All The Saints (part 17)

Pressing that button, Paul continues, writing “God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).  Here, it is helpful to replace the Greek “Christ” with the Hebrew “Messiah,” re-reading the affected portion of the sentence to say “this mystery among the Gentiles, which is the Messiah in you, the hope of glory.”  Paul places the Messiah in the midst of the Gentiles, referring to Him as their hope, and ultimately to their confession of Him as Lord of all as the foundation of their ability to participate in part of the Creator God’s purposes for His covenant people, which is to reflect His glory into the world.  With the ministry of Jesus as a guide, this reflection of glory has substantially revealed itself as acts of self-sacrificial love. 

Beginning with the call of Abraham, this representation of the Creator God in and for the world had been the task assigned exclusively to Israel, with the attached and concordant blessings that would flow to them for successfully carrying out this endeavor.  That which indicated one’s status as a member of Israel were the covenant markers to which have been referred ad nauseum.  With the coming of the Christ, and with the dawning of the new age of the new creation portended by His Resurrection, with an ongoing sense of “already but not yet,” this task is now assigned to the church of the Christ that is composed of all peoples. 

Building to a crescendo in this portion of his letter, Paul adds “We proclaim Him,” that being His Lordship contra-Caesar and all of the world’s pretenders to power, “by instructing and teaching with all wisdom,” though it may seem like the height of foolishness to proclaim the imperial reign of one crucified by Caesar, with such foolishness amplified by the subsequent and attached message of that person’s resurrection from the dead, “so that we may present every person mature in Christ” (1:28).  One does well to hear “every person” as yet another extension of the inclusive and world-embracing “all” which has colored the first quarter of the letter.

Moving along to the second chapter, Paul’s inclusive language expands, and we join together with the gathered church at Colossae and hear “For in Him all the fullness of deity lives in bodily form” (2:9).  This “Him,” of course, is the previously referenced “Messiah in you, the hope of glory.”  Not only is there an “all” in the filling that has resulted in “all the fullness of deity” dwelling in Him in bodily form (a basic messianic premise), which should be heard according to the melody that has been supplied to “all” in what has been heard prior to this, but Paul emphasizes the totality of that filling, extending it to the church, composed of Jews and Gentiles, looking at them as the manifestation of Jesus in the world and writing “and you have been filled in Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority” (2:10). 

As can be seen and heard, Paul not only provides assurance to Gentiles while also exhorting the church in general, but he also seizes upon the opportunity to assert Jesus Lordship and His kingdom as superior to all other kings and kingdoms.  Thusly he reminds all believers, both then and for all time, as to where their patriotic loyalties should primarily lie, while also reminding them that their loyalty to Jesus, to His kingdom, and to the call and demands of that kingdom, will infiltrate all aspects of their lives.    

Naomi's Exile & Exodus (part 2)

It would appear that the plan had been for Naomi and her two daughters-in-law to return to the land of Judah.  To that end, it is reported that “as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah” (Ruth 1:7).  This would indicate that all three were leaving their land of exile, and that all three were about to experience an exodus to the land of the covenant promise, with this being the case even though both Ruth and Orpah were Moabites and had not previously come from the region of Israel, and were not a part of the Creator God’s covenant people.  Of course, if one was to peruse the history of the Egyptian exodus, one would come to learn that there were non-Israelites that went out of Egypt with Israel, so this represents something of a re-playing of this as Naomi and the two women leave Moab. 

For some reason there is a change of heart on Naomi’s behalf as she “said to her two daughters-in-law ‘Listen to me!  Each of you should return to your mother’s home!  May the Lord show you the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands and to me!  May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the home of a new husband!’” (1:8-9a)  Clearly, making this statement was difficult for Naomi, as she then “kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly” (1:9b).  However, both were determined to return with Naomi, saying “No!  We will return with you to your people” (1:10). 

Naomi speaks again and this time is far more persistent, causing Orpah to accede to her wishes and demands as she kissed her goodbye, presumably returning to her mother’s home as directed.  However, as is known, “Ruth clung tightly to her” (1:14b).  Naomi protested Ruth’s actions, but upon her doing so, Ruth famously and stubbornly declared “Stop urging me to abandon you!  For wherever you go, I will go.  Wherever you live, I will live.  Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God” (1:16).  Ruth’s dogged determination to be a part of the exodus people won out and Naomi relented, so they returned together to Judah, and more specifically, to Bethlehem. 

When they did return, Naomi uses the language of exile and exodus, but seemingly in reverse, as she says “I left here full, but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed” (1:21a).  It is possible that her bitterness (thus, the name change to Mara, or “bitter”) here had overwhelmed her, as she adds that “the Lord has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer” (1:21b).  Apparently, she has forgotten that she left with her husband and children in a time of famine, and at a time at which it can be presumed that Israel was in subjugation.  It is possible that she saw their departure to Moab as an exodus, and had begun to think of Moab as home, rather than as a place of exile.  This might very well be the reason why she was so insistent that Orpah and Ruth stay in Moab, which in her own mind had become a place of fullness. 

Based on Ruth’s response to Naomi’s land and Naomi’s God, it seems reasonable to believe that Naomi attempted to paint a not-so-flattering picture of that land and of the Lord of that land, with tales of famine and oppression and death and judgment, in an attempt to convince Orpah and Ruth of the futility of going with her and the benefits of staying there in Moab.  Correspondingly, if her departure was an exodus, then she is now viewing her return home to Bethlehem in Judah as exile.