When looking to find Jesus in Judges it is a little bit harder than other books because during the time of the Judges…
“In those days
there was no king in Israel
It
was an crazy time to be an Israelite and not conducive to Christ-like
examples and things that would foreshadow Jesus…except in the judges
themselves. Many were disobedient and rogue of the Scriptures. What the time period does illustrate well is that when there is
disobedience to God’s word and rebellion is rife…the contrast is like night and
day for the need of a righteous king. Please remember that this is just prior
to the time of the United
Kingdom
In much of Judges we have this record
of failure and deliverance seven times repeated. Israel falls into idolatry, and
God raises up some one of the surrounding nations to carry out His punishment. Israel
repented under the chastening, and cried to the Lord, and the Lord sent a deliverer.
God allowed the very sins His people
indulged in to be their punishment (Romans 1). It is a picture of man's
continued sin and failure, and God's continued patience and grace. We read of seven
distinct departures from God, and of seven distinct sets of deliverance by the hands
of Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah and Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, Samson. In these
deliverers of Israel we can see a foreshadowing of the Great Deliverer who was to
come.
“For not even the Father judges anyone,
but He has given all judgment to the Son.” John 5:22
“...and [the
Father] has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son
of man." John 5:27
“I can do
nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just,
because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” John
5:30
And he commanded
us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God
to be judge of the living and the dead. Acts 10:42
But they will
have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 1
Peter 4:5
In
Gideon we have power of meekness. We know that God delights in using weak
vessels to display His strength and faithfulness. This is paralleled in the New
Testament where believers have the Spirit dwell within them It is only when we
die to self and allow Christ to take the reins of our lives that we truly live
and truly gain the victory Jesus won.
2 Cor 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my
weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s
sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in
difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Interestingly,
Samson is an interesting study in contrasts. He is a good example of what God
was able to do with one man but at the same time, Samson is burdened down with
sin that arrests much of the positives he gains in his life.
Judges
also tells of the interesting but lesser known visit of the Covenant Angel
whose name is “secret," or better interpreted as "Wonderful". He
appears to Manoah and his wife…
“And the angel
of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name, seeing it is wonderful?”
Judges 13:18
The
word wonderful is not the proper name of the Angel of the Lord, but expresses
the character
of
his name and as the name simply denotes the nature, it expresses the
peculiarity of his nature also. It is to be understood in an absolute sense—"absolutely and supremely wonderful".
This is no ordinary as this description belongs to God alone.
Here
also we see (as elsewhere) that God maintains His presence in human life as
here in this story…even when the humans involved are believers and are not
aware it is Him. God has never left man alone and never will leave those that
truly seek Him. There were partial and progressive revelations even here in the
book of the Judges and each new “wonder” laying down another block in an entire
foundation of progressive revelation that eventually culminates in Jesus
Christ. In the process of revelation such as in this case which is not well
known even inside the circles of the Faith we see a miracle of the highest
magnitude in the pre-incarnate revelation of Jesus Himself. Slowly and
methodically, God shapes and conditions the hearts of men through unfolding
revelation for Jesus’ eventual arrival in Bethlehem
The
luminescent portion of Ruth as it relates to Jesus is the story of the kinsmen
redeemer. First we must understand that the book of Ruth involves two related practices.
Levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25) which meant a man would marry his brother’s
widow to give the man an heir. We see it invoked in the broken promises of Judah
Although
it was in the Law it did not require Boaz to marry Ruth but we begin to see
the hand of the Lord involved in this story from the outset. The only man initially
who fully met the criteria was Mahlon’s brother Chilion — but he was already
dead by the fifth verse of Ruth. The extended family then had obligations to
protect the property and inheritance of its impoverished members. Leviticus
25:25 states:
“If your
brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer
shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.”
This
"kinsman redeemer" kept property and inheritances within the family
since it was such a valuable asset to a family. If a man died and left behind
wife or children, the extended family assumed responsibility for their care. As
in the case of Naomi, this usually included taking possession of the land on
behalf of the deceased for the benefit of his survivors. According to the laws
of inheritance, this land passed on to the heirs of the dead man. Even if no
redeemer could be found, a jubilee year still returned the property to its
original family. Surprisingly, Scripture records no remaining heir for Naomi,
Ruth, or Orpah. Ruth presented an additional problems by who she was, according
to Ruth1:4...a Moabite. The Law forbid marriage between Israelites and Moabites
or Ammonites. Moabites in particular were the descendents of the incestuous
liaison between Lot and his two daughters.
It
is Naomi that convinces Ruth that marriage to a kinsman was not only beneficial
but actually possible. While Boaz might have been attracted to her appearance,
it is Ruth’s unswerving devotion to Naomi and willingness to work hard to
support Naomi that attracted his attention. Additionally, he was moved by the
trust she displayed in naming him above any other potential redeemers (Ruth 3:1-13).
It is interesting to note though that Boaz seems to have made a really big deal
out of marrying Ruth to chase off any potential challengers for Ruth’s hand and
that he acted out of love rather than legal obligation to join her in a Levirate marriage.
These
passages, together with the inclusion in genealogy or Matthew 1:5, "Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother
was Ruth" reveals the Lord’s hand working in time and in people. We
see that it is this kinsmen redeemer that keeps alive the lineage of Christ
when it looks as if it will be snuffed out by the world.
Matthew’s
inclusion of Tamar and Ruth in Jesus’ genealogy emphasizes God’s reconciling
work in Christ even by those that the world perceives as being undesirable or
tainted. This is because the world views things incorrectly and does not know
the heart of the people, they usually only judge according outside appearances.
Conversely, God knows the hearts of people and sees them from the inside
through their true motives.
But the LORD
said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on
the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
Therefore do not
pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to
light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the
heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5
“I the LORD
search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10
It's
as if all the women listed in Jesus’ lineage are purposely present to reveal
"questionable" pasts. Rahab (Joshua 2; Matthew 1:5) was a prostitute but
she believed in the Lord. The “wife of Uriah (Matthew 1:6) reminded Israel of
David’s adultery and murder but she also
evokes memory of God’s grace in giving Solomon as David’s heir to the throne.
Boaz,
“the father of Obed by Ruth.” is an illustration of mercy and grace. It is a
shadow of the Lord to demonstrate how He chose His own means in graciously
remaking the entire created but fallen and damaged order through His Son. This
remaking or restoration is actually a redemption foreshadowed by Boaz’s actions
toward Ruth and Naomi.
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