Milo

A MAN LIKE US
Hebrews 2

“Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death . . . and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Heb. 2:14–15).

Jesus fully understands us and our needs.

Overview
We must heed Jesus’ message (2:1–4). It reveals the destiny God gives us through Jesus (vv. 5–13), who took on humanity to break the enslaving grip of death and Satan on our race (vv. 14–18).

Understanding the Text
“We must pay more careful attention” Heb. 2:1. The warning found in verses 1–5 seems to fit best with chapter 1. God’s Son Himself has delivered the message of salvation, making that message even more binding than the earlier binding revelation given through angels.
The image of “drift away” is significant. It pictures an ancient sailing ship, anchored near shore. As the sailors sleep, the wind picks up, and the anchor begins to drag slowly across the sandy bottom. By the time the sailors awake, the ship is pitching dangerously in heavy seas.
You and I aren’t likely to consciously pull up the anchor of our faith and abandon the shelter Jesus provides. But unless we give constant heed to Christ’s word, we can drift unaware from our moorings.

“How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” Heb. 2:2–4 This is the first of several warnings found in Hebrews. These warnings are addressed to believers, and generally deal with our experience of the superior salvation provided in Christ.
Here the theme is Jesus as the Living Word. Those warned have heard the Gospel. They are urged to hold to what was heard, for if they do not they will drift from life’s moorings and fail to experience the benefits of God’s great salvation.
What a blessing God’s Word is to us. It is a sure message, confirmed by witnesses who heard Jesus teach and saw His miracles, and confirmed by the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Yet it is so easy for us to drift. What we need to do is to give Scripture our constant attention—and make sure we respond to God’s Word by putting it into practice.

“What is man that You are mindful of him?” Heb. 2:6–7 How do we explain the wonder of God’s appearance in the flesh? The writer quoted Psalm 8, which displays the amazing fact that God cares about human beings. God has chosen not to ignore us, but has concentrated His attention on us that He might lift us up.
He “made him [man] a little lower than the angels.” But what we were is not what we will be! We are destined for glory and honor and dominion at God’s side.

“But we see Jesus” Heb. 2:8–9. The idea that humanity has been crowned with glory and honor seems laughable to some. Look at the mess we’re in—and have been in throughout recorded history. How does the human condition speak of glory, or of sovereignty?
God has “put everything under his [man’s] feet.” How about sickness? How about suffering? How about wars, and crime, and drunk driving, and child abuse?
Hebrews answers, “At present we do not see everything subject to” man. But what we do see is God, becoming incarnate in Jesus, suffering death for us, and “now crowned with glory and honor.”
In the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus you and I see our own destiny. The glorified Jesus is proof positive that glory lies ahead for you and me.
While a skeptical world looks at the ruin man has made of our earth, confident believers look at the triumph of Jesus, and find peace.

“Perfect through suffering” Heb. 2:10. Again we have a seeming contradiction. How could God, who by definition is perfect, have been “made” perfect through suffering?
The idea of perfection is expressed in the Greek word, teleios. This root is used nine times by the author of Hebrews, and it means “completed, mature, with every potential realized.” Suffering did nothing to add to Jesus character or nature. Yet it did equip Him for His saving work. In suffering as human beings suffer, Jesus shared all that it means to be human. As the writer added in verse 18, “Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.”
In His incarnation Jesus experienced humanness in a way never possible for the preincarnate Son. His suffering as a man was necessary for His complete identification with us.
What this means is twofold. It means that Jesus understands you and me in our pain and suffering. And it means that God loves us more than we imagine, for Christ’s exposure of Himself to mankind’s vulnerability was more costly than we can ever know.

“I will declare Your name to My brothers” Heb. 2:12. Mark is a missionary to inner-city street people. He works with the addicts, the pimps, the prostitutes, the alcoholics, the homeless that inhabit the night. He lives on the streets with the members of his parish, because he is convinced that only by sharing the life they lead will he gain the credibility required to reach them for Jesus. Hudson Taylor, like Mark, adopted this principle of identification. When Taylor ministered in China he put off his Western dress, adopted Chinese garb, and grew his hair so it might be put in a cue. To reach the Chinese, he became Chinese in his ways.
This is what Jesus did for us. He came, became one with us, and called us “My brothers.” By identifying Himself fully with us, He made it possible for us to put our trust in Him.
If you want to reach others, don’t consider how different you are from them. Instead consider all the ways you are one with them.
The more closely you can identify with others, the more clearly they will see the Lord Jesus in your life.

