BEING BLESSED, BLESSING OTHERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"

The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"

Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

"May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."

At mealtime, Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."

When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

Ruth 2:5-18

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the start of this second chapter, we saw Ruth heading out to the fields to glean some grain for her and her mother-in-law Naomi. As it ended up, she chose a field that was owned by Boaz who were learned was a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech. And as we examined in yesterday’s message, this turn of events was not by means of any coincidence or luck. Rather, it was all part of God’s plan for Ruth and Boaz as He put both people in the right place, at the right time, to fulfill what He wanted to happen.

Well, as Ruth gleaned, we read where she caught the eye of Boaz who had come to the field and greeted his harvesters in the name of the Lord. The scriptures tell us that he asked the foreman of his harvesters about her and was told that she was “the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi”. The foreman added that she asked to “glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters” and had labored hard, working “steadily from morning” until that moment “except for a short rest in the shelter."

All this piqued Boaz’s interest to the point where he went to Ruth, saying:

“My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."

In response, we read where Ruth “bowed down with her face to the ground” and asked Boaz:

“Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"

Boaz goes on to explain that he had been told about what she had done for her mother-in-law since the death of her husband, knowing about the depth of her sacrifice…about how she left her father and mother and homeland to come and live with people she “did not know before”. And so he wished blessings upon her saying:

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

Humbly, Ruth replied:

“May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord…You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."

And so the stage was set for the Lord to unveil His master plan. Ruth’s loving devotion and kindness towards Naomi had resulted in her being treated likewise for Boaz would ensure that she was taken care of. We read that he allowed her to sit with his harvesters at mealtime and she “ate all she wanted” with “some left over”. And when she got up to continue gleaning, we see where Boaz gave his men orders to allow her to gather “among the sheaves” and to “pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up”. In other words, Boaz made arrangements for Ruth to get more than just scraps as she “gleaned in the field until evening” before she “threshed the barley she had gathered (about an ephah) and “carried it back to town” to Naomi, who Ruth gave “what she had left over after she had eaten enough.”

Again, we see the kind of person Ruth was…loving, kind, sharing, and unselfish…the kind of person that God would love for all of us to be. In her, we see how He honors those who embody the principles of selflessness and caring for others…the same principles that would be central to His Son Jesus who He would send to teach, heal, love, and ultimately save all of mankind…surrendering His life so others might live…freely surrendering His earthly life to gain victory over death so that we could too one day when He returns.

In Ruth’s story, we see her dedicating herself to Naomi, her mother-in-law, leaving everything behind in Moab through the process, and in return, God sends Boaz to her…a man who would bless her now and later.

Indeed, just as Ruth had watched over Naomi…now Boaz, a man of the Lord, was watching over them both.

Brothers and sisters, we would be well served to try and be more like Ruth in our lives for as we see, she embodies many of the qualities we find in our Savior Jesus. In fact, when we strive to live as Christ did, then we will find ourselves behaving as Ruth did, seeking to bless others first and foremost each and every day we’re given. For when we live a life that selflessly places others first before ourselves, we find that the Lord takes care of our needs while we’re doing so, without us even having to worry or care about it. He has, is, and always will provide to make sure we are free to do what He wants us to do, when He wants us to do it. And like we see with Ruth and Boaz, this leads us to bless others just as He blesses us in life…and there’s no better life to live than that.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

THE LORD WILL PUT YOU WHERE HE WANTS YOU

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor."

Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter."

So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The Lord be with you!"

"The Lord bless you!" they called back.

Ruth 2:1-4

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the end of Ruth, chapter 1, we saw where Naomi and Ruth had arrived back in Bethlehem, a town in the Israelite region of Judah. You’ll recall that they had returned there from Moab because Naomi had heard how the Lord had provided His people with food in the midst of a terrible famine that had struck the land.

