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Category Archives: Mothers of the Bible

Parents of the Bible — The parents who asked Jesus to pray for and bless their children

13 Mar

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.” And he placed his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.
Matthew 19:13-15

Dear God, I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever looked at this story from the perspective of the parents before. In church, we’ve usually taken this as a story about the disciples and their short-sightedness. We’ve also looked at Jesus’s perspective on children. But what about these parents who didn’t really want anything specific from Jesus. No healings. No instruction even. I don’t know if the laying on of hands and blessing someone was common for rabbis to do in that time. Maybe it was.

I was just reading a commentary to see if I could get an answer to that last question when I saw this point made. Matthew chose to build this story in a way that shows Jesus’s attitude towards marriage and divorce as well as how he feels about the products of marriage–children. All is sacred. All is holy. All is worthy.

But going back to the parents, I wonder what drove them to do this. There were undoubtedly part of the crowds that were following Jesus around. Maybe some of them got the idea together. Maybe some of them just wanted their child to be touched by Jesus. Maybe it was an excuse for some of them to get that close to Jesus themselves. Whatever it was, I’m sure this was an impactful event in their lives and the lives of their children. I would love to know how this even resonated through their individual lives. I would also love to know what Jesus said as he placed his hands on their heads.

Father, parenting is about doing the best you can in any given moment. In this moment, these parents really didn’t have any idea what was going on. They had no idea that Jesus was the Messiah, and even if they did suspect it they certainly didn’t know how it would all work out. What they saw that day was a great man teaching great things. He was seemingly of you and from you, and they brought their children to him so that he could touch them and pray for them. Holy Spirit, pray for me now. Pray for my children. Pray for my and my wife’s siblings, nieces and nephews, and parents. I don’t have Jesus here in the flesh for that, but he sent you, Holy Spirit. So please give to us what Jesus gave to those children and their parents that day.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 13, 2020 in Fathers of the Bible, Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

Mothers of the Bible — Gentile Woman Who Asked Jesus to Heal Her Daughter

09 Mar

Then Jesus left Galilee and went north to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Gentile woman who lived there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! For my daughter is possessed by a demon that torments her severely.” But Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to go away,” they said. “She is bothering us with all her begging.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.” But she came and worshiped him, pleading again, “Lord, help me!” Jesus responded, “It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied, “That’s true, Lord, but even dogs are allowed to eat the scraps that fall beneath their masters’ table.” “Dear woman,” Jesus said to her, “your faith is great. Your request is granted.” And her daughter was instantly healed.
Matthew 15:21-28

Dear God, this story has always been hard for me because Jesus comes off as a bit of a jerk. Is he racist? Is he elitist? Is he none of those things, but simply testing her? I’m sure it’s the latter, but it doesn’t seem that way at first.

I think I’m going to do what I did with Jairus yesterday and just make bullet points about another rich story that is told in a tight eight verses.

  • This Gentile woman already lived among the Jewish people in Tyre and Sidon. Had she already started to become acclimated to Jewish traditions, or was she overcoming a lot of racism she had experienced to go to Jesus in the first place?
  • She calls him “O Lord, Son of David!” Is this an admission on her part that he is the Messiah? He isn’t only a rabbi to her. Jairus’s friends called him a teacher. That’s not who she says he is. I could be wrong in how I’m reading this, but I think she’s willing to put the Messiah label on him. Now maybe this is just kissing up out of desperation. Maybe she doesn’t have a barrier to calling him that because the Messiah doesn’t mean as much to her as if she had been raised Jewish. But it’s still quite an admission.
  • The labels her daughter’s illness as a demon that torments her. I don’t know how this manifests itself, but that’s the language she uses with him.
  • “Jesus gave her no reply, not even a word.” That seems harsh? A test?
  • “Tell her to go away. She is bothering us with all her begging.” Did Jesus set a bad example for the disciples here. Was this incident reshaping his own attitudes towards his being there for Gentiles too. I think he had already healed the Centurion’s servant at this point, so it’s probably not that. But it’s interesting that his response to her seems to encourage racism and bigotry among the disciples.
  • “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep–the people of Israel.” Again, racism or a test?
  • “She came and she worshiped him.” She didn’t just plead. She acknowledged his God-ness over her as well. She asked to be considered one of his people. She worshiped him.
  • They have their exchange about food and scraps from the table. This is the part of the story everyone remembers. If you try to bring this story to someone’s mind, all you have to say is, “The one where the woman just wants scraps from the table like a dog.” I was thinking about my dogs the other day and how grateful I am they can’t talk back. We definitely have a master/slave relationship with them. We tell them when to go to sleep, where to sleep, when to go to the bathroom, when to eat, to be quiet, to go away, to come here, etc. Then there is the part of the relationship where we play with them and scratch them. We feed them. We walk them. We give them shelter. We even pay a sitter to come and care for them when we leave town so they won’t have to be boarded. I’ve always kind of just read over this story, but maybe there is something more to this being a representation of my relationship with you than I’ve given it credit for.
  • Jesus is impressed with her answer and heals her daughter.

