TO BE LIKE THEE

 

Had I the choice

To rest in Paradise,

Or live in this dismal world

And sacrifice all that is in me;

I would choose the latter always

Dear Saviour

So I could be like Thee.

- Cathryne Allen 

(Art: Light of Glory by Christ Brazelton)

A NOBLE LIFE

 

Some months ago I received an understanding that made sense of one part of my life. It was given to me to understand that opportunity of self-sacrifice was offered as a choice in pre-earth life to those who wanted to become like Christ. It meant that someone else’s life and well-being would matter more than one’s own. I could see that Celestial Kingdom will consist of people who care about others more than they care about themselves. That’s being Christ-like.

Yesterday, I made a connection to this principle at a deeper level. I had maintained for a while now that it is wrong for children of single mothers to feel responsible for their care in their old age. I maintained we are a burden around their necks that would prevent them from pursuing their own lives. I saw it as something unhealthy when in reality this is the view of the ‘me, myself and I’ world we live in today.

This is what opened my eyes. I was speaking to a close friend who is also a single mother. She was telling me of her daughter who was recently faced with a choice to create a new life for herself away from her. She chose to stay to care for her instead rather than pass her onto someone else’s care. This girl also intends to move to another state to care for her father in his old age if that ever becomes necessary. My friend said her daughter was “100% Ruth”. I saw how wrong I had been in my assumption of what is right in such a situation. It also opened my eyes to the wider view of the 5^th Commandment to ‘honour thy father and thy mother’.

I wrote about Ruth yesterday and how her choice to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi put her on the path to becoming a symbol of redemption in Israel through her levirate marriage to Boaz. What else I see now is her Christ-like self-sacrifice which rewarded her for her noble life.

Ruth's story begins in Moab, her home-land, where she married Mahlon, one of the sons of an Israelite couple called Elimelech and Naomi, who had fled from their hometown of Bethlehem because of famine and came to Moab, a gentile country east of the Dead Sea. Another Moabite woman by the name of Orpah married Chilon, the other son of that family. Neither of the women produced any children before the father and both sons died leaving the three women destitute.

 

Ruth's story is a prime example of how you can go from nothing to everything if you live a life of sacrifice and faithfulness. When the famine abated Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem and entreated her daughters-in-law to remain in Moab and return to their families. Both of the women wept at the suggestion wanting to follow her but Orpah consented after further encouragement from Naomi while Ruth refused to abandon her aging mother-in-law who faced a life of uncertainty without offspring and opportunity (Ruth 1:15-17). And here begins a life dedicated to caring.

 

Ruth accompanied her mother-in-law to Bethlehem and there gained a reputation of a virtuous woman in Israel. This is a true convert….The entire city of Bethlehem knew how good she was and told Naomi that Ruth was better to her than seven sons (Ruth 3:11, 4:15). I am a convert also so this touches me to the core….

 

As the poor in Israel were accustomed to do, Ruth offers to go gleaning the barley fields being harvested. Gleaning was in effect gathering any stalks of barley that fell from the harvesters' hands and that were left on the field for the poor to gather to save them from starvation. Being new in the area, Ruth, unbeknownst to her, chose a field that belonged to Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi's husband, but not just any relative. Naomi identifies him as the 'next kinsmen’.

 

This is where Ruth’s sense of duty and care comes into play. Ruth, a young woman does not seek a man closer to her own age and of her own liking to marry and get on with her life, as the women in our day would do, she instead heeds the counsel of her mother-in-law and approaches Boaz to lay claim to a 'levirate marriage'. As the 'next kinsmen' it would be his duty to marry the widowed Ruth and provide her with offspring. This duty would have fallen to her husband's brother had he remained alive.

