Christ Church

Ruth #4: From Bitterness to Blessing

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Text

But Naomi said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Letyour eyes beon the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I ama foreigner?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and howyou have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grainto her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grainfrom the bundles fall purposely for her; leave itthat she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took itup and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today isBoaz.” 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed behe of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man isa relation of ours, one of our close relatives.” 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It isgood, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:20-2:23).

Know any Bitter People?

Boaz’s Grace and Ruth’s Humility (vs. 8-13)

Hospitality at His Table (vs. 14-16)

Provision for Parents (vs. 17-18)

From Bitterness to Blessing (vs. 19-23)

Ministers of Reconciliation

Read Full Article

Ruth #3: Finding Your Grace

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Text

There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name wasBoaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after himin whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belongingto Boaz, who wasof the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord bewith you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman isthis?” 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It isthe young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Letyour eyes beon the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I ama foreigner?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and howyou have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grainto her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not [c]reproach her. 16 Also let grainfrom the bundles fall purposely for her; leave itthat she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took itup and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.

19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today isBoaz.” 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed behe of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man isa relation of ours, one of our close relatives.” 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It isgood, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.”

23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law (Ruth 2:1-2:13).

Boaz: A Mighty Man (vs. 1)

The Grace of the Gleaning Laws (vs. 2-3) 

Considerations of Christian Charity (vs. 4-9)

Refuge Under His Wing (vs. 10-13)

Read Full Article

The Church & the Word

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction

The Christian faith and the Christian church are glorious results of the Word of God. The voice of God thunders in creation and in the gospel, and then we thunder with His grace.

Summary of the Text

Psalm 29 has three parts. First, David issues the command to give glory unto the Lord. The command “give” comes three times: first to the “mighty ones” (literally: sons of the gods), then the command includes “strength,” and finally the command is given with a reason: it is due/owed to His name (Ps. 29:1-2). The psalmist then summarizes the command he is giving: “worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness” (Ps. 29:2).

The second part of the Psalm explains these elements of “might” and “strength” and “beauty” and “glory” all centering on the “voice of the Lord” as a fierce thunder storm (Ps 29:3-9). The word “voice” is actually used a number of times for thunder: in the seventh plague with the hail (Ex. 9:23), and later, when Israel was gathered at the base of Sinai there were “voices/ thunderings” (Ex. 19:16, cf. Rev. 4:5). The Psalmist begins by introducing the thunder storm “over the waters,” his “glory thunders,” His voice is “powerful,” and his voice is full of “beauty/majesty” (Ps. 29:3-4). God’s voice splits cedars in half (Ps. 29:5), and God makes the earth quake, causing it to leap like young oxen (Ps. 29:6). God’s voice also shoots out lightening on the earth (Ps. 29:7). God’s thunder is not limited to Lebanon, He also shakes the wilderness of Kadesh (Ps. 29:8). God’s storm makes the wild animals give birth in panic, and His voice is like a pressure washer that completely strips the forest bare (Ps. 29:9), like with the Red Sea (Ex. 15:8).

Finally, in what might feel like a lurch, the Psalmist describes the voice/storm of the Lord in the temple where everyone shouts “glory!” But when the tabernacle and temple were dedicated, they were filled with glory that made them unapproachable (Ex. 40:34-35, 1 Kgs. 8:11, cf.Rev. 11:19, 15:8). So this is not a lurch at all. On the one hand this is what God’s people do in responseto the glory of God and His mighty Word, and on the other hand, the worship of God’s people is as much causedby the voice of the Lord as the rest of the storm. Weare the storm. The Psalmist finishes His call to worship, remembering that God was the One who ruled over the Flood – the greatest storm in the history of the world, and He is the one who sits enthroned forever. He gives strength to His people, and therefore He is the one who blesses people with peace (Ps. 29:10-11).