Father, I don’t know that this woman would ever have been driven to worship Jesus without going through this terrible thing with her daughter. It humbled her. Her love for her daughter and desperation brought her to her knees. I’m sure she told her daughter from that time forward how this man named Jesus, a Jewish Messiah, healed her. I wonder how she felt when she heard about the crucifixion. Did she hear about the resurrection too? You made the pain she experienced count, and I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for her, and, as a Gentile, I’m grateful for myself as well.

I pray all of this in the name of that same Jesus,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 9, 2020 in Matthew, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — The Widow Who Helped Elijah

07 Mar

Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.” But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.” But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed. Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!” Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”
1 Kings 17:8-24

Dear God, what made this woman so obedient to Elijah? Was it inherent kindness? Was it respect for men in that culture? Every time I read this story I’m always so surprised by how quickly she responds to his requests.

Hold it. Let me back up. You instructed a widow to support Elijah? My logic would have sent Elijah to a wealthy family that had enough resources to care for Elijah in addition to the rest of the household. I wouldn’t have sent him to a widow with a child. Widows had a hard enough time providing for themselves in that culture, much less adding another mouth to feed. I’ve never thought about this before, but maybe you already knew her son would die and she would need Elijah. You knew the son would need Elijah. It’s too bad we don’t know who this son became, but it’s obvious to me now that you weren’t as much providing for Elijah in this situation–you could have done that anywhere–but you were providing for the widow and her son.

I’m glad I saw this because I was going to join Elijah in his prayer when he said, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” Did Elijah still have that limited level of vision of you that he thought you sent good things to those who love you and bad things to those who don’t? I guess this process was part of his own education and refining too. Of course, he was also responding to the pressure of the moment and the fog of war that he was in. After all, he had a dead boy in front of him and a distraught woman saying, “O man of God, what have you (emphasis mine) done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” Again, the link between you sending punishment for sin instead of a view that life is life and tragedy will sometimes come regardless of the level of holiness in someone’s heart.

One more thing on Elijah before I return to the widow. I love how excited he is to have raised the son. “Look (exclamation point) Your son is alive (exclamation point)” What a relief! What a time to celebrate! He had to be thinking, “Oh, thank you, God!”

Going back to the widow, she woke up one morning in the midst of a famine and she knew she was at the end of the line. One more day’s worth of food. Then she was done. No more food to buy. No more food to cook. It was time to face facts. Their lives were coming to an end. Then you sent this guy into her life and she had nothing left to lose so she listened to him. I wonder if she would have helped him out a week before. Did she need to be at the end of her rope as a widow and a mother before she would help him? Maybe not. Maybe she would have helped him. But you certainly exhibited your power to her. After Elijah left, I would think there would never be a reason for her to doubt you or your love for her again.

