Three of my children are African-American. Before they entered my life, I did not fully understand. Now when I see the news, their faces always flash through my mind. It could be MY son or MY daughter.
It's personal.
None of us with white skin have pain because of our skin color. My friends with different skin have stories. If you don’t know this get to know some folks. Race conversations are uncomfortable but we need fearless leaders, especially in the church. Ahmaud should be celebrating 26 today.
"You cannot be a people of conquest if you're unwilling to enter the battle."
"You can talk all day about what God has promised to do through His people, but you will never live in those promises until you act on them. There will come a moment of impact when your insistence will meet the world's resistance."
I love that my church family is culturally diverse, ethnically diverse, and politically diverse.
This is not a political blog post.
This is an intellectually-honest blog post free of spin or debates or soundbites.
Whether you are Republican, Democrat, Independent or whatever, let's put country above party and be Americansfirst:
We have a national emergency.
I don't claim to have all the answers.
My heart drops every time these headlines scream across my phone.
Here are the three things I do know:
I am part of the problem.
Christian leaders are also part of the problem.
I can be part of the solution.
Yes, I am part of the problem.
I'm not proud of this and I feel shame.
My votes helped put voices into national leadership - in both parties - that have not solved this recurring, chronic problem.
Leaders that I voted for are silent or engage in pivoting when the very urgent, very dangerous rise of white nationalism is mentioned in television interviews.
I helped put some of those leaders into power.
I am ashamed of my voting record.
I am part of the problem.
Christian leaders are also part of the problem.
I am also ashamed of faith leaders -- Christian pastors -- who pursue photo-ops with politicians, choosing to cloak themselves with the vestiges of political power instead of cloaking themselves in the righteousness of Christ.
Biblical justice goes hand-in-hand with truth.
Racism, white nationalism, and white supremacy all make no sense if you are a Christian.
I literally worship a dark-skinned, Jewish savior from the Middle East.
I've been to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
Jesus had brown skin.
Not only is racism sinful, it is remarkably stupid for anyone who identifies as a Christian.
And I can be part of the solution.
Solutions require prayer to God and speaking truth to power.
This is not about video games:
Great Britain has a population of 65 million. The United States has a population of 330 million (5x larger).
Great Britain has video game revenues in excess of $5 billion. The United States has video game revenues in excess of $25 billion (5x larger).
Great Britain's 2017 gun homicides: 31. The United States' 2017 gun homicides: 14,542 (469x larger).
You cannot blame video games.
This is not about mental health:
If any of these gunmen had been brown or black, "mental health" wouldn't even be mentioned by politicians.
Listen, if one of the gunmen had been Muslim, we would see be seeing politicians quickly jumping on tv decrying terrorists.
It seems that when a violent gunman is white, politicians hide behind "the need for better mental health solutions."
This in itself is a problem of white privilege.
I can be part of the solution.
My God hears my prayers.
I can seek Him first in repentance, then in petition for His help.
Our fight is not against flesh and blood (see Ephesians 6).
I can also be a voice for change.
Our generation cries out for a new direction.
It’s time for leaders to come together.
No cameras. No grandstanding. No politics.
Just come together and create a solution.
Solutions DO exist.
The solutions may not be perfect and may not make every group happy, but inaction is no longer acceptable.
If our leaders do not move beyond "thoughts and prayers" and political grandstanding, things will only grow darker.
I was a child of the 80's.
I remember the Cold War.
No shots were fired, but the tensions and effects were real.
Inaction in the face of these mass murders will slide our country into a new kind of Cold War... a Cold Civil War.
It's time to be brave.
It's time to repent.
And it's time for our all leaders to come together and take action.
Ruth is a strange and beautiful book--beautiful because of its characters’ virtues and faithfulness, but strange because of some of its literary features.
THE NUMBER TEN
The number 10 is prominent in Ruth:
Naomi sojourns in Moab for 10 years.
Ruth delivers a total of 10 speeches (1.10, 16, 2.2, 10, 13, 19, 21, 3.5, 9, 17).
Boaz gathers 10 elders to serve as witnesses for him.
