“So What’s Next?” (Christmas Day)

Scripture: Hebrews 1:1-12

Last night (Christmas Eve), we discussed some of the things that Jesus brought with him when he came to earth – those things he came to teach us and to show us and to give us. And today, we continue to celebrate his life in the deepest and fullest way possible, but what about tomorrow? Is the day after Christmas a huge let-down? For many, it is – it’s like the day after the “big game”, the day when our team wins the championship, and we are able to bask in the glory that they have won. But when the next day comes, and when the next week comes, the glory begins to fade. Folks find that their lives haven’t actually changed all that much and that the reality of that former and not so glamorous life is returning.
The reality of tomorrow can be a huge disappointment when we don’t quite know what to do about those joyful, albeit fading, memories of yesterday!

Isn’t it a shame that the days and weeks that follow such a wonderful and perfect time like Christmas have to begin to settle back into the old, depressing ways?

Read Hebrews 1:1-4

If our lives continue to be focused on the things of yesterday – especially the failures that can never be corrected, and the “what-ifs” that never were and never can be - we are apt to completely miss the “what-is” of today! The author of Hebrews works to tie the words of the prophets – the glory and promise of yesterday – to the hope and magnificence of Christ that we experience in today and tomorrow. When it comes to the Lord, there is no conflict between yesterday and tomorrow, for God never changes! The word that he offered thousands of years ago is the same one that is in place today. The only change is in the messenger – yesterday’s were through the voices of the prophets, but today’s comes directly from the voice of God.

The writer proclaims that Jesus is the “heir of all things” – not a receiver of possessions when his ancestor is no longer around, but as one who is co-existent from the age before time.
We are also told that Jesus is the one "through whom" the universe was created. For me, this statement is comparable to the concept of the Trinity. If Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, then he is co-creator of “all that is, seen and unseen”, as the Nicene Creed proclaims. So, if God – Father, Son and Spirit – created the universe, then it was created by and through each of them – not from one and via another, but through the power of all. That may be a rather complex thought for us, but there are some Godly concepts that stretch the imagination of humanity nearly to the breaking point. And that is OK.

But there are many who still find the ways of God not only strange and unintelligible, but inconceivable, and who find Christ’s words either offensive or irrelevant for their lives. I’ve never understood that – after all, how could any human believe that their understanding and their standards are more appropriate and more truthful that God’s, simply because they can’t frame them in their own minds? Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the “radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being”! I believe that this is true, but how could any of us actually explain this in a rational and logical way? Well, we can’t – we can only accept it.

And the last two proclamations can be just as problematic. The thought is that after Christ died for our sins, he then assumed the position of Majesty. The point isn’t that he had no glory until he finished his task on earth – it’s that he was Majesty, but traded it for humility when he came to us in the flesh, and has now reclaimed his rightful glory in heaven.
And the writer doesn’t say that Christ died for us – just that he purified our sins, which in and of itself can be troubling. Does this mean that sin is now OK? That sin is now acceptable because it has been made pure? Rest assured – it has not! It means that we have been purified from our sin, and not that sin has been cleansed and is acceptable.
And in verse 4, we read that Jesus became superior to the angels, presumably because of his ascendency to the throne of God. That would seem to imply that he was not worthy to be greater than the angelic host before, and that he had to earn it. But if Christ has always been God, how could that be?
The thought only gains context if one believes that angels held a higher position in heaven than they actually do. This may have been an understanding in ancient Israelite times, but even the commentaries seem to dance around this one.

Is your head hurting yet? It gets even better! So let’s step back and think about the point of these verses, which will describe our first life’s step after Christmas – don’t try to figure the Lord out – just believe in who he is, and obey his word!

Read Hebrews 1:5-7

These first 4 references to the Old Testament are intended to be both a connection and a clarification for the Hebrew people. Unfortunately, they also result in a lot of confusion for us. So here is a thought that might help us.
Of the first two references, the first which comes from Psalm 2:7-9, is similar to the Divine Proclamation that was given at Jesus’ baptism. But here is the issue – first, a son, for the ancients, is always lesser than his father, but second, if Jesus is fully God, how could he become secondary even to the Father? I believe that the point that the writer is making is that by becoming God in the flesh, Jesus willingly accepted a lower position, but since he is God, he must also have a direct connection to the Almighty. For Israel, it was believed that God could never be human or have human traits and weaknesses – that would be un-Godly! Therefore, as Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity must be both subservient in body as well as connected in Spirit – he would have to be the Son of the Most High God.
The second passage which comes from 2 Samuel 7:12-16, may be speaking of either the present King David or the future Lord Jesus, or perhaps even both. We need to read this, then, as a promise that the kingdom of God will be connected to the kingdom of Israel through the Davidic line.

