Leave It With Him

Posted on May 18, 2026 by Pete

If God, in His very being and essence, is holy, righteous, and just (and He is), and if we are image-bearers of God (and we are), then it shouldn’t surprise us that at our core we too are wired for justice. But if the world is fallen (and it is) and our human nature has been corrupted by sin (and it has), then we should also be humble enough to know that our longing for justice is impacted by the just mess that not only surrounds us but is also within us. And so, sometimes you just gotta trust God and leave it with Him.

That’s the flavor I’m getting as I chew on a passage in 2 Samuel 16 this morning.

Absalom, through cunning and deceit, has affected a bloodless coup. He’s in the palace while David and his family and his followers are on the run. And as David & Co. pass through Bahurim, a village east of Jerusalem in the territory of Benjamin, they are confronted by Shimei, “a man of the family of the house of Saul” (2Sam. 16:5).

Shimei was part of a royal line. But God made David king. And Shimei has never got over it and, in fact, blames David for his family’s decline.

And Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man! The LORD has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the LORD has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. See, your evil is on you, for you are a man of blood.”

(2Samuel 16:7-8 ESV)

Shimei has it all wrong. In his refusal to accept the legitimacy of David’s rule, he’s created a narrative in his own mind that David’s rise to power was as a result of David’s ruthlessness towards Saul and his family. Go back and read the 1 Samuel account and that’s simply not the case. Talk about your “fake news.”

So, it’s not surprising when David’s nephew, Abishai, says to David, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and take off his head” (v. 9). These lies, these false accusations, these stones that he keeps throwing at us (v.6), let’s make them stop. Truth demands it. Justice must prevail.

But David knows that vengeance belongs to the Lord, because only the Lord is perfectly just. He knows that while he is not a “man of blood” who killed Saul — or even disrespected Saul when Saul was trying to kill him, he is the “man of blood” who took out an innocent soldier in order to cover up his own sordid sin. Thus, though a king, he is a man who has been humbled and made contrite through the awareness and confession of his own transgression and knows to leave it to the One who along is worthy to judge and who is always just. And so, David says to Abishai, “Leave him alone.”

“Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to. It may be that the LORD will look on the wrong done to me, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing today.” So David and his men went on the road, while Shimei went along on the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went and threw stones at him and flung dust.

(2Samuel 16:11b-13 ESV)

We’re wired for justice. Deep within we want to be justified. And oh, the temptation to take matters into our own hands and set things right, at least for me, is really real.

But God is sovereign. Even over fake news. And the LORD sees. Even the wrong done to us. And if justice is to prevail and good is to return, then it will be the LORD who brings about that justice.

And if, for His sanctifying purposes for me, the Judge waits until the day of judgment to set things right, then let His will be done. And if, in God’s abundant and impartial grace the price for the sin against me has already been paid at the cross of Christ and appropriated through faith by the sinner who sinned against me, then God is good and the gospel is great!

Oh, to have the mindset of David. Oh, to be able to say, “Leave him alone.” Oh, to trust God and leave it with Him.

Only by God’s enabling grace. Only for God’s everlasting glory.

Posted in 2Samuel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

David Sent Joab. The LORD Sent Nathan.

Posted on May 15, 2026 by Pete

I’m pretty sure David didn’t wake up one morning wanting to displease the LORD (2Sam. 11:27b). I’m confident he didn’t start his day intent on “despising the word” of the LORD or doing “what was evil in His sight” (2Sam. 12:9a). But the decision he made that day would have lasting consequences and result in unimaginable collateral damage.

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

(2Samuel 11:1 ESV)

David sent Joab . . . David remained in Jerusalem. I’m thinking that’s pertinent information for the story about to play out.

I don’t think David sending out Joab was sin itself. After all, a king has a lot to attend to and laying siege to a city can be long, long, endeavor. The wrongdoing was not inherently the fact that David remained in Jerusalem, it’s what David does while he’s there. And what he does while he’s there is such a sad, sad, sad story.