Father, thank you for the reminder that sometimes we are just doing the best we have with the circumstances in front of us. That’s what she was doing. In this case, you had a plan for her life and her son’s life. I don’t know what you did with the rest of their lives or how they have rippled through time to impact mine except for me sitting here learning from them thousands of years later. She certainly probably never knew she and her son would be part of your scripture. It’s a reminder that I have no idea what you’re doing or how my life will work out, but it’s not important that I know. It’s just important that I am faithful to you and rest in the peace that you are in control.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 7, 2020 in 1 Kings, Mothers of the Bible

 

Mothers of the Bible — Bathsheba

05 Mar

In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.” Then David sent word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David. When Uriah arrived, David asked him how Joab and the army were getting along and how the war was progressing. Then he told Uriah, “Go on home and relax. ” David even sent a gift to Uriah after he had left the palace. But Uriah didn’t go home. He slept that night at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. When David heard that Uriah had not gone home, he summoned him and asked, “What’s the matter? Why didn’t you go home last night after being away for so long?” Uriah replied, “The Ark and the armies of Israel and Judah are living in tents, and Joab and my master’s men are camping in the open fields. How could I go home to wine and dine and sleep with my wife? I swear that I would never do such a thing.” “Well, stay here today,” David told him, “and tomorrow you may return to the army.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next. Then David invited him to dinner and got him drunk. But even then he couldn’t get Uriah to go home to his wife. Again he slept at the palace entrance with the king’s palace guard. So the next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and gave it to Uriah to deliver. The letter instructed Joab, “Station Uriah on the front lines where the battle is fiercest. Then pull back so that he will be killed.” So Joab assigned Uriah to a spot close to the city wall where he knew the enemy’s strongest men were fighting. And when the enemy soldiers came out of the city to fight, Uriah the Hittite was killed along with several other Israelite soldiers. Then Joab sent a battle report to David. He told his messenger, “Report all the news of the battle to the king. But he might get angry and ask, ‘Why did the troops go so close to the city? Didn’t they know there would be shooting from the walls? Wasn’t Abimelech son of Gideon killed at Thebez by a woman who threw a millstone down on him from the wall? Why would you get so close to the wall?’ Then tell him, ‘Uriah the Hittite was killed, too.’” So the messenger went to Jerusalem and gave a complete report to David. “The enemy came out against us in the open fields,” he said. “And as we chased them back to the city gate, the archers on the wall shot arrows at us. Some of the king’s men were killed, including Uriah the Hittite.” “Well, tell Joab not to be discouraged,” David said. “The sword devours this one today and that one tomorrow! Fight harder next time, and conquer the city!” When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. When the period of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to the palace, and she became one of his wives. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord was displeased with what David had done. After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?” Then David comforted Bathsheba, his wife, and slept with her. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and David named him Solomon. The Lord loved the child and sent word through Nathan the prophet that they should name him Jedidiah (which means “beloved of the Lord”), as the Lord had commanded.
2 Samuel 11:1-27, 12:15, 18, 24-25

Dear God, as I think about Bathsheba as she experiences this course of events, I can’t help but think of the illustration I’ve used a few times over the last three or so weeks about the blind men who experience an elephant for the first time. Each one has a different description of the elephant because they are touching a different part. Here’s what I perceive to be a point-by-point experience for Bathsheba:

  • Her husband Uriah is gone to war and she is home alone. Living all alone? With any family? I don’t know, but we’ll presume she is alone.
  • She gets summoned to see king David and doesn’t know why. Did David have a reputation for doing this? Had he done this before with other women? Did she know what to expect when she got there?
  • She slept with David. Did she want to sleep with him? Did he force her? Did she have a choice? She had just finished her period. Was there a part of her that was lonely with Uriah gone and wanted to sleep with the King? In any event, she slept with him and I’m sure felt shameful as she went home.
  • She finds out she’s pregnant several weeks later. Let’s say it’s about 6-8 weeks. I don’t know how long it took to figure it out back then. I can’t imagine the horror she must have felt. Her husband is away at war and she is pregnant by the King. Well, she won’t be able to handle this problem alone so she involves David.
    • At this point I’d like to point out that apparently at least one other person knows about this whole situation. Someone had to summon her for David and someone had to deliver the pregnancy message to him. It might have been the same person, but the total number of people who know about that is at least three. I would venture to say more.

