Ruth Series: A Statement Of Faith Series

BOOK OF RUTH: A STATEMENT OF FAITH

RUTH 1:1-22

#bookofruth

INTRODUCTION… Statements of Faith in the OT

At our church, when a person comes to be baptized into Christ, we have them repeat what we call “the good confession” which is patterned after Simon Peter’s confession we find in Matthew 16, Mark 8, and Luke 9. People usually say something like: “I believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and I fully accept Him as my Lord and as my Savior.” That is a good solid statement of faith. A statement of faith is a verbal or written statement about faith, God, Jesus, the Bible, etc. A good statement of faith must be rooted in good theology and be easily stated if it is to be practical.

Statements of faith can vary and even have different purposes. Statements of faith clarify beliefs and explain what one believes, promotes unity so everyone knows what the core beliefs are, establishes a benchmark of standard belief, teaches, preserves identity because it helps keep things from shifting, and it can also be a public witness about what someone believes. It is like a spiritual purpose statement.

There are several “statements of faith” in the Old Testament where people declare trust in God, allegiance to Him, or recognition of His power. A few of them clarify someone’s position. I think of Hannah in 1 Samuel 2 declaring “there is no rock like our God” (2:2) as she declares her praise for God or Jonah in Jonah 2 praying “salvation comes from the Lord” (2:9). I think about David publicly confessing his faith in God to a Philistine giant who could care less in 1 Samuel 17 when he said among other things: “I come to you in the Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, Whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head” (17:45-46). I think of Naaman in 2 Kings 5 who clarified his new faith when he said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel” (5:15).

All of these are powerful statements of faith from people who are inside of Israel and already know YHWH God and from people who are on the outside looking in at Him. Confessions come from both. There are two other confessions I thought of… one at the beginning of the Book of Joshua and one at the end.

RAHAB IN JOSHUA 2

Rahab in the Book of Joshua was a resident of the city of Jericho. She was not an Israelite, but had heard what the God of Israel had been doing as He brought His people out of Egypt. Joshua 2 says this…

READ JOSHUA 2:8-11 (ESV)

“Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof 9 and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”

This woman Rahab is not of the people of Israel, but she had heard the miracles God was doing for His people at the Red Sea and enemy kings. News about God and Israel was spreading from person to person and news was traveling. She believed in the God of Israel. Rahab declares her faith in Israel’s God before she’s ever delivered from destruction in the city of Jericho. Her confession led to salvation for her whole household. She recognized God’s power, and it saved her.

I know we are just in the introduction here, but I need you to make a mental note and save it for next week when we cover Ruth 2. I need you to remember that 1 Rahab from Jericho was not an Israelite and 2 her confession of faith saved her from destruction, and 3 she joined Israel as part of God’s people. Again, 1 Rahab from Jericho was not an Israelite and 2 her confession of faith saved her from destruction, and 3 she joined Israel as part of God’s people. Please put a mental pin in that thought and save it for next week. It will be important next week.