House of Bread

For any of you who have been following the Ruth Bible Study that I've been teaching over the past year, you know that there are several things in the book of Ruth that point forward to Christ and His work.

In fact, two whole sessions, numbers one and four, deal specifically with this topic. Session one, in a nutshell, deals with Christ setting us free from the curse of the law. Ruth, being a Moabite, was specifically marked out by the law for exclusion in certain areas. Yet, despite this, she is an ancestor of Christ. I'm afraid you're going to have to listen to the whole lesson (roughly 50 minutes long) to get the whole picture on this point, as I simply don't have the time to type it all out again for this blog. Email me if you want the link to the Ruth Study.

Session four draws some parallels between the law of the kinsman-redeemer, personified in the book of Ruth by Boaz, and Christ as our kinsman-redeemer. In fact, the kinsman-redeemer is probably one of the most significant themes in the whole book of Ruth. Sadly, the importance of the role of the kinsman-redeemer seems to get minimized in our desire to create a fairytale romance between a "beautiful" Ruth and a "dashing" Boaz. (Session six debunks this scenario, again, I don't have time to type all of that out here.)

But there is another little detail in the book of Ruth that is often overlooked in its significance. It can be found in the very first verse.

Ruth 1:1

"Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons."

Notice that our story begins, and ultimately ends, in the sleepy little town of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is hardly famous as the setting of Ruth and Boaz's story, but rather for being the setting of another, more famous, story: the place where Mary gives birth to Jesus.

Before you let this detail go with a little, "huh, that's neat," and nothing further, let me tell you what the word Bethlehem actually means.

The literal translation for Bethlehem is "House of Bread."

OK, so what does that have to do with anything?

Perhaps I am making too much over a little connection I see between Bethlehem as the "House of Bread" and some of the events that unfolded there. I'll let you be the judge.

One would assume that if a place is named the House of Bread, then a great deal of bread must come out of there one way or another. And since we know that Bethlehem was a farming town, what with all of those fields that Ruth goes out to glean in and all that, this name seems to make perfect sense. But could there be more to it than that?

Remember that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. And consider what Jesus calls Himself in John chapter 6.

John 6:35

"And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst."

Jesus, the bread of life, is born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I tend to think there are few, if any, coincidences in Scripture. I think the name of Bethlehem had a double meaning from the beginning, but nobody would have realized it for a very long time.

Consider too the irony of Bethlehem, the House of Bread, at the beginning of the book of Ruth. A famine was consuming the land, and this in fact was the motivation behind Elimelech picking up and moving his little family to Moab, at which point Ruth, the Moabite, enters the story and ultimately, the lineage of Christ. The House of Bread was full of hunger.

But the bread of life, Christ Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, the House of Bread, will erase all hunger forever.

Neat, huh?

Got Guilt?

Got guilt? Oh, of course you do. And if you haven't done anything lately to feel guilty over, I bet it doesn't take much effort to think back to some occasion that brings that unwelcome sinking sensation in your gut.

So what are we supposed to do with guilt?

To start with, I think we should recognize that not all guilt is a bad. Sometimes we are so eager to get rid of the unpleasantness of guilt that we fail to deal with the problem that is causing us to feel guilty to begin with. This is a bad thing. If you feel guilty, ask yourself why. It might be that you actually need to repent of something. Often, we are reluctant to repent, and guilt is the byproduct.

But there are plenty of times when guilt is just self-condemnation.

The Bible teaches clearly, and in so many places, that those who are found in Christ have absolutely no reason to feel condemned. This truth is so startling and revolutionary that I think we sometimes gloss over the profoundness of it. I mean, come on, God can't really mean that we are totally washed clean and forgiven can He? Surely there is going to be some cosmic extraction of penance or sudden onslaught of punishment, isn't there?

No. There isn't.

It has already been taken care of. Yes, all of it. Yes, really, even THAT thing.

When Jesus came to this world in the flesh, and died on the cross, every bit of it was paid for. The big word for this is "propitiation" and the Greek for propitiation is hilasmos. The literal definition of hilasmos is atonement. Jesus atoned for our sins. He made them right by paying the price for them.

1 John 4:10

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

We, who have faith in Christ, are declared pure, because Christ has made us pure.

1Jn 3:3

"And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure."