Centrality of the Word

The center of this Psalm is the power of the Word of God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth by the Word of His power when His Spirit-wind hovered over the waters (Gen. 1:1), and it is that same powerful Word that upholds all things (Heb. 1:3). His Word thundered at Sinai, but Hebrews says that He now thunders His word directly from Heaven “that the things which cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb. 12:25-27). What this indicates is the fact that God’s storm is not merely destructive, but it is also wonderfully creative, saving, and healing. This Word that created and sustains and thunders from Heaven became flesh and dwelt among us, and John says, “we beheld His glory” (Jn. 1). The center of that glory was the cross and resurrection, where the justice of God was completely satisfied and the mercy of God freely offered. It has pleased God for many centuries now for His Word to go forth in the mouths of men, preaching the gospel, proclaiming the justice and mercy of the cross, splitting the cedar hearts of rebellious men and stripping their arguments bare (Acts 2:37, Lk. 2:35). The Word is a two-edged sword going out of the mouth of Jesus (Rev. 19:15), through the mouths of His servants (Heb. 4:12), conquering sinners. And God’s people shout, “glory!”

Good Order: Liturgy & Government

Because of the power of God’s Word, worship must be patterned after God’s clear word. To go off on our own in worship is to insist on impotence, but His voice is where the power and glory are. And His voice says, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:39, Col. 2:5). The word for order is “taxis” and was used to describe military formations in the ancient world, and this is why we should in principle be committed to a formal or liturgical worship. Casual or informal worship is not obedient worship (Heb. 12:28-29). The New Testament requires our worship to be a spiritual sacrificeof praise, and this too implies careful order. The Old Testament sacrifices were offered very carefully and often in a particular order: sin offering, ascension offering, and peace offering (Lev. 9:22, Num. 6:14-17, Ez. 45:17). We call this basic shape of worship Covenant Renewal Worship. But Paul’s concern is principally with clarity (1 Cor. 14). When the Word of God is clear and understandable, God’s Voice thunders with grace and truth.

The same word is also used to describe the “order” of the Levites (Lk. 1:8) and priesthood (Heb. 7:11-21). So our good order is also guarded by the Church through faithful church government. “For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you” (Tit. 1:5, cf. 1 Tim. 3). If we want the glory of the Lord to fill our worship and thunder in our cities, we need godly, qualified men in office. While all of the qualifications for elder/deacon are important, perhaps the most neglected is the order and holiness in his home. “If a man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination” (Tit. 1:6). “One who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?)” (1 Tim. 3:4-5). Related, God’s people honor and obey their elders (1 Tim. 5:17, Heb. 13:7, 17).

Church Discipline

Finally, there is no storm of God’s glory where there is no discipline. Church discipline begins in every believer’s heart by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, through confession of sin and repentance (Lk. 6:41, Gal. 6:1). Most church discipline is informal and takes place in the day to day communion of the saints. Love that covers a multitude of sins is actually part of this: hot grace breaks cold, hard hearts. And never stop praying. But the Bible is also clear that some sins need to be confronted and rebuked. “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” (Lk. 17:3). You should ordinarily go to your brother in private, seeking to gain your brother (Mt. 18:15), and the principles of justice apply (2-3 witnesses, due process). Sometimes public sins may need to be publicly confronted (Gal. 2:14, 1 Tim. 5:20). A church that does not fight for holiness does not really love the beauty of holiness.

Conclusion: The Lord of Hosts

In the Exodus narrative the word “armies” is used five times, but the really striking thing is that it never applies to the Egyptians. It always applies to the children of Israel. So this is God’s way: He sees us as His armies, His hosts, and we fight by praising His name, feasting on His Word and at His table, by baptism, by confessing sin, forgiving one another, by building homes, working hard, feasting, and rejoicing in His glorious grace. By the grace and power of His word, He makes us (and remakes us) into the beautiful storm of His holiness.