“Him who holds the power of death” Heb. 2:14. Scripture speaks of two realms: a realm of darkness and a realm of light; a realm of death and a realm of life. While God is the ultimate authority in the material and spiritual universe, Satan is the present ruler of darkness. Where Satan reigns death, as spiritual insensitivity, selfishness, and guilt, hold sway. Human beings who live in Satan’s realm are captives of their own sin natures—and of the fear of death. It is the terror of the unknown, and the fear of extinction or of final judgment, that keeps humanity enslaved.
The writer does not explain this imagery. But we can understand it. We know how fear petrifies and inhibits. Like the tiny animal held motionless by the gaze of the cobra, the terror of death keeps man from seeking God. No man aware of committing a crime is likely to search out the sheriff. No person fearing punishment for sin is likely to set out to find God, the Judge, and risk the death he knows he deserves.
What Good News then the Gospel is. The Gospel trumpets Satan’s defeat, and announces a pardon available to all. Because Jesus lived and died as a man, and so defeated Satan, we no longer fear death. The paralysis caused by fear is broken, and we run, exulting, into God’s presence, eager to live the rest of our lives in His presence.

DEVOTIONAL
Merciful and Faithful
(Heb. 2:14–18)
Nobody likes “have to” very well. Around our house, “You have to practice your music lesson now” meets with almost as many squeals of protest as, “You have to go to bed.”
Actually, I’m not all that wild about “have to” myself. I often find myself saying or thinking, “I have to get my day’s work done first,” when I’d rather go fishing or just take off and play some tennis. But “have to” takes precedence. If the more important goals are to be reached, discipline is required.
That’s what Hebrews 2:14–18 tells us about Jesus. His goals were so important that He did whatever He had to in order to reach them. And what Jesus had to do really hurt.
First, He had to become a real human being, and suffer the pressure of all those temptations that trouble humanity, if He was to be a merciful High Priest. Philo, the first-century Jewish philosopher, held that the high priest must not show his feelings, but “have his feeling of pity under control.” But Jesus endured the human condition just so that He might display the depth of God’s compassion for us. If we were to know for sure that God loves us, we had to be shown a Saviour who was willing to suffer. Because Jesus did what He had to, you and I know that our High Priest is merciful.
But Jesus also had to endure the ultimate suffering of the Cross to “make atonement for the sins of the people.” The Greek word here, hilastekesthai, means to make a propitiation—to satisfy and thus turn aside the wrath of God. He was faithful in this obligation which He as High Priest had to God. If Jesus was to accomplish the purpose for which He was sent, He had to offer up His own life. And, faithful in His commitment to God’s will, He did exactly that.
For Jesus, the goal of satisfying God’s justice and showing mercy to mankind was so important that “have to” was transformed into “want to.” He chose freely to suffer for us. And we can learn from the voluntary suffering of Jesus. Let’s make the goal of doing God’s will so central in our lives that when you or I “have to” suffer in order to obey, we will want to respond, no matter what the cost.

Personal Application
When you truly “want to” please God, the things you “have to” do will become a joy.

Quotable
“I will be Christian. Like a crimson line running through my life, let the covenant bind me to the will and way of Jesus.
“I will be Christian. My body, mind, and spirit Christ-centered, that I may learn His will; that I may walk His way; that I may win my associates; and that ‘in all things He might have the preeminence.’
“I will be Christian. My voice of passion in an age grown cold and cynical because of faltering faith and shrinking deeds; my answer to the Macedonian call of spiritual continents unpossessed and unexplored.
“I will be Christian. In my heart, in my home, in my group, in my country—now, to help save America that America may serve the world.
“I will be Christian. Across all lines of color and class, into every human relationship, without respect for temporal circumstance, in spite of threat and with no thought of reward.
“I will be Christian. That Christianity may become as militant as Fascism; as terrible toward wrong as God’s hatred of sin; as tender with the weak as His love for little children; as powerful as the prayer of the righteous, and as sacrificial as Calvary’s Cross.
“I will be Christian . . . So help me God.”—Daniel A. Poling

Hebrews

INTRODUCTION
The author of this unique New Testament letter is not identified. It is thought he wrote to Christian Jews a few years before the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70. The Book of Hebrews carefully compares Old and New Testament faiths. It shows how Christianity grew out of and fulfilled Judaism, by relating Jesus to key Old Testament institutions. On each point, Jesus is shown to be superior: He brings a better revelation, serves as a better High Priest, institutes a better Covenant, and offers a better sacrifice than the old system could provide.
The Book of Hebrews helps us understand the foundations of Old Testament faith, but most importantly helps us to appreciate the work of Jesus Christ. Its warnings encourage full commitment to Him, and the vivid image of Jesus as our ever-living High Priest, who understands our weaknesses, encourages us to come boldly to God’s throne for grace to help us in our times of need.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Introduction
Heb. 1:1–4
II.
A Superior Nature
Heb. 1:5–2:18
III.
A Superior Revelation
Heb. 3:1–4:13
IV.
A Superior Priesthood
Heb. 4:14–7:28
V.
A Superior Covenant
Heb. 8–9
VI.
A Superior Sacrifice
Heb. 10
VII.
Response to Jesus
Heb. 11:1–13:19
VIII.
Conclusion
Heb. 13:20–25

CHRIST, THE SON
Hebrews 1

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word” (Heb. 1:3).

