Here in Ruth, two unlikely people get together Boaz, a Bethlehemite, and Ruth, the Moabite widow. Boaz is the gentleman, who looks a lot like Jesus. He extends kindness and justice to her, and Ruth becomes one of the mothers of Jesus, appearing in the genealogy of Matthew. Ruth shines in the darkness, like we are to shine in the darkness, in a day when the judges rule, so to speak. We are the salt and light in a world that is corrupt and dark.
We have Paul’s finals words in this letter to his young friend, but as we know these words are not just for Timothy. They are for us so that we will know how we ought to behave in the household of God!Thus, Paul now concludes with this statement, make war! We must fight the good fight for the gospel, for life and doctrine, and for character and right teaching! We must not be deceived or take this lightly. We are under assault by our own sin and unseen powers in our character, jobs, and families; so lets see and live with eyes of faith today that there are enemies seeking to devour us and there is a cosmic battle going on and we must engage the fight!
The two main points we see in this passage is that we are to avoid false teaching by pursuing sound teaching and to avoid greed by being satisfied in Christ. We must realize that only Christ alone with satisfy our hearts, not more stuff. We must be constantly asking ourselves hard questions. Do I hoard money beyond reason, am I trying to appear wealthy, is my desire to accumulate harming others, is my hope in money, am I terrified when I don’t have it, and am I basing my security on money/possessions? The surest way to know whether or not you have fallen into the “love of money” trap is whether or not you generously give it away for the sake of the kingdom, and we must look to Jesus the one who gave everything for the sake of the kingdom.
How should we treat widows (v. 3), in regard to elders (17), in regard to employers (6:1), and while not used in 1-2, it is implied in the way we treat older people, and sisters? So the question is how do we treat people in the household of God, and the text has a dominant theme, honor. What is honor? A working definition would be “love and respect.” In this text, it also includes at time financial provision and support.
One of my favorite phrases is: “Theology leads to biography.” “Your beliefs drive your behavior.” In this passage, we see two competing sets of beliefs, two sets of teachers, and consequently, two different ways to live. Paul concluded chapter 3 saying that the truth is “the pillar and buttress of truth.” Then he stated the central truth the church confesses, namely, the Gospel. Now, Paul opens up chapter 4 by saying that the false teachers deny the truth, and reject the church’s confession. The concluding exhortation summarizes the application for Timothy and us: “Watch our life and doctrine closely.” Why? “Because you will save yourself and your hearers.” What you believe, really matters!
