RUTH, WHO CAME TO GOD FOR HIS PROTECTION
Most people live 70 years and if by reason of strength they live 80 years before they die. However, many people die without discovering the meaning and the purpose about their lives or existence. Suffering with many pains and problems, people die from cancer, accidents or old age. If this is what life is all about, then it would be tragic. Our main purpose in this world is to meet God and to receive His grace. There is no greater blessing than to meet God through a life of afflictions.
In the Old Testament in the book of Ruth, there is a story about a life of a woman who was led to God. Ruth was from a country called Moab that did not know God. We don't know whether there was anyone to love her in Moab. Anyway, she married one of two sons of a man named Elimelech who came to Moab to escape the severe famine in his hometown of Bethlehem. But soon after they got married, Ruth's husband died. In the Bible, it does not state that Ruth bore any children. Ruth became a widow at a young age. At that time Ruth was going through some hardships and was very sad. Ruth did not have anyone who could help her get over her sufferings. But she discovered God through Naomi, her mother-in-law. When Naomi heard that the Lord has provided food for His people, she decided to go back to Bethlehem and Ruth followed her there, and God blessed her.
The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." (Ruth 2:12) Why did Ruth follow Naomi to Bethlehem? Is it because Ruth wanted to take care of her mother-in-law? Or did she have the desire to serve the Lord? No. Ruth came to Bethlehem in order to take shelter under the wings of God. God was glad that Ruth looked to His grace and gave her His reward and blessing. God guided Ruth to Boaz, a very influential man in Bethlehem. She married him and bore a son named Obed, a grandfather of David who served God. All of Ruth's blessing was caused by her looking for God's protection under the wings of His grace.
Many people have misunderstanding about faith in God. People think that they have to work hard to please God and behave in a certain way to be faithful. Yet these actions keep them apart from God and we can see in their suffering misguided attempts to win God. God does not want people to live in pain and worry. He said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28). God invites us. Just like Ruth, God is happy when people take refuge under His wings. He wants us to receive the spiritual blessings He has already prepared for us.
All people need to be protected under God's wings. But all can not be protected under His wings. Then, who can be protected by God? A person who does not have any problems and has a fulfilling life does not need God's protection. A person who lives in life's sufferings, sins, and has problems beyond his control can be protected by God. Like Ruth, people who have suffered misfortunes can receive God's grace.
In reality, however, all people need to be protected by God. A person who tries to please God with his own will does not know himself very well. And a person who thinks he can live well without God is fooling himself. Anyone who can see his true self can find grace that Ruth found under God's wings; "Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord;" (Ruth 2:13). As a result, because people really don't know themselves, they can't receive God's grace. It is not because they are not in need of God's protection. The Bible talks about us and how much we need God's protection.
YOU WHO WERE DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." (Ephesians 2:1-3)
The above passage states that we died in our transgressions and sins, and God wants to save us. God does not demand that people who are dead because of transgressions and sins do not commit sins. Most people to not want to sin or would like to commit less sins. But God in the Bible does not feel that way. It is because we have already died in transgressions and sins.
Can a dead person work? Think about the fact that we are dead in sin. We do not commit sin because we want to, and we commit sin even if we don't want to. In this world, we try not to sin and preach to people not to sin. But God knows that we died in transgressions and we will sin. So, He wants to save us. The religions and this world focus on not committing sins, but God focuses on saving of lives.
Then, what are the transgressions and sin that lead us to death? Genesis chapter 3 talks about this matter. Adam and Eve could have had a happy life in the garden of Eden. But as soon as they ate the fruit of good and evil that God had forbidden not to eat, God's grace got away. Through their corruption, God shows us the death in transgression and sin.
"Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made: and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" (Genesis 3:1) After Adam was created, Eve was made. God's saying, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2:17), remained in Adam's heart. But since Eve did not hear this direction from God, she was tricked by the snake. "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." (Genesis 3:2-3)
The snake knew that Eve did not have the accurate order from God. God only said not to eat the tree of good and evil, and He did not say not to touch it. And God said that if fruit from tree of knowledge of good and evil was eaten, then they shall 'surely die', but He didn't say that they 'might die'. Knowing that Eve did not have a direct order from God, the snake discredited God's order in Eve's heart.
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4). The snake ultimately said just the opposite what God ordered. Snake also said if the fruit of the tree of good and evil were eaten, her eyes would be opened like God's. Hearing the snake's words, Eve thought that the fruit was pleasing to the eyes and would be tasty, and she would also gain wisdom. So Eve took a bite of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and shared it with her husband, Adam.
From where did Adam and Eve's crime against God start? That's because God's words were not planted in Eve's heart. Basically, God's security came out of her when the snake planted his words in Eve's heart and Satan began to control her. When God's words do not dwell in you, it is sin.