So the second point for this morning is this – the Perfect and Majestic Creator of the Universe has intentionally allowed himself to become connected directly to fallen and sinful humanity. Again, don’t try to understand why the Lord would even think that this is a good plan because it sure doesn’t make a lot of sense – just accept it and rejoice that God wants it this way.

Regarding the next two Old Testament passages, the writer takes some liberty in the phrasing. The first passage, regarding God’s angels worshipping Jesus, Psalm 97:7 actually reads that the “gods” will worship him. The point, I believe, is that we are to be very careful as to whom we elevate in worship. When we begin to think that the angels hold a higher position than Jesus, or that the “saints of earth” are worthy of worship, we have just established a series of little gods, who are actually only worthy of respect, but never of worship.
In the second passage, which refers to Psalm 104:4, the writer again takes some liberty by reversing the references. The Psalm says that the winds will be God’s messengers, and flames of fire his servants, not the other way around. Again, the concept of angelic glory is being diminished by implying that both angels and the servants of the Most High are comparable to the elements of creation, and not to the glory of God.

We can read into this, then, that we, too, have worth and purpose to God, while at the same time, have little worth in relation to the ways of earth.

Read Hebrews 1:8-12

The final two Old Testament passages for today, the first from Psalm 45:6-7 and the second from Psalm 102:25-28, begin to glorify Jesus and his Kingdom once again. We are told that the blameless reign of God will never end – not by opposing spiritual forces, and certainly not by human interference and intervention. Even creation itself – both the heavenly and the physical, the seen and the unseen – will have no permanence. Only God and those judged worthy of his presence will be forever.

Psalm 45 is described as a “wedding hymn”, where the relationship is promised to be unbreakable, and where the love that will be shown will never be turned against “the bride”. And who is the bride? The Church – the Church who has been raised up above the opposing forces of earth.

Psalm 102, on the other hand, is a prayer of affliction. And as with nearly all of the Psalms, even though much of this song is a lament for the anguish being experienced in this life, the broken person finds hope and promise in the midst of it all, through faith in his eternal God.

So our last point for today is this – never doubt that God is on our side. He will never be defeated, he will never be turned, he will never change his heart for us, and he is forever. And regardless of what the world may throw at us, we can always find hope and comfort in the knowledge that those who serve him and obey him will live with him in eternity.

Never forget that Christmas is not the end. We may never be able to figure God out, but if we stick to the basics of “believe”, “trust” and “obey”, that will be enough. God knows that we will never be able to justify our life in him so he has created the relationship for us by taking on our suffering, our imperfections, and our failures, and purifying our lives by the love he shows in Christ Jesus.
Why would the Lord do all this? Because Almighty God has created purpose in us, and we acknowledge it by faith in Emmanuel. Never doubt this, never fear that it will be taken away, and never believe that God will change his mind if we aren’t good enough. Not only is God eternal, but his way, his glory, and his promise is eternal as well.

The glory of Christ is definitely the glory of yesterday, and by faith in Jesus, it is also our glory in and through this day and forever. That is the hope that comes through Christmas. “Rejoice in the Lord always, and I say it again - rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4-7) Amen.

“The Purpose” (Christmas Eve)

Scripture: Luke 2:1-20

We have just come through a season that we know as Advent. This is a time when we celebrate the waiting that must be endured before the Day of Christ comes again. Waiting isn’t easy in and of itself, and the most difficult part is what we are to be doing in our waiting.

Fleming Rutledge, preacher, teacher and author, wrote:
“Advent is only secondarily about the baby Jesus. It is primarily about the rending of the heavens … and the coming of the Lord in power and glory to take the creation back for himself. Until he comes, then, we are the people who put on the armor of light “now in this present time” and by our works point to the One who is to come.”

She is telling us that we need to be focused on the tasks before us today, and not to become all consumed over what the earth’s tomorrows may bring. We’ve been waiting for 2,000 years for Christ’s return, and Israel has been waiting for many more thousands of years for Messiah (they missed him the first time!). In the meantime, a few of these“waiting days” have been good, but many more haven’t been good at all. Most of the folks living in Jesus’ first days completely missed the opportunity to know the goodness that he brought, and many since then have continued the tradition of denying the Lord’s call on their lives.

