Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our “green room.”  It was so good having her back.

B.B. said, “Stinker, do you know what I like about Ruth?”

I huffed, “B.B., I have no idea.”

B.B. replied, “I feel like I am like Ruth.  It wasn’t that I was an atheist or an agnostic when I joined the Turtle Team.  I just had no clue.  Religion and belief were things that never came up between my mother and me.  If I had a god, it was my ambition to succeed, in front of the camera and behind it.  Then, I was a fill-in person for a month and by the end of that month, it was like I was saying, ‘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 even death separates you and me.’ (Ruth 1:16b-17).  Sure, I said the salvation prayer, but in my heart, these words are what I was feeling at that moment.  I am so glad we are studying this book today.”

I asked, “And you have lived by those words ever since.  You have stayed with the Turtle Team in one capacity or another and you have stayed faithful to God.  But have you and Joseph decided on a name?”

B.B. said, “Please, Stinker, I am in my last trimester, just starting it, and we do not have a clue!”

I shrugged, “Pray.  You will figure it out.”

A familiar voice from the center stall, “I have a great idea for a name.”

B.B. laughed, “Arabella, what do you suggest?”

The stall door opened and Arabella washed her hands, “Juniper.  It could be June for short.  Juniper Jones has a little ring to it.  It is mentioned several times in the Bible.  Along with cedar, it was used in the building of Solomon’s temple.  It is evergreen and flowering.  Their cones look like little berries.”

I snickered, “B.B., Fireball gave a great idea, but what if it’s a boy?  Aunt Pink’s Joon would get confused regardless.  Joon’s name means talented or handsome in Korean.  He should be named something that means laughter.  He is such a happy kid.”

B.B. groaned, “Belle, you have a great idea, but the decision has to be jointly made with my husband, and I still need a boy’s name.”

Arabella shrugged. “Can’t help you there!”  With that, Belle was gone.

I said, “Wait!  Belle talked about Juniper like she was an expert, but she’s into animals.  Belle acts goofy, but I think it’s an act.  She’s a smart cookie.”

B.B. moaned, “Stinker, don’t say, cookie.  Now I’m hungry.”

I said, “Hang in there, bestie.  Cravings typically wane in the third trimester.”

B.B. replied, “It’s not cravings.  I woke up late and skipped breakfast.  They have donuts laid out at church for the first service, unless Otto brought some for the class.  Will you split one with me.”

I leaned in close and whispered, “Anything for you, B.B.”

She opened the door, and we went to the den, laughing.

Rev. Joseph led us in prayer.

Emmett had the strings and tubulum (just for the beat).  Fred played his trombone softly with a mute.  Menzie sang a solo, and then the other singers joined in the chorus or the bridge. Sorry, I was lost in the music!  They sang and played Woman of Valour ( Eshet Chayil).

I asked, “What?”

Menzie said, “You didn’t know I was multilingual. Okay, as long as I am singing.  I could throw in some Bésame Mucho if you want.  Or Auf Wiedersehen.”

I asked, “How do you know the pronunciation?”

Menzie shrugged, “I talked to a Jewish friend.”

I sighed, “It was beautiful, but what does the Hebrew mean?”

Emmett said, “I have the English lyrics here.”  He passed the lyrics around.

I smiled, “Okay! Let’s move on.”

Samuel asked, “Where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I nodded, “We are looking at the book of Ruth.  We may not see Christophanies in Ruth.  My source shows no cross references to New Testament writings.  Again, like Judges there is probably more foreshadows than Messianic prophecies.  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella nodded eagerly, “Yeah, after what you and B.B. were talking about in the restroom, I am a little confused.  Ruth was from Moab, and they were nasty.  And God did not want the Israelites marrying them.  So, how did Ruth become the great-grandmother of King David?”

Easy smiled, “Let’s take a little trip around the Bible here.  ‘No one born of a forbidden marriage nor any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to pronounce a curse on you. However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.  Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.’ (Deuteronomy 23:2-6).  The King of Moab did this, and we know how Moab and the Ammonites are connected.  ‘So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today.’ (Genesis 19:36-38).  So, the two boys were the product of incest with Abraham’s nephew, but then they intermarried with the locals and accepted their gods.”

