Lost in Translation

This week has been a time of spiritual renewal for me. We're having a spiritual emphasis week at the langague institute. Our speaker, Dr. Vern Steiner, www.miqra.net, has been teaching through the book of Ruth. I've gained numerous insights into the text, and God has been encouraging me to "listen" more to the text of His Word.

Here is one new thing I've learned. Did you know about the curse against the Moabite people (Deut. 23:3-6)? When read in light of that curse, the book of Ruth gains new depth. Fourteen times the author mentions that she was a Moabitess or from Moab. All the while, we're left wondering how God will deal with her in light of His curse. How will the people deal with her? Boaz' grace becomes all the more striking in light of how he could have treated her.

The other thing that Dr. Steiner does so well is point out the tension in the narrative. Sometimes we miss that because we're thinking about the outcome of the book. But if we would stop . . . and think about the unanswered questions the narrator is leaving us . . . we would really enter into the story and feel its power in a greater way.

I also really like the overarching theme that he's drawing from the book. That God often works in quiet, hidden ways through the faithful lives of His people. In Ruth we see "Calvinistic luck" as Dr. Steiner put it. God is in control of the seemingly chance encounters of life. He is working His plan. We need to be faithful.