Chapter 4 ends with a ten-fold genealogy, strung together with 10 occurrences of the vb. הוליד = ‘beget’.
The prominence of the number 10 is significant.
The law of Moses--which, of course, is based around the 10 words/commandments--is central to what transpires in the book of Ruth.
Ruth’s is a story about the demands of Israel’s law and the community defined by it.
Meanwhile, the name ‘Boaz’ occurs 20 times (2 x 10) because Boaz is a man who *magnifies* the law.
The law simply requires landowners not to ‘over-harvest’ their fields (to allow ‘the poor’ and ‘the sojourner’ to glean in them: Lev. 19.9, 23.22).
But Boaz goes beyond what the law requires, and leaves entire sheaves of wheat in Ruth’s path.
The law simply requires Boaz to buy back Naomi’s (recently sold) land (Lev. 25.25-30), but Boaz requires not only the land, but Naomi and Ruth to be provided for (4.5), per the spirit of the law (cp. Deut. 25.5-6 w. Lev. 25.25-30).
THE NUMBER 12
Equally prominent in Ruth is the number 12:
The name ‘Ruth’ occurs 12 times.
The vb. ‘glean’ (לקט) occurs 12 times (always with Ruth as its subject).
The most common conjugation of לקט is לקטה = ‘she gleans’, which has a gematrial value of 144 (12 x 12).
The God of Israel is referred to 24 times (יהוה x 18, אלהים x 4, שדי x 2).
And the root גאל = ‘redeem’ occurs 24 times (גאל x 22, גְּאֻלָּה x 2).
Like that of the number 10, the prominence of the number 12 is significant.
Ruth is the story of a woman who comes to glean in Israel and is ultimately incorporated into Israel’s 12 tribes.
And, appropriately, the person who facilitates her incorporation is Boaz, Eli-Melech’s מוֹדָע--a word with a gematrial value of 10 x 12 = 120.
HEBREW WORDPLAY
The text of Ruth is also full of wordplay and pleasant literary touches.
For instance: at the book’s outset, Naomi’s sons are said to ‘take’ (נשא) themselves wives (1.4), which is an unusual choice of verb. (לקח would be more common.)
But our author employs the verb נשא because he wants to tell a story with it:.
Ruth is ‘taken’ (נשא) in marriage by one of Naomi’s sons (1.4).
When Naomi decides to head back to Judah, Ruth ‘lifts’ (נשא) up her voice and weeps (1.9, 14) and pledges to stay by Naomi’s side.
Ruth eventually becomes a provider for Naomi as she ‘carries’ (נשא) an ephah (אֵיפָה) of barley back to her.
Note: When Ruth gets home, Naomi wants to know ‘where’ (אֵיפֹה) she got an אֵיפָה of barley from.
The verb עזב is employed to tell a similar story, and is a significant root since עזב is an anagram of בֹּעַז = ‘Boaz’.
Ruth chooses to ‘leave’ (עזב) her family rather than ‘leave’ (עזב) Naomi (1.6, 2.11).
In response, Boaz tells his men to ‘leave’ (עזב) sheaves of barley in Ruth’s path (2.15).
And the God of Israel does not ‘overlook’ (עזב) Ruth’s kindness to his people (2.20).
A CRAZY FAMILY TREE
The Book of Ruth ends in chapter 4 with a long family tree that, at first glance, doesn’t make sense to the reader. Let’s dive deeper into what’s happening in the text.
Boaz is a man who not only has a history, but has a rather complicated and unsavory history (Genesis 38).
Ruth’s history is little better (and possibly worse). Ruth is a Moabite. As such, she is a descendant of Lot, and hence (like Boaz) the product of an incestuous relationship (Gen. 19).
Unsavory though they may be, our text deliberately highlights both of these details: 4.18-22 explicitly traces Boaz’s ancestry back to Perez, and 4.12 explicitly describes Perez as the son ‘whom Tamar bore to Judah’.
Meanwhile, Ruth is repeatedly referred to as ‘the Moabite’ (1.22, 2.2, 21, 4.5), which is quite unnecessary.