So once in Bethlehem, we see chapter 2 beginning with Ruth asking permission from Naomi to “go to the fields” so to “pick up” the “leftover grain” from “behind anyone in whose eyes” she would “find favor." Known as gleaning, this process was popular in Old Testament times as those who were less fortunate and struggling for food to eat would be allowed to collect grain, fruit, or vegetables that had been left behind by harvesters. In the case of Ruth, the scriptures tell us that she was targeting leftover grain.

Now we read where Naomi still had family in Bethlehem, ”a relative on her husband's side from the clan of Elimelech” who was “a man of standing” by the name of Boaz. And after Naomi gave Ruth her consent to go to the fields, we see where she “went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters”. We should note that she didn’t look for any specific field that was owned by a certain person. A Moabite, she was a complete stranger in Bethlehem and so she simply looked for a good place to glean to provide food for herself and Naomi.

Well, as it turned out, Ruth “found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz”…yes, the same Boaz who was Naomi’s relative “from the clan of Elimelech”, her deceased husband. We further learn that Boaz was a man of the Lord for he greets his harvesters by saying:

"The Lord be with you!"

To which they replied:

“The Lord bless you!"

Indeed, the Lord was blessing Ruth and she even wasn’t aware of it yet.

Now, one could maybe say that Ruth ended up in the field of Boaz simply by luck but when it comes to God, we know He doesn’t operate on the principle of chance, does He? No, God had Ruth right where He wanted her to be…and the same applied to Boaz as we will see.

Friends, this is something we all need to remember for our Lord does the same with us. He puts us where He wants us to be so He can carry out His will in our lives...in, through, and around us.

Indeed, we never need to worry whether we are in the right place in the right time. We only need to submit our lives fully to the Lord, allowing Him to lead and guide us. For when we do this, we can always rest assured we’ll never be going in the wrong direction because we’ll be moving as He wants us to move to do what He wants us to do.

Speaking for myself, this is what makes so very exciting every day. For although I have no idea what any day holds, I do know that God holds my future in His hands, now and forever. I am in His hands and care every second of every minute of every hour of every day in God’s hands and this assurance keeps me knowing and trusting He’ll fill my days with His will, way, and purpose.

Given that, I can always look back at the end of the day and give thanks and praise, no matter what has happened, because He was walked with me through it all. Often times, that praise is around good things I have been able to do for others after He put me in position to do so, using an ordinary person like me to do something extraordinary in His name.

As I close, my hope is that you can see God moving in the same rhythm in your life, all because you surrendered your life to Him so He could put you where He wanted you to be, to do what He wanted you to do. For it’s there…in that place…that we find the true joy and value in this life as we continue to step toward the eternal one yet to come.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

CALL ME BLESSED

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

Ruth 1:19-22

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the beginning of Ruth, Chapter 1, we see where a Judean woman, Naomi, experiences terrible tragedy after her husband relocates their family to Moab during a time of famine. Once in Moab, her husband, Elimelech, passes away and leaves her to care for their two sons who also die soon after marrying two Moabite girls.

You’ll remember that this series of tragic deaths left Naomi facing a life of loneliness without her husband and sons. And not wishing that her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, would experience hardship as well, she urges them to return to their families in Moab so they at least could reestablish their lives by remarrying. We saw where Orpah decided to return home but Ruth refused to leave Naomi alone, willing to leave her family, culture, and religion behind in exchange for Naomi’s Israelite customs and God.

Well, as this first chapter ends, we see Naomi and Ruth arriving in Bethlehem “as the barley harvest was beginning”. You’ll recall that Naomi decided to return to Judah in the first place because she had heard that the “Lord had come to the aid of His people by providing food for them” (Ruth 1:6). The scriptures tell us that the arrival of Naomi and Ruth resulted in the “whole town (being) stirred because of them” with the women exclaiming:

“Can this be Naomi?"

Obviously, they were surprised to have seen her arrive alone without her family and we can feel the sorrow and grief Naomi was experiencing in her reply as she told the women:

“Don't call me Naomi…Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

Through her words, we see clearly that Naomi is blaming God for her troubles.

