Monday, April 21, 2014

Rahab and Ruth

In our Wednesday morning class, we studied Rahab and Ruth. Actually, I could not be there on 3/26, so the associate pastor taught on Rahab from my notes. We are now moving on to Samuel in our studies of Old testament characters.

Rahab:

Rahab- name means insolence, fierceness, spaciousness
An Amorite
Bible calls her a harlot, some suggest this word meant innkeeper, but the word in Hebrew, Greek is the word for harlot. May have had religious connotations as pagan religions had a strong sexual element in its worship.
See Josh. 2:1, 6:17, 25. She lived alone- Josh 2:18.
Rahab defied the King- hid spies, Josh. 2: 2-7, let them escape, 2:15-16.
What did she want? For her/family to escape death, 2: 12-13.
She trusted the words of the Israelites. 2:14, 17-21. (Remember the Gibeonites). The result: salvation-6:22-23 (outside camp until purified of past, no ethnic cleansing, Gentiles could become Jews. Men had to be circumsised), 25
Why- She saw what God did, knew God was in Israel, 2:9-11- God gave Israel the land and the terror of the Lord had fallen on the Cannanites, God parted the Red Sea and defeated Israel’s enemies, God is in heaven above and on earth below, not a part of creation.
2:10- “swear to God…” she knew an oath to God had value.
James 2: 24-26- “You see then that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way. For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead” see also Lk. 2: 35 (thoughts- inward reasoning, questioning, consideration, deliberation, a dialogue with self),Ps. 34:8, Is. 1:18, Ezk. 18:31, Lk. 13:5,15: 17-19
Heb. 11:31- “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.”
Rahab was the great, great grandmother of David, “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David

the King.” Mt. 1:5-6. Rahab is in Christ’s royal linage.                                                    
  
RUTH

Chapter 1:

Name means a sight worth seeing, beauty, friendship
Descendant of Lot’s oldest daughter- Gen. 19:30-36
Time period of the Judges.
One of two books named after a woman, the other, Esther .
Ruth, a gentile, married a Jew, Esther, a Jew, married a gentile.
Orpah- returns to her past, 1:15, back to her people, her gods.
Ruth 1: 16-17, cares for her mother-in-law, adopt God’s people, Naomi’s God. Knew Naomi’s God through Naomi, and through God’s blessing of His people- 1:6. (See 2:12). Both verses spoken in terms of past action, Ruth had already learned to trust God.   

Chapter 2:

Glean, the poor have a right to glean after reapers.
Lev. 19:9-10 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard: you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger, I am the Lord your God.”
v. 4- Boaz seen as godly man.
8-9- don’t go to other field, for her protection, protected from men, v. 10. Ruth grateful, not a full understanding of God, doesn’t know of God’s love of justice to foreigners until experiences it. Ex. 23:9- “”Also you shall not oppress a stranger, because you were a stranger in the land of Egypt.”
v. 11- Boaz honors her for her devotion to God as evidenced by her conduct, not for her beauty.
v. 14-16- beyond required care.

Chapter 3:

Security, redemption, will get to shortly
Ruth trusts Naomi.
v.3- women usually not with men at night on threshing floor.
v. 4- sign of protection, asking for marriage.
v. 10- was he older, too shy to approach her? She could have gotten any man, but fulfilled obligation to her husband.
v.12- follow the law.

Chapter 4:

v.1- where business was done, 2 elders as witneses.
v. 5- see Dt. 25: 5-10.
6. if he would have son by her and he was only surviving male heir, his property would go to Elimelech, or, did he not want to marry a Moabite woman.
Book  written to document David’s descent, not primarily a love story.
Gal. 4: 4-5.
Naomi- 1:13, 20-21, 4: 13-17. Thought God had afflicted her because of divine displeasure.




Friday, April 18, 2014

Sermons and Communion and Foot Washing

A couple of weeks ago, I preached the sermon for the evening service. Because of a misunderstanding, it was thought I had been scheduled to do so. So it was announced at the morning service that I was to preach that night. Fortunately, I was prepared. In my car, I keep a folder of sermons ready to be preached in case I find I must deliver a sermon without advance notice. I used one of those. The title was "What Kind of Jesus are We Looking For." The setting was the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. I read from both Mk. 14: 1-11 and Jn. 12: 1-11. The point was that it was at that event that Judas decided he would betray Jesus because he realized the Jesus he thought he was following was not who Jesus really was. It was Mary who discerned who Jesus was and that he was worthy of being given our all.

Last night, 4/17, I preached at an African-American church on the subject of "Holiness That Can Be Seen." The verses preached upon were Ex. 20: 1-17, selected verses from Lev. 19, and Jn. 13: 1-17. I emphasized that holiness was not just the removing of ourselves from impurity, it is also opening ourselves up to all things that please God. Holiness is measured by our human relationships, specifically, by how we treat others. As this blog is merely a record of my activities, I don't go into great detail concerning subject matter.

On 4/13, at the evening service, I presided over the communion and foot washing service. The roots of communion in Passover were explained, then it was proclaimed from Jn 1:9 and 1Cor. 5:7 that Christ is our Passover who was sacrificed for us. After we celebrated communion, a brief explanation of foot washing from Jn. 13 was given. It was noted that Jesus even washed Judas' feet, thereby increasing the scope of love Christians are to exhibit. Not only are we to love those within the Church, we are to love and serve our enemies as well.