The Story November 2, 2014 Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Faith of a Foreign Woman

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Key Question

How does God show loving kindness directly and through the hands of his followers?

Naomi Emptied Pages 121–123

The book of Ruth begins with Naomi’s family traveling from Bethlehem to Moab,of a foreign land unfriendly to Israelites. Eventually, Naomi would return and say that she left Bethlehem full, but returned empty.

1. (a) Bethlehem means “house of food.” Ironically, what was Bethlehem empty of that caused Naomi’s family to travel to Moab (Ruth 1:1)? (b) Of what else was Naomi emptied (1:3)? (c) How did they attempt to fill their family (1:4)? (d) Naomi’s daughters-in-law bore no children, leaving Naomi empty of what? (e) Of what was Naomi then emptied (1:5)?


Naomi heard that the Lord has provided food in Bethlehem so she and her two daughters-in-law set off for Bethlehem. She changed her mind, though, and told the girls to return to their mothers in the hope of the Lord giving them new husbands. In those days, widows usually faced poverty unless they remarried, and she probably thought the girls’ prospects of finding a husband in Bethlehem bleak because of the mistrust between the Israelites and Moabites.

  

2. What reason did Naomi give the girls for why they shouldn’t go with her (Ruth 1:11)? 

God in his loving kindness gave the Israelites a law to help widows who had no sons. If a brother of the widow’s husband was to marry her, care for her financially, and provide a son who could inherit her husband’s property and carry on his name. This kept her from destitution. But Naomi couldn’t provide sons for them, so she wanted them to stay in Moab where she thought they’d have the best chance of finding a husband.

Orpah tearfully kissed Naomi good-by. But not Ruth. Ruth wrapped her arms around her weeping mother-in-law and refused to let go.

3. (a) How did Ruth show loving kindness to Naomi and put Naomi’s needs above her own (Ruth 1:16–17)? (b) To whom besides Naomi did Ruth commit herself, and what did that say about where her faith resided? (c) If possible, describe a time someone showed loving kindness to you as Ruth did to Naomi. 

When Naomi arrived in Bethlehem with Ruth, she told the women there to no longer call her Naomi, which means “pleasant,” but rather Mara, which means “bitter.” 

4. (a) How did Naomi describe the way she left Bethlehem (Ruth 1:21)? (b) How did she describe the way she returned? (c) How might Ruth have felt over this? (d) Is it important to have a bit of a tough skin when talking to the grieving? Why or why not?

In Boaz’s Field Pages 123–124 

God showed loving kindness to his people by providing laws to help the poor. When workers harvested fields, they weren’t to go back and pick up missed grain, but were to leave it for the poor to gather, a process called gleaning. Ruth asked Naomi to allow her to glean so they’d have food.

5. (a) In Ruth 2, in what ways did Boaz show loving kindness to Ruth by going above and beyond God’s requirements? (b) Briefly describe a time someone blessed you by giving you more than required of something. How did that make you feel?

When Naomi saw the huge amount of grain Ruth brought home, she knew someone had extended extra kindness.

6. (a) What did Naomi say the Lord had not stopped doing (Ruth 2:20)? (b) What evidence had there been so far that God was showing kindness to Ruth and Naomi? (c) What evidence do you have of God showing loving kindness to you?  

Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was one of their kinsman-redeemers. God provided laws that called on close relatives to care for each other in time of need. One of them stated if an Israelite became poor and had to sell land, the closest male relative with financial means was to redeem, or buy back, the land.Naomi saw a way this law might help them.

On Boaz’s Threshing Floor Pages 124–126 

Boaz’s kindness stirred hope in Naomi’s heart, and she saw a possible way to provide Ruth a home and financial security. It was time to winnow the barley—they arrived in April at the beginning of harvest and it was now early June. Naomi told Ruth to wash, perfume herself, and put on her best clothes.She sent her off to the threshing floor where Boaz and his workers would spend the night. 

When all were asleep, Ruth quietly laid down at Boaz’s feet. In the middle of the night, he awoke and discovered her.  

7. (a) What did Ruth ask Boaz to do (Ruth 3:9)? The word translated corner is literally wings. She was asking Boaz to marry her and give her the wings of protection that a husband can give a wife. (b) What reason did Ruth give for her request? 

Back when Ruth first met Boaz in the field, Boaz had talked about protective wings.

8. (a) Under whose protective wings did Boaz tell Ruth she had taken refuge (Ruth 2:12)? (b) In what ways had the God under whose wings Ruth sought refuge protected her? (c) Briefly describe a way God protected you when you turned to Him for refuge in a difficult circumstance. 