It was He who had made her life bitter.

It was He who had brought her back empty.

It was He who had He afflicted her.

And it was He who had brought misfortune upon her.

Naomi’s attitude was understandable and unmistakably human, actually not uncommon even from the most firm believers. But it was also short-sighted, unwise, and disrespectful towards the Lord.

For although we serve a God of great power and wonder and miracles, we also serve a God who has never assured us that we will live a worldly life forever. In fact, He never guarantees any of us how long we will live.

The truth of the matter is that every single person belongs to God. Period. He is the One who dictates all terms of life…when someone is born and when that life will end. Only He knows how long anyone will remain alive in His earthly kingdom and we have no place dictating terms to Him or criticizing Him for what He does in His perfect way and in His perfect time.

Friends, this only underscores the importance of valuing the time we have with one another while we have it…because it isn’t going to last forever. And when we treasure our relationships with others the right way…seeing them as time-limited but true blessings from God…then we can handle loss differently because we see every day we are allowed to spend with someone as a gift, something to be celebrated in life and after death.

Maybe…just maybe…if Naomi would have had that kind of perspective on her life and the relationship she had with her husband and sons, she would have spoken differently to the women in Bethlehem. Maybe she would have told them that they shouldn’t call her Naomi but instead call her “Blessed” because the Lord had made her life so joyful, giving her a husband and two sons. Yes, she had gone away full and came back empty but at least she had a family to love and live with. Many women might never get that opportunity. And even with the deaths of her loved ones, Naomi could have seen herself as not truly being alone because the Lord had blessed her with such a loving, caring daughter-in-law who vowed to stay by her side.

Yes…Naomi had endured great affliction, misfortune, and emotional pain but the Lord was always with her through those difficult times. As we will see, His plan was in progress for Naomi and He would soon show her that He was the source of her strength all along. Indeed, soon she will change her stance on life, seeing and proclaiming that she should be called “Blessed”.

Still, in the moment, Naomi was in a place of negativity and instead of providing what could have been an inspiring testimony of great faith in God to the women of Bethlehem, instead she only focused on her bitterness and complained about her circumstances, squandering her chance to witness about the Lord’s goodness, even in the midst of difficulty.

Friends, it’s easy to grumble and whine about our life circumstances. We all could easily adopt a Naomi-like attitude and ask others to call us “Mara”, blaming a bitter life experience on the Lord.

And too often, we do just that.

And so my prayer today is that we try and learn from Naomi’s mistake and commit ourselves to remaining faithful to the Lord, no matter what happens in life. For the truth of the matter is that He never changes and He is perfect in every way, and this includes His goodness and willingness to want the best for those who love Him (Romans 8:28). When we truly grasp this, then and only then will we be able to consistently tell others to just call us “Blessed”…because that’s what we are no matter what.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

LOYAL, FAITHFUL, DEVOTED, AND LOVING…LIKE CHRIST

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

When she heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of His people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law, she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.

Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."

Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."

But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me — even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons - would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!"

At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

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

Ruth 1:1-18

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Throughout our study of the Book of Judges, we didn’t exactly see the nation of Israel at their best…not by a long shot. Instead, we saw a people who chose to turn away from their God over and over again, leading Him to discipline them through defeat from their enemies and the oppression that followed. We also saw Israel’s tribes at odds with one another, particularly at the end of the book when the Israelites went to war with one of their own, the tribe of Benjamin with extremely damaging results.

And so after all that, we maybe find ourselves yearning for some better news from the scriptures. Thank goodness we find just that in the Book of Ruth.

As the first chapter opens, we learn that the events of the book take place as a famine had struck the land “in the days when the judges ruled”. It’s during that time that we’re introduced to “a man from Bethlehem in Judah” named Elimelech who “together with his wife”, Naomi, and “two sons”, Mahlon and Kilion, “went to live for a while in the country of Moab”...and it was there that we see where tragedy struck the family.

