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Ruth Part 2 - WOW Obedience

Studies of Ruth

Study 2 - WOW Obedience!

Firstly, her obedience is surprising - it has a wow factor to it! The harmony between Ruth and her mother-in-law is even more appealing when we consider the two unusual facets that could have driven them apart.

Firstly, Mahlon, the natural connecting link between Ruth and Naomi was dead (Ruth 1 :3-5). Nothing specific is mentioned about the way the two women got along with each other while he was alive during those years in Moab. Instead, the story begins with the development of their relationship after Mahlon's death and at the time of the women's departure for Judah.

The second part of this wow, is that could have driven them apart was that Ruth was from Moab. A brief review of the history of this neighbouring nation proves that its land and people were clearly off limits for the Jews. The founding father Moab was the result of Lot's incestuous union with his older daughter (Genesis 19:37). Though Moab was not on the list of nations to be entirely destroyed by the Israelites under Joshua, its worship of false gods were offensive and troublesome (Numbers 25). Judges 3 relates that Eglon the king of Moab, received power from the Lord to punish Israel for eighteen years. When the people of Israel again cried out to God, the Lord raised up the judge Ehud, to kill Eglon and defeat Moab, to bring peace for eighty years.

The story of Ruth as we have heard already, is placed at the time of the Judges. Elimelech's decision to take his family into Moab to escape the famine in Israel probably occurred at a time when Moab was subdued, or at least not hostile towards Israel. However, God, had told the Israelites not to marry into the surrounding nations or join in their worship of false gods. The fact that Naomi's sons chose Moabite women shows that they ignored this instruction. It also indicates the attraction of foreign influences to the Israelites, which God wanted them to stay away from. But we also see mercy in grafting into his line of blessing one Moabite because of her faith and obedience to Him.

Naomi had two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah. In view of their position as Moabite widows, it may seem that Orpah's decision to return to her own mother's house was more natural than Ruth's when Naomi announced her determination to go back to Bethlehem in Judah. We could even argue that Orpah, after politely offering to accompany Naomi, was acting in accord with her mother-in-law's wishes by remaining in Moab with her own people. Ruth, however, clung to Naomi and refused to leave her. But Orpah's obedience was shallow, as her offer to go with Naomi was done out of duty not of love, and Naomi probably saw this and declined Orpah's offer. Ruth however, remained to finish her story and claim a place in the genealogy of David and also of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

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Ruth Part 1 - Introduction

Studies of Ruth

Today, we are starting a short series about one of the Bible’s most enduring and endearing people – Ruth. There are perhaps two reasons why we study about people in the Bible - to learn how not to do some things like being deceitful, and how to do the right things. We will see how and in what way, Ruth was obedient to God in doing the right things.

The book of Ruth is a cameo story of love, devotion and redemption set in the black days of the Judges. It tells the story of a pagan woman giving up everything to cling to the people of Israel and to God Himself. Shows her faithfulness when the nation was faithless. Download the mp3 audio using the link below to start discovering more about this great lady of faith.

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Bible Thought - True Joy - Psalm 66

Psalm 66 - A Prayer of True Joy

Today we are to study Psalm 66, which is a prayer of joy. The reason for this is, because where ever hope can be found, there is always joy. This is particularly true of the Christian life. As christians, our great hope is knowing that through the Lord Jesus Christ we will have salvation. Salvation is freedom. Freedom from injustice, freedom from sin. It is freedom from our prison of looking after our self, to a new life of entrance into self-forgetful worship & service to God. It is freedom from the limits of pain, decay, death, and entrance into a new world of life, immortality, beauty and joy without end. That is the hope of the Christian, and that is why we can have joy as Christians. But joy, is not just for the future. Joy is also for the present, for the here and now. But, what is joy, and what place should joy take in our life today. But first we will look at Psalm 66, and see where joy fitted into the life of the Psalmist.