How do great, godly leaders, get tripped up in sin? 2 Samuel 11 gives us some insight as to how. It might start with an attitude towards coasting — being lax towards attending to the things that need to be attended to. We might infer that it often starts with having others do for them what they should be doing for themselves. We might also note that not only did David not go with his army, it sounds like he wasn’t doing much kingly business while staying back in Jerusalem. For on the day “it happened”, David had been laying in bed until “late one afternoon” (2Sam. 11:2). Idleness seems to have been at play towards his waywardness.

So, David is perhaps not where he should be. And, where he is, it sounds like he’s not attending to the things he would be if he was intentional about being king. And so, “it happened late one afternoon” that he saw her, and he took her, and she came, and he lay with her” (2Sam. 11:4). Heavy, heavy sigh! How sad.

And as I hover over these seemingly inconsequential acts of David (the acts of remaining at Jerusalem and sleeping in one afternoon . . . not the acts of seeing, taking, and laying with another man’s wife), I can’t help but think of how a little leaven really can make such a mess of a whole lot. Of how temptation really can start with being lured by one’s own desire, like the desire to not go do what you should be doing that day. Of how temptation can be fed when we are enticed by the thought of coasting a little because, “Hey, who’ll know?” But even “inconsequential” temptations, like being okay with a bit of irresponsibility and laziness, when they are “conceived” can give “birth to sin.” “And sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). Death to a valiant soldier (2Sam. 11:14-15). Death to an innocent baby (2Sam. 12:14-19). Death to the possibility of an untarnished legacy (2Sam. 12:11-12).

All because David sent Joab.

But — oh what a glorious word is “but” — the LORD sent Nathan (2Samuel 12:1).

A voice to confront the sin in order to restore the sinner. A voice to show God’s kindness in leading David to repentance (2Sam. 13a). A voice, though amidst the carnage of consequence and collateral damage, of “no condemnation.”

And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.

(2Samuel 12:13b ESV)

The LORD has put away your sin . . .

How deep are the wells of grace? Pretty deep! How “finished” is the work of the cross? Pretty finished. How great is God’s forgiveness? Pretty great.

David sent Joab. In hindsight, kind of a dumb move.

But the LORD sent Nathan. So that . . .

. . . where sin increased, grace abounded all the more . . .

(Romans 5:20 ESV)

And the Father sent the Son, Jesus, the greater Nathan.

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

(Luke 23:34 ESV)

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Amen?

Posted in 2Samuel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Key

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Pete

Paul turns the tables on the Corinthians as he wraps up his letter to them. While they have been examining him and the authenticity of his apostleship, he now writes, “Examine yourselves.” He sits them down and says, “Test yourselves.”

And what hits me this morning is not only does he exhort them to take “the test”, he also provides them with “the key” — all the answers needed to grade the test, to verify the answers, and to determine the score.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?— unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

(2Corinthians 13:5 ESV)

Jesus Christ is in you . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning . . . that’s “the key.”

It’s a subjective examination, a conscience-exploring scrutiny, an inward inspection. Not determined by performance metrics, but by an inner reality — Jesus Christ is in you.

That’s the mind-stretching reality for the true believer, for those who have been “crucified with Christ” — that it is no longer they who live, but Christ who lives in them (Gal. 2:20). It’s their union with Christ — the reality that they abide in the Son of God even as He abides in them (Jn. 15:5) — which becomes the basis for self-examination.

Though I wake every morning battling with the flesh, needing to continue to put to death my old nature, do I find myself increasingly thinking like Jesus, feeling like Jesus, and acting like Jesus? Am I more dependent upon Jesus? Is my decision-making less driven by the question, “What should I do?” and more and more characterized by, “Jesus, what should we do?”

Is the manner in which I conduct myself showing evidence of the fruit that comes from abiding in the Vine, the fruit born of being indwelt by His Spirit (Gal. 5:22)? That because Jesus Christ is in me, I can see proof I am becoming more characterized by love, joy, and peace. That because it’s no longer I who live, there’s a patience and kindness and goodness that is showing it’s sourced from Someone other than me. That through my union with Christ, faithfulness, and gentleness, and self-control are showing signs that they are increasingly an innate part of me. Or, should I say, part of us?

