Ruth 1 Continued

6. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread.

Naomi is left in a sad situation here, yet she does not just pine away in mourning. She hears a report out of the land of Israel. Yahweh has visited His people, and they now have bread! Her family died in Moab in the midst of famine while God’s people back in the land were enjoying His bounty. If only Elimelech and his family had waited on Him! Yet now, hearing this, Naomi determines what she must do. She will return to her own land with her daughters-in-law.

Ruth 1

Ruth Introduction

The book of Ruth is a fascinating little book in the Old Testament. It provides us with a look at the life of the common person in Israel more than we often get in the historical books of the Old Testament. The record often revolves around kings, rulers, judges, and high priests. Yet this book is about just common, ordinary people living out their lives in the land of Israel in the time of the judges. This is a unique and interesting picture.

The book of Ruth immediately follows on Judges in our Bibles, as it takes place during the days of the judges. When the books of the Bible were printed on scrolls, Ruth was often included on the end of the book of Judges, being so small that a separate scroll to hold it seemed unnecessary. However, the book is categorized in the Hebrew Bible not with the book of Judges, but rather with the Megilloth, the books to be read on the feast days.

Article on “Olam”

I received the following question:

Would you comment on this article?

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/27_eternity.html

I would agree that there is an aspect of the hidden or the unseen in olam, as the article suggests. Yet the hidden or the unseen relates to idea of the “flow,” which I insist is the primary idea of olam, as well, for we know that, when one is standing by a river, one can usually follow the flow far, far off into the distance, and yet the true source of it is unseen. If one were ambitious enough to follow it to its source, one would probably find that the water flows from a spring out of the ground, and the true source of it remains a mystery, being unseen. Thus the unseen or the unknown is a part of the idea of olam.

Greater Works

I received the following question:

I was in a religious discussion last night and I had mentioned the part about the disciples (apostles) doing greater miracles (works) than Christ.

John 14:12. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

 I had said that this likely referred to the fact that the apostles could heal without the healed needing faith, but then the other person brought up John 5, when the lame man was healed without displaying any faith beforehand. If not requiring faith to be present for healing to take place, what works will the apostles do which are greater than Christ’s?

There was no faith on the part of the man in John 5. Here is what I had to say on John 5:8-9 in Precepts.

“Notice that the man had no faith whatsoever in the Lord before this healing.  His whole focus and hope was directed toward the pool of Bethesda.  He had not a thought that the Lord could heal him, and so he had no faith that He would.  Some erroneously suppose that faith is necessary before anyone can be healed.  This miracle shows clearly that this is not so.  The man had no faith whatsoever, and yet the Lord was still able to heal him.  The Lord can heal when and how He wishes to.  He doesn’t have to have faith to work with first!”

So the greater works definitely were not that they could heal without faith being displayed first. So what were the greater works?

Glory, Goodness, and Grace

I received the following question:

Exodus 33:18-19. And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.”
19. Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

What’s the difference between glory and goodness and grace?

The glory of the LORD has to do with honor, esteem, or magnificence. As I have said in my article on “Long Hair and Glory,” glory is that about you which you value most, or which is most valuable or honorable about yourself. In the Bible, I believe it is connected with the Lord Jesus Christ by the statement in II Corinthians 4:6.

6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

So the Lord Jesus is the glory of God.

Israel’s Elders Seeing God

I received the following question:

Exodus 24:9-11. Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, 10. and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. 11. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank. 

What did they actually see of God since we know that only Moses saw Him?

In Exodus 24:9-11, the elders of Israel saw the LORD. There is a bit of awe in this, as they are said to eat and drink. This means that they lived, basically, and did not die, which is a significant thing indeed, considering what they saw.

Becoming an Israelite

I received the following question:

Exodus 12:43-49. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44. But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45. A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it. 46. In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones. 47. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. 48. And when a stranger dwells with you and wants to keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For no uncircumcised person shall eat it. 49. One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”

Can the slave be made an Israelite? Does the alien become Israelite after him and his household circumcise? or just to celebrate it yet not share in promises?

When they were circumcised, they became identified with Israel, and could then keep the Passover feast with them. From that point, it depended upon which nation they were from. If they were Egyptians or Edomites, the third generation of their children would be considered as Israelites. If they were Ammonites or Moabites, however, they would have to wait ten generations before they would be considered as Israelites.

The Mixed Multitude

I received the following question:

Exodus 12:38. A mixed multitude went up with them also, and flocks and herds—a great deal of livestock.

Are these non-Israelites or Egyptians who feared the lord?

I do not believe that the “mixed multitude” were Israelites. There were probably a good number of Egyptians among them, but there might have been some from other nations, particularly nations that were allies with or more or less subservient to Egypt at this time. This mixed multitude might not have considered the LORD their God as much as the Hebrews did, and they became a source of trouble at least once (Numbers 11:4).

Moses the Hebrew

I received the following question:

Exodus 2:11. Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

Did Moses know he was a Hebrew? Did Pharaoh? The Hebrews?

Pharaoh’s daughter knew it immediately, as we can see from Exodus 2:6.

6. And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Probably, there were some characteristic physical differences between the Egyptians and the Hebrews. So no doubt Pharaoh knew as well.

Luke 24 Part 3

36.  Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.”

As these two disciples relate every detail of their experience with the Lord, suddenly the very One they were talking about appeared in the midst of them! He reappears, just as He had disappeared before.

Some have suggested that the Lord’s ability to appear and disappear this way must be something that is inherent in resurrection bodies, and that we will be able to appear and disappear this way as well in the resurrection. Yet I do not believe that this is the case. The fact is that this was the Lord Jesus Christ. He had the power of God, and He just as easily could have appeared or disappeared before His death and resurrection as afterwards. In the same way, if we disappear from one place and appear in another in the life to come, this too will be because God gives us the power. There is no reason to think that this is something inherent in resurrection bodies.