Christian faith rests on the conviction that Jesus Christ is God the Son.

Background
The Book of Hebrews. Like the other letters that have found a place in our New Testament, Hebrews was circulated among congregations of the early church, and quickly acknowledged as authoritative. Both the name—“to the Hebrews”—and the content of this letter have led most to suppose the intended readers were Jewish Christians, whose commitment to Christ wavered as they remembered the richness of their heritage. How could they abandon a faith and lifestyle which generations of their forefathers had been firmly convinced was revealed to them by God?
Recently modern scholars have questioned the belief that Hebrews was originally directed to Jewish Christians. In the first century many active “Judaizers” sought to draw Gentile believers into Judaism by superimposing their Law and religious practices atop Christianity. Some think that Hebrews is directed to Gentiles, to counter Jewish corrupters of early Christian faith.
Whichever theory is correct, the writer of this epistle showed his readers that faith in Christ is not abandonment of Jewish hopes. Christianity is the fulfillment of all that Old Testament faith and life promised. All that was so dear to Jewish believers—the revelation of God’s will through Moses, the priesthood, the covenant, the sacrifices, the temple worship—were but shadows that dimly revealed the Son. The Son of God, not the shadows, represents spiritual reality. Thus the Jew who turns to Jesus does not abandon his heritage: he discovers the reality to which that heritage has pointed all along!
The Book of Hebrews remains a rich vein of truth to be mined by modern Christians. While the modern church is not threatened by Judaizers, we do need to sense the essential harmony between the Testaments. And we need to examine carefully the person of Jesus and His impact on our lives. For these two purposes—to understand Jesus better, and to experience Him more fully—Hebrews remains an unmatched spiritual resource.

Overview
The source of the new revelation is God’s own Son (1:1–3), demonstrably superior to the angels thought by Israel to have mediated Old Testament revelation (vv. 4–14).

Understanding the Text
“God spoke to our forefathers” Heb. 1:1. The Old Testament faith is a revealed religion. Moses didn’t invent it. The priests of Josiah’s day did not—as some modern skeptical scholars have suggested—rewrite Jewish history, inventing the bulk of the documents we ascribe to Moses. No, God spoke—and what He said was accurately reported by the prophets of a hundred different times and places. What’s more, what God said is accurately recorded in the books of the Old Testament.
That of course is what gave some early Christians pause. If God ordained the faith of Israel, how could He overturn or abandon that Word? How could He reject His chosen people in favor of Gentiles?
As we read on in Hebrews we’ll see that the Old Testament word to Israel was neither overturned nor abandoned, but fulfilled. But first the writer of Hebrews makes a vital point. We can trust the Old Testament, for God spoke to man through the prophets of old. But we can trust the New Testament even more, for the Agent of that revelation was no mere man! The Agent of New Testament revelation was God the Son! God did not merely speak to us through men, He became a man, and as a man spoke to us directly.
What an awesome thought. God bridged the vast gap between Himself and humanity by becoming a human being. Only in this way could He clearly, and with unmistakable authority, communicate the Good News to us. Let us approach the Scriptures, and especially the New Testament, with great reverence and awe. We are not just reading words. We are listening to the voice of God, and hearing the words of Jesus Christ.

“By His Son” Heb. 1:2–3. Christianity, the saying goes, is Christ. And the saying is exactly right. Everything hinges on Jesus and who Jesus is.
And so the author of Hebrews tells us, clearly and unmistakably. Jesus, the Son, is the “Heir of all things.” Jesus, the Son, is the Creator of the universe. Jesus, the Son, is the visible expression (the radiance) of God’s glory. Jesus, the Son, is an exact representation of God. Jesus, the Son, maintains the universe, His word alone enabling it to exist. Jesus, the Son, having dealt decisively with the problem of sin, is seated at the right hand of God, the place of power and authority.
After membership class yesterday our pastor mentioned his frustration when two Mormons tried to join the church. He had tried to be gracious in speaking with them privately. He listened to their protests that they were “Christians too.” He agreed that there were some beliefs we hold in common. But there was also a critical difference: Who is Jesus? Only when a person confesses joyously that Jesus is the Son of God, the Heir, Creator, and Sustainer of all things, one with God in His essential being and the radiant expression of God’s own glory, can he or she claim the name “Christian.”

In New Testament times coins were made stamped in a die, leaving an exact impression of the original. The word for the impress of a die was charakter, the word translated “exact representation” in Hebrews 1:3. Jesus is identical with God. His very being—His essence, His hypostaseos, is an exact representation of the essence of Scripture’s God!