What right in the world do I have to accuse and condemn what God has declared pure, including myself?

Romans 8:33,34

"Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."

Have you ever thought about it that way? When you point a finger of self-condemnation at yourself, you are disagreeing with God. You are claiming that what Jesus did on the cross wasn't really sufficient for you and your sins. Do you really think you are that significant? Do I?

Listen, I need to be reminded of this just as much as anyone. Lately, in particular, I feel like Satan has been making quite an effort to remind me of who I used to be.

But God, through Scripture, tells me who I am in Christ. And that is the opinion that not only counts, but is perfect truth.

Rom 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

There is No Neutral

As part of some research I've been working on, I'm reading through the book of Romans. I love the way my Bible describes Romans, in it's introduction to the book. "Its compressed declarations of vast truths are like coiled springs--once loosed, they leap through the mind and heart to fill one's horizon and shape one's life." (I really wish I wrote that sentance.)

One of those coiled springs has indeed been leaping through my mind for the past few days. It is found in Romans 8:7:

"Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." (emphasis mine)

The first part of that sentance contains a very strong word, "enmity." The actual Greek word used is "echthra." According to Stong's, the definition of ecthra is: "hostility; by implication a reason for opposition: - enmity, hatred."

Hatred is about as far from indifferent as you can get. I can't be the only Christian who has been influenced by the messages of this world. According to wordly (or carnal) wisdom, there are an awful lot of good people in this world. And if you happen to come across one who is "not good," then the explanation for their lack of goodness must surely lie in some unhappiness or mistreatment in childhood, etc.

And I would agree that we are surrounded by nice, gentle, considerate, peaceful, moral, and generous people. That lady who cut in front of me at the grocery store doesn't make the list, but still, there are plenty of others who do. It's tempting to start thinking that there is nothing wrong with our nice, but non-religious, neighbor. It is even more tempting to go down the line of reasoning that because they are "good" by the standards of this world, that surely an eternity of conscious punishment, seperated from God, is far from what they deserve.

But as is often the case, what seems obvious, and what makes sense to our human minds, is just plain wrong. Because according to that little phrase in Romans 8:7, the carnal mind is locked into a relationship of hatred toward God. There is no neutral territory. Carnal, by the way, simply means "of the flesh." Its implications include everything that has to do with this world, and the desires that naturally result in our worldly, fleshly, lives. We ususally associate it with sexual connotation, but its true meaning is much broader than just sexual lust.

I have, on occassion, been very carnally minded about all sorts of things; like shoes (Cole Haan shoes if you must know), and a flat stomach, and a condo at the beach. None of which I currently posses. (Well, except for some Cole Haan shoes that I got on clearance, but that is a whole other topic.)

Getting back to serious business, though, if a person is carnally minded, then they hate God. It is as simple as that. For all the veneer of respectfullness and good-citizenship, those who are not renewed by the Spirit are at war with God. It might not seem obvious to our human eyes, but you can bet that God is fully aware of every skirmish.

And now that this particular coiled spring from the book of Romans has leapt through my mind, I see those around me in a slightly different light. Not in the light of judgment, but in the light of reality. There are no Switzerlands in this war. Everyone is in the trenches on one side or the other, aiming and taking shots. And my goal is to cause as many defections from the side of the enemy as possible.

James 4:4

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”

Always Be Prepared

I've been thinking a lot since yesterday. I suppose that the visit I had from the Jehovah's Witnesses may have been as much for my benefit as anything else. I promise I'm not going to let this blog shift its focus onto apologetics. (Apologetics, by the way, is the reasoned arguments that you provide to defend your faith, that is not the formal definition, but I think it works just fine. In other words, it is the reasoning that explains why you believe what you believe.)

But, ladies, I came to realize something yesterday. Far too many of us are woefully ignorant of Scripture. And I feel the need to gently fuss about it.

My misguided visitors were rather surprised when I not only opened the door and spoke to them, but when I also proved to know a thing or two about the Bible. If their reaction is to be trusted, this is a rare occurrence. Shame on us!

I know all the arguments against engaging the Jehovah's Witnesses or the Mormons who come knocking: they have memorized their doctrine and the Bible verses that appear to support them, their logic is intentionally tricky and they might manage to confuse you, you won't change their mind anyway, so why bother.

But I'm afraid there are two bigger reasons we don't open the door. One, we don't really care about the lost souls on our front porch who are earnestly heading straight toward eternal damnation. That is simply terrible! Second, we don't know how to make a reasoned defense of our faith, and so we are afraid to even try. This is just as bad!

In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;." (emphasis mine) I know that some people see this verse as encouragement to freely give your personal testimony. But even the Buddhist can give an honest and genuine testimony. That doesn't make his faith true, it just means that he really, sincerely believes it. We, who posses the truth, must be able to provide more than just our personal experience. We must be able to assert the authority of Scripture.

Now, don't think I'm going to fuss at you today without giving you a little help in the right direction. I can't pretend that I've memorized every single section of Scripture that points to, or explicitly claims, or obviously shows, the divinity of Christ. I did read many of them today, but in a pinch, I doubt I would be able to recall them immediately.

But I did see something that I thought I could remember, and you can too. Any one of you who read this blog can remember two numbers: 20:28.

That's right, before I even tell you what the verses are or what book they are in, I want you to make yourself a giant mental sticky note: 20:28. Say it out loud, write it down, or whatever helps you to remember. 20:28.

OK, now, remember this: the last and the first. That's easy isn't it? We are going to find our key verses in the last of the Gospels, which is John, and the first book that comes after them, which is Acts. John and Acts, got it?

Here we go:

John 20:28

"And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

In this verse, Thomas explicitly calls Jesus not only Lord, as he was accustomed to calling him prior to this point, but he also explicitly calls Jesus "God." The Greek word used here for God is "theos." And in your Bible this word is translated with a capital "G" not a small "g." That means God as in the one true God: Jehovah. Now, it is true that elsewhere in the Bible, this exact same word is translated with a little "g." But even if that were the proper translation, it doesn't matter. Because in the very next verse, John 20:29, Jesus commends Thomas for believing that He is God. Jesus cannot possibly be sinless as a man, AND accept worship as God. He must be either God, or a sinner.

You may get some convoluted argument about mistranslations, misunderstandings, etc. But stick to your guns. Either Jesus has just committed a sin by accepting worship as God, or Jesus is sinless AND IS GOD. The text is plain and speaks for itself.

Then we have Acts 20:28:

"Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood." (emphasis mine)

This one is simple. Here we have it explicitly stated that God purchased the flock (that would be the church) with HIS OWN BLOOD. This must mean that the blood which Jesus shed was the blood of God. Jesus, must therefore, be God.

Let me tell you, I've looked at so many Bible verses today pertaining to the divinity of Christ that my head started to spin at one point. I am realistic enough to realize that not all of you are going to do the same thing. But really, if you can remember these two addresses (verses) you are well on your way to being able to defend the divinity of Christ.

So, please, next time, open your door, too. Don't view the person on the other side as a threat. Allow the Holy Spirit to use you. Show love, be polite, be gentle and respectful. But be prepared to show the truth. Even if it goes badly, and you feel like you botched the whole thing, it is good practice. You can do better next time. More importantly though, it is not up to you to be perfect or to know every detailed argument. The Holy Spirit is the one who works in people's hearts to lift the veil and reveal the truth. It's an amazing privilege to be used by Him in the process. So even if you bumble and stutter and feel ignorant, fear not. If God has a purpose, it will be fulfilled, regardless of your abilities or lack thereof.

And don't forget: 20:28, the last and the first. How hard is that?

P.S. To my regular readers: I am well aware that this post may attract some strange comments. It's OK if that happens. They are welcome to read my post, but I really wrote it for all of you who normally drop by for a visit.

Ishmael

I went to tennis clinic yesterday. I've been playing at playing tennis for almost a year now. I'm not a serious player, or a good one for that matter, by any stretch of the imagination. But I enjoy the exercise and I've met some neat women on the courts.

We did a drill where one player stayed on one side of the court, and hit the ball against two players on the other side. The entire group rotated through the side with two players, while the single player stayed put. So basically, it was one person against everyone else. Don't worry, everyone got to have a turn being the singleton. Including me.

Near the end of my solo performance, I joked, "You can just call me Ishmael today!"

Yeah...nobody else thought it was funny either.

