Verse 1. A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
Archives for April 2025
Remember Me…Your Servant
“And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” (1 Samuel 1:11)
This passage of Scripture in 1 Samuel is about prayers being offered and prayers being answered. There is nothing as powerful and comforting as to pray and tangibly have your prayers answered directly by the Lord. I have always loved the story of Hannah because it is about God remembering His people and it is about God not forgetting His people. It seems strange that Hannah (or anyone for that matter) should pray in this way. To ask that God remember you already implies that God not forget you. To ask God never to forget you is to ask God to remember you. So what is the purpose behind this double reference to the same thing?
The Bible often uses this method of communicating truth by emphasizing both the positive and negative side of the same coin. The book of Samuel gives us an account of the history of Israel from the end of the 12th century through to the beginning of the 10th century BC. It is however, imperative for us to read the historical books not merely as historical, but as theological. What is God saying to us through the historical account? In 1 Samuel, we see the rise of David to the throne, and ultimately we see Jesus as David’s greater Son to whom the throne belongs. It appears from Acts 2:29 -36, that the Lord Jesus has fulfilled this in His resurrection from the dead and in His ascension to glory. God’s promise to set one of David’s descendants upon David’s throne is said to be accomplished with the resurrection of Jesus in that He was not abandoned by God to Hades nor did He see corruption. This is what we mean about interpreting the book theologically as well as historically. [Read more…] about Remember Me…Your Servant
You Are A Redeemer
“He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” (Ruth 3:9)
The story of Ruth in the Bible is one of the most loved. It demonstrates the grace of God through providence and through redemption. We see the hand of God in sending Naomi, with her husband, and their two sons into the land of Moab because of the famine in their territory – Bethlehem of Judah (1:1). How significant the name of Bethlehem is to us. After a ten year period in Moab, Elimelech (Naomi’s husband) died and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, who had married Moabite women (Orpah and Ruth), also died (1:2 -5). We see the incredible dedication and loyalty of Ruth to her mother-in-law, Naomi, in being willing to leave her own people and go back to Bethlehem with Naomi (1:6 – 18). The beautiful confession of going and lodging, of taking to herself a new identity and of commitment to the living and true God and of being willing to die in a new land, is a remarkable statement of faith (see vv. 16, 17).
Along with Esther, Ruth is the only other women to have a book in the Bible named after her. It is interesting to note that Esther (a Hebrew exile) married a Gentile, and that Ruth (a Moabite exile) married a Hebrew. The inclusion of Ruth into the family of Naomi and ultimately as the wife of Boaz, is a beautiful picture of the Bride of Christ, the Church, wooed and won by the Lord Jesus Christ. [Read more…] about You Are A Redeemer
The Almighty Has Brought Calamity Upon Me
“I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:21)
The book of Ruth is one of the most beautiful in all of Scripture. Ultimately, it is a book reflective of our Lord Jesus Christ in so many ways. The book essentially focuses on three characters: Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. It is a love story. It is a story of redemption, obligation, loyalty, faithfulness, willingness, obedience, honor, covenant and trust. Ruth (the bride) is a type of the Church, and Boaz (the husband) is a type of Christ as a kinsman-redeemer. Ruth is a Moabite and she is a widow (1:4, 22; 2:2, 6, 10, 21; 4:5, 10). She had married Naomi’s son Chilion, but he subsequently died (1:5). Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, was from Bethlehem, and when a famine came they moved to Moab. They all died in Moab, except Naomi and her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. [Read more…] about The Almighty Has Brought Calamity Upon Me
They Were In Terrible Distress
“they were in terrible distress” (Judges 2:15)
These are the concluding words to a section in Judges 2 that deals with Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. Verse 16 says that “the Lord raised up judges who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them.” Israel’s unfaithfulness is the expression of the sin of unbelief. They did not believe God or his Word. They did not believe in the signs and wonders that God had performed (Josh. 24:17; Judg. 2:7). The generation after Joshua forgot God (Judg. 2:10; cf. 6:13).
At the heart of all sin and sinfulness is unbelief. Israel had a powerful hankering to be like the nations (Josh. 24:20). This was what God had specifically warned them against (Ex. 34:10-16; Deut. 31:16-18). Judges 2:11 puts it plainly: “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals” (see Judg. 3:7, 12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1).
The familiar refrain of Judges was that “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 17:6; 21:25). This is the incredible deceptive power of sin. It makes us blind to God. We do what we please and what we consider right. Sin does not make us fear God, but seeks to counterfeit God by making him appear less than he is. That’s what the serpent told Eve in the garden—“did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’” (Gen. 3:1). [Read more…] about They Were In Terrible Distress
That Place Bochim
The book of Judges begins with Israel continuing their conquest of the land under the direction of the Lord (see Judges 1). It is interesting to note that not all the inhabitants of the land were driven out (1:19, 21, 27 – 35) by the various tribes. Sadly this would have major ramifications in the life of the nation. Judges begins with the people seeking the Lord for guidance (1:1), but the book ends with the people doing what was right in their own eyes and stresses the point that there was no king in Israel (21:25). The decline in the people’s spiritual condition and the elimination of God as their King is at the heart of Judges. The book of Judges demonstrates to us the vicious cycle of sin and proves the point made by James, that “… desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15).
Judges is also about God’s gracious dealing with Israel in spite of her sins and persistent rebellion. This spiritual decline and recovery process reverberates throughout the book. The judges were appointed by God to help Israel recover and to keep them walking in the right path before God. One commentator has said that the book of Judges shows us our potential for greatness and our capacity for catastrophe. I don’t particularly agree with the description of us as having greatness or achieving greatness, but I do agree that Judges demonstrates the catastrophe that comes to all who don’t deal with sin. The ultimate tragedy, of course, is hell and the Lake of Fire. [Read more…] about That Place Bochim