Boaz commended Ruth for her kindness to Naomi through this request: not only did she not go to Moab to seek a husband as Naomi had first urged her, but even in Bethlehem she didn’t seek marriage to a young man, but was loyal to Naomi’s family, who would be most likely to provide for Naomi (3:10).  

9. (a) The law required only brothers-in-law of widows to marry widows, but what did Boaz assure Ruth he’d do, once again going farther than the strict requirement of the law? (b) Ruth had thought others saw her as just a destitute widow, a despised foreigner, disgracefully barren, and lower than a servant. How did Boaz assure her the townspeople viewed her? (c) Describe someone you consider to be a woman of noble character. What makes her that in your eyes? 

But there was a hitch: there was a relative closer to them than Boaz.

At the Town Gate Pages 126–127  

Boaz went to the town gate where business transactions often took place. 

10. (a) What did Boaz tell Naomi’s closest relative (Ruth 4:3)? (b) We’re not told why this relative wasn’t already reaching out to help Naomi since the whole town seemed to know her situation. Why is it important not to turn a blind eye to family member’s true needs?

Naomi was destitute and called upon her closest relative to help if he could, as the law required. The man planned to do it until he discovered attached strings. 

11. What changed the man’s mind (Ruth 4:5–6)? 

The money he spent redeeming Naomi’s property had to be taken out of his own estate, and her property would pass on to a son he’d be responsible to give Ruth. Perhaps he had other children whose inheritance he didn’t want to lessen; we don’t know. But he decided not to redeem, and Boaz followed through on his word to Ruth. 

Naomi Filled Pages 127 

Although Ruth had been barren, the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a boy, Obed. The townswomen told Naomi this child was her kinsman-redeemer. Not only did he bring her the joy of being a grandmother, but he would carry on the family name and inherit the property Boaz had redeemed, enabling him to care for Naomi in her old age.

12. (a) Consider the ways Naomi had been emptied. Now how has she been filled (Ruth 4:14–17)? (b) Describe some of the ways God has filled you. 

God gave Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi a blessing bigger than they could imagine, for little Obed would be the grandfather of the mighty King David, who would bless all of Israel. And many years later, another descendant of Obed would come, this time to redeem the world. 

Notice the Hand of God in the genealogy below:

In Ruth 2:3 it says, "So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek." 

“As it turned out…” What a great phrase! Now, if we heard that at work we would realize that a project just came together. If we heard this at home we would know a situation had resolved itself. Just day-to-day circumstances; ordinary situations that rarely deserve special attention. But these words are found in the Bible. And in the Bible, “as it turned out” is anything but ordinary. Enter once again the sovereignty of God. May I remind you that our journey through the Bible is telling one story – The Story! And The Story is about God’s plan to reconnect His people to Himself. 


Ruth gives us a great picture into the nature of commitment.  It is this type of commitment that should make it's way into our relationships; our marriages, our families, and our relationship with God.  In Boaz we see what it means to selflessly carry out our responsibility.  And through it all, we continue to see the strong, sovereign hand of God across the pages of The Story.

Chapter 9: The Faith of a Foreign Woman

The book of Ruth provides us with a great view of total commitment, family responsibility and a reminder of God’s ultimate plan.

Think about some hardship in life that you have gone through or experienced. What did you learn from it?

To understand the meaning and messages of the book of Ruth, you need to know four things:

1.  Naomi’s hardship. In the beginning of the story, Naomi moves with her husband and two sons to the land of Moab in search of food. All three of the males in the family pass away in catastrophic succession.

2.  Naomi’s daughter-in-law’s are Moabite women. Their names are Ruth and Orpah. They are not Jews.

3.  The meaning of a kinsman-redeemer. The story hinges on the biblical custom of levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). What is levirate marriage? A brother-in-law was obligated to marry his brother’s widow. This afforded her protection and companionship. And this kept the family line going because the children would be deemed as the children of the deceased brother.

4.  God’s upper story. He has an ultimate plan and is in control of all things.

Throughout the story of Ruth, we can see God working behind the scenes for the good of His faithful followers. The story of Ruth reminds us that, more often than not, the gracious provision of God is to be found in the ordinary. God used the ordinary Boaz to express His extraordinary love for the “least among us,” the poor and the widow. Can you find God’s provision for you in His story?

