Finding the king in Bethlehem

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Apart from some isolated bright spots, the period of the judges was a dark time in Israel’s history when ‘everyone did what was right in his own eyes’ (Judges 21:25). The people then asked for a king and Saul was put on the throne. However, his subsequent drift away from obeying God had severe repercussions both for him and the nation, and led to God looking for another man to be king.

God therefore told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and a man called Jesse ‘for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons’ (16:1). This was a surprising command but Samuel obeyed and in due course organised a selection panel for the new king among the sons of Jesse. The sons passed in front of Samuel. They were impressive young men in their outward appearance. Fit and with fine physique they would soon be serving in Saul’s army but God told Samuel that He had not chosen any of the seven (v10).

Samuel decided to ask Jesse if he had any more sons! David is then remembered. He was out in the fields near Bethlehem tending the sheep. He was brought back and immediately identified as being the chosen one. He, too, was handsome (v12). Crucially, though, he also passed the test of the heart, which was the factor God thought was most important (v7). Samuel anointed this shepherd-boy as king and some time later he would rule the nation.

A thousand years later some insignificant shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem would again be summoned to the town. They, though, would not be anointed as kings but instead would worship the King of Kings. Soon after that some magi from the East would travel to find a king. When inquiring in Jerusalem they would be told, as Samuel was a millennium previously, ‘You will find the King in Bethlehem’.

Further reading:     Matthew 2:1-12      Luke 2:8-20

Worship video:

To think about:
We often believe the lie that we are insignificant. Why not remind yourself of what God thinks about you and that He has chosen you to come like the ‘insignificant’ shepherds to worship the king born in Bethlehem?

Creative response:

Journal page by Bernice

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The Kinsman-Redeemer

Ruth 4:1-22

The story of Ruth is one of the most beautiful in the whole of Scripture and we can only take a brief look at a small part of it.

Elimelech had taken his family to Moab to avoid famine. While there, he and his two sons had died leaving his wife Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah (1:1-5). Naomi decided to return to her land of Judah. Ruth vowed to go with her (1:16-18).

Ruth had very little hope for any sort of future, let alone a fulfilled, secure and happy one. Being a foreigner, she was an outsider. Being a Moabitess, she was a pagan and idolator. Being a widow, she was second-hand goods. Being childless (she had not conceived in nearly 10 years of marriage) she had no future security, either by having a son to care for her or by being a slightly more likely prospect for marriage. She had left everything to return with Naomi. And that included any hopes and dreams she once held.

However, she hadn’t bargained on Boaz! What a man! Chapter 2 describes his character, which was one of towering integrity and generosity even towards a vulnerable foreigner like Ruth. Chapter 3 describes Ruth’s beautiful and surprising marriage proposal to Boaz….and his acceptance! But chapter 4….!

Chapter 4 reveals that Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer. ‘Kinsman’ because he is part of Naomi’s family. ‘Redeemer’ because he had the power to act on behalf of any family member and rescue them from the situation they were in. These potential ‘redemption situations’ varied and included things such as the loss of a spouse, having to sell property for financial reasons or having to sell oneself into slavery in order to survive. In each of these instances the kinsman-redeemer could act, at their own risk and cost, to remedy the situation and restore the person.

That is exactly what Boaz does for Ruth. At risk to his own reputation, wealth and name he marries her in order to continue the family line and in so-doing rescues and redeems Ruth from a life of hopelessness and insecurity to one of hope and fulfilment. Read 4:13-17 - That is redemption!

The parallels between Ruth/Boaz and us/Jesus are astounding! We, like Ruth, were hopeless and helpless destitute foreigners who didn’t belong amongst the people of God (Ephesians 2:19). Jesus was a man from Bethlehem of great (spiritual) wealth which we inherited (see Ephesians 1:7-12). Jesus paid a price to redeem us (Ephesians 1:7). His redemption placed us, like Ruth, in the royal family (compare 4:18-22 and Ephesians 2:19) and we are ‘…justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 3:24).

Further reading:     Ephesians 1:3-14      Ephesians 2:11-22

Worship Video:

To think about:
Read through Ephesians 2:11-22 and list all the benefits we now have as a result of having Christ as our redeemer?

