Forgiving Old Grievances

There is a sense in which our Savior holds grudges. It’s always confused me why certain people groups hold grudges from previous generations, sometimes hundreds of years. It’s not just Asia or Eastern Europe or Ireland; it’s West Virginia for Pete’s sake. What’s wrong with us?

In Deuteronomy, we have this directive from Yahweh to the people through Moses:

No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD; to the tenth generation none of their descendants shall ever do so, for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you. But the LORD your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed the curse to a blessing, for the LORD your God loves you. You must not seek peace and prosperity for them through all the ages to come. 

Deuteronomy 23:3-6 NET

The story of this offense is in Numbers 22 and 25. It’s a long story, but there’s a talking donkey, so I highly recommend it, although it’s kind of confusing. Anyway, Moab=bad in Yahweh’s eyes, so don’t go there, befriend them, or help them in any way…

During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. (Now the man’s name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there. Sometime later Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone. Both her sons married Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) And they continued to live there about ten years. Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left all alone—bereaved of her two children as well as her husband! 

Ruth 1:1-5 NET

Well, clearly, this cannot end well. Yahweh cannot possibly accept this, in fact isn’t obvious that He’s punishing this family for going to Moab? What did they think would happen? And yet, this sets up one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. 

Our Creator makes rules. He seems so stern and harsh at times. And yet, after making such a thoroughly imprecatory rule, we have an entire book, one of the most elegant, named for a Moabite woman…MOABITE and a WOMAN! Rahab got a good story, a few chapters of Joshua, but Ruth get’s a whole book. Actually, Ruth gets much more than a whole book.

So Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law back home!” But Ruth replied,

“Stop urging me to abandon you!

For wherever you go, I will go.

Wherever you live, I will live.

Your people will become my people,

and your God will become my God.

Wherever you die, I will die—and there I will be buried.

May the LORD punish me severely if I do not keep my promise!

Only death will be able to separate me from you!”

When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. 

Ruth 1:15-18 NET

This is read at weddings to describe the devotion and commitment between spouses. Yet it is actually the devotion of a woman to her mother-in-law through a deceased husband. By any law of any culture, any obligation between Ruth and Naomi is over. And yet it’s not.

Long, beautiful story, short; girl meets boy, boy falls in love with girl, family inheritance problems arise, boy overcomes them with a sandal, and marries the girl.

But here’s the kicker:

So Boaz married Ruth and slept with her. The LORD enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. 

Ruth 4:13 NET

Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; she became his caregiver. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. Now he became the father of Jesse—David’s father. 

Ruth 4:16-17 NET

But wait, there’s more!

This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1 NET

Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. 

Matthew 1:5-6 NET

So, Yahweh broke His own rules on the pathway to save His human creatures through Jesus. For Jesus, forgiveness was literally in His genes.

Grace to the Embarrassing

I have not posted to this blog in a very long time, and I apologize for that. Now, my last day with Thomson Reuters is January 2, so this has become my only means of sharing with my colleagues still at TR. My intent is to post here and on my personal blog. I hope these bless you. 

Family history can be fun, or, depending on who’s in it, embarrassing. Did you have someone to be proud of or ashamed of in your genealogy? Mine is a mess of both. No sense being embarrassed, ashamed, proud or confused. I have Zachary Taylor and the Martin clan (West Virginia feuds) in mine. All distant, all confusing, and not sure which is important.

For some cultures, ancestry is crucial. In some it’s important. There are probably some who don’t care, honestly, but I don’t know of any. For the Jews, knowing which tribe you came from was important. Knowing your Levitical lineage was important. It became more and more difficult over time, but even in Jesus’ day, it was a major part of their lives.

Which makes Jesus’ genealogies in Matthew and Luke very interesting. As was said before, purpose drove who was on it and where they started. Matthew and Luke both include the same names from Abraham to David, but it is interesting who Matthew notes in addition.

This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
Matthew 1:1-6 NET

This translation notes the additions in parentheses. Obviously Matthew doesn’t call out all the various mothers, only the ones where there’s an interesting story in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Tamar was having trouble with the “levirate marriage” rule and finally deceived the father of her former husbands into having a child with her. Rahab was the Canaanite “prostitute” who betrayed Jericho into the hands of Yahweh’s people. Ruth was the Moabitess who should never have been accepted by the people of God, not for ten generations.

Tamar’s story is found in Genesis stuck in between two parts of the story of Jospeh. It kind of…makes everyone look bad, so let’s jump to Rahab.

Rahab has “the prostitute” as her last name throughout English translations of Scripture. There’s a lack of clarity about her “role” as the labels are…not precise, a common problem when the topic is indelicate, inappropriate, or embarrassing.

First, let’s look at what she did. When the spies are sent out by Joshua (Joshua 2:1), they enter Jericho and stay with Rahab. When the king is informed that he has spies in the city, he immediately goes to Rahab. Rahab tells the king that, yes, the men came, but they left immediately and he can still catch them before they cross the Jordan. She has hidden them on her roof.

But why? Why lie to her king? Why betray her city? Why help the enemy of her people? But even more important, why be faithless to her gods? Well, let’s look at what she says.

Now before the spies went to sleep, Rahab went up to the roof. She said to the men, “I know the LORD is handing this land over to you. We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you. For we heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. For the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! Joshua 2:8-11 NET

The adventures of the Israelites made it into the local papers in Jericho. Even more, Yahweh made it into the local papers all over Canaan. From the crossing of the Red Sea forty years ago, to the defeat of the local kings across the Jordan just recently, word was getting out.

Look carefully at what Rahab says about Yahweh. Yahweh is Elohim. That is the confession of faith of the Hebrew Scriptures. That confession is an expensive confession of faith. It rejects Rahab’s culture, her people, her city, everything she has known to this point.

She has looked at what is happening in the world around her, just like everyone around her, and made the decision to leap into what Yahweh is doing. The rest of her people resist what they see Yahweh doing to threaten their culture. She repents; they do not. And that makes all the difference.

Prostitute, innkeeper, or whatever, embarrassing, inappropriate, or shameful, it doesn’t matter. Yahweh accepts this confession of faith from this Canaanite woman and uses her to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham. She becomes part of His salvation of all humanity, warts and all.

Now seriously, what is holding you back? This world, our cultures, successes, failures, families, or friends; what can hold you back from your confession of faith in the Creator of the universe? Are you really that successful? Have you truly made that many mistakes or are they that significant? Why not influence your friends rather than the other way around? Why not become the catalyst for your whole family coming to faith?

Make the leap. Take the step. Drop the luggage and jump into His arms.