Naomi – Ruth – Boaz

Two Greatest Commandments: Love God & Love Others (Chesed)

In Ruth, all the major characters engage in chesed, extraordinary human kindness, a kindness that goes above and beyond. For example, after the deaths of her husband and sons, Naomi urges her daughters-in-law to leave her, to find new husbands and make new lives for themselves. Naomi wants what’s best for her daughters-in-law, even though that would leave Naomi completely and utterly alone in the world. That’s chesed.

Orpah does leave Naomi. But Ruth insists upon staying with Naomi and looking out for her. Even though Ruth knows it means she must leave her homeland and live as a stranger in a strange land, she wants to stay with Naomi even though it means she might never find a husband and have children of her own. That’s chesed. (Ruth 1:16-17)

Another example of chesed is shown by Boaz, a kinsman of Naomi. Boaz marries Ruth, fulfilling the practice of levirate marriage that we talked about before. Boaz marries Ruth, even though their children would be treated as Machlon’s, and not his own. That’s chesed.

Ruth teaches that all of life’s hardships and obstacles can be overcome – through love of God and through love for others - chesed. 

I.        The Kinsman Redeemer — God’s provision for the poor and the widow

What was a kinsman redeemer?

A.   As God’s holy people, Israelites were to reflect the heart of God by trusting Him enough to act as His hands and heart toward the less fortunate within their community. Much of the Law was designed to provide opportunities for Israel to trust God, to be generous like God, to demonstrate the love and the justice of God. God’s means of taking care of the poor, the widow, and the orphan was through His people.

B. The levirate marriage was one such custom. The term levirate means “husband’s brother.” It was employed when a man died without a son to inherit his land and carry on a family line. When those circumstances arose, the husband’s brother was responsible to take the widow as his wife and produce a first-born son who would bear the dead brother’s name. This son would be the rightful heir to his dead “father’s” estate and would carry on the deceased’s family name. The following children born to the union of the widow and her new husband would belong to the new husband and bear his name (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). This custom was very important for the preservation of the land within the family, and for the protection and provision of the widow. Widows had very little means of providing for themselves, except through the benevolence written into the Law by God. A first-born son had the privilege of a double-portion of inheritance but also the responsibility of caring for his parents. The son born of the widow and the deceased husband’s brother was then the heir and could take care of his mother. He also kept the land in the family as he passed it on to his sons.

C. Redemption of property was another responsibility of the kinsman redeemer. If someone became poor and was therefore compelled to sell off his or her land to survive, then a kinsman redeemer was obligated to buy it back, or redeem it, for the poor person. This was prescribed by God in Leviticus 25:25-27.

D. What were the qualifications of a kinsman redeemer? For someone to qualify as a kinsman redeemer, J. Vernon McGee suggests at least 5 criteria had to be met:

1.     The redeemer had to be a near kinsman (relative) to the one redeemed.

2.    The redeemer had to be willing to perform the work of redemption.

3.    The redeemer had to possess the ability to redeem.

4.    The redeemer had to be free himself.

5.    The redeemer had to pay the value or price of redemption.

E.    Results of the redemption

1.  Redemption cost the redeemer and benefited the redeemed. The kinsman redeemer was called upon to give of his own resources to benefit others. This point cannot be stressed enough. He used his money to redeem property for someone else because he understood that all belonged to God anyway. He took on the responsibility of providing for a wife and gave of himself and his resources to raise a son to carry his dead relative’s name.

2. Therefore, the redeemer was acting in gracious, loyal loving kindness toward the redeemed. The redeemer was acting like God!

3.  The widow who was redeemed benefited from the protection and provision of her kinsman redeemer. She had very little hope or means to survive before her redemption.

4. The land that was redeemed remained within the clan as the promised inheritance from God.

II.      Boaz the Kinsman Redeemer — God’s provision for the poor and the widow

What made Boaz qualified to be the kinsman redeemer?

A.  Boaz epitomized the kinsman redeemer. He was clearly a faithful Israelite living in covenant obedience to God. His heart for the Lord was evidenced by his words, his deeds, and the response of other characters in this story.

B. Boaz was a near kinsman to Naomi and Ruth. However, there was another relative who was closer. Boaz did not hesitate to accept Ruth’s request for marriage, but he also did not circumvent the appropriate way to do so.

C. Boaz was willing to perform the work of redemption, but the unnamed closer relative was not. He approached the relative at the city gate before the city elders, as was the custom. This unnamed relative had the right of first refusal. Although the nearer relative had the means to redeem Naomi’s land, he apparently did not want Ruth as part of the deal. His rejection of Ruth and the land cleared the way for Boaz. That Boaz still wanted to serve as the kinsman redeemer without being obligated by law demonstrates even further his godliness.