Creative response:

Journal page by Bernice

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Othniel, the Judge

Judges 3:9-11

The book of Judges makes for pretty grim reading. The nation of Israel gets into a cycle of rebellion against God which leads them to idolatry. God then hands them over to other nations as a sign of His judgement and the nation is oppressed by foreign rulers. The people eventually remember God and cry out to Him. He sends a judge to deliver them from their enemies. The nation is then at peace again until the cycle re-runs itself.

Although it is fairly depressing to read of a people who never seem to learn and whose commitment to God seems fleeting at best, the judges do point us to Jesus. To illustrate this we shall look briefly at the first judge, Othniel.

Othniel was the man whom God raised up to deliver the people from the oppression of Cushan-rishathaim (v8). We read that Othniel was filled with the Spirit of God: ‘The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he judged Israel’ (v10). Othniel led the people into battle and they won back their freedom. He demonstrated God-ordained, Spirit-empowered leadership. God sent Othniel to rescue His people from oppression.

The role of the judge was to deliver the nation but then also lead or judge the people in the time of freedom and peace which followed the overthrow of the oppressor. We read in verse 11 that ‘the land had rest [or peace] forty years’. The legacy of Othniel was a generation of peace. A sign of the kingdom of God is peace (Romans 14:17) and so whenever His kingdom breaks out it is accompanied with peace.

Jesus, like Othniel, was sent by God to rescue people from bondage. Jesus did this in the power of the Holy Spirit (e.g. see Luke 4:14). At the end of time Jesus will judge in righteousness the world and usher in an everlasting kingdom of eternal peace.

So when we read of the God-sent, Spirit-filled judges who bring about temporary freedom from bondage and a reign of peace in the nation of Israel why not look for a glimpse of Jesus who will ultimately usher in a kingdom rule of perfect freedom and peace?

Further reading:      Revelation 20:11-21:4

Worship Video:

To think about:
Do you experience God’s peace in your life? Do you take this kingdom peace to others e.g. at work, in school, outside of the church? What does this look like?

Creative Response:

Journal page by Bernice

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Cities of refuge

Joshua 20:1-9

Forty years elapsed as the Israelites wandered around the wilderness until they entered the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua. The land was largely conquered and, following this, divided up into territories that were allocated to each of the tribes (see Joshua chapters 13-21 for details).

Israel then had the task of establishing a God-led nation in their new land. The law which God had entrusted to them during their exodus from Egypt was to be introduced fully, and Godly worship, modelled on the Tabernacle worship, was to be implemented.

Part of the law was the designation of cities of refuge. These were six cities to which someone who had unintentionally killed someone else, the manslayer, could flee for safety (v3). Even though a death was accidental, the shedding of blood meant that the killer was held responsible for the loss of life. Since the law decreed that punishment should be like for like, such as ‘an eye for an eye’, it meant that if someone was killed accidentally their family were within their rights to take the life of the killer.

Joshua 20 describes how the cities of refuge worked. The manslayer could flee to the city, present their case for innocence and be admitted to the city (v4). The cities were located such that every part of the country was within one days’ travel from a city of refuge. The cities were run by the Levites (see Joshua 21) which meant that they were a local centre of worship so that those who had fled could still worship God. The names of cities give some insight into the character of God: Kedesh (meaning holy); Shechem (shoulder see Isaiah 9:6), Hebron (fellowship or unity), Bezer (fortification or stronghold), Ramoth (high or exalted) and Golan (joy or exaltation).

The manslayer was guaranteed safety as long as they remained within the boundaries of the city. However, the law allowed that when the high priest died the person was free to leave (v6).

That is amazing! The death of the high priest provided freedom from the mistake and paid the price for the shed blood. The death of the high priest meant that the killer walked free with no fear of retribution or punishment.

For us, the death of Jesus, the Ultimate High Priest, means that we, too, can walk free from fear of any punishment for any mistake we have made, however serious.

Further reading: Hebrews 7:26-28 Hebrews 9:11-22

Worship Video:

To think about:

In times of trouble is your first instinct to run to God or to sort it out in your own strength?

Creative Response:

Journal page by Bernice

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