Until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago…

 

Saturday, June 3, 2023


Psalm 78:16-38

Ruth 4

Acts 3:17-4:4


Observances: Week of Prayer for Reconciliation; Ember day; Martyrs of Uganda (d. 1886); Janani Luwum, archbishop of Uganda, martyr (d. 1977); John XXIII, bishop of Rome, reformer (d. 1963)


Until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago…


Isn’t the little side note in Ruth about the sandal a funny inclusion? We don’t get an explanation like that for the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15. Nor did the author decide it was necessary to explain the business with putting hands under thighs in Genesis 24. In fact, the Bible is full of various cultural idioms that are specific to the time and place of the people involved.


This explanation about the sandal really draws into focus the fact that there are some universal consistencies in human behaviour. Today, we might not give each other our shoes to prove how serious we are. But we do have the option to be serious about important matters.


Ruth was under pressure to maintain dignity. Her background as a Moabite would not have made her popular in her adopted nation. The experience of going through the search for a new husband was full of dangers, too. But God made it work. God drew all these threads together; people who held their trust in Him alone and only focused on behaving in a way that would bring honour to His name.


God was then pleased to make this new happy couple the grandparents of David, a king after God’s own heart. David then went on to be the ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. One has to wonder; why did God make us, God-lovers living thousands of years later, on the other side of the world? When Peter preached a “universal” restoration, just how big does God think “universal” means? And what foundations are we laying for generations to come?

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