D. Boaz had the ability—the financial means—to be a kinsman redeemer. He was clearly a very successful businessman and farmer. He had servants who respected him.

E. Boaz was free and therefore able to redeem. In other words, his land and his person were not under obligation to another. Israel had been through a very long drought period (at least the 10 years Naomi was in Moab). It was not uncommon to sell oneself as a slave due to poverty (Leviticus 25:39), but such was not the case for Boaz.

F.  Boaz did pay the full price of redemption; he redeemed Naomi’s land, and he redeemed Ruth as a wife.

How does Boaz show family responsibility and commitment to the covenant of the Law?  

A. His harvesters left grain to be gleaned by the poor, as prescribed in the Law. But Boaz went above the legal requirement and had them leave extra for Ruth, revealing his generous heart for the Lord.

B.  He remained sexually pure and honored Ruth when she uncovered his feet in the night. He preserved her reputation by sending her home before light.

C.  Boaz was a man of prayer, who spoke blessings over his workers and Ruth.

D.  He was also an answer to his own prayer! He said, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (p. 123). Later, Ruth asked of Boaz, “Spread the corner of your garment over me” (p. 125). There “corner” is the same word as “wing.” She used the same poetic image as Boaz had used in his blessing over her.

III.    God’s Upper Story - Jesus Our Kinsman Redeemer  

A.  How was God’s upper story at work here? Boaz and Ruth became the great-grandparents of King David, the servant of the Lord. They are noted by gospel writer Matthew, then, as being in the line of the Messiah (1:5).

B.  How does Jesus fulfill the qualifications of the Kinsman Redeemer?

Jesus is our ultimate Kinsman Redeemer and meets all the criteria listed above. All human beings are helplessly enslaved to sin, under the dominion of the evil one, unless and until we are redeemed by the one and only Redeemer. Christ alone is God’s provision!

1.  Jesus is a near kinsman to mankind because He is fully human. He is described as our brother who redeems us from the power of sin (Hebrews 2:14-17).

2.  Jesus was willing to perform the work of redemption. Jesus willingly laid down His life (John 10:18). He redeemed us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13) so that we might receive the adoption as sons of God (Galatians 4:5). He redeemed us from sin and unrighteousness (Romans 5; Titus 2:12).

3.  Jesus alone possessed the ability to redeem because He was sinless, being fully God and fully man. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). “You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:17-18).

4.  Jesus was free because He fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17-18).

5.  Jesus offered Himself as the price of redemption. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

C. The ultimate redemption of man cost God dearly. He gave up His Son for the world (John 3:16). Jesus paid the price for the benefit for the redeemed who had nothing whatsoever to offer.

D. As Boaz took Ruth, Jesus took the Church as His bride. (Ephesians 5:25, Revelation 19:7.) The Church is betrothed to Christ and is to be a pure virgin (2 Corinthians 11:2).

E.  The redeemed receive eternal life!

 

 

 

IV.      Applications and Implications

A.  If Jesus is my Redeemer, then I can know that I am provided for and protected. I should live differently in light of this truth—as a pure virgin bride.

B. “Poor” outsiders can go boldly yet humbly to the Kinsman Redeemer asking for redemption from spiritual poverty.

C. Genuine faith, like that of Boaz, is expressed in devotion, grace, and kindness toward others. Do I express my faith in tangible and practical ways? Does my faith have “shoes on?”

D. Genuine faith, like that of Ruth, trusts God to always be working even when one does not see His hand.

E. God’s grace knows no limitations. He is available as the Kinsman Redeemer of all. Even a despised outsider is enveloped into God’s community of faith. I should never dismiss someone as beyond the reach of God’s grace.

F.  God is at work in the lives of the faithful even in the darkest of times. I should trust Him even in life’s darkest times when I do not “see” or “feel” God.

G. God still seeks people of faith and kindness through whom He will work His plans. My life should be marked by these traits toward others.

H. God cares for the poor and the widow—the least in our society. I should align my heart to care about the less fortunate.

I.    I should look for God’s provision as He works in the ordinary details of my life.

J.   God still provides a Kinsman Redeemer to all who will come under His wings.

 

The Kinsman Redeemer is just one example of God’s provision to care for His people. People’s lives are peppered with experiences of God’s provision in the ordinary “coincidences” of daily life. 

