God's Goodness Rains Even on the Ungodly

     (Reflecting on Genesis 26-27) The fact that Isaac didn't retract a blessing that had been given under a guise of deception (of Jacob and Rebekah) is quite alarming.  It is quite an interesting thing that God had set His blessing, eye and hand on the one who was known for lying and manipulation.  Like, what. The. Heck?  There were so many spiritual inconsistencies, and yet, God prophesied favor and blessing on the one who least deserved it.
     Which gets me thinking...Do I demand that God bless those who I think deserve it?  There are moments, that in being wronged, I desire justice, but the truth is, I can also demand justice to the point that I will demonize the offender until accountability or change has been proven evident to my eyes.  Nothing less suffices.  But Jesus says to love our enemies.  Even when I'm hurt, can I bless my enemies?  Or do I require that God's blessings and goodness be based on one's merit?
     So often, people want mercy for themselves but require retribution for those who have done wrong.  And yet, sometimes the way God works is that He chooses to work in the offender and sinner, rather than the one who has the "perfect" background.  Can I expect God's glory and work to flourish in and through the life of someone who I've known well enough to witness their spiritual inconsistencies?
     I'm not saying accountability shouldn't be considered.  It should.  But can I trust that God is at work - and desires to manifest His glory in the most unlikely (and most undeserving) of people?  After all, I bet there are people who know me well enough they could point out my spiritual inconsistencies...and I'm trusting Jesus to continue His redemptive work in me.
     This discussion of God's glory and goodness be manifested in the lives of our enemies is so counter to our humanity, because frankly, it is easier (and more comfortable) to believe that God pours His favor based on our merit.  We like it, but it smells of social Darwinism and of the prosperity gospel.  On some level, we remain convinced that evidence of God's blessing is showing how well things go.  (Paradoxically, this isn't so.  Can't tell you how many times a God-thing usually was succeeded by a hellish storm, afterward. Just because things aren't bliss or easy doesn't mean it isn't a God thing.  Another topic for another time, I suppose.)
     God's goodness is showered on the godly and ungodly; on the righteous and the wicked.  Again...this isn't to say we stay silent in the face of unhealthy behaviors and sin.  But in the quiet moments, it is imperative to believe that the grace Jesus afforded for us, God desires for our enemies.
     Speaking of grace and learning to walk away from a works-mindset, I am finding that grace has become MORE REAL when God is challenging me to go deeper with my forgiveness.  It's not just letting go of an expectation of an apology.  It is also wanting God to extend His love, favor and purpose upon those who have hurt me.
     Grace has become self-reflective, because if I want justice to be held over others' heads and even considering God's heart to transform the hearts of enemies, I still need to answer the following question: how much should I be requiring works to be the standard for which God's favor will flow?  For what standard I hold over others, I must hold over myself.  And if I can admit that I need Jesus to work in my life, and trust Him to do that in His timing, then maybe I need to extend the same grace to others, especially those who I so easily can point out their shame.