Read Full Article

Ruth #2: The Strangers Return

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Text

“And she said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or toturn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall bemy people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything butdeath parts you and me.” 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Isthis Naomi?” 20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest” (Ruth 1:6-22).

A Riddle of Returning 

Famine in the House of Bread (vs. 1-5)

Crossroads of Hesed (vs. 6-10)

A Levirate Marriage? (vs. 11-13)

A Faith-Full Oath (vs. 14-18)

Naomi’s Bitterness and God’s Barley Harvest (vs. 19-22)

Read Full Article

Psalm 110: The Priest/King at God’s Right Hand

Christ Church on

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Introduction:

This psalm is the most frequently quoted passage of the Old Testament in the New Testament. The verses quoted have various applications which we will consider as we work through the psalm.

The Text

“The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lordshall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. The Lordhath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; He shall wound the heads over many countries. He shall drink of the brook in the way: Therefore shall he lift up the head” (Ps. 110:1–7).

Summary of the Text

Jehovah said to Adonai, sit at my right hand (v. 1). He is told to remain seated there until His enemies are reduced to being His footstool (v. 1). While He is seated there, Jehovah will send out the rod of Adonai’s strength from Zion, with the result that He will rule in the midst of His enemies (v. 2). The seat of His authority is in the heavenly places, while the extension of it is from Zion—His people will be willing in the day of His power (v. 3). They will be arrayed in the beauty of holiness, they will be an army of priests (v. 3). As Spurgeon put it, “in brightness, then, as well as in multitude, did they resemble the glittering drops of the morning dew” (v. 3). Jehovah has taken an oath, and He will not turn back from it—Adonai is a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (v. 4). Adonai, there at the right hand of Jehovah, shall strike down kings in the day of His wrath (v. 5). He will judge among the goyim, and many of them will be killed (v. 6). He will slake his thirst from the brook after the battle, and will lift up His head (v. 7).

A Davidson on the Throne

Why should it be thought remarkable for the throne of David to be established in the heavenly places? A sonof David is there. Why should His throne not be there?

In this famous exchange with His adversaries, the Lord asked a question that pointed out an incongruity in their doctrine of the coming Messiah. The Christ, whose son would he be?

“And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lordsaid unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Luke 20:42–43; Matt. 22:44; Mark 12:36)

So he would be David’s son, they replied. That is correct, Jesus said, but have you never noticed that David addresses the one descended from him as his ultimate superior? David calls a Davidson Lord. How can that be? The only way to answer this question satisfactorily is through the doctrine of the Incarnation.

The Great Melchizedek

This is a psalm about a great king, one seated at the right hand of Almighty Jehovah. But this king is also described as a priest, and so it is fitting that another king, Melchizedek, would be mentioned as a type of the coming Messiah. But this Melchizedek is a type in more than one way. He is also a king—and whata king.

“For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace” (Heb. 7:1–2).

He was a priest of the most high God, but he was also a king in different sense. He was the king of Salem (probably Jerusalem), which means king of peace. His name means king of righteousness. This is why his antitype belongs at the right hand of Jehovah.

“As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Heb. 5:6; 7:17, 21).

Enemies a Footstool

The first chapter of Hebrews is dedicated to showing that the Christ is vastly superior to the angels.

“But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” (Hebrews 1:13).

And in the book of Acts, we are told that this has reference to someone other than David himself. The reference must be to the Christ.

“For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lordsaid unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool.” (Acts 2:34–35).

Until

This should be very straightforward. When was Christ seated at the right hand of His Father? When did that happen? We are told that it happened at the Ascension.

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:20).

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 8:1, ESV).

So He has been seated there for the last two thousand years. How long will He remain seated there? He will remain seated at the right hand of power, ruling from the midst of our Zion, until all His enemies are under His seat. The only enemy that will be destroyed by His Second Coming will be the last enemy, death. Every other enemy will be subdued prior to that, through the ministry of the gospel (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Cor. 15:25–26).

Read Full Article