Ruth: 3:1-9; a study on chesed – the substance of all things, God’s glory.

Title: Ruth: 3:1-9; a study on chesed - the substance of all things, God’s glory.

 

MAT 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

 

MAT 23:24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

 

In our Lord’s third use of the word eleos, the Greek equivalent of chesed, He points out the blindness of the Pharisees to the glory of God that was in the Law. Interesting that something that brought condemnation upon man could have the glory of God in it. The Law didn’t save anyone. It could not justify a man. But it had the gospel in it and the condemnation was a way in which God could turn a man’s eyes towards the gospel.

 

The blindness or darkness that we were all born into comes with an added feature of self-justification, of actually convincing ourselves that we are good when we are evil.

 

Don’t be deceived. We have a great capacity to actually want sin when convincing ourselves that we want righteousness. You have to thirst for God’s righteousness.

 

The Galatians though they were doing just fine when they became convinced that justification came through the Mosaic Law. The Corinthians thought they were just fine when they harbored division, jealousy, and strife towards one another; when they defrauded one another, and when one of their own took his father’s wife into his bed.

 

When we became born again, this desire for God’s righteousness became a part of us. We became children of light. We became righteous and so we have an affinity for it. Yet the flesh still tempts us. We must feed the thirst for righteousness. We are commanded to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

 

MAT 5:5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

 

MAT 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

 

Seen and loved, such righteousness is chosen, and that is fully empowered by God the Holy Spirit as it is His eternal will for you.

 

The fruit of righteousness is the fruit of the Spirit.

 

It comes down to choice and submission, as we have seen chesed is ultimately linked to obedience and truth. We must have eyes to see.

 

EPH 1:18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

 

EPH 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

 

We can see how having such a mind in us would solve so many problems that can come from our natural bodies. Such a mind, soul, spirit, and heart would seek to control the body, and agreeing with divine thought and motivation, the Holy Spirit would empower this thought to its desired end - self-control.

 

Think of the things that hope solves, as well as riches and power. If I am rich, powerful, and full of hope, what is it that I can’t overcome?

 

This is a long journey, as far as we earth bound humans consider time. It will take a while for us to learn to see more and more clearly. There exists God’s glory in our successes and failures along the way. It’s not that we need to fail, but we will, and we will see why sin opposes God and why fleshliness has no value. Seeing what God hates and seeing the weakness of that which opposes Him are parts of God’s glory.

 

MAT 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

 

MAT 6:20 "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;

 

MAT 6:21 for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

 

MAT 6:22 "The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear [singular], your whole body will be full of light.

 

This does not mean asceticism. There is no command against owning property. Paul wrote Timothy to teach the rich not to be conceited, not to give everything away. They, as well as the poor are to be gracious and cheerful givers. However, if I look at the material aspect of my things as the real treasure than I am storing up that aspect of them.

 

If I look at the material aspect of my things as their real treasure then that is all I am storing up. I must store up the glory of God in them.

 

There is no column labeled “The Substance of God’s Glory” when we open our bank account’s balance sheet. I may relish the amount that is shown, but that is not the real treasure. Can we see the glory of God in our money, our homes, our possessions? Can we see how God desires us to use them, care for them, share them?

 

The heavenly treasure is directly associated with those things, but in every one of them, the heavenly treasure is unseen to the natural eye while it is fully beheld by the spiritual retina.

 

Let’s take the example of a human relationship and let’s find the real substance in it.

 

Even in a person, I could treasure what they look like, their skin, their form, their clothes, etc. I could treasure what they give to me: material, comfort, time, etc. All of this is measured and of the earth. I do not neglect the material aspect of any blessing, or fail to appreciate them, and if needed, I happily let them go in giving or in losing, for the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be His name. The material aspect of a person, place, or thing is not the real substance. Let’s look at a few things that are the real substance of a relationship.