Gaining a Greater Inheritance: A Case Study of Boaz

"Son of a whore!”   “Hebrew?! Fat chance!  His momma was a foreigner!”     All conjecture, but I do wonder if Boaz's maternal lineage had any impact on his growing up years.  Not that it is stated in Scripture, and frankly, there were steep consequences in the Old Testament law for making curses.  But is it possible that the temptation to tease the son of a former Jerichoite for his “unfortunate” heritage may have come across someone’s mind?  And maybe, it was never a concern.  After all, Boaz’s mother probably was well-known as the woman who hid Israelite spies, and later adopted Elohim as her own God (see Joshua 2:1-24; Matthew 1:5).  Either way, by the time he reached adulthood, Rahab’s son had become a prominent, well-respected and financially successful man in the town of Bethlehem.     His world was probably like any other agriculturalist, and perhaps nothing was too out of the ordinary.  That was - until the arrival of a foreign woman who came across his land, seeking financial provision.  In time, he found out this woman was a widow, and the daughter-in-law of a family member; another widow by the name of Naomi.  This Moabite woman’s name was Ruth.     I always wondered if Boaz’s heritage - more explicitly his mother’s line - may have encouraged the compassion he showed for Ruth: why he jumped quickly to help her as a neighbor; why he didn’t judge her character based on ethnicity, until he saw the character on display; why, even when she asked for the ultimate sacrifice, he was willing if allowed.     Boaz is an Old Testament example of a redeemer.  Typically called in church tradition, a “kinsman redeemer” or the “guarenteer”, because he was willing to provide and cover the debt of his family.  Naomi’s dead husband was a relative, and he could commit to caring for her and her daughter-in-law, as long as it wasn’t another close(r) relative’s responsibility.  And Boaz was eager to do this redeeming.     Nevertheless, the redemption wasn’t without a cost.  A closer relative, who had first dibs on redeeming Naomi and her daughter-in-law, refused the course of action, because it would endanger his own family’s heritage.  “Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.’  And the close relative said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance.  You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’ (Ruth 4:5-6).”  Boaz’ choice in redeeming the widow was that his first son would be credited to her dead husband; not to his own name.  And yet, Boaz willingly chose to redeem her; even had a hint of excitement to do it (see Ruth 3:10-13).     Boaz indeed married Ruth, and soon after, a son named Obed, was born.  Initially, Obed was called the son of Naomi (Ruth 4:17), hinting at the inheritance that should have come through her own son, who died.  And yet, in my studying of Ruth and other places of genealogies, Ruth’s dead husband isn’t the one named as the father of Obed.  Maybe there was an inheritance, but historically, Boaz was given the acknowledgment of being Obed’s father (see Ruth 4:18-22 for an immediate example).  When Matthew was substantiating Jesus’ lineage through the tribe of Judah, he not only hinted at Joseph’s father, as well as being connected with David (king from whom the Messiah would come).  He also mentioned this: “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king (Matthew 1:5, emphasis added).”  Boaz was willing to bring redemption to someone who did not deserve it, calculated the casualty of the cost; and yet, in redeeming the person, gained an inheritance that extended beyond himself.  A gift of family, through fatherhood.

    “Oh, that poor boy.  Such a sweetheart to care for her, considering how she treated him.”
    “Maybe he’s just being accountable.  Who knows if he got her pregnant before she left to visit her cousin.”
    “Perhaps.  But think of what kind of kid they’ll have?!  No matter how you look at it, it’s a scandal!
    Joseph, in claiming Jesus as his own son, was a scandal indeed.  People don’t just claim kids as their own, if their betrothed cheated on them.  Yet, he did (it helped that an angel revealed that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and not humanly initiated; see Matthew 1:19-21).  It was actually Joseph adopting Jesus as his own son that connected Jesus to the tribe of Judah (this is why I consider Joseph as an adoptive father, rather than a step-father, to some extent.  Jesus was considered legally as Joseph’s son, carrying his inheritance.  But maybe Joseph is considered a step-father, because Jesus identified His sonship with both Joseph and God the Father…but maybe this is reading the Scripture through Western eyes.) 
    But if anything was a scandal about Jesus, the matter of His birth was the smallest portion of all.  The reality of it all was that there was a God seeking to redeem His whole creation, and He chose to do it Himself.  But, as with Boaz, redemption wasn’t without a casualty on the part of the Redeemer.  There would be pain in carrying the weight of the world’s sin - past, present, and future.  “...And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:6).”  While on the cross, Jesus cried out to His Heavenly Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me,” echoing the Messianic prophecy in Psalms 22.  And yet…
    Redemption is not redemption if there is not a return. “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship You.  For the kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations (Psalm 22:27-28).”  And just as with Boaz, the inheritance gained was greater than the momentary cost.  Jesus didn’t just save creation from going to hell.  He made us righteous.  “...Be reconciled to God.  For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:20b-21).”
    Being cleansed of our sins is a HUGE deal, but what is just as incredible is that God not only made us righteous, but in being righteous, He calls us His own children.  Where back in John 3:16, Jesus was called God’s only begotten Son, by the time Romans was written, Paul points out that the family reunion became a WHOLE LOT BIGGER.  “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba Father.’  The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:14-17, emphasis added).”  A heritage birthed out of fatherhood.
    The topic of redemption is central to the gospel.  It is the hope we stand on.  It is the crux of our faith in God, because in Christianity, we recognize the depravity of our humanity and the need for a Savior to come rescue us.  But this rescue came at an intense cost.  And yet, Jesus saw the brutal treatment He suffered for our sake as a joy, because of what would become a result (see Hebrews 12:2).  We no longer were held in bondage to our sin.  But additionally, the joy I believe Jesus found was that His inheritance was being able to call us His own…family.  As with Boaz, Jesus laid down His reputation, His right to a heritage…and yet, in His redemptive purchase, He gained an inheritance greater than any could imagine or previously thought possible.  Until it was possible.