Joseph added, “Then Balaam tried to pronounce a curse on Israel several times, blessing them each time.  He was hired by the King of Moab who, like Easy read, refused their entry into the land of Moab.  Balaam showed the Moabites how they could get the Israelites to curse themselves. ‘While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods.  The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.
The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the Lord’s fierce anger may turn away from Israel.”
So Moses said to Israel’s judges, “Each of you must put to death those of your people who have yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor.”
Then an Israelite man brought into the camp a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear into both of them, right through the Israelite man and into the woman’s stomach. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.’ (Numbers 25:1-9).  So, that is why the Israelites were not to marry Moabites.”

Mary (B.B.) added, “This might explain why Elimelek, Mahlon, and Kilion all died.  Elimelek abandoned his birthright during a famine.  Then Mahlon and Kilion married Moabite women. But then Ruth said, ‘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 even death separates you and me.’ (Ruth 1:16b-17).  With that confession, I am thinking that God no longer saw Ruth as a Moabitess, just like Boaz’s mother, Rahab.  When the spies came to Jericho, Rahab helped the spies because she knew the Israelite God was the true God.”

Arabella reddened, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.  And thank you Pastor Joseph and the not so much of a virgin Mary.”  Mary growled.  Arabella asked, “I guess we can go now!  Doesn’t this cover the lesson?”

I growled.  “No, Fireball, sit down.  We must clear up why Ruth was gleaning in a field belonging to Boaz.  And this entire kinsmen redeemer thing.”

Paddy (Deuteronomy 24:19-22) “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.”

Paddy said, ”This is God’s way of letting the poor and the needy get their food.  They had to work for it, but their was a system, until a greedy farmer got too greedy.”

Gordo said, “So, you are telling me that when my Dad had me climb everyone of those pecan trees to shake the big limbs near the top, I was not doing what God wanted me to do?”

Julia smiled, “My man!  Not only is he an alien from far, far away, he’s a little bit of a bad boy.”

I said, “Gordo, don’t worry about it.  That’s the way they did it in those days.  If everyone agreed and the farmers were making a good living, it might be a nice thing to do, but you did not have hungry people waiting on you to walk to the next row and shake limbs.  At least, I guess not.”  Gordo shook his head.

Hannah (Ruth 2:2-9, Luther Bible) “Und Ruth, die Moabitin, sprach zu Naemi: Laß mich aufs Feld gehen und Ähren auflesen dem nach, vor dem ich Gnade finde. Sie aber sprach zu ihr: Gehe hin, meine Tochter.
Sie ging hin, kam und las auf, den Schnittern nach, auf dem Felde. Und es begab sich eben, daß dasselbe Feld war des Boas, der von dem Geschlecht Elimelechs war.
Und siehe, Boas kam eben von Bethlehem und sprach zu den Schnittern: Der HERR mit euch! Sie antworteten: Der HERR segne dich!
Und Boas sprach zu seinem Knechte, der über die Schnitter gestellt war: Wes ist die Dirne?
Der Knecht, der über die Schnitter gestellt war, antwortete und sprach: Es ist die Dirne, die Moabitin, die mit Naemi wiedergekommen ist von der Moabiter Lande.
Denn sie sprach: Laßt mich doch auflesen und sammeln unter den Garben, den Schnittern nach; und ist also gekommen und dagestanden vom Morgen an bis her und bleibt wenig daheim.
Da sprach Boas zu Ruth: Hörst du es, meine Tochter? Du sollst nicht gehen auf einen andern Acker, aufzulesen, und gehe auch nicht von hinnen, sondern halte dich zu meinen Dirnen.
Und siehe, wo sie schneiden im Felde, da gehe ihnen nach. Ich habe meinen Knechten geboten, daß dich niemand antaste. Und so dich dürstet, so gehe hin zu dem Gefäß und trinke von dem, was meine Knechte schöpfen.”

Hannah smiled, “And now in English.”

Hannah (Ruth 2:2-9) “And Ruth the Moabite 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, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here 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 the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.””

I said, “See, Jochebed!  You started this.”

Hannah laughed, “I grew up not far from here and I never read the Bible unless it was the Luther Bible.  But this is the start of the love story of Ruth.  Just after this passage, Boaz says that he had heard of her coming home with Naomi and how she had a servant’s heart in tending to Naomi’s needs.  He would protect her as long as she gleaned in his fields.

Irusya (Leviticus 25:25-28) ““‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold. If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means to redeem it themselves, they are to determine the value for the years since they sold it and refund the balance to the one to whom they sold it; they can then go back to their own property. But if they do not acquire the means to repay, what was sold will remain in the possession of the buyer until the Year of Jubilee. It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property.”