We should examine ourselves to see whether we are walking in the faith. We should take the test. But let’s not forget the key. It’s not about how am I doing, but about how is He doing in me and through me. For we know that the “final exam” will verify that salvation’s work is complete when it reveals that we have been “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).

Jesus Christ is in you . . . that’s the key.

The Source of abounding grace. The Savior worthy of everlasting glory.

Amen?

Posted in 2Corinthians | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Nevertheless

Posted on May 8, 2026 by Pete

There they were again. Situation desperate. “Save us, O LORD!” (v.47)

And when I say “again”, I mean AGAIN. This wasn’t their first rodeo. Not the first time they had blown it. Not the first time their waywardness had left them lost. So, the songwriter sings again, “Save us, O LORD.”

Hovering over Psalm 106 and what hits me is that these are a people who just can’t move on. They keep rehearsing the past — in so many ways a very unflattering past. The kind of past you’d just as soon forget. But the psalmist digs up the past, replaying the same old same old failures from long, long ago.

Both we and our fathers have sinned;
       we have committed iniquity;
              we have done wickedness.

(Psalm 106:6 ESV)

He plays again the vinyl LP of their redemption and rescue from Egypt, and it grates with the scratches and gouges of sin.

You redeemed, Lord. Lord, they soon forgot. You raised up a deliverer, but they were jealous of Moses. You showed Yourself mighty, but they made a calf and worshiped a metal image. Showed them Your glory but they exchanged it for the image of an ox and forgot that you were their Savior (Ps. 106:16-21).

You led them to the promised land, but they despised it, having no faith in the promise. So, they murmured in their tents and they cheated with the Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead (Ps. 106:24-28).

Yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it all before. Many times! Can’t we just move on? Do we need to dredge up the past again and again and again?

Evidently, we do.

For isn’t it in remembering past faults while enduring present failings that we’re propelled to again cast ourselves upon the glorious gospel and know afresh our need once again for His abundant grace? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Nevertheless, He looked upon their distress,
       when He heard their cry.
For their sake He remembered His covenant,
       and relented according to the abundance of His steadfast love.

(Psalm 106:44-45 ESV)

Nevertheless . . . is there a more glorious word than nevertheless? A word that captures so succinctly the essence of the gospel? A word that ties every remembrance of past failings to our steadfast hope for a promised future?

Nevertheless . . . He looked . . . He heard . . . He remembered . . . according to the abundance of His steadfast love . . .

That’s why, though we no longer bear the guilt of our past transgressions, we should never dismiss them. Why, though God remembers them no more, putting them as far away as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12), we should never forget them. For when (not if) we sin again, we thus remember again the abundance of His steadfast love. We recall the nevertheless of grace — not to presume upon it but to persevere because of it. When we blow it again, we can know He will look again, and hear again, and remember again.

All so we can give thanks again.

Save us, O LORD our God,
       and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to Your holy name
       and glory in Your praise.

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
       from everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
       Praise the LORD!

(Psalm 106:47-48 ESV)

Thank God, again, for His abundant grace, for His unfailing nevertheless.

To Him, again, be everlasting glory.

Posted in Psalms | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Beware the Scribe. Behold the Widow

Posted on May 6, 2026 by Pete

Ladies and gentlemen . . .
May I draw your attention to the main event of the evening morning.

In this corner, the scribes.
Those who like to prance around in their Sunday best.
Those who seek the limelight and are fueled by flattery.
Those who have reserved for themselves places in the front pew at church
and seats at the head table at every party.
Those who think nothing of consuming a widow’s wealth
even as they claim to be conversing with heaven’s throne.

And in the other corner . . . one of those widows.
Robed in rags. Unnoticed in public. With but a penny to offer.
And yet, offering all of that penny.
Noticed by God.

I’m hovering over the contrast presented at the end of Mark 12 this morning (verses 38-44). And I’m chewing on the Lord’s admonition.

“Beware of the scribes . . . ” (Mark 12:38a ESV)

Beware . . . see accurately . . . discern mentally . . . understand perceptively . . . weigh carefully.