During this Advent 2016, we have been considering some of the reasons behind Christ’s first coming. We considered the divisiveness that occurred between Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael, and the problems that it created, even to today. (Nov. 27th ) We considered the sinfulness that occurred between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar, and while the Lord detested the breakdown in their moral standards, he still allowed them to be part of his ancestral legacy for the people of earth. (Dec. 4th) We considered the story of Ruth and Boaz, which not only told of the introduction of Gentiles into Jesus’ Jewish bloodline, but also showed us the desperate need that we have for a “Kinsman Redeemer”. (Dec. 11th) And last week, we took a look at the sinful arrogance that became so pervasive in the life of King David – a man who God had described as “a man after his own heart.”, but who still committed rape and murder. (Dec. 18th)

The Jewish ancestors of Jesus Christ had been waiting for many years for Messiah’s arrival, but they didn’t have a clue as to how he wanted them to wait. When Jesus arrived in the form of a helpless Infant, he wasn’t who they wanted him to be, and he didn’t come in the way that they thought he should have. In their conceit and self-centeredness, many would miss out on the greatest Gift that Almighty God has ever granted to the people of earth.

But the ignorant and unclean shepherds would get it. The foreign Magi would get it. The unclean sinners of Israel, or at least some of them, would get it. 120 faithful would get it in the Upper Room on Pentecost, and another 3,000 would get it when Peter began to preach that day. And a few more over the years – those from every nation and every tribe – have also gotten it at times, but so many haven’t even come close. Why do they even try to continue to live without knowing or even caring?

The truth is that we don’t really know what we are living and waiting for, or even how to wait - for anything, let alone for Jesus! We have missed the lesson of salvation! And the lesson is this - that faith in Jesus Christ is only the beginning of how to wait for him. In Matthew’s gospel, we read of Jesus’ words, when he told us that when we reach out to others – by feeding the hungry, giving a cool drink to the thirsty, welcoming the strangers who come among us, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting the prisoner – that we are actually doing these things for him. But the Lord doesn’t stop there – he continues with the thought that when we don’t do these things, we haven’t done anything for him, and that we will suffer the consequences for it. (Matthew 25:34-46)

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) that Jesus gave his followers as he prepared them for his ascension puts our life of waiting into perspective. Believers throughout the ages have been called to follow these words, but we have to wonder just how many have actually tried it.

The first step is to “make disciples of all nations”. This means that we are to share the story of Jesus with the world. Tell them of the glory that he left behind in favor of coming to earth in a humble and lowly way. Tell them of his 7 “I Am” sayings (Bread of life (John 6:45-50), Light of the world (John 8:12), the Gate (John 10:7-10) the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-15), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6-7), and the True Vine (John 15:1-5).
Tell them of his atoning love – the love that led him to Calvary to overturn the penalty for the sinful lives we have led. Tell them of the eternal life that can come to all who believe and trust in him. Invite them, as Philip did for Nathanael (John 1:43-51), and as Andrew did for his brother Simon (John 1:40-42), and as the Samarian women did for her neighbors (John 4:1-42), that they might come and meet the most amazing man they will ever know.
Jesus came to earth to teach us about God and the great heart that he has for his cause and our life.

The second step is bring them to baptism – to a commitment to Jesus. It allows us the opportunity to make a public statement that we reject the power and ways of earth, and to claim Jesus Christ as our only hope for eternal life. Baptism is a sign to us that, by faith in Christ, our sins have been washed away, and that we have been made worthy of his grace and mercy.
Jesus came to earth to teach us that knowing about him is nowhere near enough – that we must truly know him, and trust him, and obey him.

The third part is the tough one – “teach them to obey my commandments”. Jesus tells us that once we commit to him, that we must learn to live and act like him. But before we can teach others, we must begin to learn and live the lesson ourselves. Why is that so important? In James 2:26, we read that “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Faith in Jesus Christ, and commitment to him and his ways, are the first two parts of our call, but doing something about it completes our relationship with Christ.
Christ’s first time among us was to prepare us for a life eternal in and with him in his second coming.