For we read that “Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died” and left her widowed “with her two sons” who went onto marry “Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth”. The sons and their wives, along with Naomi, “lived there about ten years” before death once again came knocking at their door, this time claiming the lives of Mahlon and Kilion.

This latest loss left Naomi not only without a husband but no sons as well. She now had no support and this would condemn her to struggle terribly in her later years.

Well, the scriptures tells us that Naomi heard how “the Lord had come to the aid of His people by providing food for them,” and so she decided to return to Israel with her two daughters-in-law. They set out “on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah” and as they began their journey, we see where Naomi showing concern for Orpah and Ruth, saying this:

“Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband."

Here we find Naomi displaying amazing selflessness through her words for she showed a willingness to endure isolation and loneliness rather than keep her daughters-in-law from missing out on the chance to remarry and establish new lives for themselves. As we see, her words definitely had a big impact.

First, we witness the deep love that Orpah and Ruth had for her. For as she “kissed them”, they “wept aloud” and refused to leave her saying:

“We will go back with you to your people."

Despite this, we find Naomi once again encouraging them to leave her saying:

“Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me — even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons - would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand has gone out against me!"

Again, we see through her own words how Naomi loved her two daughters-in-law…so much so that she wanted them to move on, despite their insistence to remain. Still, she left the choice up to them.

Well, although still weeping over the matter, Orpah decides to return to Moab and her family, leaving Naomi as she requested. She “kissed her mother-in-law good-by” and departed but Ruth was still not willing to go. We read where she “clung to” Naomi and refused to leave despite Naomi’s urging:

“Look…your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."

In response to this, we see why Ruth is such an amazing figure in the Old Testament and Bible at large. For in an amazing display of love and loyalty she replied:

"Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

And with that, the scriptures tell us that “Naomi realized that Ruth was determined” to stay with her and so she “stopped urging her” to go.

In our introduction to Ruth, we see an amazing person…a person I feel we could (and should) strive to be like. For in her, we see the model of many awesome qualities…qualities that will bring us closer to the righteousness and holiness the Lord expects if we put them into practice as she did.

First, Ruth modeled loyalty.

Naomi clearly spelled out what her daughters-in-law would miss out on if they remained with her. For at her advanced age, she wouldn’t be able to bear any more children even if she had a husband to bear them for. And yet, Ruth wasn’t willing to give to abandon her, even if it meant sacrificing her own desires.

Loyalty means staying true to someone, no matter what the circumstances. In Ruth, we see loyalty in the purest sense, a spirit of loyalty we need to exhibit in our relationship with the Lord.

Next, we can see where Ruth also modeled faith.

She didn’t know what would lie ahead for herself as she went back to Judah. She would be in the midst of different people within a different culture that worshipped a different god from the gods she had been accustomed to.

And yet she vowed to go forward anyways…willing to make Naomi’s people her new people and Naomi’s God her new God. In Ruth, we see a confidence and optimism that somehow, someway, things were going to work out and be okay.

The world might call her courageous but the Lord would see her as a woman stepping out on faith.

Finally, we see where Ruth modeled devotion and love in their deepest sense.

For she loved Naomi so much that she was willing to put her life aside to ensure her mother-in-law would have companionship…someone who could fill the void left by the loss of her husband and sons.

In Ruth, we see where true devotion and love for another often means sacrifice. And given her amazing modeling of all the aforementioned qualities, it’s little wonder why she would become only one of four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. For if we think about it, her actions were a foreshadowing of what people would see in Jesus when He would come down from Heaven to earth.

In Him, we see how devotion and love require sacrifice, and in His case, the ultimate sacrifice as He willingly surrendered His life on the cross of Calvary.