 

What is even more interesting is that Naomi could have laid this claim herself but Naomi was too stricken in years to bear more children. By Ruth marrying and bearing a son, she provided a way for both women to be cared for in their old age. Lucky for Ruth, Boaz was a good man and was impressed that she was following the Israelite family law in seeking a rightful husband rather than going after her own selfish desires. He regarded her proposal as 'a proof of feminine virtue and modesty by offering herself as a wife to an old man like him rather than going after young men’. (Ruth 3:10,11)

 

Ruth, a converted Gentile, came to Bethlehem empty but was filled in every way. She went from nothing to everything. Boaz married Ruth and they had a son, Obed who was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who was a progenitor of Mary, who was the mother of Christ (Ruth 4:17-22). By giving birth to Obed, Ruth brought honour again to her mother-in-law who was left childless: "And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom and became nurse unto it. And the women, her neighbours, gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed...." (Ruth 4:16,17). Thus by her life's choices Ruth became a symbol of selfless love to be emulated by all the daughters of God.

 

I take my hat off to people who care for their aged parents in our day.

 

I personally know one modern-day Ruth. Her name is Kimberly. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ruth by Sue Killingsworth)

I WILL FOLLOW THEE

 

I will follow Thee my God and My All

When I can see no more;

I will trust in Thee

When all hope flees;

I will praise Thy name

When I am left without ease.

I will nurture the seeds of my faith

With tears of my affliction;

Yet will I look up to heaven

And believe in Thy throne;

I will trust in the strength of Thine arms

To lift me and carry me home.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Autumn's Embrace by Ivan Guaderrama)

A SYMBOL OF REDEMPTION

 

This is a story of a convert who became a symbol of redemption in Israel. This convert was a woman and her name was Ruth.

It is said by oral tradition that women in ancient Israel lived with a hope that the Messiah would come through their line (Clarke, Bible Commentary, 2:207). This is the privilege that was given to Ruth from Moab even though she had no blood of Israel running through her veins.  She was a convert to the Lord, God of Israel ‘under whose wings she had come to trust’ (Ruth 2:12).

When her Israelite husband died and left her with no children, Ruth became one of the lowliest of the earth, devoid of security and livelihood. Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi also became destitute losing her husband and both of her sons. When Naomi encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their kin and their ‘gods’, they wept. Orpah left, but Ruth remained, with these words on her tongue: “….whither thou goest, I will go; and whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” (Ruth 1:16).

Right from the start, Ruth showed characteristics of a true Israelite by covenant (Romans 9:4; Galatians 3:29) and she chose to remain so. She returned to Judea with Naomi, to Bethlehem no less (Ruth 1:19), and she consented to a ‘levirate’ marriage with Naomi’s next of kin, as was the custom in Israel. Through a levirate marriage, the woman was provided with children and restored to security and society. Here is where things become interesting. The Hebrew word for a man who would step up to this responsibility was GO’EL. The King James Version of the Bible translates it as simply ‘kinsman’ but the proper and literal meaning of GO’EL is ‘redeemer’ (Rasmussen, “Introduction to the Old Testament”, 1:157; see also Old Testament Student Manual Genesis – Samuel 2, p 263)

This is how Ruth, a lowly woman of Moab became the symbol of Christ’s redemption: Her GO’EL was Boaz, an Israelite kinsman of Naomi. Boaz became Ruth’s redeemer and restorer of all she had lost. Boaz and Ruth had a son whose name was Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David, who was a progenitor of Mary, who was the mother of Christ……

Consider for a moment how Christ redeems us from our fallen state and restores us to the presence of the Father, and grants us eternal posterity through His power of exaltation. The Saviour affirms His role as the GO’EL when He refers to himself as the bridegroom and us, Israel, as the bride (Matthew 25:1-13; D&C 33:17; 65:3; 88:92; 133:10). He is the greatest GO’EL of all….. the Redeemer, the Restorer, the Hope of Israel, the Rock of our Salvation.

The winds of tribulation 

Like feathers lift to the sky.

They find You there

ever waiting to answer our pleas;

To restore that which is lost,

To renew that which is broken,

I stand amazed at Your love, 

Your care:

Your everlasting token.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Ruth In the Field of Boaz by Alexandre Cabanel 1868)

 

 

HOW GREAT THOU ART

 

How commendably patient Thou art

With the slow progress of

My proud heart.

There is none like Thee,

My Saviour and my King;

How great Thy wisdom,

How great Thy mercy,

How great Thy love,

That fills my joyful heart,

How very great Thou art!