Christmas isn’t just a time to give each other gifts of material worth - remember that they all will, one day, pass away! (Isaiah 40:6-8, Matthew 24:34-35) – and it isn’t to focus on a celebration of earthly relationships. Christmas is the day when we can give the Lord the greatest gift of all time – our life and commitment. It doesn’t matter who we are, or what we may have done, or how we have lived, or anything else in all the world. If Jesus had never come to earth, if he had never stepped away from his glory, if he had never taken on the created form and life that we live, if he had never taught us about the heart of God and the love that is waiting for us, if he had considered flesh and blood as being more important than the Spirit that lives within him, if he had never taken our sin upon him so that we might be worthy of life in him, then this life would be nothing short of a dead end.

But by our surrender of this “dead-end” existence, in favor of an eternal life in Christ, the joy of Christmas will become a reality. And that is the entire and complete purpose of our celebration tomorrow – that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16-17) This is the “why” of Christmas! But faith must be lived, and a faith that does not reflect the words that Jesus spoke, and a faith that does not honor the life that Jesus lived, is no faith at all.

Have you made a commitment to the life and ways of Jesus Christ? Have you claimed him as your personal Lord and Savior? Do you live a life that brings honor and glory to the God who has given so much for your eternity? If not, the offering of your life tonight would be the most precious gift that Almighty God could ever receive. Won’t you give the Lord this blessing today?

“The Arrogant” (David & Bathsheba)

Scripture: 2 Samuel 11

Israel wanted a king just like the ones that other nations had – one who would govern them and lead them in battle (1 Samuel 8:19-20), so the Lord gave them one! And Saul, the first king of Israel, would be just like the kings of other nations in every way – he would be corrupt, arrogant, greedy, self-centered, and self-absorbed. So the prophet Samuel would announce to Saul that if he had only shown obedience to God and His ways, his kingdom would have been glorious. But since he hadn’t followed the Lord’s leadership, God was choosing someone else to lead Israel - someone who would be a “man after his own heart”. (1 Samuel 13:13-14)

This man, who had the heart of God, was David – the youngest and least significant son in the family of Jesse. At first, David would be a favorite of King Saul’s, but as time went on, Saul would become jealous of the young man, and would actually try to kill him – not once, but several times. The Lord would protect this future king of Israel, and eventually, Saul and his sons would die in battle and David would ascend to the throne. But David, even though he had a heart akin to God’s, would be anything but perfect in his reign.

Read 2 Samuel 11:1-5

As is our tradition today, kings in that day were not only the governor of their country, but they also served as Commander-in-Chief of the Army. But in that day, the king actually led his army into battle, and didn’t just send them out under someone else’s authority. David had accepted this responsibility in the past, but now, he had decided to stay at home while the army engaged the Ammonites at Rabbah.

Whenever anyone neglects their responsibilities in favor of their personal comfort and enjoyment, trouble isn’t too far around the corner. Throughout scripture, idleness is condemned as unprofitable for our lives. (Proverbs 19:15, as an example) David had chosen “idleness” over his obligations as king, and he would fall into temptation as a result of it.

In his idleness, David also isn’t sleeping so well. Inactivity in the life of a young man has the potential to create insomnia! So he finds himself on the roof of his palace when he not only should have been with his army, but when he would normally have been asleep. Some scholars would have us believe that Bathsheba is partly to blame for the indiscretion because of her nudity on the roof of her home. Was she really a seductress? Was she being flirtatious? Personally, I believe that she chose that time of night to bathe, thinking that no one would see her! In addition, a woman who lived 3,000 years ago had little authority or influence over men of that day, so the onus must be fully upon the king who was where he shouldn’t have been, and even Nathan the prophet would later put the blame firmly upon the king (2 Samuel 12:1-10)

Kings and other leaders have always been known to exercise their authority over the people to their own benefit, so why should David be any different? Even with a heart for God, he was still a sinful man, and he used his royal position to gain the upper hand over one of his faithful subjects. King David was showing his arrogance to a fault! And the effect and shame would fall on Bathsheba – at least initially.

Read 2 Samuel 11:6-12

David could place demands on the woman, but that wasn’t such an easy issue with her husband. So now, to compound the issue, the king begins to engage in intrigue. But David hadn’t counted on this military leader being so conscientious and principled. Uriah wouldn’t fall for the trap, and the king’s deception couldn’t be covered up.

Consider the difference in character between Uriah and David. Uriah goes beyond all reason to put consideration for his troops ahead of his own pleasure. David, on the other hand, puts his pleasure before the obligation he has for his army and his nation. Uriah is shown to be the exceptional and honest leader, while David fails completely in his leadership. Uriah never denies who he is or what he must be, while David denies his very faith and all that it should mean for him.