    • We aren’t told that David responded directly to her, but all of a sudden Uriah is back! What? How did she feel when she saw him? Did he know? Do the king tell him? Would someone else tell him? Why is he here? But he wouldn’t sleep with her. David had finally met his ethical match. Uriah followed his own code of honor.

    Uriah is gone again.
    She gets word that Uriah is dead. She is pregnant with, presumably, her first child and now her husband is dead. She mourned appropriately for him.
    David publicly moved her to the palace and married her, pregnant and all. Was it the worst kept secret in Jerusalem that the baby was his? Was the company line that it was Uriah’s from when he visited home and David was being a great guy by marrying her. How much shame and confusion did she feel during this time? What a whirlwind! What a tragedy.
    But something worse is coming, and she doesn’t deserve it. David does. The child is going to die. I have to tell you, Father, this seems so mean to me.
    After the son dies she is now left with a dead husband (I assume she loved him–he was apparently an honorable man) and a dead son. She has nothing.
    She has another child with David. This one turns out to be Solomon. She gets word from Nathan that he is “beloved of the Lord.” Who will this boy be?
    We saw yesterday how she orchestrated Solomon’s attaining of the throne. He wasn’t the obvious choice from a line-of-succession standpoint. Adonijah was. And I don’t know when David made his promise to her about Solomon getting the throne (1 Kings 1:17), but did he do it as part of his comforting of her back when she was pregnant with him or when he was born? Either way, it seems that she was ready to do what it took to see that Solomon became king.

Father, this seems like such a terrible deal for her. It seems so unfair. She got caught up in circumstances that were so much bigger than her. She made the best of them, but I can’t help but not like this story even more when I think about how she must have experienced it. But I guess life can be like that. We can get caught up in circumstances that are beyond us. It’s not fair. But as you ultimately did with Solomon, you can come along and redeem it. You can redeem the divorce. You can redeem the criminal. You can redeem anything. You can make us stronger through driving us to depend upon you. Thank you for ultimately providing for Bathsheba. In the end, she got to see her second-born son become king of Israel. I hope that at the end of her life she was able to be at peace.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2020 in 2 Samuel, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Hannah

12 Feb

Once after a sacrificial meal at Shiloh, Hannah got up and went to pray. Eli the priest was sitting at his customary place beside the entrance of the Tabernacle. Hannah was in deep anguish, crying bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. And she made this vow: “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the Lord, his hair will never be cut. ” As she was praying to the Lord, Eli watched her. Seeing her lips moving but hearing no sound, he thought she had been drinking. “Must you come here drunk?” he demanded. “Throw away your wine!” “Oh no, sir!” she replied. “I haven’t been drinking wine or anything stronger. But I am very discouraged, and I was pouring out my heart to the Lord. Don’t think I am a wicked woman! For I have been praying out of great anguish and sorrow.” “In that case,” Eli said, “go in peace! May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of him.” “Oh, thank you, sir!” she exclaimed. Then she went back and began to eat again, and she was no longer sad. The entire family got up early the next morning and went to worship the Lord once more. Then they returned home to Ramah. When Elkanah slept with Hannah, the Lord remembered her plea, and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I asked the Lord for him.” The next year Elkanah and his family went on their annual trip to offer a sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow. But Hannah did not go. She told her husband, “Wait until the boy is weaned. Then I will take him to the Tabernacle and leave him there with the Lord permanently. ” “Whatever you think is best,” Elkanah agreed. “Stay here for now, and may the Lord help you keep your promise. ” So she stayed home and nursed the boy until he was weaned. When the child was weaned, Hannah took him to the Tabernacle in Shiloh. They brought along a three-year-old bull for the sacrifice and a basket of flour and some wine. After sacrificing the bull, they brought the boy to Eli. “Sir, do you remember me?” Hannah asked. “I am the very woman who stood here several years ago praying to the Lord. I asked the Lord to give me this boy, and he has granted my request. Now I am giving him to the Lord, and he will belong to the Lord his whole life.” And they worshiped the Lord there. Then Hannah prayed: “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God. “Stop acting so proud and haughty! Don’t speak with such arrogance! For the Lord is a God who knows what you have done; he will judge your actions. The bow of the mighty is now broken, and those who stumbled are now strong. Those who were well fed are now starving, and those who were starving are now full. The childless woman now has seven children, and the woman with many children wastes away. The Lord gives both death and life; he brings some down to the grave but raises others up. The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts others up. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord’s, and he has set the world in order. “He will protect his faithful ones, but the wicked will disappear in darkness. No one will succeed by strength alone. Those who fight against the Lord will be shattered. He thunders against them from heaven; the Lord judges throughout the earth. He gives power to his king; he increases the strength of his anointed one.” Then Elkanah returned home to Ramah without Samuel. And the boy served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.
1 Samuel 1:9-2:11