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Hope Deferred by Chris Brazelton)

STORIES OF TRAGEDY

 

When Joshua and the leaders of Israel who served under him died, tribal loyalty replaced nation unity. Each tribe looked to its own resources without giving help or asking aid from their fellow Israelites.

 

As the people chose evil by worshipping heathen gods, the Lord allowed them to fall into the hands of their enemies. It is then that the people remembered their God and cried to Him for deliverance (Judges 3:9). The Lord then raised up ‘judges’ to deliver them. The so-called judges of this period were more military heroes rather than officers of the judiciary. The twelve judges of Israel and their tribes of leadership are outlined in the book of Judges chapters 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 12 and 15. Their conquests make fascinating reading.

 

There are two significant judges that stand out to me, Gideon of Manasseh in Chapter 6 and Samson of Dan in Chapter 15.

 

GIDEON:

His is one of the most intriguing and faith promoting stories of the Old Testament. He was obedient to the call, tore down his father’s grove and the altar for Baal worship and in their place erected an altar to Jehovah. This, I think, was the cause of his success.  Gideon started off with 32,000 soldiers in his army which was required to defeat a Midianite army of 130,000 (Judges 8:10). This alone would have sent fear through Gideon, but things got worse.

 

By the process of elimination, the Lord reduced this army to 300 that ‘the help of the Lord’ might be apparent to Israel so that they might not boast in their own strength (Judges 7:2) but Israel was hard of heart and did not stay on the right path. This mistake led them into bondage to the Philistines for forty years (Judges 13:1). I guess you can take Israel out of Egypt but you can’t take Egypt out of Israel…..

 

SAMSON:

Samson, born of a barren woman in the tribe of Dan, had the potential to be one of the greatest leaders in Israel since Joshua. Foreordained and chosen by the Lord to be a Nazarite who would conquer Philistines and end Israel's 40 year bondage, his birth announced by an angel (Judges 13:4,5), Samson fell into the chosen category with Isaac, John the Baptist and Jesus himself.

 

“A Nazarite was someone who was separated from others by a special vow of self-dedication to Jehovah. The term ‘set apart’ is used to mean that one has been given a special calling or position and is thus separated from others” (OT Student Manual Book 1, p 259). A Nazarite could never cut his hair for the length of his hair was indicative of the length of the vow thus when his hair was cut, it was an indication of the end of his vow and not his strength (Judges 16:17).

 

Samson was born with tremendous gifts, one of them being a gift of incredible strength. His courageous feats include slaying a young lion with his bare hands (Judges 14), killing 1,000 Philistines with jawbone of an ass (Judges 15), ripping away the doors and posts of Gaza's gate and carrying them 40 miles to Hebron and bringing down a whole building killing himself and 3000 Philistines (Judges 16).

 

Samson had massive potential but his is a story of self-indulgence, immorality, selfish seeking for revenge and violation of the covenant. Instead of conquering Philistines, he repeatedly joined them and even married one of them. His misfortunes began when his confidence in God turned into conceit and pride, the breaking of his vows as a Nazarite and violating the commandments, including the law of chastity (Judges 16:1). He began great but ended up being one of the greatest tragedies of history. 

 

The Book of Judges is one of the most fascinating books in the Old Testament. It offers endless lessons and showcases Jehovah’s mercy and tolerance towards His people. It shows us clearly that the power to break the Abrahamic covenant lies solely with us, and NEVER with Him (Det 4:31; Leviticus 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).

 

Out God is a God of mercy, grace, forgiveness and love. He is worth our adoration, worship and life-time commitment. He is the light, the truth, and the way….He is the Creator, He is the Redeemer, He is the Saviour…..and there is none else.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Artist Unknown)

 

ODE TO THE MOTHERS OF STRIPLING WARRIORS

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I give you to God,

Knowing not despair,

I know my son, you will be safe

In his merciful, tender care.

 

I know He will watch over you

And honour your faith;

I trust He will guard you

Against the open jaws of hate.

 

Son of my body,

Heart of my heart,

I will wait with faith

Knowing not despair,

I know you will return

To my loving, tender care.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Divine Call by Sandy Freckleton Gagon)