Arrogance has a way of compounding an original problem by creating lie upon ruse upon dishonesty. The Australian pastor and writer, Phillip Jensen, wrote:

Arrogance is the pride of self-importance. It is thinking of yourself as more important or more able than you are. It is often accompanied by showing contempt or disregard for others.

--Phillip Jensen, "The 'arrogance' of humility," From the Dean, April 24, 2009, http://phillipjensen.com.

That is about as accurate a description of King David, at least in this situation, as we could ever find. David would never hesitate to do anything and everything that was needed to cover up his infidelity, even to the extent that he would cause the murder of Uriah and his men in battle. (2 Samuel 11:16-17) From the New Interpreters’ Bible, we read “God’s anointed king has become an agent of death. Self-interested use of power has led David into a deadly chain of events from seizure to deception to death.”
But David has been described as “a man after God’s own heart”! What would the Lord think about David’s actions?

Read 2 Samuel 11:26-27

The man who loyally served his king is murdered, so that David could marry the woman who he has impregnated. Some might think that David has finally set the record straight through marriage, but consider everything that he did to get to that point! In his book “Sinning Like a Christian”, William Willamon writes, in the chapter on Pride, that first, pride is the sin that tends to lead us to the commission of many other sins. Second, he writes “When we take too much credit for our lives and our achievements, when we come to look at our lives as products of our own striving rather than gifts, we are moving close to that idolatry in which the creature refuses to give due to the Creator.”
(Willimon, William, “Sinning like a Christian: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins”, Abingdon Press, 2005, pg36)

In essence, David was setting himself up as his own idol. And the final verse of this chapter tells us that the Lord was “displeased” with the king (to say the least!).

But this isn’t the last word on David’s sins. In the next chapter (2 Samuel 12:1-14), the prophet Nathan is sent to the king with words on condemnation from God. He offers a parable of sorts that identifies David as a sinner, and reveals that the child conceived through his arrogance would also die. The thoughtless and selfish act of David’s failure to lead his troops into battle, would lead to countless deaths, a broken marriage, and for all practical purposes, a rape – not to mention all of the lies and the deception that caused his field general Joab to become complicit in the carrying out of Uriah’s death sentence.

David, who is recognized as the greatest and most beloved king in all of Israel’s history, has sinned. In his confession, though, he would be forgiven for the trespass, but, unfortunately, his child will die, nonetheless. Call it pride, call it arrogance, call it conceit – whatever it may be called, the world sees nothing wrong with these attitudes, and as a matter of fact, pride is even honored! But just look at what it can lead to! The Lord tells us that whatever leads us to sin, then it, too, must be sin.

And this is one of Jesus’ most honored relatives? Is there any doubt that God had to come to earth to set us straight? David’s arrogance would eventually cause the death of his innocent child, and our arrogance has caused the death of our sinless Lord. God, in his compassion and love for us, could never leave us drowning in our own sin, so he allowed himself to be sacrificed in place of us, just as David’s child would die in his place.

Almighty God will never abandon us! But we may very well have to suffer the consequences for our failure to follow his ways. David was forced to accept the death of his child, but the Lord has given us the right to either choose or reject the marvelous gift of his Son. And it is our decision that will bring with it either our salvation and eternal life, or our condemnation and death.

Our own arrogance can easily get in the way of a life in eternity with Jesus. We must make this choice with Godly wisdom.

“The Gentiles” (Ruth / Boaz / Jesse)

Scripture: Ruth 4

During Advent, we have been considering the reasons that Jesus had to come to earth by looking at the lives of some of his ancestors. So far, we have considered the divisiveness that occurred between Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael, and the healing power that Jesus brings to our lives. We considered the sinfulness that was so evident in Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar, and how Jesus is the source – the only source - of God’s forgiveness for our imperfect lives. Today, we consider an example of the introduction of gentiles into the Jewish family of Jesus, and the redemption that He brings to us all. Jesus would have several encounters with gentiles during his ministry, and he never avoided a single one. He would also introduce gentiles into his teaching parables, and they always seemed to come out on top.

Today’s text focuses on the lives of Boaz, a descendent of Judah’s, and Ruth, a widowed Moabitess. But first, some family history. A man by the name of Elimelech was married to Naomi, and they had two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. The family was from Bethlehem, which is located within the tribe of Judah. The nation had experienced a drought and resulting famine, so the family went looking for a better place to live, and they settled in Moab – a land to the east of the Dead Sea. Both sons would marry Moabite women, but in time, all three of the men would die, leaving their widowed wives without support of any kind.