“Superior to the angels” Heb. 1:4. The writer of Hebrews used the word translated “superior” or “better” 13 times. Only 1 Corinthians, with 3 occurrences, has it more than once!
In Hebrews 1:4 the emphasis is on Jesus’ personal superiority to angels. Often though the emphasis is on the superiority Jesus brings to you and me. Because of who Jesus is and what He has done, you and I have a better hope (7:19), a better covenant (v. 22; 8:6), better possessions (10:34), a better country (11:16), and a better resurrection (v. 35).
Jesus always was superior to angels, for His “name” (identity) as Son of God is better than that of any created being. How then is Jesus superior to angels?
The most likely answer seems to be that Jesus became superior to angels as a Mediator of revelation. Hebrews 2:2 suggests that angels mediated transmission of God’s Word to Moses and the Prophets. Jesus, in fulfilling His mission as God’s Spokesman, became superior to angels in this aspect of ministry.
Angels are at the present superior to human beings. But Jesus, in His nature and in His mission, is far superior to them. We need neither fear demons, nor reverence angels. Jesus is above all.

“You are My Son” Heb. 1:5–13. Drawing on the Old Testament to prove his point, the writer of Hebrews showed that the Son is superior to angels in His relationship with God (v. 5), His claim to worship (vv. 6–7), His authority (vv. 8–9), His eternality (vv. 10–12), and His destiny (v. 13). Jesus is superior to all!

“Sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” Heb. 1:14. This verse indicates that believers do have “guardian angels.” We may be powerless in ourselves. Yet God has put His Spirit in us, and His angels stand guard around us.

DEVOTIONAL
Son of God
(Heb. 1:1–4)
It’s hard sometimes to know just how to think about Jesus. He alone is both a true human being, and at the same time truly God. Sometimes we’re comforted by concentrating on the humanity of Jesus. We know He understands us and sympathizes with our weakness. We remember His compassionate involvement in the lives of so many, and feel close to Him.
On the other hand, it’s hard to feel close and comfortable with the God who created the universe and whose elemental power sustains it even now. What accord can we finite, short-lived beings have with one whose existence stretches unbroken from and to eternity itself?
Perhaps the best answer for us is to think “Jesus” when we need to sense the loving character of God, and to think “God” when we need to trust the ability of Jesus to meet our every need.

Personal Application
To deepen your faith, meditate on who Jesus is.

Quotable
“Something fiery and star-like gleamed from His eyes and the majesty of Godhead shown from His countenance.”—St. Jerome

Ruth

INTRODUCTION
The Book of Ruth tells the simple and beautiful story of Naomi, a Hebrew woman, and her Moabite daugher-in-law, Ruth. Set in the dark days of the Judges, the tale of Ruth and Naomi reminds us that even in the worst of times godly men and women live quiet lives of faith.
The book, probably written during Israel’s early monarchy, is significant for two other reasons. It traces the lineage of David, one of Ruth’s descendants. And it illustrates the Old Testament concept of the kinsman-redeemer who, moved by family loyalty, acts to save a helpless relative. One day God’s Son, Jesus, born of this family line, would become true Man that He might be the Kinsman-redeemer of humankind.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS
I.
Ruth Returns to Israel with Naomi
Ruth 1:1–22
II.
Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz
Ruth 2:1–23
III.
Ruth Seeks Marriage with Boaz
Ruth 3:1–18
IV.
Ruth’s Son, Obed, Is Born
Ruth 4:1–22

RUTH’S STORY
Ruth 1–4

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16).

The simple, appealing story of this “woman of noble character” reminds us that however corrupt a society seems, godly individuals can still be found.

Definition of Key Terms
Kinsman-redeemer. The Hebrew word is ga’al. Its root means to “act as a kinsman” or to fulfill one’s family obligations. In Old Testament Law this included (1) redeeming land sold by a poor relative, to keep it in the family (Lev. 25:25–28), (2) redeeming a relation from slavery (vv. 48–55), (3) avenging murder (Num. 35:10–28), and (4) marrying a childless relation’s widow, in which case the first son would be considered that of the dead husband (Deut. 25:5–10). The Hebrew word powerfully expresses the sense of one’s obligation to help family members whenever this is possible, and has great theological implications. In becoming true Man, a member of the human family, Jesus became our Kinsman-redeemer, accepting the responsibility of paying the price for our redemption. Hebrews 2:14–15 says, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He [Jesus] too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death . . . and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”

Overview
A famine drove Naomi’s family to Moab, where the men died (1:1–5). One daughter-in-law, Ruth, returned to Bethlehem with Naomi (vv. 6–22). Ruth gleaned in the field of Boaz, a close relative of Naomi’s. His kindness (2:1–23) encouraged Naomi to have Ruth seek a kinsman-redeemer marriage (3:1–18). Boaz married Ruth, and their first son, Obed, became the grandfather of David, Israel’s greatest king (4:1–22).

