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

Class Outline:

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

 

The heavenly treasure is directly associated with the glory of God in everything and everyone in our lives. The heavenly treasure is unseen to the natural eye while it is fully beheld by the spiritual retina.

 

“Keats wrote: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty."

And hence it is that the love of truth and the love of beauty can exist together in the work of the artist. The search for this inner truth is the search for beauty. People whose vision does not penetrate beyond the narrow limits of the commonplace, and to whom a cabbage is but a vulgar vegetable, are surprised if they see a beautiful picture painted of one, and say that the artist has idealized it, meaning that he has consciously altered its appearance on some idealistic formula; whereas he has probably only honestly given expression to a truer, deeper vision than they had been aware of. The commonplace is not the true, but only the shallow, view of things.” [Harold Speed, The Practice and Science of Drawing]

 

As an artist’s eye must be trained, so the inner eye of the Christian must be trained through the word of God by the Spirit of God so that it may be singular, i.e. that it can see the glory of God in all things.

 

The real substance of a relationship is mercy. It is the thought of giving up anything for their benefit. The substance exists, well before the giving is done. The substance is agape love.

 

If I lose sight of the glory of God in my relationship then it is just a matter of time before my soul turns to dark things like bitterness, anger, condemnation, self-pity, and arrogance.

 

When I find it difficult to see the glory of God in a certain relationship, ask God in prayer.

 

JOH 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.”

 

JOH 16:23 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if you shall ask the Father for anything, He will give it to you in My name.

 

JOH 16:24 Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.”

 

I guarantee you that this will be necessary, because the glory of God shines brightest to us when we are weak. We each have a very hard time seeing and we must take that weakness to God and ask Him to help us to see. After all, we were all born blind. We need our Lord’s miracle hands.

 

Paul had to see the glory of God in the thorn that was in his flesh. He gloried in his weakness because it forced him to fully depend upon God’s grace, which he found to be sufficient. Paul was not referring to sinfulness as weakness; rather, it was the inability to do the work of righteousness that he was called to do. Paul depended upon God’s grace to a point and it was time to extend that point farther away from him. God is doing just this for all of us.

 

I again quote from an art book:

“Beautiful things seem to put us in correspondence with a world the harmonies of which are more perfect, and bring a deeper peace than this imperfect life seems capable of yielding of itself. Our moments of peace are, I think, always associated with some form of beauty, of this spark of harmony within corresponding with some infinite source without. Like a mariner's compass, we are restless until we find repose in this one direction. In moments of beauty (for beauty is, strictly speaking, a state of mind rather than an attribute of certain objects, although certain things have the power of inducing it more than others) we seem to get a glimpse of this deeper truth behind the things of sense. And who can say but that this sense, dull enough in most of us, is not an echo of a greater harmony existing somewhere the other side of things, that we dimly feel through them, evasive though it is.” [Harold Speed, The Practice and Science of Drawing]  

 

When we see the glory of God in our relationship, we inherit the real substance of it while the other person remains free.

 

I’m sure we have all been in relationships in which the other person wanted to make us a slave, and I know we’ve all done this to others. We start doing it in childhood when we become old enough to really want. The enslaved one in the relationship may not be chained up in a cell, but they are asked to make the other happy. It is demanded of them that they fulfill the needs of the other and they are enslaved.

 

The Philippians had sent a financial gift to Paul. He rejoiced when he received it, but not because he depended upon them or any other of the churches to care for him, but that graciousness and mercy was in their hearts, which was evidenced by the gift.

 

Php 4:10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.

 

Php 4:11 Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

 

Php 4:12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

 

Php 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

 

Christ is the only person we really need. Because of that, we do not look to others to fulfill the necessities of life, love, and happiness. 

 

Php 4:14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.

 

They had done well because they had developed gracious, sacrificial, merciful love. Paul wrote in 2Co 8 that the Macedonians had given out of their poverty, not their abundance. He rejoiced in the maturity of their inner men. Paul was only concerned with giving and not receiving.

 

Mercy or chesed must only come from a person with such a heart. If we see ourselves dependent upon the other in our relationship for the important things such as happiness, fulfillment, needs, hope, etc. then we will never give out of our poverty. We might give out of abundance because we know we should give and it makes us feel good, but in the end, this is also selfishly driven. Chesed gives and sacrifices even when we experience our own pressing needs.

 

When we have mercy, the other in our relationships is free and not enslaved.

 

Now we turn to the nemesis in all of this. The flesh fights it.

 

The real inheritance in all things is the glory of God in them. Our spiritual eyes must be trained to see them and the flesh must be commanded to silence. 

 

The flesh will fight this, especially at the beginning, when you start to strive to make mercy a reality in your life. Always remember that doing this is setting your mind on the things of the Spirit, and this the Spirit empowers. The flesh wars against the Spirit. It will be uncomfortable. Emotions will rise up and begin a revolt. It is not easily flowing as the flesh says, “No, No, NO!” and we have to tell the flesh to shut up and sit down. You won’t find it comfortable, but you will find that you can do it because the Holy Spirit is empowering you to do it. It is His fruit after all.

 

When we do so we have just inherited something. The meek will inherit the earth. I truly think this is part of the meaning of that beatitude.

 

When we see the glory of God’s love and mercy in our relationships, we inherit the relationship’s real substance, and we never ask the other to fulfill anything in us. In fact, we give, we forgive, we sacrifice, etc. and not because they will say thank you, but because we have taken hold of the glory of God in our relationship with them.

 

The glory of God has overwhelmed us. We loved as God loved and we reaped what was sown by God in our hearts.

 

ROM 5:5 hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

This is why it is so important to see the glory of God through the eyes of our soul in the relationships we have with people and in the things that we possess.