The mother Naomi would make the decision to return to Bethlehem to seek help from relatives who may still be living there, and both daughters-in-law would initially decide to follow her. But Naomi freed them from any obligation to her, and instructed them to return to their Moabite families. One of them, Orpah, decided to remain in Moab with her people, but the other widow, Ruth, made the commitment to follow her mother-in-law wherever life might take them with these words - “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 1:15-18) Ruth would give her all to support and encourage Naomi.

They finally arrive in the area of Bethlehem just in time for the first harvest of barley. The tradition was that the poor were allowed to follow behind the harvesters to gather up any grain that was missed, and Ruth found a field that just happened to be owned by Boaz, a relative of her deceased father-in-law. Boaz would take the young woman under his wing, so to speak, as he had heard of her kindness and commitment to Naomi.

Boaz was a fairly wealthy and highly respected man, and as he got to know Ruth even better, he would begin to see great worth in the woman, and their fondness and trust in each other would blossom. In our day, we would expect that as their affection grew, they would eventually get married. But there was another tradition at play here – that of “kinsman-redeemer”. As we remember from last week in the story of Tamar, when the husband dies without an heir, the next closest relative was expected to take the widow for his own wife and provide children (heirs) in the name of the deceased husband. In Ruth’s case, though, all of the men in her immediate family had died, meaning that the next closest male relative would be a distant relationship. Boaz was certainly one, but there was another man who was even closer.

Read Ruth 4:1-4

Boaz was smart, and had set a plan in motion to win the fair Ruth for himself. But first, he had to deal with the “kinsman-redeemer”. He called for a meeting in the town gate – the equivalent of a court of law – with 10 elders who would act as witnesses to the legal transaction. He initially suggests that the other relative purchase Elimelech’s property so that it might remain in the family, but as soon as the arrangement is agreed to, he springs the trap. ”Oh, by the way, if you take the land, you also get to marry Ruth.” Elimelech had died before Mahlon did, so the land became the son’s, and his widow would also become part of the bargain.

Bur remember the problem in Tamar’s case? When Er died, his brother Onan hesitated to have a child with Tamar, because that would reduce his own inheritance, and his position in the family would suffer. And now, that same issue raises its ugly head again, when the senior relative fears for his own holdings if he has a child with Ruth! He decides that it would be better to forgo the additional property than to be saddled with the burden of this new wife.

Read Ruth 4:9-12

Boaz would be 6 generations removed from Judah and Tamar, and he would become the “kinsman-redeemer” who would preserve the lineage of Judah to David and later to Jesus. Boaz and Ruth’s son would be Obed, and their grandson would be Jesse, and their great-grandson would be David, King of Israel.
So what is the importance of this “kinsman-redeemer”?

He is a relative who, in acting on behalf of another, redeems, or purchases, that which the other can neither obtain nor retain. Boaz never saw this act as an obligation – he obviously had developed a strong affection for Ruth, and would use trickery, which bordered on a 10th century BC version of psychology (!), to gain her for his wife. But through his love for this woman, he would play an important part in God’s plan for our own redemption. And Ruth herself would become the third woman – all of whom were probably not Jewish – to be mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. First, there was the Canaanite Tamar (Matthew 1:3), then Rahab (Matthew 1:5), and now the Moabitess Ruth (Matthew 1:5).

How does Jesus fit into this story? First through the concept of “kinsman-redeemer”, and second, by the inclusion of the gentiles.
First, Jesus is our “Kinsman-Redeemer”. We were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-31), and because of that, humanity was given responsibility to care for the Lord’s creation. And Jesus, as the Son of the Living God, becomes our relative in the created order.
But kinship with God carries an implication of an even greater relationship than this. Jesus left the glory heaven and came to live in the flesh of humanity. The Lord chose to become one of us. By Jesus’ unselfish act, God would become one with us in created flesh.

And because the Lord did this for us, he could carry out the second part of the title – “Redeemer”. The traditional redeemer was intended to rescue his family from extinction by “purchasing” and possessing the lost. He would ensure that the name would never pass into obscurity, and that it would continue forever.
Jesus, as Redeemer, would also become the redemptive act that would save us from certain death and oblivion. But this Redeemer would offer his salvation individually, and not for the family’s benefit, and the price that he would pay to redeem us would not be financial in nature, but by the giving of his own life.
The “kinsman-redeemer’s” gift was, generally, one that would survive from one generation to the next, and could very possibly be needed again and again in the future. But Jesus Redeemer’s gift was eternal for whomever would accept it.