Understanding the Text
“Return home, my daughters” Ruth 1:1–15. In Moab the husband and two sons of Naomi all died, leaving her and her two daughters-in-law alone. The normal course in such a situation would be for the younger widows to remarry. According to custom, if there were a younger son in the husband’s family he might take the widow as a wife. In this case the aged Naomi had no more sons, and thus no future to offer either of her daughters-in-law. Sending them away was intended as a kindness.
It’s tragic when, like Naomi, we feel our best years are past, and that we have nothing left to offer to others. In her bereavement Naomi honestly felt this way. But one of her daughters-in-law disagreed.

“Don’t urge me to leave you” Ruth 1:16–22. One daughter-in-law, Ruth, saw more in Naomi than did Naomi herself. Perhaps Ruth sensed a faith in Naomi that Naomi herself had lost sight of. At any rate, Ruth made a commitment—to Naomi, and to Naomi’s God.
This reflects the process by which men and women today often find their personal relationship with God. Individuals are drawn to a Christian or to Christians, and through them come to know Christ. Barbara, a young mother, explained how she became a Christian. She’d heard me speak at a church, and found it interesting. So she came to our small group Bible study, and “found people who really loved me.” At first Barbara felt a little strange, realizing she wasn’t “a real Christian.” But she was accepted and loved anyway, and within a few months she welcomed Christ as her personal Saviour.
When we share our lives with others, even when we’re having troubles as Naomi was, something about the reality of our relationship with God shines through and draws others to the Lord.

“Don’t go and glean in another field” Ruth 2:1–23. Mosaic Law commanded landowners to leave that part of the harvest which dropped to the ground or was not yet ripe for the poor to gather. The name given to working in another’s field to gather the leftovers was “gleaning.”
As Naomi and Ruth had no other means of support, Ruth went out to glean in a field near Bethlehem. The owner was Boaz, who had heard of Ruth and her loyalty to Naomi. He not only welcomed her to his fields, but even told his workers to leave extra on the ground for her.
Boaz’s kindness and his obvious trust in God (v. 12) suggest that he was the kind of person God intended every Israelite to become when He gave Israel the Law. Boaz, more than any other in this story, reminds us that godly individuals can be found in even sinful societies.
But was Boaz unusual for this time? His warning to his workers not to touch (rape) Ruth, and his warning to her not to go and glean in another field, remind us that the story is set in the time of the judges when “everyone did as he saw fit” (Jdg. 21:25). Boaz was an exception, a godly man, in a time when ungodliness was the rule.
How encouraging to us. No matter what others around us may do, you and I can still follow the Lord. We do not have to surrender to the evil influences in our society. And neither do our children!

“Is not Boaz . . . a kinsman of ours?” Ruth 3:1–18 The kind treatment Boaz extended to Ruth excited Naomi. As a relative, Boaz was in a position to play the role of kinsman-redeemer. This would involve marrying Ruth, working the family land which would have been inherited by Naomi’s dead son, and giving Ruth a son who would carry on Naomi’s husband’s line. Suddenly it appeared to Naomi that she might have a future after all!
Naomi then instructed Ruth to go to Boaz’s threshing floor at night, and to “uncover his feet and lie down.” Ruth did as instructed. When Boaz awoke, she asked him to “spread the corner of your garment over me.”
The exact meaning of this expression, and the meaning of uncovering Boaz’s feet, are lost in antiquity. Some have thought the feet were uncovered so they might become cold and awaken Boaz. Boaz understood the request to be covered by his garment as a proposal of marriage. There is no suggestion of immorality in this part of the story, though in pagan religions threshing was possibly associated with fertility rites.

“I have also acquired Ruth . . . as my wife” Ruth 4:1–11. Because there was a closer relative in town, Boaz had to offer him the first chance to serve as kinsman-redeemer. Leviticus 25:48–55 suggests that the order of relationship moved from brothers, to uncles, to uncles’ sons. It is impossible to tell the exact relationship of either Boaz or the other candidate.
When the other man heard that redeeming the family land involved marriage to Ruth, he refused. Taking both the land and Ruth would mean first paying off any debts on the land, supporting Ruth as his wife, and then giving the land away to any son she might bear. The cost seems to have been more than the other relative was willing to pay. But Boaz, who admired Ruth and wanted her as his wife, was willing to pay whatever it cost to have her.
Boaz’s public announcement that he was exercising the right of the kinsman-redeemer and taking Ruth as his wife was all that was required in that day to constitute marriage. The story proper concludes here, with congratulations and best wishes offered by the city elders and other townsmen (Ruth 4:11–12).

“He will renew your life” Ruth 4:13–18. In time Ruth had a son, and in that son Naomi found comfort and hope. In a sense, because the child was considered the offspring of Naomi’s own son, he was her grandson; an indication that life would go on and that Naomi would not be forgotten.
Yet most touching is the praise the women of Bethlehem heaped on Ruth. In an age where having sons was the most important thing in most women’s lives, the women of Bethelem could praise “your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons.”
It was Ruth’s love, as much as the child held tightly in Naomi’s arms, that had renewed her life.
How great a gift we give others when we love them. Love is still able to lift a despondent person like Naomi and to renew her life.

DEVOTIONAL
The Right Choice
(Ruth 2–3)
“It scared me,” Carrie told the counselor. “I realized the guys I was dating were just like my first husband, who drank too much and beat me.”
Counselors recognize the problem. Both guys and girls find themselves attracted to unhealthy relationships. They don’t stop to analyze what they really want in marriage, or why they find the wrong kind of person so attractive. Yet there is probably no more significant choice any person can make than that of a mate. And there may be no more helpful book on choosing a spouse than Ruth.
Ruth’s first impression of Boaz was his kindness. Even a cursory reading of Ruth 2 shows that Boaz was kind in word and action. He was generous, godly, and sensitive to Ruth’s feelings (cf. vv. 15–16). While Naomi was impressed by Boaz’s ability to provide a home and security, undoubtedly Boaz’s personal qualities appealed to Ruth.
Boaz blessed Ruth for her interest in him, even though he was older than she. Ruth showed family loyalty in seeking out a kinsman-redeemer, and family loyalty was greatly valued in Israel. Boaz also knew Ruth was “a woman of noble character.” The word “noble” here is a strong one, suggesting more than good character. Ruth was viewed as an ideal woman by the whole community, which had been impressed with her many qualities. So Ruth was attractive to Boaz not only for her youth and beauty but for the kind of person she was.
In this case both persons chose wisely—and the wisdom of their choice is reflected in the character of their great-grandson, David.
How much we Christians today need to pattern our choice of a mate on criterion like those used by Ruth and Boaz. The superficial things emphasized in modern romance—looks, style, wealth, and social skills—are no foundation for the lifelong commitment of marriage.

Personal Application
We need to be careful in establishing any long-term relationship.

Quotable
“There can be no true and faithful learning of Christ when we are not ready to unlearn. By heredity, by education, by tradition, we have established thoughts about life which are often great hindrances to living the truth. To learn of Christ requires a willingness to subject every value we hold to His inspection for criticism and correction.”—Andrew Murray

RESULTS OF APOSTASY
Judges 17–21

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Jdg. 21:25).

History books seldom provide as much insight into a period as do stories of men and women who lived in it. In three brief slices of life, the author of Judges shows us how dark the era really was.

Background
The material in these last chapters of Judges is undated. It is not associated with any specific judge. It is instead “slice of life” material: cross sections taken from the period to reveal the religious, personal, and social consequences of Israel’s failure to serve God. These stories illustrate the price ordinary people paid for the apostasy of the nation.

Overview
An Ephraimite named Micah used stolen silver to make an idol, and recruited a Levite to serve as family priest (17:1–13). The Levite and idol were taken by Danites seeking land. They set up a northern worship center which competed with the tabernacle during this era (18:1–31). When men of one Benjamite town gang raped and killed a Levite’s concubine, civil war broke out between the other tribes, nearly wiping out Benjamin (19:1–21:25).

Understanding the Text
“Now I know that the LORD will be good to me” Jdg. 17:1–13. The simple story of Micah and his idol portrays the religious consequences of the period. The clearest and most important of God’s requirements had been distorted or lost.
Under God’s Law (1) making idols was forbidden, (2) Aaron’s descendants only were to serve as priests, (3) sacrifices were to be made only at the tabernacle, (4) and blessing was an outcome of obedience rather than ritual observance. Yet Micah violated each of these basic religious principles—and was convinced that his actions merited God’s favor!
Perhaps even more revealing, Micah was able to find a Levite willing to serve as family priest. This despite the fact that Levites were commissioned by God to teach His Law in Israel.
This story is told first for a very simple reason. Loss of knowledge of God is the underlying cause of the crumbling of the whole society.

“They named it Dan” Jdg. 18:1–31. The story continues as a group of Danites seeking resettlement passed by Micah’s home. This group had abandoned the land allotted to the tribe under pressure from
foreign powers. The Danites offered Micah’s Levite a post as priest to the whole tribe. He gladly accepted, and the Danites took him and Micah’s idols with them.
Moving north, the Danites attacked a “peaceful and unsuspecting” city and established themselves there. This story is significant. Dan became an important worship site, and after Solomon’s kingdom was divided in 931B.C, Dan was sanctified as an official worship center by the apostate Jeroboam I.
Dan’s origin as a worship center is thus traced back to the theft of an idol, and the service of an unqualified priest. It maintained this character throughout its history.
When we build for the future, we need to lay a firm foundation of integrity.

“Such a thing has never been seen or done” Jdg. 19:1–30. The story of the rape and murder of a Levite’s concubine by Benjamites is intended to give insight into the moral situation in Israel. Not a single actor in this story, and certainly not the Levite, is displayed as a righteous person.

“We’ll go up against it as the lot directs” Jdg. 20:1–48. When the tribe of Benjamin refused to surrender the men who had raped and murdered the Levite’s concubine, civil war broke out. Only some 600 men of Benjamin survived.
Under the Law, the tribe of Benjamin was responsible to turn the evildoers over for punishment. The Benjamites chose instead to protect them.
This final story sums up the author’s analysis of the period. He began with religious decline, moved to moral failure, and now shows the impact of rejecting God on the society as a whole.

“The Israelites grieved for their brothers” Jdg. 21:1–25. To preserve the tribe of Benjamin, the other tribes provided wives, by killing the men from a city which failed to respond to the call to war, and by inventing a religious fiction.
The tribes had taken an oath not to “give” wives to any Benjamite. So they decided to permit the men of Benjamin who needed wives to catch and carry off marriageable girls who participated in an annual religious festival.
Here we see Israel’s tendency to bend rules. There is no suggestion in the text that the people appealed to God for guidance. Instead they relied on the kind of sophistry which passed over intent to emphasize the letter of the Law. Just this kind of thing was later criticized by Jesus when He condemned many of the Pharisees (cf. Mark 7:9–13).

DEVOTIONAL
Moral Integrity
(Jdg. 19)
Someone suggested that people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Jesus made the point by insisting that we should ignore the speck in another’s eye until we’ve dealt with the beam in our own. There’s something of this flavor in the story of the Levite’s concubine.
The Levite was unwilling to stay the night in an alien (Canaanite) city. But when he stopped at a Benjamite city, the men of the town refused the couple hospitality (v. 18). Later they attempted to make him the victim of homosexual rape (v. 22). Instead the Levite pushed his concubine, a secondary wife, out the door. The Benjamites abused her all night and she died in the morning. Filled with moral outrage, the Levite cut up her body and sent pieces throughout the other tribes as a call to vengeance.
The irony, of course, lies in the fact that the Levite himself showed no concern for his concubine, either when he thrust her outside rather than defend her, or the next morning when he coldly addressed her dead body, saying, “Get up; let’s go.”
The story is ironic because Levites in Israel were supposed to serve God. They were, with the priests, the established guardians of the Law and of morality. When a guardian loses all moral sensibility, and abandons others or treats them as objects, society is truly lost.
The failure of the Levite is a warning to us. Yes, we do need to stand against injustice and sins in our society. We are to be stone throwers. And even “mote inspectors.” But we can do this only from a position of personal moral integrity.

Personal Application
Our lives even more than our words must witness to righteousness.

Quotable
“We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since He Himself cursed the fig tree when He found no fruit but only leaves. It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teachings by his actions.”—Anthony of Padua

SAMSON
Judges 13–16

“Samson led Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines” (Jdg. 15:20).

This text does not conclude, “and the land had rest.” Samson, for all his physical strength, lacked the inner strength needed to put his people ahead of his own raging desires.

Definition of Key Terms
Philistines. Great numbers of these people settled on Palestine’s coastal plains about 1200B.C after an unsuccessful invasion of Egypt. Gradually they penetrated the hill country occupied by Israel, and intermingled with the Israelites. Israel was unable to resist the encroachment, in part because the Philistines had the secret of smelting iron and had weapons superior to anything Israel possessed. Samson conducted one-man war against the Philistines, but never marshalled his people to resist the invaders. The Philistines remained a dangerous enemy through the judgeship of Samuel and the reign of Saul, until crushed by David about a hundred years after the time of Samson.

Overview
Samson’s birth was announced by the Angel of the Lord (13:1–24). He insisted on marrying a Philistine, but was deceived and humiliated at the wedding (14:1–15). Revenge escalated into open hostilities in which Samson personally killed a thousand men (15:1–20). But his passion for Delilah led Samson to reveal the secret of his strength (16:1–17). He was captured, blinded, and forced to grind grain for his enemy (vv. 16–22). Samson’s strength returned and he died destroying a Philistine temple, killing thousands of his enemies (vv. 23–31).

Understanding the Text
“Teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born” Jdg. 13:1–25. Samson is one of the few in Scripture whose birth was preannounced to his parents. He shares this honor with Isaac, John the Baptist, and Jesus.
Samson’s parents were godly Israelites who believed the prediction and asked God to show them how to bring up their son. This prayer was answered: Samson was to be brought up as a Nazarite—a person set completely apart to God (see Num. 6:1–8). Nazarites drank no wine, did not cut their hair, and were to follow certain other requirements.
It is striking that in this and other tales of the judges the author does not editorialize. He simply tells his story, without moralizing or comment. Yet the stories speak for themselves, particularly in Samson’s case. Unlike Jephthah, Samson had loving and godly parents. Even as a teenager “the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him” (Jdg. 13:25). Samson’s many flaws can hardly be traced either to his parents or to God.
What a comfort to godly Christian parents whose children have not chosen to follow Jesus. Every tormented mom or dad, who looks back and wonders, “What did I do?” or “What did I fail to do?” can find comfort in the story of Samson. There was no failure on the part of Samson’s parents. The flaws that later destroyed Samson were in Samson himself.

“Get her for me” Jdg. 14:1–20. Samson’s desire for a Philistine woman indicates his weakness. God’s Law forbad intermarriage with pagan peoples (Deut. 7:3). Yet Samson was ruled by his desires. His passion for a woman, based merely on her looks, seemed more important to him than God’s expressed will. So, despite his objections, Samson’s father arranged for the marriage.
The comment that “this was from the LORD, who was seeking an occasion to confront the Philistines” is likely a gloss, or comment by a later editor. But the point is well taken. God is able to turn even our weaknesses to His purposes.
A confrontation was stimulated when Samson posed a riddle that the Philistines he challenged could answer only by threatening his bride. Samson’s comment that he had not even explained it to his father or mother (Jdg. 14:16) is interesting. As a Nazarite he was not supposed to touch a dead body. Yet he had taken honey from the body of a lion that he killed. The incident is another indication of his parents’ godly character, and Samson’s own flaws.

“I have a right to get even” Jdg. 15:1–20. When Samson learned that his father-in-law had given his bride to someone else, he captured a number of jackals (not foxes) and set them loose in Philistine grain fields with firebrands attached to their tails. Escalation followed. The Philistines burned Samson’s bride and her father to death, and then demanded that the Israelites turn Samson over to them to be executed. The Israelites bound Samson, but after he was turned over Samson broke his bonds and, using the fresh jawbone of a donkey, “struck down a thousand men.”
The text sheds light on several aspects of the period and the Samson story. First, the casual brutality of the Philistines is seen in their burning of Samson’s bride and her father (v. 6). Second, the subservient attitude of the Israelites is shown in their failure to support Samson and in their fear of the Philistines, who “are rulers over us” (v. 11). Most revealing of all are Samson’s references to his “right to get even” and to do to the Philistines “what they did to me” (vv. 3, 11). This is the same kind of thinking that characterized the Philistines (v. 10). Samson gave no thought to the oppression experienced by the people he led. His vendetta with the Philistines was personal. Samson hated the Philistines not for what they had done to his people but for what they had done to him personally.
God used Samson’s selfishness to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (13:5). But Samson himself is revealed to be a shallow person, without the spiritual depth or concern for others that marks the truly godly.

Approaches to the gates of ancient cities were carefully constructed to prevent access. The gates themselves were massive, usually reinforced with metal. Samson not only tore off the gates of Gaza, which weighed many hundreds of pounds, but carried them to the “top of the hill that faces Hebron,” 38 miles away!

“Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver” Jdg. 16:1–21. The combined payment of almost 150 pounds of silver was a vast sum for that day. Delilah was as eager to have the money as Samson was to have her! Neither of the major figures in this story merits admiration. Each shows very human weaknesses against which you and I must guard.

“He killed many more when he died” Jdg. 16:23–31. Samson’s last prayer suggests he had learned little during his lifetime, for his concern is still with revenge, this time “for my two eyes” (v. 28).
The temple to which Samson was brought probably was built on a plan common to such structures of that era. If so, most of the Philistines were gathered on the roof, which was supported by a number of pillars. The crowd, pressing forward to see the captive hero, would have made the whole structure unstable, so that when Samson pushed against the pillars, the temple collapsed. More died with Samson in that fall than Samson had killed during his lifetime.
What a difference between this epitaph and that of other judges, which commonly read, “And the land had peace.” Samson brought death to Israel’s enemies. But this morally weak strongman failed to make peace for his own people or for himself.

DEVOTIONAL
Now, or Never?
(Jdg. 16)
The story of Samson and Delilah is one of the best known in Scripture. Samson’s passion for Delilah is legendary, as is her betrayal of him for money.
Yet as we read the story, we’re reminded more of children than adults. Samson and Delilah each desperately wanted what he or she desired . . . now. Reading the story we’re amazed that Samson kept going back to Delilah when what she said and did so clearly showed her intent to betray. But Samson’s passion was so dominating that he cared nothing for the future. His only concern was that his desire be satisfied now.
We wonder at Samson’s blindness. It’s so much easier to see a fault in someone else than in ourselves. How often have we made choices because we want something now, without considering the future? How often have our choices been made simply on the basis of our will, without pausing to consider God’s?
Samson reminds us that we grown-ups can’t afford to adopt a child’s perspective on life, and let ourselves be controlled by our passions and desires.

Personal Application
In the choice between now and never, never is often best.

Quotable
“Inordinate love of the flesh is cruelty, because under the appearance of pleasing the body we kill the soul.”—Bernard of Clairvaux