Dear God, Hannah is a fascinating woman. She really wanted a child, she got her child, she lived up to her end of the bargain with you, and then she prayed a prayer of vindication pretty much directed at Peninnah. We will learn later that you blessed her with more children, but I can’t imagine how much she must have lived Samuel.

Life is so different for women than men, and, frankly, I’m probably foolish to even try to put myself in Hannah’s place. She had endured a lot of hurt and sorrow. She was childless. I remember the stress my wife and I went through when it took us a few months to get pregnant the first time we started trying. I can’t imagine the strain of years and years. I also can’t even begin to understand the complication of having another woman in the home who is having children with your husband. I know it was the culture, but that’s just messed up, although it seems to be a repeated theme for those you use (Isaac, Joseph, Samuel, etc.).

I really like the picture that the author paints later in 1 Samuel 2:18-21:

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord–a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home. And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy SAmuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.

I love the image of Hannah working on Samuel’s robes. I don’t know how ornate they were allowed to be, but I’ll bet she made them as beautiful as possible. And I’ll bet Samuel loved getting a new one each year–at least until he was older and was probably embarrassed by it. I picture her running to him and hugging him. I picture his stoic father looking at him with pride. I picture her bringing the five new babies over the years. Maybe Samuel was a little jealous of the first one or two, but, like all older children, learned to deal with it and love his younger siblings.

Father, once again, Hannah wasn’t a perfect person and she wasn’t a perfect parent. It’s obvious she was still bitter towards Peninnah, and I’m sure Peninnah didn’t care much for her either. Their children. Probably didn’t get along much better than did Isaac and Ishmael. But that’s what you use. You use imperfect people, parents, and children to enter the world. You work through us all. As we saw with Samson, you sometimes work through us even when we have no relationship or regard for you. So I offer my life to you. It’s broken. It can be messy. It is most certainly flawed and even sometimes sinful. But it’s what I have to bring to your cross–to the altar. I give it to you and ask that you use it as you will.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 12, 2020 in 1 Samuel, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Naomi (Part 2)

09 Feb

One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.” “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law. After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.” So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he returned to the town. When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?” Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.” So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.
Ruth 3,4:13-17

Dear God, as a widow in that time, Naomi was really pushing water uphill. She had so few options for herself, and she knew that if Ruth didn’t act soon she would be in the same boat. Did they manipulate Boaz? Yes. Did they use Boaz for his money and position? Sure. But in that system, did she have much choice?

Here’s what I like about this story that is subtle. The name “Mara” (Ruth 1:20) didn’t stick. You didn’t make her life bitter. In fact, through Ruth, you gave her hope. Through her son Kilion (presumably Kilion is the one who married Ruth), you brought this woman into her life who would look out for her. She didn’t know it. Had her husband not died and had her sons not died, they might have stayed in Moab forever. But with those deaths she was forced back to Judah and Bethlehem. She was forced back to what would become the City of David. And why did it become the City of David? Because her daughter-in-law, Ruth, would marry Boaz and have a son. And what did the women of Bethlehem (the future City of David) say to her?

Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to. you that seven sons!”

Not all of us will get to see even that beginnings of what you are doing like Naomi did. We don’t know if she ever saw David born, although it’s certain she never saw him as king or even kill Goliath. But she got to see Obed. She got to cuddle him and care for him. There was nothing about her any longer that fit the term Mara.

Father, my prayer right now is for everyone who feels like their name is Mara because they feel like you have made their life bitter. I saw a man in church this morning who was sitting alone. I noticed some things about him that made me wonder if he was there seeking you from a desperate place. I spoke to him briefly, and he didn’t indicate anything was wrong, but I at least wanted him to know that someone noticed him this morning and cared. I have some family members who are currently struggling. They might feel like the name Mara fits them. Help them to let go of that label. Help them to embrace your love. Help them to look for ways to extend love to others. Help them to take their eyes off of themselves and find ways to serve. And heal their wounds through your Holy Spirit and your presence. And help me to be there for them as well.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2020 in Mothers of the Bible, Ruth

 

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Mothers of the Bible — Naomi (Part 1)

08 Feb

Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the land of Moab, for she had heard in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited His people in giving them food. So she departed from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, “ No, but we will surely return with you to your people.” But Naomi said, “Return, my daughters. Why should you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.” And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Then she said, “Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Ruth 1

Dear God, Naomi is an interesting woman. It’s great that we get her story and Ruth’s story. Of course, Ruth’s claim to fame is that she ends up being David’s great grandmother, but there is no reason that we should have had this story at all except that someone chose to capture it and preserve it for us. And it all starts with a woman named Naomi and her quickly deceased husband, Elimelech.

There are a couple of things I notice about Naomi in chapter 1:

  • Her daughters-in-law love her very much.
  • She tries to do right by her daughters-in-law, even at her own expense.

She must have been a remarkable woman for Orpah and Ruth to exhibit so much love for her: Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.” Even Orpah didn’t want to leave, and I’m sure she was conflicted all of the way home and for the rest of her life. There was something about Naomi that had engendered great love and affection from Orpah and Ruth.

The fact that she tried to send her daughters-in-law away is also evidence of her love for them. She knew that she could not provide for them in the present or in the future. Their attachment to her was likely a death sentence–perhaps not in actual death (although possibly), but certainly in living out the rest of their lives as old widows. But letting go of them meant letting go of two people who might care for her and help her. She would be alone to fend for herself. Her selflessness in this story is remarkable.

Father, as I go through this day, help me to be selfless. Help me to be selfless with my wife, my children, and with those I encounter. Open my eyes to where I might be wrong. Show me how to act in any given situation. Help me to know when the Holy Spirit is moving me to action. Help me to be good about praying for continuously. Help me to love you with all of my heart, mind, and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2020 in Mothers of the Bible, Ruth

 

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Parents of the Bible — Manoah and His Wife (Samson’s Parents) Part 2