Elimelech’s family was on the verge of extinction, and it could have easily passed from history if it hadn’t been for Boaz and his love for Ruth. Our life could easily pass from history if it hadn’t been for the love of Almighty God that comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ.
Ruth could have remained in Moab along with Orpah, and may even have remarried, but the family would have been different, and the history of Israel may very well have been different. By her acceptance and commitment to both Naomi and Boaz, God’s plan continued unabated. By Mary’s acceptance and commitment to the Lord’s call on her life, and through Jesus’ love of us, the Lord’s plan continued just as it had always been intended.

And the plan of salvation was always intended to be for far more than just Israel. The gentiles, the non-Jews of history, were also to be included as the human relatives of God Himself. God’s redemption would be offered to many more than just the Israelites – it was for the entire family, anywhere, of any blood line, who would accept His offer of salvation, simply by faith in Jesus.

There was no way that Naomi and Ruth could redeem themselves – they needed a “kinsman-redeemer”. And there is no way that we could ever redeem ourselves, either. We, too, are all in need of the perfect “Kinsman-Redeemer” – God in flesh, God among us, God of sacrifice, God of humility and humbleness, God of the Hebrews, God of the gentiles, God of Bethlehem and God of Calvary. For without Him, we too will pass into obscurity.

Praise the Lord for his eternal love.

“The Sinners” (Judah & Tamar)

Scripture: Genesis 38

Our Advent series of messages will be focusing on several of Jesus’ ancestors, and how they are such a good representation of why we needed Jesus to live with us. It seems that there wasn’t even a glimmer of a holiness gene in these folks, and we aren’t any better. They struggled, they went against God’s ways, and their lives failed to provide any justification for God’s choosing them to be his. Adam and Eve began it all with their little divergence from obedience, and people, whether they were in Jesus’ lineage or not, have been sinning against God ever since.

Today we consider the story of Judah, the 4th son of Jacob. As we know, Jesus would be born into the tribe of Judah, and this ancestor would be anything but worthy of that distinction. He would be directly involved in the plot to get rid of his brother Joseph, and he actually suggested that they sell him to the Midianites who were traveling to trade in Egypt (Genesis 37). Joseph’s story continues from there, but for now, we remain focused on Judah.

Read Genesis 38:1-7

Remembering that God has yet to hand down his law at Mount Sinai, the family was only bound by tradition. But tradition was, nonetheless, very strong, and family was at the very core of right and wrong. And the first issue that is being raised up today is that Judah leaves his family and goes to live in a Canaanite community. This fact can easily raise the question of whether Judah should be excluded from Jacob’s lineage! Family was vital in the lives of all people in that day, and Judah had left them. First Joseph had been taken from them, although not in the way that many thought, and now Judah also appears to be leaving the family. Honor for the family was centered on the number of sons that had been born, and that number was beginning to dwindle.

And not only does Judah move to a “foreign” tribe, he presumably marries a woman who is not even part of his own culture. “Foreign” blood has now entered into the family (a condition that was strongly frowned upon), and the couple would have three children, all sons – Er, Onan, and Shelah. The eldest also marries a Canaanite, but he is “wicked”, and we read that the Lord takes his life. We have no indication as to what Er did, but apparently is was pretty bad! So now there is a widow in the picture, and tradition was that if a man died without an heir, the next brother, in this case Onan, would take her as his wife and produce an heir for his deceased brother. But this raised another problem. If Er was to have a descendent, that means that Jacob’s inheritance would now include his grandson, and wouldn’t be split among the other two brothers! The grandson would receive his father’s double portion, and Onan would have to settle for his single share.

Greed settles in, and Onan intentionally keeps Tamar from getting pregnant to preserve his own financial legacy. Greed has been a problem for us throughout the ages, and in Colossians 3:5, we read that it actually becomes an idol within our nature. Ebenezer Scrooge epitomizes the life that is torn apart by greed. He surrendered friendships, family, even love in favor of gaining greater and greater wealth. Even the name Scrooge has become synonymous with the word “greed”. But our own greed isn’t always centered on financial wealth – sometimes it is the desire for power, or prestige, or position, or anything else that may heighten the view that others have of us. That was what was bringing Onan down, and he, too, would lose his life.

