Judges-Ruth

If there's a book that lends itself to a quick reading it's Judges. I'll not lie, and tell you i'm pleased to read it in two days rather then three weeks. The constant refrain about there being no king, the ever downward spiral of (grosser and grosser) sin, the lack of anything beautiful. Get through it quick.

But you get through it quick, turn the page and uh-oh, 'in the days when the Judges ruled the land,' no thank you! At least it's only four chapters, we think, until we dive in and find the greatest short love story ever told. What a breath of fresh air Ruth turns out to be, and what a great companion to Judges it is.

Companion? The warm summers day of Ruth with the bitter polar vortex of Judges? Sure, like a calm sunrise for the storm tossed sailor, the sweetness of Ruth is only increased when you read it along with Judges.

In Judges everyone does what is right in his own eyes. Essentially murder, immorality, private religion and disobedience. Even the good guys aren't much good, Gideon the coward, Samson the, well, maniac. Even for the good these men do, they're clearly not the Judge and King Israel needs. Israel is a mess, the people do what is right in their own eyes.

But in Ruth, one man does what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Boaz owes Ruth nothing, and takes her, and Naomi on at great cost to himself. Why? Because God said so! And because he loves her, of course, but that doesn't explain his meeting at the gate with Mr No-name. The people sing, the hero gets the girl, Naomi is a sweet old lady nursing her grandson, because Boaz did what was right.

Judges shows us who we are. We hate authority don't we? That's why we're always cheering for the bad guys in movies. We don't want to be told what to do. A hundred times a day, when we sin, we despise God's Word. Our hearts run rampant as they pursue every idol of their fancy. Just like in Judges. Sure, there are bright spots, but we trend down, and things end up worse than we could ever imagine.

But in Ruth, we see who we could be. Whose the new girl in my field? Oh really? Well make sure she's looked after, and guys. don't touch her. You're an old man, but it's your wings i want to be under. He loves you, he'll do what's right, he won't let the matter rest. I mean come on! This is the best story ever. Boaz, Ruth and Naomi shows us how to live in the Spirit, how to live with God as our King, a life that says 'the Lord be with you.'

Judges leaves us in Gibeah. Benjamin is not supposed to be the front runner, the leader among God's people. See what happened's in Gibeah Israel? Why will you choose Saul? A King from Gibeah is no King, don't choose him because he's tall and looks like the nations' Kings, says Samuel. And we're faced with that same dilemma every day. Does the church want leadership like the nations? Do i want to worship what they worship?

But Ruth takes us to Bethlehem, to David and to Jesus. Israel, David is your King, and we must unite around him. Look what the men of Bethlehem are like, and compare them to the men of Gibeah. Judah has the scepter between his feet, Judah goes up first. Judah is where Kings comes from. And Judges and Ruth remind us that our king must be from Judah. Our King must be in Davd's line, our King must be from Bethlehem.

Look at what happens when he isn't.