Coincidences or God-incidences

God’s hand is present in the natural event (famine) that led Naomi and Elimelek to Moab.

God’s hand is present over life and death, and the womb of Ruth (and Orpah).

God’s hand is present in chance events such as Ruth happening upon Boaz’ field.

God’s hand is present in preparing Boaz’ heart to care for Ruth and Naomi.

God’s hand is present in the legal process when the nearer relative first accepted and then declined the role of redeemer.

 

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

God, When I can’t always see how You are at work in the details of my struggles, give me patience, endurance and strength to trust You are always at work behind the scenes guiding my path. Give me faith to follow my convictions, to seek out the help of those who are gracious, and to extend that help to others. Amen.


See you on Sunday!


In His Love,

David & Susan

The Story October 26, 2014 Chapter 8

A Few Good Men … and Women

"The Period of Judges"

Chapter 8

Key Question

How can we keep from repeating the Israelite’s sin cycle in our own lives?

Othniel: Pages 103–105

 
The book of Judges explains what happened to the Israelites during the first few centuries after Joshua died. Most of the Israelite tribes did not finish driving out the Canaanites as God told them to do.[1] They allowed the Canaanites to live among them, but subjected them to forced labor. It wasn’t long before the people intermarried with the Canaanites, adopted their practices, and ignored God’s commands.



[1] Judges 1:27–36.


1. (a) What happened after Joshua’s generation died (Judges 2:10–12)? (b) The author of Judges summarized the tale he was about to tell in Judges 2:13–19. What strikes you most about this summary? (c) Why did God raise up judges (2:16)? (d) What happened to each generation that abandoned God, in comparison to their fathers (2:19)?


The first judge God called to rescue and rule his people was Othniel.

2. (a) What did the Israelites do in Judges 3:7? (b) What was God’s response (3:8)? (c) What did the Israelites do next (3:9a)? (d) What was God’s response (3:9b–10)? (e) What happened to the land as a result (3:11)?


This cycle repeats throughout the book of Judges, which covers the time period between the taking of the land and the first king (called the “premonarch period” in the chart below). Over and over, Israel abandoned God and began doing evil, particularly by worshipping Canaanite gods, participating in the highly sexualized Canaanite worship practices, and oppressing the weak. God punished them by no longer protecting them and by delivering them into the hands of their enemies. The Israelites groaned under their hardship and cried out to God. God relented and gave them a judge who delivered them. But when things got good, the people once again committed apostasy by abandoning the true God for false gods.

The New American Commentary charts it like this:[2]

[2] Diagram from Daniel I. Block, New American Commentary—Volume 6: Judges, Ruth, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 1999), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, 133.



3. (a) The Israelites turned to God when they were afflicted and oppressed, but left Him when life was good. What does this suggest about the type of relationship they desired to have with God? (b) What would you think about a friend who treated you well only when he or she wanted something from you? (c) Do you find yourself spending more time with God when you want something badly from Him? Why or why not? (d) What practices could you implement to be sure you don’t seek God only when you want something from Him, but rather have a true relationship with Him?



Deborah: Pages 105–107

After a couple more judges, the Israelites had peace for eighty years.

4. (a) After this time of peace, what happened (Judges 4:1)? (b) If the Israelites had driven out the Canaanites, would they have fallen to a Canaanite king from within their midst (4:2)? (c) What happened under Sisera, the commander of a Canaanite army (4:3)? (d) How can allowing “small” amounts of sin to stay in our lives lead us to be enslaved and oppressed by that sin?


Out of compassion, God raised up another judge: the prophetess Deborah.

5. According to Judges 4:4–5, what positions did Deborah hold?


6. In what ways did Deborah and Jael show courage?

Gideon: Pages 107–112

The Israelites continued their cycles of abandoning God whenever life seemed good. Eventually they fell under the oppression of the neighboring Midianites.[3]

[3] The Midianites were not Canaanites. They were the descendants of Abraham through Keturah, whom he married after Sarah died. 

 

7. (a) What did God do when the Israelites cried out to Him (Judges 6:7–8a)? (b) Was God unable to deliver them (6:8b–9)? (c) Why had God allowed Midian to oppress them (6:10)?



The angel of the Lord appeared to an unlikely hero named Gideon.

8. (a) Despite the prophet’s explanation for the Midianite oppression, what did Gideon ask the angel of the Lord (Judges 6:13)? (b) Why do you think Gideon didn’t accept the prophet’s explanation for their oppression (see previous question)? (c) If possible, give a modern day example of someone disobeying God and then wondering why God allowed unpleasant consequences (please do not give names).