Indeed, the Book of Ruth is a like a breath of fresh air within the Old Testament. In her, we see someone we can aspire to be like as believers today…someone who was loyal, faithful, loving, and devoted…someone who reminds us of Christ.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

FUNCTION FROM DYSFUNCTION

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The men of Israel had taken an oath at Mizpah: "Not one of us will give his daughter in marriage to a Benjamite."

The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly. "O Lord, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"

Early the next day, the people built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings.

Then the Israelites asked, "Who from all the tribes of Israel has failed to assemble before the Lord ?" For they had taken a solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah should certainly be put to death.

Now the Israelites grieved for their brothers, the Benjamites. "Today one tribe is cut off from Israel," they said. "How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?" Then they asked, "Which one of the tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly. For when they counted the people, they found that none of the people of Jabesh Gilead were there.

So the assembly sent twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children. "This is what you are to do," they said. "Kill every male and every woman who is not a virgin." They found among the people living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan.

Then the whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon. So the Benjamites returned at that time and were given the women of Jabesh Gilead who had been spared. But there were not enough for all of them.

The people grieved for Benjamin, because the Lord had made a gap in the tribes of Israel. And the elders of the assembly said, "With the women of Benjamin destroyed, how shall we provide wives for the men who are left? The Benjamite survivors must have heirs," they said, "so that a tribe of Israel will not be wiped out. We can't give them our daughters as wives, since we Israelites have taken this oath: 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite.' But look, there is the annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh, to the north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, and to the south of Lebonah."

So they instructed the Benjamites, saying, "Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'"

So that is what the Benjamites did. While the girls were dancing, each man caught one and carried her off to be his wife. Then they returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them.

At that time, the Israelites left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance.

In those days, Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

Judges 21

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Judges, chapter 20 came to a close, we saw the aftermath of a bloody civil war between the Israelites and one of their own, the tribe of Benjamin. You’ll remember that there great losses on both sides, more so for the Benjamites as all their women were killed in the battle leaving the remaining men with no one to marry. This would essentially mean tribal extinction as there would be no children to form the next generation. As we move to chapter 21, we see this legitimate concern being addressed.

For we see in our scripture passage where the Israelite people are despondent after the war for their men had taken an oath at Mizpah to never give a daughter in marriage to a Benjamite. With the tribe now having no women, we read where the “people went to Bethel” and “sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly, saying:

“O Lord, the God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"

They then “built an altar and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings” the next day, continuing to grieve and cry out to God with this:

“Today one tribe is cut off from Israel…How can we provide wives for those who are left, since we have taken an oath by the Lord not to give them any of our daughters in marriage?"

The situation was a sticky one, no doubt, but it’s very interesting that we first saw the Israelites bent on destroying the people of Benjamin only to now be so concerned about the tribe’s survival. This highlighted just how dysfunctional the nation of Israel became as they did what they saw fit…and unfortunately this would only be the beginning.

In thinking about this in terms of present times, I couldn’t help but see just how dysfunctional families can be as well. In fact, there are probably very few families out there who aren’t dealing with internal issues of some kind, some worse than others. I know mine has qualified.

What we discover within this is that there is always ample space for prayer within any family framework…prayers for peace and reconciliation and cooperation and, of course, love.

Well, Israel obviously thought about the matter at hand after the war with the tribe of Benjamin and arrived at a viable solution. They would go after a tribe who “failed to assemble before the Lord” for there had been a “solemn oath” taken that “anyone who failed to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah should certainly be put to death”. And after inquiring about what tribe failed to assemble before the Lord, the Israelites “discovered that no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the assembly”.

This led the Israelite assembly  to send “twelve thousand fighting men with instructions to go to Jabesh Gilead and put to the sword those living there, including the women and children”. All were to be killed except for the virgin women.

Why?

Because those virgin women would be given to the Benjamite men so that they could produce offspring that would ensure tribal survival.