Irusya said, “I wish I had a Latvian Bible.  But this Scripture talks about a poor man redeeming his property.  If he cannot redeem the property, it returns to him in the Year of the Jubilee.”

I smiled, “Yes, it sets up the concept of the kinsman who redeems the property.  But now, let’s get to the widow for a case where there is no male heir left.”

Elroy (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.”

Elroy said, “So, like Judah and his sons with Tamar in Genesis 38.  The next closest relative would act as the redeemer.  So, he would take his dead brother’s wife to bed to produce a son who would inherit his dead brother’s land.”

I smiled, “That is right, Elroy.  So, this is the land belonging to Elimelek that was not redeemed by any male relative because there was none.  It would have gone to Ruth’s husband, but he was also dead.  But, what was the response that Boaz made on the threshing floor?”

Bart (Ruth 3:11-13) “And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.””

Bart said, “There is a snag in Naomi’s plan.  There is someone else who is closer to Elimelek than Boaz.”

Tamara (Ruth 4:5-9) “Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon.””

Tamara said, “Ruth did not spit in the guy’s face.  I guess it did not matter since the result was she got to marry Boaz.  But they did meet in the public square just like Deuteronomy said.  But what does this have to do with Jesus?”

I snickered, “I like a straight man, … ummm … woman.  I will read Job 19:25, ‘I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.’

“Jesus is our redeemer.  He is our kinsman-redeemer in that God the Father adopts us into the family and Jesus is our brother.  We can go through the New Testament and find where He calls His disciples brothers and sisters.  Can anyone think of one?” I asked.

Easy barely lifted his head (Luke 8:21) ” He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.’”

I said, “Thank you, Sweetie.  That was just the verse I was looking for.”

I smiled, “So, is Ruth a love story?  Yes, but it is more.  Is it a love story that affects the bloodline of Jesus?  Yes, it proves that even the hated tribe of Moab, that the people were told to avoid, could be redeemed.  Where is it written that Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean?”

Emmett smiled, “An old Gospel song, Yes, I know.  It is based on ‘But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.’ (1 John 1:7).”

I smiled, “Wow! I woke up my husband and our music director in the same class!”

Easy and Emmett said, “We were awake, Honest!”

“But before we close,” I added. “Obed was not just any baby.  He became the grandfather of King David.  Arabella started with that.  I thought we needed a reminder.”

Aunt Pink burst into the room, “Wait!  I am glad I caught you before you left for the buses.  I am a grandmother three times over.  Poached and Callie are not part of this class, but they are related to some of you.  Zuzka and Otto were there.  I am here to announce the birth of Blue Heron Yeggs.  They will call him Blue, and they are sticking to bird names in the Everglades.  They already have Scarlet Ibis Yeggs.  Please, do not call the next one ‘Loon’.  Mother and baby boy are in great shape.  Poached got a bump on the head when he passed out.  Just kidding, but I had to throw that in.  And while I am here, our plant manager at the CRAGS in Washington state delivered a little girl yesterday, Marcia Hill.  I think she was going for Mount Marcy, the highest point in New York state.  When you pray, beg God to not let her try for every highest point in every state.  That’s all I have.  How do you end the class?”

Grannie Fannie suggested, “Let Mommie Pinkie, or should it be Grannie Pinkie say the benediction.”

Aunt Pink (Galatians 6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

Wilma and Arabella yelled, “Congratulations, Grannie Pinkie!”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

But then, I heard Joseph and Mary talking. Joseph said, “Let’s pray about it, but I like Phinehas for a boy’s name.”

Mary nodded, “Anything is better than Indiana Jones. And Arabella gave me a girl’s name, Juniper. We can pray about it, but at least we have a name rather than ‘Name to be Determined Later.'”

Brooke picked up Stormie as usual.  She talked to Stormie all the way.  Stormie laughed.

Credits

I start with a study guide by Marilyn Hickey called Seeing Jesus.  But she does not discuss Christophanies.  And I also did a search for prophecies and got a slightly different list.

Here is Woman of Valour ( Eshet Chayil) from Timeless Hebrew Tunes

Here is Yes, I Know sung by the Gaither Vocal Band (Marshall Hall, Wes Hampton, Guy Penrod, and Bill Gaither).

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.