The encounter of Boaz and Ruth is not an encounter of two isolated individuals; it is the convergence of two long and complicated histories and lineages--the re-association of a rejected family tree within the line of promise.
It is also an incident which shares remarkable similarities with the incidents at the top of Boaz and Ruth’s respective family trees, namely the encounters between Judah and Tamar and between Lot and his older daughter.
Consider some of the parallels between Boaz and Ruth, Judah and Tamar, and Lot and his firstborn daughter:
In all three cases, people leave the land to which God has appointed them.
Judah leaves Egypt to return to Canaan (Gen. 38 is chronologically out of place)
Lot departs from Abraham to reside in Sodom and Gomorah
Naomi leaves Israel to sojourn in Moab.
In all three cases, two men on whom the family’s future is dependent die at a young age (without children).
Judah’s two sons (Er and Onan) are smitten by YHWH
Lot’s sons-in-law are swept away along with Sodom and Gomorrah
Naomi’s two sons die in Moab.
In all three cases, a crisis looms. A family line seems unable to continue, and an ancestral name is endangered.
Judah is reluctant to give his third son to Tamar in marriage since he sees Tamar as a ‘black-widow-like’ character and is fearful for his son’s life (Gen. 38.11)
Lot is scared to intermingle with the inhabitants of his new locale in Zoar (Gen. 19.29-30)
Naomi and Ruth have little to offer a potential husband in light of Naomi’s age and Ruth’s status as a Moabite, which clearly has a stigma attached to it (cp. 4.6).
In all three cases, a woman decides to take matters into her own hands in order to preserve her family line; put more specifically, a woman seeks to conceal her identity and approach the nearest ‘eligible’ male.
Tamar covers herself with a veil and waits for Judah to pass by
Lot’s daughters approach him under cover of darkness
Ruth follows the lead of Lot’s daughters.
In all three cases, the situation is referred to as the preservation of a ‘seed’ (זרע cp. Gen. 19.34, 38.8-9, Ruth 4.12), and is helped along by the consumption of wine.
Judah has been at a sheep-shearers’ festival, where an abundance of wine is likely to have been drunk
Lot has been plied with wine by his daughters
Boaz is merry with wine at the time when Ruth approached him.
As a result, none of the male procreators-to-be are aware of who has approached them.
In all three cases, the male involved is a member of an older generation.
Judah is Tamar’s father
Lot is (obviously) the father of his daughters
Boaz is considerably older than Ruth (2.5-6, 3.10-11).
FINAL THOUGHTS ON RUTH
Ruth is a story about major sins, but it is also a story about the significance of what may seem (in the grand scheme of things) to be minor details.
The failures of two great patriarchs--Judah and Lot--are not put right by means of some epic mission or military triumph, but by means of the faithfulness and sense of covenantal duty of three apparently insignificant individuals--Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz--, and, as a result, their names will be forever remembered in history, and for all the right reasons.
These three individuals could never have dreamt of the eternal consequences of their actions, but Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz allowed the line of Perez to take root in Bethlehem (1 Chr. 2) which would ultimately turn out to be the line from which both David and the Davidic Messiah would be born (Matt. 1).
In the dark days of the Judges, faithful men and women could still be found in Bethlehem (despite Judg. 17-21!), and such people allowed God’s line of promise to survive.
May we, therefore, take Ruth’s lessons to heart.
Plain old-fashioned faithfulness to our families, to our duties, and to the foreigners in our midst may not gain us too many applause here and now, but is of great value in the eyes of our Lord.
Hebrews believe that this valley is also where King David would have been standing when he “looked up” to see the Angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth (1 Chronicles 21).
A thousand years later, Jesus would often stay with his best friend Lazarus in the suburb of Bethany. When Jesus would head into Jerusalem, He would cross over the Mount of Olives and through the Kidron Valley enroute to the Temple.
THE WESTERN WALL
As Jesus predicted, the Roman Empire ransacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD.
The only portion that remains standing to this day is a portion of the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall. Jews revere this wall as their holiest spot since it faces where the Holy of Holies would have been (now covered by a Mosque and the Dome of the Rock).
