Ruth 4:6
“And the close relative said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’”
In addition to being a beautiful and timeless love story, Ruth is also a picture of redemption. Ruth was a descendant of Moab and as such was born under a curse (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). Naomi and her family had left Israel and dwelt among the Moabites and, no doubt, returned to the land with the stigma of being a backslider. Perhaps some thought the loss of her family was the judgment of God for leaving Israel. These two woman are a picture of all of us. We are born in sin, and prove it daily with our actions. Paul declared,
“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—” Romans 5:12
In this seemingly hopeless state, God raised up a redeemer for Naomi and Ruth. A near kinsman, named Boaz, would marry Ruth and take on the responsibility of her and Naomi. In the same way, in our hopeless state, the Son of God took on the role of redeemer. Jesus told a story that expressed the redemptive nature of God. He spoke of a man who found a treasure in a field. In order to obtain the treasure, he had to purchase the entire field. The meaning is obvious, God sees you as a precious treasure of such value, He would pay the price of His own Son to purchase you. The work of redemption accomplished by Christ, is sufficient to pay for the sins of the world. Those who will respond by faith, will be the recipients of redemption and eternal life.
Will you trust Christ today for salvation? Will you put away a life of self- seeking and begin to seek the One who loves you and died for you? If so pray along with me “Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. I invite you to come into my life, wash away my sin and help me live for You. Amen”
If you prayed that prayer and want further help in following Christ, contact us at ccvb.net
In grace,
Pastor Jim
Whenever an artist attempts to illustrate Samson, he looks like a cross between an NFL linebacker and a competitive body builder. He is painted as bigger, stronger and more muscular than all those in in Israel or Philistia. You might find it interesting that no physical description of Samson is ever recorded in Scripture. What is evident is the fact that his strength and subsequent victories, were all directly connected to the Spirit of the Lord being upon him. It was not Samson’s ability that gave him strength, but the power of the Spirit. In this text, we find the Spirt of God enabling him to break the bonds that held him as a captive. Ropes that would hold the average man at bay were torn, as if they were wet tissue paper. 
After his arrest, Paul shared Christ with the mob that tried to kill him. They listened intently to him because his message was fascinating and relevant. It seemed they had a true interest, and even an openness to the Gospel. But that all changed once Paul mentioned the Gentiles. That single word caused the hearers to close their ears, harden their hearts, and reject the message of Christ.
As I read through the book of Judges, I am confronted with mixed emotions. On the one hand, it is a sad and tragic story of repeated failure. Over and over, we are told of the compromise of the people of God, and the suffering they experienced as a result. We are told, much of the reason for their repeated failure, was that they did not know how to fight. Instead of realizing they were facing spiritual battles, and engaging in conflict against compromise, they simply gave in. Judges records the story of failure which is often repeated today.
The book of Judges records a reoccurring cycle in the life of the young Israeli nation. Over and over, as the story unfolds, we will read of sin, suffering, supplications and salvation. The people will disobey the Lord, becoming involved in sinful and worldly practices. These practices will lead to suffering, and their suffering will cause them to cry out to God for help. Again and again, the mercy of God is revealed as God raises up judges or deliverers to rescue the people from the bondage their sin has caused.
A great controversy arose in the early church as a result of the Gentiles coming to faith in Christ. Some of the church leaders in Jerusalem were suggesting that after coming to Christ, these new converts must be circumcised and keep the ceremonial laws. I think their motives were probably sincere. They wanted to see these new believers behaving correctly, and determined the best way for them to do so, was to make rules. We see the same thing happening in the church today. A young woman may come to Christ, and still dress the way she did before she believed, so the church is pressured to have a dress code. Or a young man comes to Christ and still listens to the music he did before coming to Christ; the church wants to establish a ban on secular music. Now it is true, there are people who dress inappropriately, and listen and watch things that they shouldn’t, but the question is, what is the best way to help them grow? The legalists, from Jerusalem, thought it was through the establishing of a system of rules to keep them in check. The apostles came up with a different plan, they wrote a letter exhorting the Gentiles to abstain from three things.
The tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh chose to separate from the rest of Israel and live east of the Jordan River. Although the Jordan is not a large river, and crossing it during the dry season would not be a difficult endeavor, this division would prove to be very costly. It is clear from the event recorded in Joshua 22, the effects of this separation were felt immediately. Once they returned to their land, they attempted to create a connection with the rest of Israel by erecting an altar that resembled the one in Shiloh. In their minds, this would keep them connected to Israel, even when the Jordan separated them. Their actions were considered to be idolatrous by the other tribes, who pleaded with them, that rather than building an altar, why not cross the Jordan and join the nation. A religious symbol is not the solution for a wandering heart. 
Both Joshua and the early chapters of Judges, tell the story of Israel’s occupation of the land of Canaan. After the initial strikes led by Joshua, the land was divided into twelve lots. Each tribe was given the responsibility of possessing their territory. While we read of some great victories that illustrate dynamic faith, we also read a reoccurring theme where the tribes either did not, or could not, drive out one people group or another. Sometimes it was a failure on the part of the people to trust God and step out in faith, other times it was due to convenience. In the case of Benjamin, they allowed the enemy to remain within their borders because they believed they would personally benefit from keeping them around. 
After Joshua led the armies of Israel in victory against the Canaanite kings, he distributed the land to each of the tribes. The lands were determined by lot and the size of each tribe. The lot was like a divinely inspired roll of the dice. They may have prayed, rolled the dice, and trusted the Lord for the outcome. Once the lands were distributed, each tribe was responsible to occupy their portion. In order to occupy the land, they had to settle into what they had previously conquered, then daily, deal with those inhabitants who stubbornly remained.
The men of Gibeon pulled off quite a scam. They went to great lengths to look like something they were not, in order to fool Israel into making a treaty with them. Old clothes, worn out shoes, moldy bread, all made it appear they had traveled a great distance. In reality, they lived within the borders of Israel’s land. Joshua and the other leaders of the nation were duped by the Gideonite’s ruse because when faced with this dilemma, they used their senses, rather than the Word of God. Had they taken the time to pray, God would have revealed to them the true nature of the Gibeonites. His Word already spoke regarding the inhabitants of the Land; Israel was to drive them out.
Jim Gallagher 