Moral degeneration follows religious degeneration, then political degeneration and now social degeneration.
THE BENJAMITES: Remember, there are only 600 males left; the other tribes had killed everyone else! Rather than have a "breach" in their numbers, 400 virgins were captured and given to them, and then the rest were told to capture the virgins from Shiloh when they came outside the city to dance. V.19 is noteworthy because there was only one feast of the Lord left: Passover. That is like the churches that preach that there are no more appointments with God once you are saved. But we all know about Pentecost (baptism in the Holy Spirit) and Tabernacles (death to SELF and initiation of true ministry).
SECRET OF SUCCESS IN THE JUDGES: We KNOW it wasn't courage, or brilliant planning, or numbers. Heb 11:32-24 tells us it was "by faith". Faith is expressed as obedience, loyalty, and deliberate commitment. The opposite of faith is NOT reason and knowledge, BUT sight. Faith is never "blind". These judges were able to become deliverers by breaking their addiction to sight. Faith is a clear-headed and relentless CHOICE, based on the facts about God. Faith in God makes His Presence and grace available. Grace: God's power, God's strength, God's sufficiency.
BOOK OF RUTH: It could be called, "Ruth Finds Rest". The book itself establishes the lineage of Jesus, as Ruth is King David's great-grandmother. Ruth typifies a people who press in to claim their Groom and their inheritance.
The three women in the book symbolize three stages of Christian growth:
Orpah - Her name means "to turn back". On her husband's death Orpah accompanied her mother-in-law, Naomi, toward Bethlehem a short distance, but, in spite of professions of attachment and tears, she went back to "her people and her gods," and lost the golden opportunity which Ruth embraced of having Israel's God for her God. She never entered the Kingdom. Fear and unbelief caused her to turn back from the walk of faith. She typifies the young believer who does not go all the way with Jesus.
Naomi - Naomi means "pleasant', but changed her name to Marah, which means "Bitter", thereby disqualifying herself to be Boaz' wife. She symbolizes the Christian who is Spirit-filled but misses out because of bitterness and unbelief - refusing to die to SELF. Most of our Christian experiences are like that: Either allow SELF to die, or get bitter.
Ruth - Her name means "Beautiful Friend of God". She is a type of the Spirit-filled Christian, dead to SELF, pressing in to claim her inheritance, allowing Jesus in her to form His nature and His ministry in the earth.
BOAZ: His name means, "Strength". He is a type of Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer. He was near-kinsman to Naomi's husband, Elimelech. His covenant obligations as near-kinsman were (1) to buy back a relative's forfeited property, (2) marry his brother's widow to produce a son for the inheritance, (3) redeem indebted kinsman from slavery, (4) and avenge all wrongs on the kinsman.
RUTH CHAPTER 1:1-5: REST IS FORSAKEN: Elilemech, his wife Namoi and their two sons forfeited their fields to debt and left Bethlehem during the famine and went to Moab, rather than ask their near-kinsman for help. The Moabites were the idolatrous descendants of Lot and represent the FLESH with its "affections and lusts". While there, the two sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.
REST DESIRED:1:6-22 After ten years, all three men died, and Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, where she had heard that the "the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread." V.9 the objective was to "find rest".
RESPONSE: The last verse in Judges says it all: "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." And in leaving Boaz behind, Naomi forsook REST which comes by the obedience of FAITH. Non-faith is drawing back away from God (like Naomi leaving Bethlehem). Faith then is drawing close TO God, knowing that He is eternally faithful. The outward manifestation of that faith is my obedience to God. Rather than focusing on obedience, I focus on staying in fellowship (connection) with God (abiding in the Vine). That produces rest and my behavior is the "fruit of righteousness."
HOW DO I GET THERE? Through REPENTANCE. Naomi went back (a definition of "repentance".) She moved TOWARD Bethlehem. Repentance is a process of retraining my heart away from independence, arrogance, insensitivity and self-sufficiency, so that I am free to rest in faith.
JOHN 4:4-42
WORSHIP: (Literal Gr: "to kiss the hand") Worship is how we love God, giving Him thanks and praise, honor and acknowledgment. Life's primary activity is worship. In order to actually worship, we must overcome our obsession with ourselves, because worship is an act of submission and love.
ADDICTIONS are a FEELING phenomenon, an abandonment to that feeling, giving it VALUE. People who are addicted to FEELINGS are stressed out from constantly having to make decisions about what they WANT TO DO. Their feelings become their REASONS for what they do. Living this way SUBVERTS self-control, hence the addictions. Jesus shows us here that denial or repression are the not the answers. HE IS.
How did this conversation turn to worship? Because worshipping God is something real that satisfies our thirst. This woman had already discovered that worship that is tied to external things leaves us bored, empty, disappointed, and frustrated. True worship ("in spirit and in truth") touches the part of the heart that's unfulfilled and satisfies it. In worship our aim is to satisfy God's thirst for our love and life. (One of Jesus' last words from the cross was "I thirst.")
"WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH": "In spirit" is inner submission of the heart. "In truth" is outward submission of obedience - because Truth is Reality. Worship that is NOT "in spirit and in truth" is FLATTERY. To "kiss" Him and then not obey Him is BETRAYAL.
DOING THE WILL OF GOD: And so, Jesus' obedience becomes acts of worship, too. Everything we do can be worship if our motive is to satisfy God and give Him pleasure. Doing God's will feeds the inner man and prevents burnout. This is because it interrupts our preoccupation with ourselves and focuses on God who is eternally renewing us.
RESPONSE: At first, worship is a continual effort - because our minds don't want to cooperate (Rom 8:7). Even after establishing a firm habit of worshipping all the time, it takes an effort on our part. But God's grace (His strength, His ability and His sufficiency) will be there to help me. Effort is NOT the opposite of grace. Earning or entitlement is. I have found that when I "satisfy" God in my worship (and it doesn't take much!) then I, too, am satisfied. It fills me up with His joyful Presence whenever I worship. When I can't think of anything to say, I grab a Psalm and start reading out loud to my stubborn heart. Or, I go through the alphabet with my "reasons" for worshipping God.
He is "Altogether lovely."
He has "Blessed me".
He is my wonderful, savvy "Counselor".
He is a mighty "Deliverer".
He is the "Eternal" One.
You get it.
PSALM 105:1-15
HISTORICAL PSALM: The song of God's faithfulness and power. God is always at work, even when it doesn't look like it. This Psalm was sung when the Ark was brought up to Zion. "Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore" - means to continually draw near in order to touch Him.
PROVERBS 14:25
Falsehood is destructive. Truth saves lives.
RESPONSE: Do we go after the Lord with enough persistence and truth to actually touch Him? Actually, most of the time, I find God to be eager to come close. Even an indication from me is usually enough to draw Him out. But that may be because He knows my habit is to want Him. That I am not playing with Him - not loving Him for what I can get. God is not actually looking for WORSHIP, but He is looking for WORSHIPPERS! To draw God to ourselves in worship, our hearts must first be addressed by God of it's true condition - that of NEEDING Him, not being self-sufficient. That is the topic of the rest of Psalm 105 and all of Psalm 106!
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