And so we read where the Israelites went against Jabesh Gilead and carried out their obligation under the solemn oath, imposing the death penalty for failing to assemble before the Lord at Mizpah. During the raid, the Israelites found “four hundred young women who had never slept with a man” and “took them to the camp at Shiloh in Canaan”.

Now, we should note that the Benjamites were completely unaware of what their fellow Israelites were doing. And so after acquiring the virgin women from Jabesh Gilead, the “whole assembly sent an offer of peace to the Benjamites at the rock of Rimmon”, leading to the Benjamites returning. They were then given the virgin women “who had been spared”.

In the end translation, seeds of reconciliation had been sown and it appeared the family of Israel was back on proper terms with one another. But there was still one problem that remained. For the four hundred virgin women from Jabesh Gilead were less than what was needed to provide each Benjamite man with a wife.

And so we find the Israelites return to their grieving, still deeply distressed that all the Benjamites would not have heirs. This problem was further exasperated because the Israelites couldn’t give up their own daughters because they had taken the oath not to do so. A second plan was needed to fix the problem and this plan came together as the  “annual festival of the Lord in Shiloh” took place for it would make the “girls of Shiloh” available to the remaining wife-less Benjamites.

We see where the Israelites “instructed the Benjamites” to do the following:

“Go and hide in the vineyards and watch. When the girls of Shiloh come out to join in the dancing, then rush from the vineyards and each of you seize a wife from the girls of Shiloh and go to the land of Benjamin. When their fathers or brothers complain to us, we will say to them, 'Do us a kindness by helping them, because we did not get wives for them during the war, and you are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'"

The scriptures tell us that the Benjamites did just what the Israelites told them to do with each man catching a girl at Shiloh and carrying her off to be his wife. Afterwards, they “returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and settled in them”. Through some shrewd thinking and maneuvering, the problem had been solved with peace being restored within the nation of Israel. For we read where the Israelite people “left that place and went home to their tribes and clans, each to his own inheritance”.

So what can we take away from this passage today?

First, we need to realize that there is always the potential for dysfunction in families and be ready to deal with those dysfunctions when they occur.

Second, there’s always potential to rebound from our errors against a family member.

If Israel could have gone back and done things differently, then probably wouldn’t have wiped out all of the Benjamite women and children. In fact, they may have not wiped out all of the men either had they just stopped for a moment and considered what they were doing. Instead, they let their rage over the concubine’s rape get the best of them and instead of demanding justice over just those who perpetrated the act, then they wouldn’t have held the entire tribe accountable.

As for their part in the conflict, the Benjamites weren’t free of blame either. For when Israel asked only for the men who had committed the crime, all they had to do was hand them over. Their decision not to only inflamed what was already a tense and angry matter which resulted in needless bloodshed and loss of lives on both sides.

With this, we need to keep in mind that the way we respond and react to family matters, particularly wrongs that may have been committed against us, can either move the issues at hand toward resolution or further conflict, often time with dire consequences.

We should learn from this story and see that it’s far more beneficial and less damaging to just seek a path to reconciliation.

Third, we should always seek to move toward peace…preferably before things get too bad. Israel extended peace to the Benjamites…but only after they destroyed them. As I said, it would have been so much better had they tried to patch things up sooner. Ditto for the Benjamites.

We need to see that the sooner we move toward peace and resolution, the better.

Finally, and this is of the utmost importance, we should always seek God first when we are in the midst of a dysfunctional situation, seeking His perfect guidance so we can be sure we’re proceeding in accordance with His will. And we should do this even if the people we’re at odds with don’t do so themselves.

As we navigate these dysfunctional waters within our families, we need to do so remembering that the only glimpse that people sometimes get of the Lord is through us…through our actions and our words. This is why we need to let the Lord lead us and dictate what we do. For only He can bring function to dysfunction…peace to turmoil…and love to hate. All we need to do is to surrender to His way, understanding it is always better than our own.

Thanks be to the Lord for how He is the divine voice of reason in all matters…no matter how unreasonable they might seem.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.