A Moabite King?

The author of Ruth ruthlessly reminds us of her heritage. She was from Moab. No, she was not the mother of all [insert any word that starts with "b"]. She was from a land south of Israel through which the Hebrew fugitives fled. A curse was pronounced upon them by Moses that no Moabite even down to the 10th generation could enter the temple (Dt. 23:3).

Unlike other nationalities, the Israelites were not explicitly forbidden to marry with these people. It certainly would have been distasteful, but not forbidden.

What is so amazing about the fact the Ruth is a Moabitess is that King David is her descendant, and sooner than the 10th generation by the lineage at the end of the book. David, by the Deuteronomy command should not have entered the temple. And yet the grace of God, and His choosing changed that. Furthermore, David serves as a picture of the coming King, the true Priestly King Jesus. Also in the line of Ruth, Jesus then is in a sense born outside the temple. He represents a people forbidden from the presence of God. He stands for all of those not allowed to come into the temple, either because of their imperfections or their descent. He too was a descendant of a Moabitess and yet was not only allowed into the temple, but was even greater than the temple itself (Mt. 12:6).

Sin - Irrational Self Destruction

The ancients have always noted that sin is a perversion of the good. As such, it only exists because of the good. However, in seeking the destruction of the good, it irrationally seeks its own demise.

Freely Enslaved - Free to Redeem

¹⁵ If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand him over to his master. ¹⁶ Let him live among you wherever he likes and in whatever town he chooses. Do not oppress him. --Deut. 23:15-16

The Law is clear. Fugitive slaves are to find refuge in our midst. The Jewish people were a bunch of fugitive slaves from Egypt, how could they send slaves back to their masters, when God had not sent them back to Egypt?

In the New Testament, we find Paul, a man well-versed in Scripture, returning a runaway slave, Onesimus, to a brother in Christ at Colossae! Did Paul not memorize his memory verse one week, or was something deeper going on here?

I think there are three reasons why Paul acts in a way contrary to this command:

1. Sent Onesimus back as a brother, not a slave, because

2. He (Paul) took the slave debt upon himself. Therefore,

3. Onesimus was wiling to lose his freedom and become a slave to all for the Lord's glory and the saving of many.

Let's treat each one in more detail.

1. Onesimus was returning as a brother, not a slave.

In Philemon 16, Paul tells Philemon that he is sending Onesimus back, "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother." Paul was confident in Philemon's kindheartedness and ability to follow the Holy Spirit. He was also confident in the Holy Spirit's work in Onesimus's life such that he was willing to call Onesimus a brother and send him back. But to send him back as a brother, is to restore a family. To send him back as a slave would be treason. But Paul sees this as a different situation than that of a slave and master, a distinction that is relationally lost in the Gospel.

2. Paul paid the slave debt.

Paul starts this letter not on the basis of his apostleship, but on the basis of his state as a prisoner. Not only was he a physical prisoner when he met Onesimus and wrote this letter, but elsewhere he speaks of being a prisoner in another sense. In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul says, "Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible." Paul doesn't send Onesimus back as a slave. He sends him back as brother, because he has assumed the debt! Paul is the prisoner. He has become the slave!

Why would/could he do this. Well, Paul was not the first one to broach this command found in Deuteronomy. The LORD, Creator of Heaven and Earth, desired to save sinful man, who through Adam had become slaves to sin and death. When we sought refuge in Him, he didn't send us back, but He sent His own Son as a slave so that we might go free. In the same way, Paul here mediates a deal where Onesimus' debts are transferred to him, so that Onesimus can be restored to his master as a brother.

3. Onesimus was willing to make himself a slave to everyone.

Finally, Onesimus desired to (or was at least willing to) return to his former master. He had served with Paul to the degree that Paul considered him useful (v11 - a play on his name) and even sent the letter to Colossae via him. That very letter Paul teaches, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it...with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." Onesimus was likely convinced by Paul and the Holy Spirit to return in faithfulness to his earthly master as a sign of his submission to his Heavenly Master and let the chips fall where they may.

Not only that, but like Paul, he was willing to make himself a slave to everyone so that he might win as many as possible. Onesimus had been discipled by Paul and most definitely had a compassionate and evangelistic heart. He was willing to set aside his new found freedom in order to show grace and mercy to those he served.