Oh, what postures, pretenses, and mistreatment are birthed out of arrogant righteousness. What self-deluding folly to think that prominence and power on earth is the way to drawing the praise of heaven. In fact, says Jesus, “They will receive the greater condemnation” (Mk. 12:40b).

But heaven’s commendation? It is for those with the least who are willing to release it all. Those who enter His courts unnoticed. Those who give out of their poverty with abundance. Those who Jesus takes notice of.

Beware the scribes. Behold the widow.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

Posted in Mark | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Triggered

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Pete

As I started reading Psalm 102 this morning, I thought to myself how the psalms can often evoke some pretty intense emotions. In modern vernacular, they can be “triggering.”

Though suffering no major affliction, though things overall are on the “mountain top” side of the continuum rather than “in the valley”, you can read a God-breathed prayer of the afflicted and flashbacks to your own affliction flash back. A reminder that trials and suffering, far from completely passing away, just become part of the fabric of your life as you go forward. While time may heal our wounds, there often remains the scar.

Dane Ortlund had another cut on this “triggering” effect which resonated deeply this morning.

Pain is not something we experience some of the time.
Pain is something we experience in some part of life all of the time.
(Dane Ortlund, In the Lord I Take Refuge, p.281)

But, having “picked the scab”, having brought to the surface that every present, low-lying pain, this morning Psalm 102 also liberally applies the balm.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
       so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD:
that He looked down from his holy height;
       from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
       to set free those who were doomed to die,
that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD,
       and in Jerusalem His praise,
when peoples gather together,
       and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

(Psalm 102:18-22 EV)

Let this be recorded . . . He looked down . . . to hear the groans . . . to set free . . . that they may declare . . . His praise. That’s the meal this morning.

He looks, He hears, He sets free. Praise the Lord!

More than that — if there could be more than that — through the Son, He has experienced our pain and He has born our suffering (Isa. 53:4). Able to sympathize with our ever present weakness caused by our wounds (Heb. 4:15). Acutely aware that our frame is able to bear only so much alone and that, over time, the weight may well increase because of residual accumulations from trials past.

Jesus knows the weight. Thus, His invitation is new every morning:

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

He looks. He hears. He sets free. Not from a distance, but from the intimate nearness that comes from our union with Christ, as we abide in Him and He abides in us (Jn. 15:4).

So, let this be recorded for a generation to come . . . Jesus saves and saves to the uttermost.

By His overflowing grace. For His everlasting glory.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Posted in Psalms | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

No Bleating Sheep

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Pete

Like all of us, I’m guessing King Saul was a pretty complex guy. Whatever the details of his story during his formative years, from what’s recorded in 1Samuel of his adult years he — like the rest of us — had it all going on. Even though God had given him “another heart” (1Sam. 10:9), internally Saul appears to have been a swirling tempest of insecurities, pride, and the fear of man. The evidence of which, from this morning’s reading, was bleating sheep.

The instructions from God were clear. The persistent, habitual sins of the Amalekites warranted God’s wrath. There would be no more waiting. They had been divinely weighed and found wanting. Their day of judgment had come. Thus, God purposed to “devote to destruction” the descendents of Amalek and all that they had. And King Saul and the people of God were to be His instrument of enacting His sentence. “Do not spare them”, says the Lord.

And King Saul acts upon the LORD’s command. Sort of. Well, mostly.

And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?”

(1Samuel 15:12-14 ESV)

Bleating sheep . . . partial obedience . . . corrupt compliance . . . self-serving submission. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Saul spared the Amalekite king, for there was no greater testimony to one king’s greatness than another, defeated king’s displayed subservience. And he spared the best of the livestock — for why should the spoils of battle go to waste when they are so effective in conveying the conqueror’s worth? So, rather than whole-hearted obedience, King Saul instead devoted to destruction only that which “was despised and worthless” (1Sam. 15:9).

How come? ‘Cause, like the rest of us, King Saul was a pretty complex guy. Aka . . . like the rest of us, he was a mess. A inner whirlwind of insecurities, pride, and fear of man skewing His faithfulness to God.