So Judah would send Tamar back to her father’s own home, apparently unwilling to risk the life of his third and final son, Shelah. He breaks the tradition of heirs, and even Judah’s own wife would soon die. Tragedy in this family was on the verge of destroying the line altogether.

Some time later, Judah would go to oversee the shearing of his herd of sheep, and Tamar, now convinced that she would never be able to give birth to a son, hatched a plan that continued the screen of deception that was becoming the family’s tradition.

Read Genesis 38:15-18

Tamar lures her dead husband’s father into her bed by pretending to be a prostitute! The desire to have offspring overwhelms any sense of propriety in her life, and we can only imagine what Judah was thinking when he contracted for sex with his own daughter-in-law. (Are you remembering that these people would, one day, be in Jesus’ ancestry? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it!)

The agreed upon price for sex would be a young goat, and Judah would have to provide a “promissory note”, as it were, to guarantee that the payment would be made. But when he sent the payment, the prostitute had vanished, yet the deed had still been accomplished, and Tamar would soon be discovered to be pregnant. She is accused of being a prostitute, which she actually had been, and would be condemned, by the very man who had done the deed, and the penalty would be death by fire. Isn’t it interesting that Judah saw nothing wrong when he contracted with Tamar, who he thought was a woman for hire, but when he finds that the girl – his daughter-in-law - is, herself, pregnant, that now it is a vile sin! But now there is blackmail, for Tamar has evidence that it was Judah who had gotten her into the “family way”, and (surprise!) all charges are dropped.

Read Genesis 38:27-29

Can you even imagine the height that immorality had risen to in this family! No personal integrity, no sense of right and wrong, no sense of family obligation, constant deception and self-centeredness, and the list could easily continue! But Tamar would, at last, give birth to twin boys, and her heritage would be secured. But what about Er’s heritage? Since it was his father who had finally gained the heir, the lineage of Er vanishes into the mist of time. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:3) lists Judah, Tamar, and Perez (the eldest of the twins), and no one else in that generation.

This is the family that Jesus would, one day, be born into. We tend to forget these details; we tend to ignore the shortcomings of our Lord’s ancestors. We only remember the words of blessing on Mary, and the love of Joseph for his intended, and the glory of the Lord Jesus. But life is filled with failure (except in Jesus’ case, of course), and this is the family that Father God chose to use in his Son’s time on earth. You would think that the Lord could come up with a better plan than this – one that would give honor to the Christ while he lived among us, but that wasn’t the plan.

The Lord Jesus would be born into human frailty, with little, if any, significance. Why would God do that? Couldn’t Jesus at least have a pure Jewish heritage? Apparently not!

But then, why should he? Why shouldn’t Jesus have the same family issues that we do? Why shouldn’t he have “skeletons” in his closet, just like we do? He would come to understand, through his own family’s history, the depth of humanity’s need for forgiveness. And in Luke 5:29-32, the Lord is approached by the learned intellectuals as he enjoys a meal with those corruptible “tax collectors and sinners”, and he tells the Pharisees that these are the very people who he has come to save. Jesus couldn’t come in obvious glory – he had to be in a way that others could identify with.

How could God begin to understand the depravity of our situation unless he lived in the midst of it? Oh, the Lord knows our situation, he knows that we are condemned by the lives we choose to live, he knows that we all are in desperate need of a love that exceeds all understanding. But do we know God?

If Jesus had come in an obvious and divine glory, we would come to him, certainly, but could we possibly consent to the passion that he has for us? Would we seek a true relationship with him? We have to know that the Forgiver and Redeemer of our errant lives understands. His own human family was filled with those despicable gentiles! His own historic family were sinners extraordinaire! Even Jesus Himself was tempted to surrender to the forces of evil (Matthew 4:1-11). God in Christ understands completely all that we go through in this life, and his passion and compassion for us has become even greater by his life here.

Does that excuse our sinfulness? Certainly not! But by his love and understanding, his forgiveness is at the ready for all who confess and repent of their failures in this life. Trust in the life that is Jesus, trust in the word that he has taught us, trust in the ache that resides in the heart of God over our sinful condition – we, the sinners of earth and the sinners of the Lord’s own human family, are the reason that he came. His love for our lives, and the pain that he feels over our failure, brought him to live as a person and not solely as God, and to become the sacrifice that would offer us release from the ravages of sin. We discover the divine relationship that we need through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus knows, all too well, all that we go through. And he came to be our Way out of the mess that we have created, IF we give our lives over to him and follow that Way. Praise the Lord for being the Perfection that can save us from our imperfection.