Gideon didn’t consider himself a mighty warrior, yet God chose him.

9. Why do you think God often uses “weak” people to accomplish mighty things[4] (Judges 6:15)? 

[4] See also 1 Corinthians 1:27–29. 

10. (a) Why did God reduce Gideon’s army from 32,000 men to 300 (Judges 7:2, 7)? (b) What do you think God wanted to teach the Israelites through this?


God worked a mighty victory and freed the Israelites from Midian through Gideon and his three hundred men. The land had peace … until Gideon died.

Samson’s Rise: Pages 112–116

The cycle repeated, with each rebellious generation becoming more corrupt than all those before. Even some judges followed the practices of the people among whom they lived, as was the case with Samson.

The angel of the Lord appeared to Samson’s parents in the midst of forty years of oppression under the Philistines.[5] He said Samson was to be set apart from birth for God’s service.[6]

[5] The Philistines migrated to Canaan from the Aegean and also wanted to occupy Canaan.

[6] Samson was to be a Nazirite. People could take Nazirite vows for short times, such as thirty days. Samson, John the Baptist, and perhaps Samuel were called to be lifelong Nazirites. 

 

11. What commands did the angel of the Lord give regarding how Samson was to live (Judges 13:5)?


Despite his calling, Samson didn’t take seriously God’s commands not to marry those who didn’t worship the Lord God.[7]

[7] Deuteronomy 7:3–4.  

 

12. In what ways did Sampson’s chasing after foreign women illustrate Israel’s chasing after foreign gods?



Samson delivered the Israelites from the Philistines, but his confidence in his own strength left him seeing no need to rely on God’s strength. That led to his downfall.

Samson’s Downfall: Pages 116–119

Samson continued to chase women who worshipped other gods. Eventually he fell in love with Delilah, and the Philistine rulers saw their opportunity. They bribed Delilah to find out the secret of Samson’s great strength.

Delilah tried her best. Each time Samson told her how to subdue him, she waited until he slept and tested what he told her. Samson treated her attempts like a game. One day, though, he told her his hair had never been cut because he was a Nazirite dedicated to God, and if she shaved his head, he would become as weak as any other man.

Samson knew Delilah would shave his head, but he didn’t know the Spirit of the Lord would leave him as a result.

13. (a) What might be reasons Samson told Delilah she could weaken him if she shaved his head, even though he knew she would attempt this deed which was forbidden to him? (b) Samson’s strength wasn’t in his hair; what was the true source of Samson’s strength (Judges 16:20)? (c) What were ways Samson took the Source of his strength for granted? (d) How can Christians keep themselves from taking God for granted?


As the hair which was the outward sign of Samson’s dedication to God left him, so did the Spirit of the Lord. Samson discovered too late his strength depended on God’s presence. The Philistines gouged out Samson’s eyes, bound him in shackles, and imprisoned him.

One day the Philistine rulers and three thousand people gathered on the temple roof to mock Samson and celebrate their god having delivered Samson into their hands. As Samson leaned against the temple’s supporting pillars, he prayed.

14. (a) What did Samson’s prayer show he now understood about his strength’s source (Judges 16:28)? (b) What lessons can we learn from Samson about the gifts God gives us for serving Him and helping others? (c) What can we learn from Samson about additional reasons God uses the weak more than the strong?


God had called the Israelites to be His people and to make Him known to the surrounding peoples. But many Israelites let the culture influence their ideas of right and wrong, rather than God’s commands given through Moses. The differences between Canaanites and Israelites diminished.

15. (a) In whose eyes were the peoples’ actions considered evil (Judges 2:11)? (b) In whose eyes were the peoples’ actions considered right (Judges 21:25)? (c) What steps can we take to be sure we’re doing right in God’s eyes, and not just our own?


16. What steps can we take to keep from repeating the Israelite’s sin cycle in our own lives?


Both Moses and Joshua warned the Israelites that if they didn’t drive out the inhabitants, then they would be seduced by their evil practices; if they did, God would drive the Israelites out too.

Sadly, the Canaanization of Israel marched on.


Disobedience always brings judgment. The Israelites present a perfect example of what we are not to do. Instead of learning from experience that God will always punish rebellion against Him, they continued to disobey and suffer God’s displeasure and discipline. If we continue in disobedience, we invite God’s discipline, not because He enjoys our suffering, but “because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son" (Hebrews 12:6).

