Love Foreigners- Ruth

Ruth 2:8-11 (ESV)

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Before we dive into this passage, we should read this one:

Leviticus 19:34 (ESV)

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

God fully intended his people to welcome the foreigner with open arms.  In fact, as Boaz told Ruth, they were commanded to allow foreigners to glean in their field:

Leviticus 19:9-10 (ESV)

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

It is important to note, as well, that the mark of true spiritual growth is seen in the command of Jesus:

Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)

Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

This is all the backdrop for understanding Boaz’s response to Ruth gleaning in his field.  He was obeying the commands of God.  The last portion of the above is the best part, however.  Ruth was also obeying the commands of God.  She was not expecting to be simply given anything.   Note the last line in the above, again. When she asked Boaz why she found favor with him, he states:

“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Also, her own diligence to contribute and obey the law of the land was the key to this beautiful story.   God is in the business of uniting mankind.  Jesus came to do this.  God gave Abraham the promise that through his seed (Jesus) the nations of the world would be blessed:

 Genesis 12:3 (ESV)

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

We are to bless the foreigner among us by following all of God’s commands and presenting to them the gospel of Christ. 

God Knows - Genesis 36-39

Genesis 36:24 (ESV)

These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.

This verse is one of those verses that causes us to ask, “Why did the Holy Spirit put this in the story?”  The verse appears in the middle the genealogy of the family of Esau.   This name, Anah, was just mentioned in a previous verse:

Genesis 36:20 (ESV)

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

The verse includes a second Anah.  Mentioning that he was the Anah that discovered some hot springs is probably just a way to distinguish him from the other one, already mentioned.   It does tell us something about the Spirit of God, however.  In the genealogical lists in the Bible we have more than just a list of names.   We have stories of connection, purpose and character.   God does want us to know who was connected to who.  At times these list tell us important family connections to aide us in interpreting other parts and stories of the Bible.  Sometimes the Spirit wants us to be aware of accomplishments and/or challenges the person faced.  We don’t know the exact reason for this mention other than to better identify him.  But it does, also, teach us that God knows things about us.  He knew that Anah discovered some hot springs.   We don’t know much about others, but God knows all.  He knows all of our discovers.  He knows our accomplishments.  He also knows when we don’t accomplish and don’t discover.   Note how this writer said it:

Psalms 139:1-6 (ESV)

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

He knows all about us.  We should quit trying to hide and, instead, invite His presence, continually. 

Jesus Came To Save Us and So Much More - 1 Corinthians 1-2

1 Corinthians 1:6-9 (ESV)

even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

God came to reveal to us His power and might and to save us from the pains of darkness and death.  In so doing He gave us some amazing benefits.  Note what we know about what Christ did for us, when He is confirmed among us (that means through faith we receive His gift of eternal life):

1. We lack no gift.  Jesus died, went to heaven and gave gifts to mankind to be used for His glory.  (Eph. 4:7-8)
2. He is going to return (revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ) (2 Thess. 1:9-10)
3. He will sustain us to the end.  Jesus will continue to carry us and mature our faith in perseverance.  (Phil 1:6)
4. He will present us before His Father spotless and blameless (Jude 24-25)
5. He puts us into fellowship with Him. (2 John 1:3)

Our salvation is a ticket to heaven.  But it is so, so much more.  We are restored in perfect harmony with the Father, through the sustaining work of the Son, by the Spirit.   

The Hour Is Coming - Matthew 23-25

Matthew 24:6-8 (ESV)

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

After Jesus had taught in the Temple and called out the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, He and the disciples left the Temple. But on the way out, Jesus speaking about the Temple, stated this:

Matthew 24:2 (ESV)

But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Subsequently the disciples asked when these things might happen.  That is the context for the above verses.  We don’t know when this time will come but we do know what the beginning looks like.  The beginning looks like today.   Wars, rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes in various places are all indications for the beginning of the end.  We don’t know when but we do know it is coming. It is often referred to in Scripture as the hour of God’s wrath.  Note the following in this section alone:

Matthew 24:36 (ESV)

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

Matthew 24:44 (ESV)

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Matthew 24:50 (ESV)

the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know

Matthew 25:13 (ESV)

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

John adds to this in his letter called The Revelation:

Revelation 3:10 (ESV)

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 3:10 (ESV)

Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

Revelation 9:15 (ESV)

So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

Revelation 14:7 (ESV)

And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Revelation 14:15 (ESV)

And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

Revelation 17:12 (ESV)

And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast.

