Ruth: At the threshing floor

The idea seemed like a good one to Naomi. She was responsible for Ruth and there was really no solution except marriage. As we take a look at Ruth 3, we see a new turn in our story. I hope you’ve read Ruth 3.

Naomi couldn’t have expected that Boaz would mend her barrenness, for she was too old for children. Naomi sent Ruth to Boaz hoping for a marriage. Her motivation seemed to be concern for Ruth’s security, something that had been on her mind since she had started the trip home from Bethlehem. She expressed that concern to Ruth: shouldn’t I try to find a home for you?

Naomi instructed Ruth to adorn herself like a bride and go to Boaz in the night, uncovering his feet and lying there in a position of submission. The scene crackles with sexual overtones, much like chapter 2.

Our attention is drawn away from the land. Instead, we see that Naomi arranged for Ruth to be redeemed. A marriage gave Ruth opportunity for home and children. Naomi was arranging for the greatest blessing an Israelite woman could enjoy: offspring.

Boaz was to provide that seed. Indeed, we notice that, after the discussion at the threshing floor, Boaz sends Ruth home to Naomi with her apron filled with seed – a foreshadowing of pregnancy.
We feel certain that Ruth would bear children, that Boaz would provide the seed.

And in a wonderful extra benefit, Boaz agreed to fulfill another kinsman-redeemer function. He redeemed Naomi’s land as well.

God’s activities are like one in the shadows but we can see his gentle provision. Naomi, who accused God of abandoning her, saw the turn of events. Both land and offspring were returned to her, flowing smoothly out of God’s redemptive plan.

Next time: redeeming heritage

Not heaven bound

No sooner has we walked into the tiny living room then we were handed beautiful demitasse cups filled with thick sweet Cuban coffee. Rosa led me to their front desk, where we settled into chairs for conversation, sipping espresso. She spoke English well and so we discussed children, her job, and the neighborhood.

Soon her husband poked his head out the door. “I would like to show you our back yard.”

So we set down our cups to step through the tiny house and view his backyard, which was little more than a large deck with some potted plants. The wood was scrubbed clean and the plants were strong and healthy.

A few pieces of clothing hung on a line across the deck and Rosa pointed at the little washing machine wedged under a corner of the roof. “That’s where I wash,” she said.

“Our driver is here!” my husband said suddenly. “We need to go.”

And so we quickly said goodbyes and headed for the street. Then I remembered the espresso cup. It was a beautiful piece of china that I didn’t want left on the front step.

I scurried over to find it and hand it to Rosa. “I didn’t want this to get lost. It is so beautiful!”

She smiled gently. “It’s OK,” she said to me. “It doesn’t matter. It won’t go to heaven.”

And in that moment, I felt stripped of much of the American materialism I had brought with me.

So that’s my new motto: “Will this go to heaven?” If not, it doesn’t matter. I might enjoy it for the moment but it needn’t have a hold on my life.

Jesus said it simply:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble. It is deliverance in trouble,
which is very different.

Oswald Chambers

The state of greed

Charles did enough international travel to be familiar with US customs procedures. So when he was pulled aside in Dallas for an interview and a search by a customs official, he was curious.

“Why did you pull me out of line?” he asked the official.

The man shifted a little uncomfortably. “Are you sure you really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked,” Charles told him, “if I didn’t want to know.”

“Well, as you came through customs, I heard you say that you were a Christian. I find that Christians lie more often about what they bring back into the US.”

Ouch.

This is a true story. What can we make of it?

I’ve talked with waiters and waitresses who dread the Sunday after-church crowd for these are the most likely to leave a pittance for a tip along with a brochure on how to get to heaven.

I suspect a thoughtful tip might convey something of God’s love, too.

I know of churches who nurse along a healthy savings account, calling it stewardship when I wonder about their trust. For some reason, I think about five loaves and two fishes turning into food for over 5,000 – with leftovers. Couldn’t God re-fill the savings account?

King Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to an animal state because he used his wealth and power to live a life of ease, taking pride in his own abilities rather than submitting to God.

Are we a greedy group of followers?

Job said it well:

If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much... this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.

Job 31:24-28

Ruth: kinsman-redeemer

In ancient Israel, a kinsman-redeemer had specific legal responsibilities. Always male, the kinsman-redeemer was a blood relative who had the duty of protecting his weaker relatives.