We were not allowed to photograph directly at the Wall, and so we snapped these photos from a ledge above the area before making our way to the Wall for prayer.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
We visited this historic site built under the direction of Constantinople’s mother Helena in the 4th Century. This building is so ancient that is even boasts graffitti from the Crusaders!
The entryway (pictured here) has remained virtually unchanged since the 12th Century. This site contains where many believe Jesus was crucified and His nearby empty tomb.
You can read more about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre’s history here.
Every Christmas the “outrage” grows on social media: “they” are trying to take Christ out of Christmas by saying “Xmas” or “Happy Holidays.”
Chill out, Hall-Monitors-for-Jesus.
Once we understand the history behind these two phrases, we can all take a deep breath, relax, and actually become totally fine with these two phrases.
WAR ON CHRISTMAS?
Over the last decade or so, many Christians have felt like there is a “War on Christmas.”
Xmas is not an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas (or, Christ’s Mass to be more precise).
Although, some people may be deliberate in their attempts, the statement by itself is not offensive.
The first letter in the Greek word for “Christ” is chi. In the Roman alphabet, chi is represented by the symbol X.
This means that Xians don’t have to be flustered by hearing or seeing, “Merry Xmas!”
”I’M OFFENDED BY HAPPY HOLIDAYS”
Talking heads in the media that get worked up about this second phrase are nuttier than a Snickers bar.
This statement may be an attempt at being “politically correct.” However, holiday literally means, “holy day.” Celebrating the birth of Jesus definitely makes it a holy day.
Thankfully, because of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus; everyday can be a happy holy-day.
To the Christ Follower, Christmas shouldn’t be a one-day celebration, but rather, a lifestyle of celebrating the truth that Jesus is Immanuel – God with us.
Because of the complexity of today’s Middle East, the town Jesus was born in no longer is found in Israel; it is in the Palestinian Authority.
Trekking into Bethlehem meant passing through sophisticated, heavily-armed border security. How ironic that the birthplace of the Prince of Peace is shrouded in barbed wire and machine guns.
GRAFFITI
Inside the walls of Bethlehem, the huge security walls are covered in wall art and graffiti.
The plight of the Palestinians is wrapped in religion, culture, and politics.
Very quickly we could see that the economy inside is near-collapse.
The Palestinian soldiers were happy to wave our tour bus through when they realized we were Americans (our Hebrew guide, however, was forbidden to enter Bethlehem).
CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
After a long walk, we finally arrived in Manger Square.
A large Catholic Church was built over the site of Jesus’ birth, one of the holiest sites in Christianity.
This church boasts the world’s longest-running worship service; it’s been perpetually worshiping Christ in one long service for about 1,500 years! Day and night, monks and holy men tend to their altars and worship.
To enter the Church of the Nativity, you literally must stoop low. This architecture is purposeful — all who enter the site of Christ’s birth should do so with great humility and reverence.
ANCIENT CHRISTIANITY
Walking inside the Church of the Nativity is like stepping back in time: darkness is everywhere, the scent of incense punches through the air, and every step takes you across ancient mosaic flooring and solid gold paintings from across the centuries.
THREE WISE MEN
Over the centuries, the Middle East has been conquered by Muslim invaders, Crusading knights, and various other sects and groups.
This site was nearly destroyed by Muslims wanting to eradicate Christianity centuries ago. Legend has it that before torching this church, the invaders came across this giant fresco. Although you can barely make out the painting today, it depicts the three wise from the East who came to worship the Christ child.
The Muslim invaders apparently came across this very fresco, saw the Oriental holy men depicted, and thus decided to spare destroying the site of Christ’s birth.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem near Jerusalem during the reign of King Herod.
After Jesus’ birth a group of spiritual priests from the East came to Jerusalem and inquired of the people, “Where is the child who is born king of the Jewish people? We observed his star rising in the sky and we’ve come to bow before him in worship.”
( Matthew 2 )
ANCIENT ART
The closer we got to the entrance of the Cave where Jesus was born, the more extravagant, the more fragile and the more ancient the works of art became.
Everything you see that looks gold IS really gold.