So, I could sit here this morning, listening too to the bleating of the sheep and judge Saul. I could also identify with Saul, hearing my own bleating sheep, and simply resolve to do better. To determine with my own defiled determination to try harder.

Or, I could think on another King who was raised up as an instrument for God’s judgment. Not to enact God’s judgment (though that day is coming) but to bear God’s judgment. To take upon Himself the sins of the world. Dealing with all our sins and devoting them too to destruction — as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). Nothing left un-atoned for. No bleating sheep.

I could hear again, by faith, the voice of the Lamb of God as He whispers, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk. 23:34), and as He cries out, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30).

My King perfectly obeying the Father’s command. No bleating sheep.

It is finished.

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).

No bleating sheep.

Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Only because of His grace. Always for His glory.

Posted in 1Samuel | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Wait!

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Pete

“The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble” (1Samuel 13:6a).

Ya’ think?!?

Jonathan had poked the Philistine bear (13:3a), and now the bear was preparing to poke back. Thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore had gathered to fight against Israel (13:5). It was a massive, massive, military buildup.

To King Saul’s credit, he didn’t run but was ready to lead as a king should. He “blew the trumpet” (13:3b), mustering the fighting men of Israel, and was ready to go before them into battle. But when his fighting men saw the amassing hoard, they weren’t so sure they were ready to follow. And so, they started to scatter, some hiding “in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns” and some high-tailing it as they “crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead”. And those who stayed with Saul? Well, they “followed him trembling” (13:6-7).

And still, by faith, believing he had been called by God and that God would be true to His promise (12:22), Saul was ready to battle the enemy. Though, day by day, his army was shrinking, both in numbers and in courage.

So, why did Saul delay, day by day? Because Samuel needed to come and to offer the appropriate sacrifices and inquire of the Lord. But Samuel didn’t come. Seven days were appointed to await his arrival and the clock was ready to “strike midnight” on the seventh day with God’s prophet and priest nowhere in sight (13:8).

So, whaddya’ gonna do in a situation like that?

So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?”

(1Samuel 13:9-11a ESV)

He offered the burnt offering . . . Of course he did!

What choice did Saul have? The enemy is formidable. The battle is inevitable. Samuel is seemingly unavailable. And Saul’s army is quickly becoming less and less viable. And still Saul knows that God must be sought first so that His favor would be favorable (13:12). And so, by his own admission, Saul did was practicable.

“So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”

(1Samuel 13:12b ESV)

He offered the burnt offering . . . What else was he going to do?

Seems to me there’s something here about wanting to do the right thing but going about in the wrong way. Something about the ends not necessarily justifying the means. Something about circumstantial pragmatics tempting even sincere followers of God to take matters into their own hands rather than remaining faithful to His sovereign principles. Something about being cornered into feeling you have no choice actually being God’s crucible to test what’s in your heart.

So, whaddya gonna do in a situation like Saul’s? Whaddya’ gonna do when, for all the right reasons and because you’ve rightly assessed the situation, you feel like you have no choice but to take action, even when you know that action goes against God’s command?

I think the answer has to be: Wait! By faith, wait.

For the will of God will always be in accord with the ways of God. So, wait.

Easier said than done? Yeah. But it’s not left to me alone. For it’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20).

O’ to be faithful . . . even when I feel like I have no choice but to take matters into my own hands.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

Posted in 1Samuel | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hate Evil!

Posted on April 27, 2026 by Pete

I read the “command to obey” in Psalm 97 and it triggers something. It picks at something that’s bugged me for a while. But part of me wants to just brush it off for fear of getting on a hobby-horse. And yet another part of me says, it’s been served up this morning, so chew on it.

What’s that something? It’s the idea that choosing “the lesser of two evils” is a righteous thing to do.

Somehow that’s become a thing in this cultural moment. If two things are evil, and you feel like you gotta pick one, then the right thing to do must be to choose “the lesser of two evils.” That, if you want to advance the things of righteousness but there are no righteous options, then it just makes sense to opt for the “the lesser of two evils.” But is that really the way it works in the economy of the kingdom of heaven?

Romans 12 has been my “go to” text for objecting to buying into the rightness of getting behind “the lesser of two evils.”