1. Psalm 66 and joy

a. Joy and the Earth (vs. 1-4)

b. Joy and the nation of Israel (vs. 5-12).

c. Joy and the psalmist (vs. 13 -20)

2. Applying it to ourselves.

a. Sacrifice

b. Testimony

c. Praise

"Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

As E. Underhill said: "This is the secret and meaning of joy, We shall no longer strive for our own way; but commit ourselves, to God's way, submit to His will, and in doing so find joy and peace, -. Go out with joy, today!

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 13 Malachi

Minor Prophets - Malachi

Welcome to the last installment in our series about the minor prophets. Our final book is Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. There is something very exciting about this book! Perhaps it’s the sense of anticipation contained within it. The first book of the New Testament lies just over the page! But before we get there, Malachi has serious words from God to convey to his people. The name Malachi means “my messenger” and this theme is picked up during the prophecy. It is likely that Malachi was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, writing in the mid 5th century BC.

God then accuses the people of stealing from him by not bringing him the proper tithe of their offerings. Similar to the situation with the animal sacrifices, the people were keeping back more than they should have done, causing offence to God. This charge is leveled against the whole nation, not just the priests. God challenges the people to test him, declaring that if they would only bring the whole tithe to him, he would bless them abundantly in return. The behaviour of the people in regard to their offerings demonstrates their lack of trust in God’s gracious provision. In chapter 3 verse 14 the people sum up their spiritual destitution by declaring that it is futile to serve God.

However, God takes note of a small remnant of faithful people who continue to worship him properly with a right heart. He carefully records their names to ensure that they are preserved. The book of Malachi ends with the promise of the coming Day of the Lord, when evil will be judged and destroyed and those who have been faithful to God will be restored and healed. The final words of the book declare that Elijah the prophet will come before the Day of the Lord. Who was that? When did that happen?

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Malachi.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 12 Joel

Minor Prophets - Joel

We’ve reached the book of Joel. I had some degree of dilemma about where to place Joel in the roughly chronological order of the series and that’s because the estimates of when the book was written vary widely from the 9th to 4th century BC. After looking at the content of Joel’s prophecies, I decided to go with the scholars who argue that Joel was written after the exile to Babylon, dating it somewhere around the year 500 BC. Joel evidently has knowledge of Judah and Jerusalem and it seems likely that he was from Judah himself. His name means “Yahweh is God” and we are told that his father was called Pethuel. Other than that, we know little about Joel himself.

Joel is similar in style to several of the other minor prophetic books, being written in the form of oracles of judgement and salvation, mostly in poetic style. Joel appears to have written during a time of national calamity for Judah. Key themes of his book are the Day of the Lord, the need to repent, the promise of God that he will dwell in the midst of his people, and the future promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

We may also try to hide the parts of our lives, or the aspects of our character that we are embarrassed or ashamed about, but God knows us better than we know ourselves. Nothing is hidden from his sight. As our loving Father, he longs for us to acknowledge these things before him and rend our hearts in response. Nothing will come as a surprise to him - he already knows! We can try all sorts of things to fix our own hearts and we can sometimes convince ourselves we’ve done quite a good patching up job. But in truth, only God can perform the heart transplant we need. He is the one who can renew our hearts and clean us from the inside out. And his invitation stands open to anyone who would call on his name.

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Joel.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 11 Zechariah

Minor Prophets - Zechariah

We’ve reached the book of Zechariah. After the very short books of Obadiah and Haggai, I found Zechariah to be quite a contrast. It’s a much longer book with 14 chapters, and the style of prophetic writing is quite different too. There is so much that we could choose to look at in this complex, beautiful book, but it would be beyond the scope of this podcast to look in detail at all the prophesies that Zechariah received.

We will start with a brief historical background and an overview of some of the main themes of the book, and then I’ll focus on some of the prophecies that were fulfilled most clearly in the life of Jesus. We’ll end with some thoughts to take away for our own lives.