High above the descending marble stairway leading into the Cave hangs this solid gold portrait:
THIS IS THE HISTORICAL SPOT WHERE JESUS ENTERED OUR WORLD
THIS IS WHERE MARY GAVE BIRTH IN THE CAVE
When the time of fulfillment had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the written law.
Yet all of this was so that he would redeem and set free all those held hostage to the written law so that we would receive our freedom and a full legal adoption as his children.
( Galatians 4:4-5, TPT )
INSIDE JESUS’ BIRTHPLACE
The ceiling is low, the space is cramped, people are crammed everywhere as dimly lit Renaissance paintings peer at us from within the Cave’s blackened walls.
THE SITE OF THE MANGER
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Mary went into labor, and there she gave birth to her firstborn son.
After wrapping the newborn baby in strips of cloth, they laid him in a feeding trough since there was no available space in any upper room in the village.
( Luke 2:6-7 )
THE CHURCH
Back above the Cave, we walked past worship services in progress and marveled at the ancient architecture.
IN THE DISTANCE, SHEPHERD’S FIELD
That night, in a field near Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching over their flocks.
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared in radiant splendor before them, lighting up the field with the blazing glory of God, and the shepherds were terrified!
But the angel reassured them, saying, “Don’t be afraid. For I have come to bring you good news, the most joyous news the world has ever heard! And it is for everyone everywhere! For today in Bethlehem a rescuer was born for you. He is the Lord Yahweh, the Messiah.
You will recognize him by this miracle sign: You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!”
Then all at once, a vast number of glorious angels appeared, the very armies of heaven! And they all praised God, singing:
“Glory to God in the highest realms of heaven! For there is peace and a good hope given to the sons of men.”
When the choir of angels disappeared back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go! Let’s hurry and find this Word that is born in Bethlehem and see for ourselves what the Lord has revealed to us.”
( Luke 2:8-15, TPT)
ONWARD TO JERUSALEM
And the time that David reigned over Israel was forty years.
He reigned seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
( 1 Kings 2:11, ESV )
TOUR OF JERUSALEM’S OLD CITY
There are three mountains that are referenced throughout Scripture.
They are found here: Mount Zion, Mount of Olives, and Mount Moriah.
In Hebrew thought, three mountains = three letters in the Hebrew word for GOD.
Zion Gate protects the City. It was specifically designed for archers about 500 years ago by the Turks.
THE UPPER ROOM
“And he will show you a large upperroom furnished and ready; there prepare for us.”
( Jesus in Mark 14:15, ESV )
This is the place where Jesus and His disciples had their Last Supper.
Tradition says that the Upper Room was built above King David’s Tomb.
It originally had a rooftop (Jesus said, “Come, let us ARISE…”)
According to Rabbinic tradition, the Mount (now covered by the golden Dome of the Rock by Muslims) is the site where God formed Adam from the dust of the earth.
Abram came to Mount Moriah 4,000 years ago in Genesis 22:
After these things God testedAbraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
The stone (housed to this day under the Dome of the Rock) Abram used for the ram sacrifice is remembered as the foundation of the Jewish nation.
Solomon built the first temple on Mount Moriah.
450 years later Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians.
Alexander the Great took Jerusalem for 200 years, followed by the Roman Empire.
In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the Temple, leaving only a remnant of the Western Wall (known today as the Wailing Wall, the holiest site in Judaism). Israel ceased to be a nation and would not rise again for nearly 1,900 years.
In 320 AD, Helena (mother of Emperor Constantinople) came from Rome and destroyed all the existing pagan Roman temples. Helena replaced them with churches.
In 800 AD, Muhammad was born.
50 years after Muhammad’s death, a Calyph had a dream of Muhammad on a flying horse sailing from Saudi Arabia to the sacred stone on Mount Moriah. This led to armies of Muslims invading and destroying all the Christian churches. Muslims erected the Dome of the Rock on Mount Moriah.
Years later the Crusaders came and destroyed all mosques and built churches.
A Muslim leader eventually arose - Salahadin - who defeated the Crusaders due to the heat. He destroyed all the churches and built mosques.
500 years ago the Turks came to reestablish churches.
And in 1948, Israel was reestablished as the Jewish homeland.
