Accepted

One of the Sabbath readings for this week comes from the Book of Ruth. Most know the story of the young widowed woman, who was from the country of Moab. Ruth committed herself, her faith, and her future with that of an Israelite woman, Naomi, who was her mother-in-law. She joined herself (see previous blog entry titled "Joined") to her Israelite mother-in-law with these words: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:15-17). With these words, Ruth turned her heart over to Naomi's God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So the two women who had lost everything, left Moab and returned to Naomi's home town in Israel, which happened to be Bethlehem (v. 22). They arrived at the time of the barley harvest, which also comes just before the season of Passover. There in Bethlehem, Ruth will meet Boaz, whose name means "strength within him": "There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech (Naomi's deceased husband). His name was Boaz." (Ruth 2:1). As we often find, the English translation does not do the Hebrew meaning justice. This is also true of the description of Boaz. "Mighty" is the Hebrew word gibor, which is also one of the LORD's names, El Gibor. Gibor meaning "champion, strong man, valiant, excel, chief, giant, brave, prevail, exceeded, confirm (covenant), be great". The word describing Boaz translated into English as "wealth" is the Hebrew word hayil. Wealth, riches and substance are part of the meaning, but even more so is "valor, strength, army, force, ability, power, train, worthy, warlike strength". The Hebrew root word, hul, shows us the basis of this strength, power and wealth, and also connects us to the image of Christ's sacrifice. This root word means "pain, bring forth, travail, writhe in pain, be in anguish, to be born, suffering torture, to wait longingly". This root meaning brings to mind verses from Isaiah regarding his prophecy of the Messiah: "He shall see the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied (saba - full, plenty, satiate, to have in excess, to enrich)...shall My righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death..." (Isa. 53:11-12). Many seek wealth and power by the strategies of men, or the ways of the world, but God talked about power from Him that also includes wealth for those who keep Him in remembrance, and desire to do His will: "And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." (Deut. 8:18). From these things, we can see that Boaz is a very special man in God's sight. We know in the story of Ruth, that upon seeing Ruth in his field, Boaz asked his men, "Whose young woman is this?" (Ruth 2:5). Boaz then directed his authority, and the workers of his fields towards the protection of Ruth (v. 8-9). Boaz then said to Ruth: "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." (v. 11-12). Boaz will become Naomi's and Ruth's kinsman redeemer, not only to restore Naomi, but to cover Ruth in marriage. Ruth and Boaz will have a son, and that son will be the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:21-22), who will become king of Israel, and a forefather in the line of Jesus. The story of Boaz and Ruth also points out something else to us. Ruth was from Moab originally. Moab was established through incest. Lot's daughters planned to get him drunk, and then each had a child conceived with their father, one of which was named Moab. Lot was so drunk that he wasn't aware of what was happening at the time (Gen. 19:30-38). Farther along in the history of Moab, as the Israelites left Egypt, the king of Moab would not give them permission to cross his land, and again stood against a judge of Israel in his battle against the oppressors of the land (Numbers 20, Judges 11:13-18). Moab was also associated with depraved idol worship, and Moabite women especially, were considered to be immoral and a corrupting influence by Israelites. It is no coincidence that Naomi instructed her daughter-in-law, Ruth, to approach Boaz after he had been celebrating with food and drink, and to lay down at his feet as he slept. This story is a kind of parallel to the story of Lot and his daughters for a reason. However, Boaz wasn't like Lot. He had eaten and drank in celebration of threshing the harvest, but he had not drunk himself senseless as Lot did (Ruth 3:6-9). Boaz was awakened and became aware that someone was with him. Unlike Lot, Boaz was aware and behaved righteously regarding Ruth's presence. When Boaz found that it was the Moabitess Ruth who was at his feet, he viewed her not with prejudice as an Israelite might at that time, but as the virtuous woman he knew her to be: "Then he said, "Blessed are you my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning...And now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman." (v. 10-11). Boaz agreed to become Ruth's husband, but unlike the sinful situation with Lot and his daughters, Boaz handled the arrangements according to righteousness, respect, and the requirements of the Law. As the LORD moved people and events according to His will in the story of Ruth and Boaz, He also confronted and challenged the prejudice against a nationality of people. God saw the heart of the Moabitess, Ruth, who had joined herself to His people as well as to Himself, and gave Boaz the lovely and loyal wife that he deserved. God also placed Boaz and Ruth the Moabitess in the genealogy of His Son, Jesus. Many times Jesus dealt with people who were not considered "worthy" or acceptable by the society and religious people around Him. However, God looks upon the heart rather than the outward appearance or circumstances (1 Sam. 16:7). There are people, nationalities and groups whom some Christians might be tempted to view according to the flesh rather than the Spirit, and might hold prejudices regarding them as a result. If the LORD has proven time and again that He does not view people in this manner then we should not either. None of us are righteous when we come to God with our hearts, but He embraces us and cleanses us through Jesus. He teaches us in His ways, and guides our days as we walk with Him. Ruth chose God, and He accepted her. It is by God's grace, not any righteousness of our own, that we are accepted in the Beloved Son (Eph. 1:3-8). Once Ruth joined herself with God and His people, the LORD took hold of Ruth's life, and changed everything about it. Ruth had lost all, and had been at the lowest place, but with the LORD holding her life in His hands, she gained all. If your heart would like to choose God, but you think, or others have told you, that you are unacceptable to Him for any reason, you can pray with me: "Heavenly Father, You made a way for me to come to You through Jesus, our Savior. I know that You do not show favoritism or prejudice. You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die for all people, and all of those who believe in Him are embraced and adopted by You as a son or daughter. Your kingdom family is composed of people from every kindred, nation, tribe, and tongue. You have looked upon my heart, and You have accepted me. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so I can live a life in Your righteousness from this point forward, filled with the fruit of Your Spirit, changed and conformed to the image of Your Son, Jesus. Take my life, Father, and show me how to walk in Your ways of life, truth, and miraculous hope. I had lost all, Lord, but in You, I have now found all. I ask and believe these things in Jesus' name. AMEN."