The Book of Judges is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Even “if we are faithless, He will remain faithful” (2 Timothy 2:13). Though we may be unfaithful to Him, as the Israelites were, still He is faithful to save us and preserve us (1 Thessalonians 5:24) and to forgive us when we seek forgiveness (1 John 1:9). “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Corinthians 1:8-9).But all was not lost. Some Israelites still wanted to follow God in the Promised Land. They mourned over the depths of Israel’s sin and committed themselves to obeying God’s commands. We’ll see faithful God followers shine in this dark era next week as we watch God make Himself known.



Our lesson outline:

Chapter 8: The Call vs. The Culture

The call vs. the culture: a never-ending battle between being different (set apart) and being the same as everybody else. 

 

As you read through the Book of Judges, a recurring, 4-phase cycle becomes apparent.

1. First, the people of Israel would rebel against the Lord.

2. Second, God would punish the people by delivering them into the hands of evil oppressors like foreign nations or tribal groups.

3. Third, the people of Israel would cry out to the Lord for deliverance. This crying out to God implied repentance on their part.

4. Fourth, God would rise up a judge to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors. This was the pattern of disobedience in Israel and it would happen again and again and again.



So what happens when I do not obey God?

Judges is the source of some of our most familiar Old Testament stories. Remember the tales of Samson and Gideon. Our familiarity of the stories makes it likely that some will miss its very message. In Judges there is a demonstration of a basic theme (Ai, now magnified and repeated over and over again) of Obedience and Disobedience.

Is partial obedience – obedience?

Judges 1:27-36

27 But Manasseh did not drive out the people of Beth Shan or Taanach or Dor or Ibleam or Megiddo and their surrounding settlements, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that land. 28 When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely. 29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them. 30 Neither did Zebulun drive out the Canaanites living in Kitron or Nahalol, who remained among them; but they did subject them to forced labor. 31 Nor did Asher drive out those living in Acco or Sidon or Ahlab or Aczib or Helbah or Aphek or Rehob, 32 and because of this the people of Asher lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land. 33 Neither did Naphtali drive out those living in Beth Shemesh or Beth Anath; but the Naphtalites too lived among the Canaanite inhabitants of the land, and those living in Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became forced laborers for them. 34 The Amorites confined the Danites to the hill country, not allowing them to come down into the plain. 35 And the Amorites were determined also to hold out in Mount Heres, Aijalon and Shaalbim, but when the power of the house of Joseph increased, they too were pressed into forced labor. 36 The boundary of the Amorites was from Scorpion Pass to Sela and beyond. (NIV)



How do these verses show the Israelites’ partial disobedience? 

 

According to verses 27-36, what happened because the Israelites didn’t remove all of the inhabitants of the land?

God had promised Canaan to the Israelites, but they had to follow His instructions and get all of the pagan people currently living in the Promised Land out of it.

Judges 2:1-5

1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to give to your forefathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, 2 and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.' Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this? 3 Now therefore I tell you that I will not drive them out before you; they will be [thorns] in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you." 4 When the angel of the LORD had spoken these things to all the Israelites, the people wept aloud, 5 and they called that place Bokim. There they offered sacrifices to the LORD. (NIV)



Why did God not help the people? Should the people have been surprised that God said He would not help them? What would happen as a result of their disobedience to remove the pagan people from the land? What are some possible things that God does not want in our lives?

Music, media, internet, activities, friends, acquaintances?

Judges 2:10-14

10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. (NIV)

Judges 2:16-19

16 Then the LORD raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked, the way of obedience to the LORD's commands. 18 Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the LORD had compassion on them as they groaned under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways. (NIV)



This is a pretty sad description of the people of God. How does this description compare to our society today? How was God involved in the Israelites’ suffering?



3 Failures of the Israelites

1. Incomplete Obedience

2. Apostasy Deflection from the faith, an act of unpardonable rebellion against God.

3. Intermarriage


How have you substituted partial obedience for complete obedience in your relationship with God?



It wasn’t too long after Gideon died that Israel began to (1) forget the Lord, (2) turned back to serving idols, and (3) was judged by God again.



The Philistines (1) ransacked the crops of Israel, (2) took away all their weapons and (3) made life miserable for the Israelites. God sent an Angel to a godly couple living in a tiny mountain village to tell them that they would have a son.

Judges 13:5

“You will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." (NIV) 

 

 

 

Was he just a He-Man with a She-Weakness?

God defeated a leader in his strength.