07 Feb

One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.” His father and mother objected. “Isn’t there even one woman in our tribe or among all the Israelites you could marry?” they asked. “Why must you go to the pagan Philistines to find a wife?” But Samson told his father, “Get her for me! She looks good to me.” His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time. As Samson and his parents were going down to Timnah, a young lion suddenly attacked Samson near the vineyards of Timnah. At that moment the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him, and he ripped the lion’s jaws apart with his bare hands. He did it as easily as if it were a young goat. But he didn’t tell his father or mother about it. When Samson arrived in Timnah, he talked with the woman and was very pleased with her. Later, when he returned to Timnah for the wedding, he turned off the path to look at the carcass of the lion. And he found that a swarm of bees had made some honey in the carcass. He scooped some of the honey into his hands and ate it along the way. He also gave some to his father and mother, and they ate it. But he didn’t tell them he had taken the honey from the carcass of the lion. As his father was making final arrangements for the marriage, Samson threw a party at Timnah, as was the custom for elite young men. When the bride’s parents saw him, they selected thirty young men from the town to be his companions. Samson said to them, “Let me tell you a riddle. If you solve my riddle during these seven days of the celebration, I will give you thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing. But if you can’t solve it, then you must give me thirty fine linen robes and thirty sets of festive clothing.” “All right,” they agreed, “let’s hear your riddle.” So he said: “Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong came something sweet.” Three days later they were still trying to figure it out. On the fourth day they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband to explain the riddle for us, or we will burn down your father’s house with you in it. Did you invite us to this party just to make us poor?” So Samson’s wife came to him in tears and said, “You don’t love me; you hate me! You have given my people a riddle, but you haven’t told me the answer.” “I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother,” he replied. “Why should I tell you?” So she cried whenever she was with him and kept it up for the rest of the celebration. At last, on the seventh day he told her the answer because she was tormenting him with her nagging. Then she explained the riddle to the young men. So before sunset of the seventh day, the men of the town came to Samson with their answer: “What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?” Samson replied, “If you hadn’t plowed with my heifer, you wouldn’t have solved my riddle!” Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to the town of Ashkelon, killed thirty men, took their belongings, and gave their clothing to the men who had solved his riddle. But Samson was furious about what had happened, and he went back home to live with his father and mother. So his wife was given in marriage to the man who had been Samson’s best man at the wedding.
Judges 14

Dear God, these poor people. I would not have liked to have been Samson’s father. What do you do with him? He’s another one that you made a judge of Israel that I just don’t get. He was terrible. Is that really what you wanted? Did you really want him to do all of the awful things he did? And what were his parents to do?

This one sentence is what humbles me about my own parenting and what I think is my wisdom and insight: “His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.” If Samson had been my son I would have been telling him he was wrong to do what he was doing. If he was the president, I would be wanting to vote him out. If he was the king I would hope he would be overthrown. That’s why, ultimately, I can have my opinions, and I may very well be right, but I can also not live in fear when things don’t go my way. Maybe you are doing exactly what you want done through those who are ungodly.

Father, thank you for this faithful couple. This is the last story we get about them. I think it’s interesting to see Samson’s love for them in his line to the woman: “I haven’t even given the answer to my father or mother. Why should I tell you?” He obviously respected them and revered them as his parents because he said as much to his new wife. They were good people who really tried. I am sure it didn’t work out at all like they thought it might. It almost never does. But here they are. They get their own chapter in Judges 13 and then we get to see them doing their best in the next chapter (chapter 14). I hope history will look on me as kindly (if not as publicly) as it does these two people.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2020 in Fathers of the Bible, Judges, Mothers of the Bible, Uncategorized

 

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Parents of the Bible — Manoah and His Wife (Samson’s parents) Part 1

06 Feb

Again the Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord handed them over to the Philistines, who oppressed them for forty years. In those days a man named Manoah from the tribe of Dan lived in the town of Zorah. His wife was unable to become pregnant, and they had no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah’s wife and said, “Even though you have been unable to have children, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. So be careful; you must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.” The woman ran and told her husband, “A man of God appeared to me! He looked like one of God’s angels, terrifying to see. I didn’t ask where he was from, and he didn’t tell me his name. But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’” Then Manoah prayed to the Lord, saying, “Lord, please let the man of God come back to us again and give us more instructions about this son who is to be born.” God answered Manoah’s prayer, and the angel of God appeared once again to his wife as she was sitting in the field. But her husband, Manoah, was not with her. So she quickly ran and told her husband, “The man who appeared to me the other day is here again!” Manoah ran back with his wife and asked, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife the other day?” “Yes,” he replied, “I am.” So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.” Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Please stay here until we can prepare a young goat for you to eat.” “I will stay,” the angel of the Lord replied, “but I will not eat anything. However, you may prepare a burnt offering as a sacrifice to the Lord.” (Manoah didn’t realize it was the angel of the Lord .) Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? For when all this comes true, we want to honor you.” “Why do you ask my name?” the angel of the Lord replied. “It is too wonderful for you to understand.” Then Manoah took a young goat and a grain offering and offered it on a rock as a sacrifice to the Lord. And as Manoah and his wife watched, the Lord did an amazing thing. As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground. The angel did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Manoah finally realized it was the angel of the Lord, and he said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God!” But his wife said, “If the Lord were going to kill us, he wouldn’t have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He wouldn’t have appeared to us and told us this wonderful thing and done these miracles.” When her son was born, she named him Samson. And the Lord blessed him as he grew up. And the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he lived in Mahaneh-dan, which is located between the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol.
Judges 13

Dear God, parents so often are just desperate to get it right.

I remember being at the hospital holding our son and thinking, “Okay, I haven’t screwed up yet.” Of course, I was only about an hour into being a father. There were many screw ups to come. I also remember being incredulous that they were going to trust us enough to take this new baby home and care for it. What were they thinking? We didn’t know what we were doing!!

For my wife’s part, she read parenting books and tried to do everything right as a mom. Schedules. Reading to them while she nursed them. Bible time at the breakfast table every morning. Play groups.

I see that here in Samson’s parents. One might look at the finished product (which I’ll do tomorrow? And say that they failed, but there’s no doubt that they wanted to give this their all. Their interactions with the angel were all about getting it right. They were all about sacrificing to you and submitting themselves to the process you had for them. I just love the excitement and obedience represented in this story. This was going to make their lives weird and interesting, but they were so excited to have a child. You put something in us, I suppose, that makes us want to love something the way you love us.

Father, thank you for the time this author took to tell us the story of Manoah and his wife (I wish we knew her name). They could have skipped this and gone straight to Samson, man of power, but they took a whole chapter in the midst of Judges to tell us about these two faithful, good-hearted people. Even though my wife and I made many mistakes, I would like to think that you saw us as faithful and good-hearted as well. What can I say except that we will continue to offer ourselves up to you through this process of caring for our adult children, our parents, and those around us.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 6, 2020 in Fathers of the Bible, Judges, Mothers of the Bible

 

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Parents of the Bible — The Egyptians

30 Jan

So the people of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded through Moses and Aaron. And that night at midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died. Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron during the night. “Get out!” he ordered. “Leave my people—and take the rest of the Israelites with you! Go and worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you said, and be gone. Go, but bless me as you leave.” All the Egyptians urged the people of Israel to get out of the land as quickly as possible, for they thought, “We will all die!”
Exodus 12:28-33

Dear God, it was the mass loss of life and their children that finally broke the Egyptians and Pharaoh. They were willing to pay any price after that. Even Pharaoh was brought to his knees by it. It reminds me of an 80s song by Sting called “Russians” in which he has a line about the Russians loving their children too.

Sometimes I marvel at how special my two children are to me. When they were small and playing sports or performing on stage, they were all my eye wanted to follow. Often, I couldn’t have told you what else was happening. I just cared about them. I’ve held one while the projectile vomited on me. I’ve flown across the country to help one (actually, I’ve done that for each of them now that I think about it). I was there when both of them were born. They look a little like me and a little like my wife. If you were to look at a bell curve of the things my wife and I discuss, they would be in the center. They are the center of my wife’s and my daily prayer time. And even with all of that, we can feel so helpless. Kobe Bryant couldn’t save his daughter the other day and I know he would have given all he had if he could have. I couldn’t even stop bullies from picking on them when they were little. I remember holding one in my lap and crying together, but I couldn’t completely shield them. I tried, but I couldn’t.

Father, thank you for this rich, joyful, painful experience called parenthood. You have used it to mold me. You are still using it. The Egyptians loved their children. The Israelites who had to watch their children live and die in slavery (and some be thrown in the Nile) loved their children. The Russians and everyone else love their children. I even saw a baby lamb next to its mother for safety when I was on a bike ride last Sunday. She loved her child too. And of course, you love us as well–even more than I can fathom. Thank you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 30, 2020 in Exodus, Fathers of the Bible, Mothers of the Bible

 
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