"...Like people, like priest, is the ancient version of the modern Western Saying: like father, like son or like mother, like daughter. It is a very important piece here, because the priesthood are a subset of the corrupt people and vice versa. Both the priesthood and the people are estranged from God and both will incur the same judgment. And it is not as though the priests were more corrupt than the common man, they were the common man in a position of influence and authority! It is not as though Israel was invaded by a sect of immoral priests and leaders. These were those who had risen to the top, the cream of the crop so to speak. When the moral corruption of a nation reaches the pinnacles of power, it should not be surprising; the true values of the people are on display...Ungodly leadership is a natural consequence of rebellion against God. The nation cannot reject God and his commandments and then hope that godly leadership will somehow rise to the top for their benefit. The leaders will be a reflection of the people they govern and in turn the sin of the leaders will be reflected upon the population. For Israel, this meant that the priest brought disaster to the land. Where can we find a better priest? Let me point you to Jesus. Like people, like priest is eternally good news for those whose High Priest is Christ our King."
Hosea 3:1-5
“Don’t miss the impact of this story: an adulterous woman — a prostitute, is married to this prophet. And then she has children outside of this marriage, which he calls ‘Not Loved’ and ‘Not Mine’. And everyone looking at this story, this real life situation, would think ‘there is no more tragic family circumstance imaginable’…And yet, the loyal love of God, working in his servant Hosea, creates one of the most beautiful pictures we could ever imagine. By taking on himself the full cost of this relationship,… Hosea takes this woman,…and he says now I would like to marry you again…you are the one that I want…your children from other relationships, let’s call them now ‘Beloved’ and ‘Mine’…because that is what they will be. This is what God has done with us…”
Hosea 2:2-23
“God will foil the plans and decisions of his wayward people. This doesn’t mean he takes away our ability to freely choose him, but he will keep his own from the disastrous direction they are headed in, and he will win his bride…How do I know that I belong to God? Not because I’m just such a great guy, not because I’m such a spiritually mature person. But because everytime I would fall away God says “No, you’re mine.” He disciplines me…The way I know I belong to God is that he brings me to repentance daily. He walls me in with stone and thorns…The sovereignty of God does no violence to the human will, only it is far more potent and will have its way.”
Hosea 1:1-2:1
“By comparing Israel’s sinful behaviour with the vile behaviour of an immoral and adulterous wife, Hosea reminds his audience, then and now, of both the seriousness of sin and its effects, and of the amazing greatness of God’s mercy and love…Unfaithfulness to God in Israel and the church cannot be ignored. Either people are believers and are faithful to their covenant commitments to God, or they are not a part of the family of God… Unless we respond to these warnings of Hosea, we should have no certainty of our salvation.”
Church Membership and the Elders (Ezekiel 34:1-16)
“Another way I see domineering leadership enter the church is when church elders try to force the change they wish to see in people rather than to teach the word, set an example with the way they live their own lives, and then give time for the gospel to do its work. We can be very sincere in our desire for holiness in the church and to see people changed, but if we try to accomplish the sanctification of God’s people by authoritarian means, we have become oppressors rather than shepherds….Hearts are not changed by threats and anger, but by greater understanding of the loyal love and gentle compassion of our Lord.”
Ruth 4:1-22
“Naomi, though personally loved and cared for by God, has been a stand in for all of his people this entire time! Though we deserve his judgment as much as anyone else, God is faithful to his covenant promises. Just as he relented in his judgment upon Elimelech’s family, turned and ensured their good and their future, so he also relented in his judgment upon all of Israel, preserving a remnant among them and establishing an eternal dynasty for his people despite their faithlessness. And, even now, God is transforming a people, making us faithful, by revealing his faithfulness in his word.”
Ruth 3:1-18
“The 3rd act ends once again with the words of Naomi. The narrator opens and closes all the other acts, but here, again, Naomi has the first and last words. Her first words are the the first expression of ḥeseḏ which come from Naomi. We get to watch God restore her in more ways than one. Naomi’s outlook changes radically from self-absorption to concern for her daughter-in-law’s well-being. The bitter old woman has started to care for the needs of others. God is truly gracious in the restoration of his people. And he is using his people to bring about this change. This restoration comes as a result of the ḥeseḏ of God expressed to her in the ḥeseḏ of faithful Boaz and loyal Ruth. It was God who first provided her, out of all the unfaithful Israelite, and Moabite women, a daughter-in-law worth more than ten sons; a woman of valor who would devote herself to Naomi’s cause.”
Ruth 1:21-2:23
“The Book of Ruth demonstrates that peace and well-being — the shalom of God — is possible in the midst of personal catastrophes and amid societal degeneration as in the days of the judges, not unlike as it is today. When God is at work, however and bitterly hopeless the beginning, it can result in surprising good. When we are in similar desperate straits, we might see in simple food at the table, and loyal friends, the very work of God, His ḥesed love, his covenant faithful love, sustaining and guiding us until the day he dispels the darkness. We also see that this sovereign control, the meticulous provision of God, is on display in the obedience of his people…”
Ruth 1:1-21
“So what should we learn from the first act in Ruth? Your hardship — even your tragedy — may not be a judgment for your sin. But we dare not quickly come to that conclusion. Like Naomi and Elimelech, none of us is receiving worse from God than we deserve. This is a lie I have told myself many times: ‘I don’t deserve this. I’ve been good…We dare not come to the conclusion that we are receiving worse from God than we deserve…A good, holy, loving God is not in the business of glibly using the death of family members as pawns in a game to get us to know him better. He is in the business of judging people, for that is his prerogative.”
Ruth 1:1-2
“In some parts of Scripture we are going carefully through, line by line, especially teaching sections. But here, in the histories, we are repeatedly reminded that this is all to emphasize one main point: Everyone is doing what they think is right, following their hearts, following their own inclinations; and this leads to utter disaster…We are inundated today with messages like ‘follow your heart,’ ‘do what is right for you,’ ‘Follow your truth’…The message of Judges is: don’t do what you think is right. You are a bad judge of what is right. You need a King!”