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Zechariah.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 10 Haggai

Minor Prophets - Haggai

As with several of the other minor prophets, we don’t know much about Haggai himself. We can be quite sure about the dating of the book though, because Haggai included precise dates for the oracles he received from God. These details place the book in the year 520 BC, and between the months of August and December. Haggai was a contemporary of the prophet Zechariah.

Finally, Haggai reminds us that a more glorious temple is coming, and in fact has already come. Haggai spoke God’s prophecy about a temple that would be filled with God’s glory, more glorious than the first temple. When Jesus died on the cross the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The way to God was opened and there was no longer a need for God’s people to meet him within the confines of the physical temple, through the mediation of a priest.

In the book of Haggai, God promises to the people of Judah that he is in their midst. In the book of Revelation we see the ultimate realization of this promise.

Download and listen to the audio mp3 to discover more about this amazing book of Haggai.

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 9 Obadiah

Minor Prophets - Obadiah

We’ve reached the little book of Obadiah. He was the most minor of the minor prophets, in that his book is the shortest! In fact, it’s the shortest book in the whole of the Old Testament with just one chapter, containing 21 verses.

Obadiah means “one who serves Yahweh”. We’re not told anything else about the prophet him-self. In the course of the prophecy, the fall of Jerusalem (which happened in 586 BC) is referred to as a past event and the fall of Edom (which happened in 553 BC) as a future event. So it is likely that the book was written between these events.

The seemingly obscure prophecy of Obadiah is part of Jesus’ great story. It’s all about him. Be-tween the lines of prophecy about Edom and Judah we see the greater picture of God’s redemption plan and his justice, mercy and grace. When the risen Jesus walked on the road to Emmaus and ex-plained to the amazed disciples how the Law and all the prophets spoke about himself, I like to think that he said a bit about Obadiah.

Download the audio to find out more concerning this amazing book of Obadiah!

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 7 Zephaniah

Minor Prophets - Zephaniah

Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Nahum and possibly Habakkuk and his prophecy was written during the reign of king Josiah of Judah. Josiah reigned between 640–609 BC. The prophecy includes reference to the future destruction of Nineveh, capital of Assyria, so it was likely written before the date of this event, which was 612 BC. The little territory of Judah was the only surviving part of the original people of Israel. The northern kingdom of Israel had been overthrown and Judah was under the control of the Assyrians.

King Josiah was a good king who undertook significant religious reform in Judah, trying to turn the people back from worshipping idols to worshipping their God. Josiah’s father, Amon, had been a wicked king, and his grandfather, Manasseh, was one of the worst kings in the history of Judah, doing evil in God’s sight and turning the people away from God. The king before Manasseh was called Hezekiah. We read his story in the book of Isaiah.

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You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (James 4:4-10 ESV)

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Bible Thought - Minor Prophets - Part 6 Nahum

Minor Prophets - Nahum

Nahum prophesied about the destruction of the city of Nineveh, the capital of the nation of Assyria. If Nineveh sounds a bit familiar, it might be because you’ve listened to the first instalment in this series about the book of Jonah! In some ways, Nahum is like a sequel to Jonah. The date of writing of Nahum can be narrowed down to somewhere between 660 BC and 630 BC. We can deduce this because of the historical events that Nahum refers to during his prophecy (unless of course you don’t believe in predictive prophesy!).

We don’t know anything about Nahum apart from the fact that his home town was called Elkosh. It’s not certain where this was, but it was probably in Judah because at the time of his prophesy, the kingdom of Israel had ceased to exist.

The book of Nahum reminds us that God is all powerful, omnipotent. He is not a tame god who is passive and powerless but he acts on behalf of his people. He is a God of justice who cannot pass over sin and evil but he must act justly to uphold his own honour and the welfare of his chosen people Israel. Moreover, God had promised to spare a remnant of his people, specifically from the tribe of Judah, in order that the Messiah, the deliverer, would come from his people. The future of the people of Israel often seemed under threat but God always faithfully preserved and restored a remnant to preserve the line of Abraham.

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