Early the next morning Boaz went to the city gate. During this time in many cities, the gate complex was the center of social life, and legal judgments were often rendered there. Before Boaz would be able to perform his role as the kinsman-redeemer of Naomi and Ruth, a legal proceeding would be required.
As Ruth approached the house, Naomi inquired as to whether or not the initiative had been successful. Naomi’s question meant are you one dishonored by rejection or one protected as a wife? Ruth then told her mother-in-law all that had taken place and the generous gift of the barley signaled Boaz’s favorable disposition toward the two women.
Ruth was industrious, and she was certainly not afraid to work. She politely requested consent from her mother-in-law to go out into the fields where the barley was being harvested. Perhaps there she would find a land owner that would allow her to follow behind the harvesters picking up the stalks that they might leave behind lying on the ground.
As they drew near, the women of Bethlehem thought they recognized Naomi, and she instructed them to call her Mara, which means bitter. Naomi blamed her misfortune on the Lord. When she left Bethlehem, Naomi had been living a full life. She had a husband and two sons. God, however, it seemed had brought her back empty and witnessed against her.
The Philistine lords took note of the attraction that Samson had for Delilah. They promised to pay her eleven hundred pieces of silver if she could discover the secret of Samson’s strength. Their intention was to overpower Samson and then torment him, and the Philistines would stop at nothing.
Manoah panicked believing that he and his wife would die because they had seen God. His wife reasoned that if God had intended to kill them he would not have accepted the sacrifice. As promised, the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson. The Lord blessed him, and the Spirit began to stir in him.
God delights in teaching his people absolute dependence on him. The Lord spoke to Gideon on the eve of battle and told him that his army was too large. If the battle was won with such a large force, the Israelites might attribute victory to their own power.
Gideon begins to realize that the one with whom he was speaking was no ordinary person, so he raised a question about the wisdom of God’s choice. Gideon saw his family as being the least in the tribe of Manasseh, and he was the youngest in his family. He felt that he lacked both influence and maturity.
We are introduced to a woman named Deborah who received direct revelation from the Lord, who enabled her to interpret the past, give direction in the present and announce the future. Evidently, Deborah had a regular spot under a palm tree between Ramah and Bethel where she held court and judged Israel.
A new generation establishes a pattern of not obeying God and doing what they felt was right which provoked the LORD to anger, and he gave them over to their enemies. While the people were suffering, God would raise up judges to rescue them. However, after a judge died the people returned to faithlessness, disobedience and idolatry.
God is always exclusive, and he does not share his glory with anyone. The people of Israel had to choose whom they would serve. Joshua left no question as to where he and his family stood on this issue. They would serve God. The assembly responded in a determined way.
The plan was simple. The Israelite army was to march around the walls of Jericho every day for six days while seven priests escorted the Ark in that procession. On the seventh day, the Israelite troops would repeat this march seven times around the walls and then the priests would blow the trumpets and the people would shout.
After crossing the river, God told Joshua to have twelve men pick up twelve stones from the place where the priests had stood in the midst of the riverbed. They were to carry these stones to the lodging place on the western bank and assemble them as a monument. Those stones would be a “sign” and a monument to precipitate inquiries from future generations.
Perhaps Joshua was filled with some apprehension about succeeding Moses at the age of ninety. Moses, who was still strong at the time of his death, said that he struggled to lead the people. God spoke to Joshua, who was to be the new intermediary for Israel. God encouraged Joshua, which must have bolstered his confidence.
Moses reminds the people that he would not be leading them across Jordan but to be of good cheer because the Lord would still lead them, and Joshua would be their leader. Moses charges Joshua before the entire nation and urges him to be strong and courageous.
Emboldened by the divine response, Moses requests to see God's glory. This is the formative principle of all that Moses will do. God hid Moses in a cave, passed by, and permitted a glimpse of the divine.
We are a people that quickly forget what God has done and revise history to move in directions that are comfortable. The people were not sure if they would ever see Moses again. After all, he had been in the flaming, cloud-covered mountain for forty days without food or water.
A holy and righteous God must by nature have holy and righteous standards. Therefore, the attitude of those who would draw near to God should be one of humility and reverence for we are sinners in the presence of a holy and righteous God. We should make every effort to live as he requires, enabled by the Holy Spirit.
When Moses stretched out his staff over the sea, the waters parted. The text tells us that the Lord used a strong east wind to drive the waters back all the night, that the path through the sea was dry land, and that a wall of water was on the left and right-hand side of that path. Not only does Israel cross on the dry ground, but the Egyptians, who drive their chariots along the dry path through the Red Sea, suddenly find themselves submerged beneath the waves of the sea as God brings the wall of water crashing back down into its course.
Exodus twelve is so important that God institutes a new calendar beginning with the observation of Israel’s redemption. This is important because of the inauguration of the Festival of Passover. This is when God led his people out of their slavery in Egypt.