Cities

To borrow an expression, this is a tale of two cities. It is also a tale of two men, both called "righteous" in Scripture, who are on two different journeys, with two very different destinations in mind, even though for part of the way, over 1,000 miles, they walked side by side. The fact that their destinations were different, affected their futures.
The two who walked together for a time were Abraham and his nephew, Lot.
As they walked together they prospered. Because each of their flocks and herds had increased so greatly, they could no longer graze and water the two flocks together. Disputes and arguments developed because of the close proximity of the flocks and shepherds (Gen. 13:6-7).
Abraham told Lot to separate himself from him and he offered his nephew first choice of where he would like to move and settle his flock. Perhaps Abraham began to suspect that he and Lot were not looking for the same thing. Lot saw the distant green valley which looked like the best location, and made his decision (Gen. 13:10-13). Abraham went in the opposite direction. Abraham did not depend on the greenness of a location in order to prosper. He depended upon God. Lot was looking for a place of increase, and Abraham was looking for a place where he could continue to hear and see God, continue to be in His presence, which also happens to be a place of increase.
In this green valley that Lot chose, stood the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Others coveted this valley, and these prosperous cities as well, and war between kings broke out over them. In this large war between multiple kings, Lot was taken captive with many others, and their possessions were taken as well (Gen. 14:11-12). Abraham, with the help of God, rescued Lot, and all of his possessions. After this miraculous deliverance, Abraham came face to face with the supernatural priest, Melchizedek ("King of Righteousness"), King of Salem ("Peace"), a manifestation before His birth as Christ, the King of Righteousness, and Prince of Peace, Himself. Lot, on the other hand, had returned to Sodom ("burning, conflagration").
We know what happened in God's judgment of sinful Sodom and Gomorrah ("ruined heap, treat as a slave, tyranny"). Angels had to physically pull Lot and his family out of Sodom, in order to rescue them out of the judgment that was about to fall (Gen. 19:16).
Lot begged the angels to let him go to nearby Zoar, rather than into the mountain as the angels had instructed. From Zoar, Lot's wife looked back at the destruction of Sodom, and became a pillar of salt. The word "Zoar" means insignificance, to grow small, to become despised, mean. This place was Lot's preference.
Abraham also looked upon the destruction of Sodom, but he looked from the place where he had previously stood before the LORD in intercession: the plain, or terebinths, of Mamre.
The word "plain" or "terebinth" means great tree, oak grove. The root meaning is the word for the ram of sacrifice, the ram from whose skin the tabernacle of God would be constructed in the future, the strength of the ram, chief, mighty man. The root word also means pillar, door post, door jambs (imagery of Passover). "Mamre" means strength, also, and fatness. It means to flap the wings in order to hasten, lift up, and rise.
Ultimately, the difference between the two men was that Lot was looking for Sodom and Zoar. Abraham was looking for a city built by God, the place of his inheritance:
"For he looked for a city which hath foundations ("principles, system of truth established, set forth, ordained"), whose builder ("founder, bring forth, travail, be born, produce fruit from seed") and maker ("author, work, undertaking for a mass of people knitted together") is God."    Heb. 11:10
Two righteous men, two cities, two outcomes. Abraham became the father of nations and the father of faith in God. Lot became the father of Moab ("seed of his father"), a son from incest (Gen. 19:36-37), and a nation that was a frequent opponent of Israel.
Though both men knew God, and were accounted righteous, their lives turned out very differently. Their lives were determined, in part, upon the spiritual city for which they searched. Lot's choices were based on the outward appearance of wealth and success. Perhaps he sought a life of comfort and convenience that these cities represented. Even though his choice resulted in his captivity, he went back to it. Although his soul was vexed deeply by the sin he saw daily in this city (2 Pet. 2:7-8), he remained until he was forced out by angels. His family, and his future generations, were threatened and ultimately destroyed by his choice. We look at Lot's life and we see the errors, and the fruit of the errors. We face the same choices everyday. We live in the midst of Sodom, ourselves. What will make our choices different from Lot's? Perhaps we need to keep Abraham in mind:
Abraham travelled to and remained in places where he stood before God, and interceded before God. His reliance was upon the covenant, provision, prophetic promises and strength of God. His generations were numbered as many as the stars in the sky, and the grains of sand by the sea. His life continues to teach us about faith, dedication, and obedience to God. Scripture tells us that he continually sought the City of God.
God allows us the ability to make choices, but once He has put the knowledge and direction of His City into our hearts, all of our choices should lead us there. All else is built upon sinking sand.
This is a tale of two men and two cities.

Our Father teaches us to look for His City.