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January 11 - February 20, 2024
When we miss what went without being said for them and substitute what goes without being said for us, we are at risk of misreading Scripture.
Biblical authors don’t often tell us how they or their audiences felt about specific people groups, but they do give us clues by telling us where people are from. We do this today.
Boaz confronts the kinsman to ask if he intends to purchase Naomi’s land and is told, “I will redeem it.” Boaz then notes, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite” (emphasis added). The man immediately declines the offer: “I cannot redeem it.” He cites inheritance rules, but we suspect his real motivation is ethnic prejudice.[12] By contrast, Boaz buys the land and states, “I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife”
The fact that the Moabites, along with the Ammonites, originated from an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters (Gen 19:36-38) may help us understand why Ruth’s ethnicity is an issue in her narrative.
Furthermore, the Moabites hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel (Num 22), and Moabite women seduced the men of Israel in Numbers 25 and encouraged them to sacrifice to idols. For these reasons, the Lord declared, “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation”
The Christian message is clear: ethnic prejudice is morally reprehensible. It is wrong.
The writer expected us to know our geography: while Samson was called and equipped by God to
smite the Philistines, he married one instead. How might racism play a role in this story?
Our tendency to emphasize rules over relationship and correctness over community means that we are often willing to sacrifice relationships on the altar of rules.
our preoccupation with what the Bible says to me leads us to prioritize certain parts of the Bible and ignore others.
Technically, the verse means what it means.
God’s Word has application for his people. But when we confuse application with meaning, we can ignore the actual meaning of the text altogether.
Rather, it is a promise that through the inevitable harm and heartache that come with being human, God can train us up in godliness.
The focus, in this case, is better preparing us (his people) for God’s service, rather than expecting God to work things for our good.
First, beware of thinking of the Bible in terms of “what this means to me.” Remember, the Bible means what it means.
we should ask, “How does this apply to me?” Remember, too, that you should try to answer the question “What did this passage mean to the original audience?” before asking, “How does this passage apply to me?”
ask yourself how you might apply the passage differently if you interpret it in corporate terms, rather than in individual terms.