Revelation 18:10 (ESV)

They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas! Alas! You great city,

you mighty city, Babylon!

For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

Revelation 18:17 (ESV)

For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.”

And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off

Revelation 18:19 (ESV)

And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, for the great city

where all who had ships at sea

grew rich by her wealth!

For in a single hour she has been laid waste.

We don’t know when, but we know what and how long.  It will be devastating.   Jesus spoke of what it looks like throughout Matthew 24-25.   We need to look for it and be prepared for it.  

Worship a God You Have to Carry, Or One Who Carries You! Isaiah 45-50

Isaiah 46:5-7 (ESV)

“To whom will you liken me and make me equal,

and compare me, that we may be alike?

Those who lavish gold from the purse,

and weigh out silver in the scales,

hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;

then they fall down and worship!

They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,

they set it in its place, and it stands there;

it cannot move from its place.

If one cries to it, it does not answer

or save him from his trouble.

God lays a challenge down to those who reject Him.  These verses are actually addressed to Babylon.  God is speaking to that evil nation to confront them with the truth of who He is.  He does so by telling them the truth about their god.  Their god is the product of their hands and must be carried by those same hands.  Imagine worshiping a god you have to carry yourself. Here is the irony.  Note what God told the leaders and people of Babylon just before these verses:

Isaiah 46:3-4 (ESV)

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

even to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

Do you see the irony.   God is telling them that He will care for them.  That He can save them.  But they turn to idols, made of hands, that they must carry in their hands. When we start worshiping the things we make and the things we, ourselves, have to carry, we lose out on Him carrying us.   The gods of this world have been manufactured by the hearts and minds of men who reject God.   They not only create their gods but must transport them from place to place with their own hands.  In contrast, our God carries us in His hands.  He holds us to deliver us.  We are to turn away from the gods we have to carry and turn toward the God who carries us.  

Will Anyone Remember Your Name? Job 18-19

 Job 18:16-17 (ESV)

His roots dry up beneath,

and his branches wither above.

His memory perishes from the earth,

and he has no name in the street.

The above two verses are from a speech given by Bildad, one of Job’s friends, to Job.  He is listing out all the things that fulfill his final words at the end of his speech:

Job 18:21 (ESV)

Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,

such is the place of him who knows not God.”

He is listing out all the things that are true about those who don’t know God.  Like all of Job’s friends’ speeches, he is right on truth and completely false on application.   Yes, these things are true about those who reject God, but Job has not rejected God.  Those who don’t trust in God will not have a continuing legacy.  Their names will be forgotten, Bildad states.  However, we do still remember those who have passed away and rejected the existence of God.   Bildad is not saying their won’t be remembered as in existence.  He is trying to make the point that they will have no lasting legacy regarding anything having to do with spiritual matters.  Remember, Bildad (and the other friends of Job) are trying to get Job to see that the reason for his condition is his sin. We know that is not true based upon the beginning of the book where God declares Job righteous.  But these men are obsessed with blame and shame.  They can only minister to Job based upon their limited knowledge of life’s conditions. Since they observe people who sin in Job’s condition, Job must be a sinner.   Job’s name, however, will live on forever.  If we talk about Job we think highly of him.   James mentions him thousands of years later:

James 5:11 (ESV)

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

Let’s realize that those who stand for God are remembered by God and others. Those who don’t have no lasting legacy.   If you gave people a Bible quiz and asked them to identify Job vs Bildad, which one of those two would they know?  

Confession Can Bring Improved Emotion - Psalms 24-26

Psalms 25:16-18 (ESV)

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

We don’t know the context of Psalm 25.  David wrote it, but we don’t have any indication in the song what was happening to him at the time of the writing.   We can see, based upon the above verses that his mental and emotional state were low.   He felt alone.  He felt afflicted.   That could come from mistreatment from someone or self inflicted wounds.   He does see that these troubles started out small but now he states, they have enlarged in his heart.   He cries for help out of his distress.  He then gives us what may be a clue as to what is happening to him when he writes:

Psalm 25:18

Consider my affliction and my trouble,and forgive all my sins.

A few verses earlier he wrote:

Psalms 25:11 (ESV)

For your name’s sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Prior to that he wrote:

Psalms 25:7-8 (ESV)

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

David is dealing with sin in his life and he recognizes he needs to confess it, acknowledge it and seek God’s mercy in light of it.   That is a great formula for all of us.   Seeking restoration with him can change the emotional and mental anguish in us.