He had to redeem land that his relatives were forced to sell and was expected to defend the relative.

Redemption was the process by which people, property and prestige were restored to a family that has lost them. The redeemer was the designated family member who was expected to recover that which was lost.

We see the picture of the blood relative helping those who are unable to help themselves.

Redemption also included the levirate, which is key to our story in Ruth. A levirate redeemer was expected to beget and raise a child with the widow of his dead brother in order to carry on the brother’s name.

Tamar, in Genesis 28, invoked this right in demanding Jacob provide her with a levirate. Read Tamar’s story this week, because it is important in our understanding of the book of Ruth.

In Ruth, our storyline makes a quick change as we, and Naomi, realize that Boaz, who has generously shared his harvest abundance with Ruth, was a kinsman-redeemer for Naomi.

Naomi, at the beginning of chapter 3, began a plan to restore her husband’s name. She herself was too old for children but Ruth was not. So Naomi hoped to convince Boaz to provide a child.

She may not have been angling for a marriage for Ruth, but simply a levirate meeting in the night might be enough to provide the child needed to carry on the family name. Notice she says to Ruth, “he will tell you what to do.” (Ruth 3:4)

Ruth had vowed “where you go I will go.” In other words, what happened to Naomi happened to Ruth. And vice versa. They were united. And now Naomi sent Ruth out as her representative to a kinsman-redeemer, hoping for a levirate meeting to produce a harvest – a child.

Next time: at the threshing floor

Repossessing America

Britain is Repossessing the U.S.A. ----A Message from John Cleese

To the citizens of the United States of America:

"In light of your failure to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately."

"Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Kansas ,which she does not fancy)."

"Your new prime minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a governor for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed."

"To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. "You should look up "revocation" in the Oxford English Dictionary, then look up aluminium, and check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it.

2. "The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'favour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut' without skipping half the letters, and the suffix -ize will be replaced by the suffix -ise. Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').

3. "Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as "like" and "you know" is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter 'u' and the elimination of -ize. You will relearn your original national anthem, 'God Save The Queen'.

4. "July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday."

5. "You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns,lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should only be handled by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

6. "Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. A permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

7. "All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and this is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean.

8. "All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

9. "The Former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline)-roughly $6/US gallon. Get used to it.

10. "You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

11. "The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting Nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of British Commonwealth - see what it did for them.

12. "Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie McDowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.

13. "You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will,in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies). Don't try Rugby - the South Africans and Kiwis will thrash you, like they regularly thrash us.

14. "Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

15. "You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.

16. "An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

17. "Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 pm with proper cups, never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; strawberries in season."

"God save the Queen."

A heart checklist

When I wonder how I’m doing on my journey with Jesus, I sometimes look at others who journey as well. I can usually find someone who is stumbling more than I am, and then I can feel better about my own journey.

Have you ever done that, too?

I don’t think it’s wrong to evaluate my walk but I think it’s not helpful to look at others who are on the journey. I think I need a better evaluation tool.

Here’s what I came up with, out of the book of Romans. I think these are marks to compare myself to. These reveal my heart and show me where I need to grow.

I don’t think these are burdens we should place on those who are not following Jesus, as though checking off this list will make them followers. This list is for followers of Jesus, to check our heart condition.

See what you think of the benchmarks:

Is my love genuine?
• Do I hate what is evil?
• Do I hold fast to what is good?
• Do I love other with mutual affection?
• Do I outdo others in showing honor?
• Do I lag in zeal?
• Am I ardent in spirit?
• Do I long to serve the Lord?
• Do I rejoice in hope?
• Am I patient in suffering?
• Do I persevere in prayer?
• Do I contribute to the needs of the saints?
• Do I extend hospitality to strangers?
• Do I bless, rather than curse, those who persecute me?
• Do I rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep?
• Do I live in harmony with one another?
• Am I too haughty to associate with the lowly?
• Do I claim to be wiser than I am?
• Do I repay anyone evil for evil or do I do what is noble in the sight of all?
• As much as it is possible, so far as it depends on me, do I live peaceably with all?
• Do I seek vengeance or allow God to protect me?
Am I overcome by evil or do I overcome evil with good?

(Checklist courtesy of Romans 12:9-21)