You say he did what? Why would He do this? God defeated Israel’s enemies by using a leader that needed to be defeated himself. A leader whose strength became a source of pride, cockiness and arrogance.



What do you know about Samson?

• Samson was a Nazirite, consecrated from birth who had never had alcohol or a haircut and kept to a strict diet. What was the purpose of the Nazirite? The purpose of the Nazirite vow was to raise up a group of leaders devoted completely to God. 

• He tore a lion apart with his bare hands 

• After his riddle he struck down 30 men 

• After his father-in-law gave his wife to another man, he lit the tails of foxes who ran through the fields and burned all the grain

• When those enemies killed his wife and her father, he slaughtered them 

• He took the jawbone of a donkey and killed 1,000 more men

He was an intimidating man, but…let’s just say he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer.

• His first wife nagged him long enough to get the secret of the riddle. 

• His second wife, Delilah, a Philistine spy, tried three times unsuccessfully to get him to tell the secret of his great strength. You’d have thought by now Samson would have caught on. You would think just her repeated badgering of him for the secret might have tipped him off just a little. Smell the coffee Samson!

How is the story of Samson's birth like the story of Jesus' birth? What parallels do you see?

• He does things in the power of the Lord, things that we would have to call miracles. 

• His whole life is a miracle. 

• His birth was announced to his mother by an angel, he lived his life as a Nazarite (someone set aside for special service to God); he is described as someone God chose to use to set Israel free from their oppressors.

What were Samson's weaknesses?

• Lusts for women
• Violated his vow and God’s laws on many occasions
• No purpose in life
• Wasted his God given gifts
• Confided in the wrong people

What were his strengths?

• Tremendous potential
• Born as a result of God’s plan
• Enormous physical strength

How could God ever use a person who was so influenced by lusts of the flesh and emotional extremes?

• The Bible doesn't cover up any of these faults in Samson, and yet it tells us that God was behind many of the decisions that Samson made. God wanted Samson to infiltrate the Philistines, and He evidently used Samson's weaknesses for women to accomplish His ends. He began to free Israel from the Philistine oppression.

What lessons can we learn from Samson's life?

• Great strength in one area of life does not make up for great weaknesses in other areas
• God’s presence does not overwhelm a person’s will
• God can use a person of faith in spite of his or her mistakes

The point to see in the story of Samson is this: God defeated a leader in his strength to deliver His people. Now you might say, why would God do that? Why wouldn’t God use a gift that He Himself had given Samson to rescue Israel? It’s because of this:

1. No strength you have is ever enough to make up for your weaknesses.
2. People sure of themselves have no need of God’s power.
3. If your strength is not consecrated to God, it becomes your weakness.

God gives us gifts to honor Him and serve the Kingdom and the world. If your gift is management, you bless your company by exercising that gift well. If your gift is compassion, you bring glory to God by loving your marketplace and your family. But what happens when we forget the Giver of the gift? What happens when I’m so good at something, I stop honoring the One who gave it to me? The answer is - I become Samson.


Samson tended to rely on his own strength instead of acknowledging God as the source. What strengths or resources do you tend to rely on more than entrusting your life into God’s care?



This leads us to today's Equipping Point: Surrender your gift.

Only when our gifts are submitted to the Giver can they be fully utilized for His glory, not ours. This is incredibly difficult, because our strengths are what come to us most naturally; it can never occur to us to surrender the very thing we do most easily. But if you're like me, and like Samson, you've used your greatest gifts, whether it's management, empathy, discernment, or teaching, to elevate yourself.



How do we keep from doing this? How do we offer our strengths, our greatest talents to God?

1. We need to repent for the times we've used our gifts sinfully, or selfishly.

2. We need to pray before exercising it.


If you're particularly talented at counseling, make sure you pray before each session. If you're gifted at the mechanisms of management and building infrastructure, make sure you pray before every meeting, whether at work or on a volunteer committee at church, to ensure your strength doesn't become a stumbling block to yourself or to others.


God is never bashful about His intentions for His people. He never tolerates sin and, at the same time, never breaks His covenant with His people. Israel may not have fully understood God’s discipline, but over and over He had to bring them to their knees in order to bring them to Himself.

PRAYER OF COMMITMENT

God, give me the wisdom to recall Your saving and healing work in my life. Give my trust in Your faithfulness so I might put away fear. When fear overtakes me, help me cry out to You for deliverance. Fill me with Your Spirit so I might not forget You, and always follow Your ways, which are good. Amen.

See you on Sunday!


David & Susan