The Rock of Ages Brings the Water of Life

Wisdom is the ability to respond appropriately to given situation. Folly is to respond to every situation in the same way. Psalm 78 presents a wonderful juxtaposition which exposes God's eternal wisdom.

He split the waters to bring them across on dry rocks. Then, later, he split the dry rock in order to bring them water to drink.

If our God is so wise and so powerful, can he not also use all things together for our good?

Careful It Might Blow Your Mind

Detonate

Rest with God - The Crown of Creation

Whether its marriage books, theological discourses on the role of women in the church, or Christian's stating the value and wonder of women in the world, many present women as the glorious culminating jewel of creation. And they are right...to a degree.

The train of thought usually goes something like this: in each step of creation God creates something of higher order or beauty. Woman is the last thing he created. Therefore, women must be the highest or most beautiful creation of all. She is not to be disregarded as inferior, but regarded as the crown of creation.

The deduction is flawless, the premises are not. I agree that the beauty of women is something so captivating that only the glory of the Lord can trump it in the hearts of men. However, she is not the last thing the Lord created. On the seventh day, He rested. He made the seventh day a day of rest. The text says, He made it holy. He set it apart. He had another purpose in mind. Something so glorious that even woman in all her beauty could not compare. He made us for resting with him. It is the rest to which we look forward to and await in the return of Christ.

Not convinced? Unlike all of the previous days, which had a day and night, this day had no night (Gen 2:2). In Revelation 22, we see that in the eternal city there is no more night. The Lord Our God is our light. In addition Revelation 14:11, presents the opposite (eternal torment) as being a lack of rest day and night.

It took God six days to finish his work, and then rest. He has given us (mankind) all of history to complete our work, so that at its end, we may finally sit and rest with Him. So that we might too enjoy the eternal Sabbath rest. The great news is that Christ through his work on the cross, and already purchased us the right to enter into that rest now. We have the right to partake of the Spirit's rest-giving work from our merit-gaining labors. We have a blessed hope indeed.

So, sorry ladies. You really are great, but let's admit rest with God is what we were made for.

Our takeaways:

1. The Sabbath is created for us to remember how God rested

2. The Sabbath is to remind us of what we have to look forward to

3. The Sabbath reminds us of what we were really made for

Keep Your Clothes On!

Do you remember Joseph? No not the carpenter, the patriarch remembered more broadly as the star of a musical (which I've never seen).

What was so special about him anyway? Well his mother was Rachael the finer of two sisters and later wives of Israel (Jacob). She gave birth to Joseph later in life and thus Joseph became the apple of Israel's eye. Well through a course of jealousy-sparking dreams, and lack of p.c. commentary, Joseph ends up sold into slavery. His brothers then take his multi-colored cloak, dip it in blood, and present it as evidence of Joseph's death to their father.

Then, as Joseph rises to a place of privilege in Potiphar's house, his runs into the same issue. Potiphar's wife gets the hots for him and tries to lead him down a path of destruction. Joseph preferred death to sin, and so left his cloak in her hand and fled. Then, she presented his cloak to her husband as proof of Joseph's iniquity. Making Joseph as good as dead one more time.

Lesson number one: keep your clothes on. When it doubt don't let people steal your clothes.

Lesson number two: may we be reminded of the true and better Joseph, who was the favored Son of His Father. He didn't just wear a cloak of colors, he wrapped himself with all the colors of light (Ps 104:2)! And like Joseph, Jesus was sold into the slavery we deserved. Like Joseph He was stripped of all his honor. And like Joseph, because of the sin and pride and jealousy of his brothers (Heb 2:17), he was presented as dead to his Father. But unlike Joseph, Jesus actually died. He was actually turned over to the slavery of sin on our behalf. It wasn't the blood of an animal that stained his cloak, it was his very own. It was his blood presented on our behalf, that we might now share in the honor of the beloved soon.

And like Joseph's second encounter, Jesus was thrown into prison on our behalf. Like Joseph his did not love his life so much as to give into the demands of sin. No, he preferred death to sin, and lived a life that lead him to that death. So remember, keep your clothes on. Not just those fading garments of cotton and polyester, but clothe yourselves with the New Man. Clothe yourselves with the honor and love and majesty given to you by the One who set aside his cloak on your behalf.