be righteous, by his trust in God and faithful obedience to God's Law, when he redeemed Ruth. He did a very Christlike thing in redeeming Ruth, though it could have cost him alot to do so. His action reflected a God-centered worldview, in contrast to the unnamed next-of-kin who was interested only in financial gain.

Naomi was also righteous, in spite of her bitter attitude, and showed faith in God through the circumstances of her life.

I have already given you a practical application in a vignette from my own life. Where are the faithful Christians who will do whatever it takes to bring redemption to others spiritually and socially, no matter what the cost?

Questions

Ruth is all about redemption. Jesus redeemed us, and expects us to redeem each other. Why do we not need kinsman-redeemers in our society? Or do we? There are alot of people who fall through the cracks. No human system succeeds every time. I am one who fell through the cracks in more ways than one. But God sent me a "kinsman-redeemer" who redeemed my situation in many ways. This did not include marriage, as the Biblical human redeemers did, but it has been everything I needed. Praise God.

How About Some Application

In some ways I'm like Ruth. Ruth went to a people not her own with the Lord's leading and was immensely blessed. In a way, I have too.

My family is distant, mostly emotionally. I have 22 households of relatives in my hometown and surrounding communities, and I seldom see any of them. One brother is in Pennsylvania, but even if he and his wife are here, they are distant, so to speak. My two brothers are like the unnamed kinsman redeemer in the book of Ruth. He didn't want to redeem Ruth. My brothers keep me at as much of a distance as they can. In fact, one of my brothers actually said that I chose to be single. Now I was on my own. But this is not the Biblical attitude.

The unnamed kinsman redeemer in Ruth was more interested in economics than in God or people. He was afraid he'd ruin his own inheritance if he married her. But would God make a law that would ruin those who kept it? No. The man wasn't living by faith.

I can't read the minds of my family, but I think money is part of the problem between them and me. There is some evidence. Caring for someone who is poor is very costly. But lest you think I'm having a pity party, let me tell you where I'm going.

There have been people (church leaders) who have criticized my brothers for not taking care of me. That doesn't help anyone. But instead of forcing my brothers and sisters-in-law to do something they should, but obviously don't want to do, the Lord simply gave me another brother who has more than made up for all of my relatives combined. My life has been transformed in every conceivable way, but it is clear the Lord doesn't intend to make me rich.

As I look at my "distant" family, and this new brother the Lord has given me, I don't need an interpreter to understand that this arrangement is God's wonderful and perfect will for my life. So I don't miss my family. God has replaced them. I don't fuss about what they don't do. I rejoice over the spiritual abundance the Lord has lavished on me, and am thankful for the financial improvement, too.

If anyone out there is in a similar situation, don't fret over what or whom you don't have. If you had them, you might regret it. Remember Adam and Eve. We're still dealing with the results of their desire to have something more than what God gave them, and we will until Jesus comes. Treasure what you have.