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7)
When God created man, He breathed into His nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. When the first man Adam was made, God gave him many gifts. But the most important gift was that of God's words. In John 1:1, it talks about that the Word is God. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)
God was in Adam's heart through His words. Through His words, God lives in us. Thus, if one refuses to receive God's words, he refuses to receive God. "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63). Since only God's words can save us, one who refuses God's words is led to death.
When God's words were in Adam and Eve's hearts, God was in them through His words. But when they distrusted God and His words, God left from their hearts. God was no longer in them. Distrusting God's words is the root of sin and death. The snake was Satan's instrument who rebels against God. Satan deceives Adam and Eve, and made them corrupted. Satan keeps God and His people apart. In order to achieve this, Satan plants deceitful words in our hearts. In this world, robbery, adultery, and murder are considered to be very sinful. But distrusting God's words is much greater sin. The root of wickedness is the distrust of God's words. This is the most severe sin.
Even if murder or adultery is never committed, distrust of God's words leads to all kinds of sins. Because Satan wants to corrupt God's people, he first tries to get people to distrust God's words.
Satan turned Adam and Eve to distrust God's words, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." If these words had been alive in Adam and Eve's hearts, they would have never eaten the fruit. But as soon as they distrusted God's words, they freely became sinners. In other words, before they even took a bite of the fruit, their faith in God's words died. Distrust of God's words is death in transgression and sin.
DEAD, NOT NAKED
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for
that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12)
Sin entered the world through one man, and death entered through sin. Then crime started. Thus, death came into the world before any crimes. When God's words were distrusted, crime and death entered the world. So, trusting in God's word removes us from the threat of death.
God knows what the core problem of our soul is. Reduction of crimes does not get out of death. It is only through the trust in God's words that we can solve the problem of death. God is concerned with saving us from death, but people are concerned with not committing crimes. This is because something wrong is substituting for the truth of God's words in our hearts.
The only truth in this world is God's words. But for those who distrust God's words, it can not be the truth. In this world, other instructions and philosophy which are different from God's words are known to be the truth. This is because the sin is in this world. By distrusting God's words, Satan's instruction is living in people's heart.
You have to repent. You need to throw away the instruction of this world and receive God's words as the only truth. This is the true repentance. In Romans 1:25, it states, "Who changed the truth of God into a lie," This world changed God's truth into a lie. Therefore, in order to receive God's grace, people need to let go of the world's instructions, and need to receive God's words.
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." (Genesis 3:6)
When the distrusting God's words came into Eve's heart, the forbidden fruit was shown to her as a good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make her wise. The looks of the tree had nothing to do with the way Eve felt, it was her heart that deceived her. If she knew that she would die if the fruit was eaten, how could she think that way? If there is poison in a bottle, you would never drink it. It was Satan's words "You will surely not die." that dwelt in Eve's heart rather than God's words "When you eat of it you shall surely die." When Satan's words came into Eve's heart, she desired the fruit and ate it.
"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." (Genesis 3:7)
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, their eyes were opened up. As soon as their eyes were opened, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Because they knew that they were naked. Then, when they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden, they hid from the presence of the Lord God. As God asked "Where are you?", Adam replied, "I was afraid that I was naked, so I hid." God asked again, "Who told you that you were naked?" They hid in fear of God because they knew that they were naked. God tried to let them know that they didn't realize their nakedness by themselves, but Satan opened their eyes.
The one who let Adam and Eve realize they were naked is Satan. Why did Satan do this? He did this so that they would not realize that they were dead. As God's word, "In the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.", Adam and Eve were dead after they ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Death came to them when they distrusted God's words. Therefore, they should get the life and alive. In other words, they should come before God's grace to get life.
But Adam and Eve were afraid of the sound of God and hid from Him. Because they did not know that they were dead. They just knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together, made coverings, and hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the garden. If they knew they were dead, they would not have tried to cover themselves with leaves. Rather, they would have come out to God and received His grace and life. The most important problem for them was not their nakedness, but their dead spirits.
Many people do not understand that their spirits are dead due to distrusting God's words, but they focus on covering their sins. Trying to cover up sins is unuseful. Adam and Eve were naked from the beginning and this was never a problem to God. But Satan got them to focus on their nakedness. He did this so that they would not inherit life. Even now, many people are getting deceived by Satan. Many people do not realize that they are dead. But many focus their minds on their outward appearance.
God said 'we died' in transgressions and sins, but Satan deceives us 'we are naked'. God wants to save us, but Satan tries to cover up our sin. Thus, we need to come out of covering our sins, and receive God's words to obtain His eternal life.
"And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;" (Ephesians 2:1)