You all know who Ishmael is don't you? He is the son that Abraham had with the handmaiden of his wife, Sarah. God promised to bless Abraham with more descendants than he could count. But Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren. So when Sarah decided that God was not going to make good on His promise, she took matters into her own hands and offered her handmaiden Hagar to Abraham. It was the custom of the day that any children born from Abraham and Hagar would be considered Sarah's children.


Emotionally, I have always had a hard time with the plight of Hagar. We see glimpses of her personality in scripture that are not very flattering. For instance, when she becomes pregnant, she gets all haughty and despises her mistress, Sarah. Being 21st century Americans, we have a hard time with this whole master-servant relationship. It seems very clear to us that all people should be considered equal; we look down on the idea of servitude. But still, in Hagar and Sarah's time, Hagar was behaving very badly to scorn Sarah and exalt herself over her mistress.


Even taking that, and other, bad behaviors into account, I feel so much pity for Hagar. When I first did an in-depth study that included her story, I was nursing my son, and no doubt had a heightened emotional sensitivity to her situation. One part in particular, still jars my heart.

Genesis 21:14-16

"So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept."

It still makes me teary-eyed to read that. Can you imagine wandering around in the desert, abandoned, cast out, despised and rejected, with your helpless child depending on you, and being unable to provide? Its almost more than I can think about. Picturing her putting her son under the shrub, so she won't see him die, but unable to leave him alone, so she just goes a little way off, tears my mother's heart in two.

(Hagar and Ishmael come out OK in the end. God speaks to Hagar, and shows her a well of water. Ishmael goes on to father a mighty nation.)

If you thought that the Old Testament was dusty and yawn-inducing, you should seriously reconsider. It's got more twists, turns and tragedies than Days of our Lives. The people that God chose, and revealed Himself to, were far from perfect. They were deeply flawed, and not only that, but Scripture highlights their weaknesses instead of covering them up. You can look at that as encouragement for you and me, because we are deeply flawed too. But ultimately, what it really does is point to our need for one who is perfect--Jesus. All of the men who came before Jesus had failings, even the mighty ones like Elijah and Moses.

I wonder why nobody laughed at my Ishmael joke. You know...the name Ishmael...it means "Yahweh has been attentive to your humiliation."

Oh, you didn't know that? I thought everybody knew that. Huh. No wonder my joke was such a flop. Almost as bad as my performance at tennis.

Some Proverbial Wisdom

I've been reading through Proverbs lately. It really isn't well suited to a quick read through. Rather, I think Proverbs should be savored and taken apart slowly. But if I did that, I would never get through the whole thing, much less the whole Bible.

So here for your savory enjoyment are two small sections of Proverbs I want to explore. Not exhaustively, mind you. I wouldn't even begin to think I was qualified to do that. This is just MY little perspective.

Proverbs 25:20

"Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather,
And like vinegar on soda,
Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart."

This is something that we have all been guilty of. Even I have done it, and I know better from personal experience. What I am talking about is that incessant need we have to talk about the "silver lining" in whatever circumstance we or our friends face. You know what I mean. Those sentiments that begin with, "Well, at least....didn't happen." Let me give you a specific example.

When my first child was born, under emergency circumstances, and with some medical complications, people said all kinds of chipper things to me and my husband. I know that they were trying to make us "feel better."

The thing is, we were D-E-V-A-S-T-A-T-E-D. We were shocked and confused and angry and horrified. And it seemed like every which way I turned, some well meaning person was trying to put a smiley face on the situation. I just wanted permission to grieve and be confused. I just wanted a shoulder to cry on. Even those closest to me had a hard time letting me feel sad. Why is that? Why do we feel like it is our responsibility to make people cheer up?

Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

Look at the words in Proverbs 25:20 again. When we try to sell someone a field of daisies as they are facing something really difficult, we are taking something away from them. We are stealing their coat when the weather is harsh and cold. Not only that, but we stand a pretty good chance of irritating them while we're at it. Kind of like vinegar makes baking soda get all crazy and fizzy. People in pain are not always rational. Its much better to express sincere sympathy, or if your relationship calls for it, just weep right along with them. Resist that urge to cheer them up.

Yes, as Christians we do not grieve as those who are without hope. (1 Thess 4:13) But we still grieve. And when we do, we need our friends to grieve right along with us. What we don't need is someone singing songs at us when we have a heavy heart.

OK, on to the second bit of wisdom.