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

(Romans 12:9, 21 ESV)

You don’t overcome evil with the “lesser of two evils”, you overcome evil with good.

And that, as I’m reminded in this morning’s reading, is because of what we believe about our God.

The LORD reigns, let the earth rejoice;
       let the many coastlands be glad!

O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
       He preserves the lives of His saints;
       He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
       and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
       and give thanks to His holy name!

(Psalm 97:1, 10-12 ESV)

O you who love the LORD, hate evil! . . . That’s what’s grabbed me this morning.

A truth about our God — the LORD reigns — connects to a command to obey for me — hate evil!

Don’t choose evil, even when it’s the “lesser of two evils”. Hate it!

And how can I do that when so much is at stake? Set your mind on things above (Col. 3:2) and remember — and believe — the LORD reigns.

If God rules (MSG), if He really is king (NLT), then nothing needs to force my hand to NOT hate evil. Nothing corners me into choosing the lesser of two things which I am to abhor.

For the LORD preserves. And the LORD delivers.

And it is the LORD who sows seeds of light among His people (that sounds pretty metaphysical, something to chew on for another time). Nothing else, nor anyone else, in this world will produce a harvest of righteousness for the upright in heart.

Thus, because the LORD reigns, by faith I can always abhor what is evil and only hold fast to what is good and believe that evil just will not overcome evil (even if it’s “the lesser of two evils”), but that good, under God, ultimately prevails.

By His grace. For His glory.

Posted in Psalms | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

They Named Him

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Pete

For many, there’s a lot that goes into picking a newborn’s name. Lists to read, lineages to remember, legacies on which to ruminate. While not every mother-to-be, nor every father-to-be, may put the same level of effort into coming up with their child’s name, I’m guessing that for most it’s rarely left up to the neighbors to decide. And that’s what caught my attention this morning — they named him.

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.”

(Ruth 4:13-17a ESV)

The women of the neighborhood gave him a name . . . They named him . . .

Wait a minute! Where’s the mother in the middle of all this? She’s the young widow who had determined not to abandon her embittered mother-in-law and instead chose to leave her land and leave her people for a foreign land and for a foreign people. She’s the one who had worked the fields. She’s the one who had found favor. She’s the one who consented to marrying the man. She’s the one who had born the baby. And yet, other than being “his wife” and “your daughter-in-law”, after the birth of her baby Ruth shares relatively little of the limelight. Instead, it’s her mother-in-law, Naomi, who’s the focus. “A son has been born to Naomi,” they said.

What’s more, it’s not Ruth who gets to read the lists, remember her lineage, or consider her legacy. Instead, when it comes to giving her newborn son a name, the women of the neighborhood gave him a name.

Chew on it for a bit and, it seems to me, something’s out of whack. Sure, it might just be ancient cultural practices clashing with my modern expectations. But, I’m thinking that even in bible times, parents typically were the ones who named their children. But this child was part of a much larger story, as was his mother.

So, I’m noodling on Ruth and her role in this redemption story. Someone “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel” and a stranger “to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). Someone who found favor in the eyes of a redeemer (Ruth 2:10-13). Someone bought by the redeemer to be his wife (Ruth 4:10). Someone who, in her “before life”, did not bear children but now is blessed of God and fruitful. Someone who, in the end, is left out of the spotlight, though the impact and remembrance of her legacy will be remembered forever (Matt. 1:5).

Hmm . . . kind of like the bride of the One Boaz points to as the greater Redeemer, Jesus the Christ — kind of like the church. Foreigners who have found favor. Bought with a price (1Cor. 6:20, 7:23). Redeemed to be a Bride (Eph. 5:25-27, Rev. 19:7-8). Once barren, now able to “bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Not only for her own good, but for the good of others. Not just for her glory, but for her Redeemer’s. Not so she would own the spotlight, but ready to decrease that her Bridegroom might increase (John 3:29-30).

She didn’t even get to name her baby, the women of the neighborhood gave him a name . . . They named him.

But she would always know the joy of being her Redeemer’s bride.

By His grace. For His glory.

Posted in Ruth | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment