Title: Restoration of Life
Content People of our country, especially Chungcheong-do, are considered to be yangban neighborhoods, so it is considered a place that values face above all else. People often like to distinguish between the ignorant and the ignorant. However, this concept is wrong because it does not come from the Bible but from the system of good and evil of sinful humans. For humans who come before God, God doesn't want someone who knows how to be shy, but he really wants someone who has no sense of shame. It is a phenomenon that occurs when you are still unaware of what kind of existence you are, even when you appear before God. This does not mean that you can be shameless in front of God, but it means that you still have pride in yourself. If you really know that you are a sinner before God, you will be ashamed and in a position to show your face. I am simply grateful for God's grace.
The Bible tells us, "Come, you who thirst, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come ye, buy and eat; come ye, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). This does not mean that you should eat for free because the price is too cheap, but rather that you should come and eat for free because it is too expensive for human strength. Still, there is nothing more arrogant than that if you are proud of yourself and try to get it as a reward for your efforts with money or power.
In today's text, we see a man who is really careless in that regard. It is none other than Naomi. A woman named Ruth from Moab met Boaz and married him, and she bore Elimelech's son. This son is a precious son who will become a restorer of life and a caretaker for old age. For Ruth, he was born with all kinds of humiliation and suffering, so he was a son more precious than gold. The problem, however, is that the Bethlehem women do not congratulate and comfort Ruth when they come to celebrate, but rather come to Naomi to congratulate her, and even say that Naomi gave birth to a son. These words take away a son from Ruth. It was Ruth who lowered herself to being a prostitute, and it was Ruth who suffered while giving birth to a child. Naomi, who had no qualifications or merits, received all the congratulations after giving birth to this son.
This is the specificity of the gospel. The gospel can be said to be ignorant. There is one who sows the seed, and another reaps the fruit. Naomi has done nothing for Ruth's sacrifice and suffering, but that blessing is to be occupied by Naomi. The Lord wants the sower and the reaper to rejoice together. Because all of this was the result of Jehovah God's intervention and guidance. As the Lord said, “Because the Lord has made him pregnant” (4:13) and “The Lord has not left you with an inheritance today” (4:14), the Lord almighty power to fulfill the broken line in order to fulfill the covenant. That's what made it go on. It shows that it was done purely by the zeal of God. There is nothing man has done in fulfilling God's covenant. It was only used as a tool.
In this way, Jesus Christ sheds blood, and the price of that blood is to be enjoyed by the church free of charge. As it is said, “If we neglect such a great salvation, how can we escape?” (Hebrews 2:3). The church only receives this for free. This is mercilessly trampling on our human pride. Therefore, the church is 'a gathering of those who know that I have done nothing'. Even though I didn't do anything and I didn't deserve it, I was able to receive and enjoy tremendous blessings.
Comparing the genealogy of David in Ruth 4 with the genealogy in Matthew 1 reveals a difference. The difference is that in the genealogy of Matthew, the names of women appear. “Judas begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar,” “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab,” “Boaz begot Obed by Ruth,” and “David begot Solomon by Uriah’s wife.” It is unique in the genealogy of Matthew that the name of a woman is mentioned at an important point in the unfolding of the world of Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham and David. What does this mean? The women mentioned here are also foreign women, and the appearance of women who can be called prostitutes not only appears as the role of accusing Abraham and David of the sinful nature of mankind, but also the bloodline of Abraham and David through the sacrifice of these neglected women It shows that it has been maintained, and such a sacrifice is showing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who eventually came as the Messiah, in haste and is shown as a shadow.
To say that Ruth, a foreign woman, was involved in the holy genealogy of Jesus Christ is a judgment against Israel, which prides itself on being God's chosen people. It reveals that the fact that their genealogy has been maintained despite the sins and transgressions of the people of Israel was not because of their righteousness but because of the sacrifice of women. that is giving In the end, what we can learn from David's genealogy is that it shows that the kingdom of Israel exists because of Ruth's sacrifice, not because David ruled Israel well as a king. By showing the great sacrifice of one side and the situation of Naomi and David standing on that sacrifice on the basis of that sacrifice, it is revealing that this is what the church looks like today.
Therefore, it shows that the salvation of each of us and becoming a child of God was made because of someone's great sacrifice. Those who know the sacrifice, if it is for Christ and for the gospel, is it not the attitude of willingness to bear any difficulties or injustices, no matter what sacrifices come to me? For the sake of the Lord and the gospel, for the sake of the brother who paid the price with His blood, it is not worth sacrificing my life for the sake of those who know sacrifice. Today's Jesus is all around us. It may be in our church. Only for the sake of the gospel, in order not to undermine the value of the blood of Jesus, we can be those who are ignored and unfairly treated, ridiculed and sacrificed. It is the little Jesus of today who is driven out to maintain the organization because of the human organization.