Proverbs 19:11

"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
And his glory is to overlook a transgression."

Somebody out there needs to be reminded of this. (OK, I need to be reminded too, but lets talk about all of you for a moment!) This proverb is not mean to be applied universally. There are certainly offenses that need to be dealt with. Those aren't the things this verse is talking about. I think this verse is referring to those minor things that really should be overlooked.

So you just remember that, first, you should be slow to get angry. And, second, if you do get mad, it is your GLORY to overlook the transgression. I think you'll appreciate some definitions of the word glory (tipharah.) According to Strong's, tipharah can mean ornament, beauty or majesty.

How about that? You can get prettier by overlooking an offense. Now that is a deal worth closing on every time.

The Kinsman-Redeemer

I've been itching to get a post about Psalm 103 up for what seems like forever. And I just kept finding other things to write about instead. So I finally decided to get it done, and as I started looking into the verses I wanted to expound on, I saw something even better than what I originally intended to write about.

But, I just can't leave these verses alone, so humor me and read through these few verses just to appreciate their beauty and richness. Then keep reading and I'll show you something that I thought was "cool" (as one of my children is fond of saying lately.)

Psalm 103:2-5

"Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems you life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

(Be sure to note the secret to eternal youth there in that last line. And here you were thinking it lay in Botox and plastic surgery!)

This is the part that knocked me over. I started looking at the original Hebrew language in these verses, and the word for redeems held a treasure trove of layered meaning. The word is gaal and here is the definition for it according to Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary: A primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship,) that is, to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property...)

There are other Hebrew words throughout the Old Testament that are translated as redeems, redeemed, or redeemer, but this particular word gaal has a specific meaning that proves to be prophetic. How? Well, let me show you. To get a full sense of what I mean, we need to take a quick look back at some of the Levitical law that God handed down to the Jews through Moses. I know that the Levitical law makes many people hit the snooze button and roll over, but bear with me here, I think you will like this!

We see an example of this kinsman-redeemer principal in Leviticus 25:25,

"If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold."

It is also one of the main plot points in the story of Ruth and Naomi. If you will remember, Boaz is the kinsman-redeemer who buys back a plot of land that Naomi has sold, and also acquires Ruth as his wife in the transaction. Part of the kinsmen-redeemer's responsibility was to marry the widow of a dead relative, and produce offspring through her, and those offspring would be considered the children of the dead relative. In that way, the dead relative's family line would still continue. That was extremely important to the Jews.

The basic idea of the kinsman-redeemer is that a brother, or the next closest male relative, would buy back, or pay the price required, for the relative to keep his inheritance. In that way, even if someone became poor or otherwise unable to keep his property, it would not be lost, because someone else would pay the required price. And not just any someone, but a close relative.

OK, got that? Now, check this out:

Romans 8: 16-17

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

So, applying the principal of the kinsman-redeemer, let's look at our own situation for a moment. Mankind was created without sin, we were meant to inherit a perfect, unblemished relationship to God. But through the sin of Adam, all of mankind lost this inheritance. We became in a sense, the poor relative who was unable to buy back what was lost-perfect fellowship with the Creator, God.

Now, if we believe what we are told there in Romans 8, we will see that Christians are called children of God, and joint heirs (siblings) of Christ. Do you see where I am going with this? Jesus is THE kinsman-redeemer who paid the price and bought back our inheritance! We couldn't provide a way for ourselves, so our brother paid the ultimate price-the sacrifice of himself on the cross-in order to give us back what was lost. Like I said earlier, now that is cool!

Looking back at Psalm 103 for a moment, David was prophesying when he said about God in verse 4, "who redeems (as the kinsman-redeemer) your life from the pit." The italics is mine. And David probably didn't even realize it! The Old Testament believers did not have a clear understanding of what exactly God's plan was to redeem their lives. We, who live after the events in the New Testament, can clearly see the foreshadowing of the kinsman-redeemer throughout the Old Testament.

But there is the hand of God, creating his living and active word, the Bible, down to the last minute detail in the specific word that David choose to call God the redeemer. Because, like I said, there are other Hebrew words that mean "redeem."

It's hard to imagine that I ever thought the Bible was boring. And you know, even that confusing and archaic seeming Levitical law has some foreshadowing of Christ in it. God is certainly a God of details.