READING FOR FEBRUARY 25, 2025: RUTH 3, MATTHEW 17, PSALM 12 RUTH 3 Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz are all remarkable in this chapter, but perhaps the main driver of the action is Naomi. Instead of focusing on her own future, she commits herself to seeking long-term security for her daughter-in-law Ruth. Security in life might mean something else today, but then security for a widow of foreign birth meant marriage. Security in the deepest sense for our children and grandchildren means pointing them to Jesus, who alone provides eternal security: “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).We should take our obligation to our children and grandchildren even more seriously than did Naomi to her daughter-in-law.
Naomi had an excellent grasp of Jewish law/customs as well as being an astute judge of character. She knew that Boaz could qualify as a kindred-redeemer (“If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor that he sells part of his property, then his closest redeemer is to come and buy back what his relative has sold--Lev.25:25) and even as a levirate husband (“the widow of the deceased shall not marry anyone outside the family; but her husband’s brother shall come to her, marrying her and performing the duty of a brother-in-law" Deut. 25:5). It seems her direction for Ruth to lay at Boaz’s feet could have implied submission as in Eph.1: “God placed all things under his [Jesus’s] feet.” The uncovering of Boaz’s feet seemed to be a cultural gesture that Boaz immediately understood as Ruth making herself available for marriage. Naomi’s advice to do what Boaz said suggests confidence based upon on his reputation and her observation of his behavior over time. In these ways, the story becomes of picture of Jesus who, being God, lowered himself to become human like us. This qualified Him to be our kinsman-redeemer. The price to purchase us was paid at the cross. Our observation of His great love and His power over death gives us confidence that we can trust Him with our lives.
MATTHEW 17 As has been mentioned previously, the chapter divisions were not part of the original Bible but were added many centuries later. So, notice the last verse of chapter 16 states “there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.” The very first part of chapter 17 has Jesus taking three of the twelve disciples up the mountain to experience the Transfiguration. This certainly could be the meaning of some of His disciples not tasting death before seeing Jesus coming in His kingdom. Compare descriptions of Jesus in Heaven with Jesus at the Transfiguration:
- Heaven: His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man (Rev. 1: 16-17).
- Transfiguration: He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun... When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified (Matt. 17:2 and 6).
READINGS FOR FEBRUARY 25, 2025 CONTINUED: MATTHEW 17, PSALM 12 Moses and Elijah put in a brief appearance. Perhaps they are meant to affirm Jesus’s connection to the Law and Prophets that He has stated He is upholding and fulfilling. When the overwhelming voice of God the Father emanates from the cloud, there is no doubt who is pre-eminent here: Jesus. Moses and Elijah disappear. God the Father restates his pleasure in His beloved Son. He reminds them to “listen to Him.” I wonder if we could imagine ourselves in this dramatic scene, would we pay more attention each day to Jesus’s commands?
When they return from their mountaintop experience, Jesus again tells his disciples to keep quiet about what happened until Jesus rose again. Again, He believed that giving away too much information now might impede His main mission: the cross. Having just seen Elijah, the disciples asked about the prophecy of Elijah coming before the Messiah. Again, Jesus confirmed that this prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist, not by the literal Elijah’s return.
Jesus was then confronted by a dissatisfied customer, a man whose son could not be healed by His disciples. As with Jesus’s recent visit to Nazareth, this particular failed healing was caused by lack of faith. A word of caution. Although it is important to believe that Jesus can do anything, keep in mind that Job’s miseries were certainly not due to lack of faith. As with Job and his friends, we cannot know God’s plans for us. Consider Joni Eareckson Tada. She has been a person of enormous faith who became a quadriplegic in 1967. Through these decades of both pain and faith, her ministry to those with disabilities has been unmatched. At age 75, she is still going strong for the Lord. What a life!
Finally, we have an encounter between Peter and a local tax collector. Apparently due to some loophole, Jesus and Peter could claim a 100% deduction. Rather than press his rights, Jesus told Peter to pay the tax to not offend the government. This is significant. Many then and now believe Jesus came mainly to liberate the oppressed from repressive leaders. What does Jesus keep hinting his main mission is? Paying the full price on the cross to liberate us from sin.
PSALM 12 David’s lament reminds of a cry by Elijah: "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty... I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too" (1 Kings 19:10). David and Elijah might not have been literally alone, but they were right to bring their feelings to God. Maybe we have felt that way, too, but Jesus alone experienced complete separation from the Father (Matt. 27:46), so that we can always experience God’s presence. Thus Paul, though imprisoned and eventually executed, could honestly claim “nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39). Need a lift? Read Rom. 8:31-39.
