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We see the truth of this proverb in the riots which have been sweeping the nation. At least some of these riots were caused by false statements made by those who witnessed the events, or claimed to have witnessed the events. The harm which these riots have brought to their neighborhoods makes those making false statements traitors.
I will give thanks to the Lord. I do not know how to express all that this psalm says to me (I find myself saying something like that about a lot of the psalms). That being said, verse 4 stands out to me today as good and wise advice:
continually seek him.
I will take this advice and do my best to follow it.
I do not believe I have heard anyone comment on the fact that the Samaritan woman, a woman who had been married five times and was living with a man to whom she was not married, asked Jesus a question about doctrine. What is interesting about this is the fact that we often assume that someone who lives a sinful lifestyle like this woman’s has no interest in religious questions. Not only did she ask Jesus a religious question, but she asked Him one which very few religious teachers addressed. They just assumed the answer and argued over other points.
Jesus first pointed out that the Jews were right about the proper place to worship, but, indirectly, were wrong to exclude the Samaritans because they worshiped elsewhere. More importantly, Jesus made the point that going forward the place of worship would be less important that the mindset of the worshiper (“mindset” does not capture what I want to say here, but I cannot think of a better word). In His answer to the Samaritan woman, Jesus addressed what concerned her on religious matters, not what He thought was important. This is an important lesson to us when we teach and preach to unbelievers. Let us address their concerns, not what we think they need to hear.
After the Israelites had almost destroyed the tribe of Benjamin they felt bad for what they had done. They sought a solution to the problem they had created and they found one. In describing this situation the author does not condone their actions. This whole terrible episode is recounted to remind us of what goes wrong when “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.” There is an absolute standard of right and wrong. This account of what happened to the Levite’s concubine and Israel’s war against Benjamin shows how tragically wrong things will go when people stop trying to align themselves with that absolute standard, when people start to believe that what is right may be different for different people.
Often times when discussing this passage people condemn Orpah for her actions. When they do this they are contrasting her actions to those of Ruth, which they rightly praise. However, doing so actually belittles Ruth’s action in this passage. What makes Ruth’s action heroic is the fact that it would have been perfectly acceptable for her to do the same as Orpah did. Naomi was returning to her people, where she could expect someone to take pity on her and care for their unfortunate elderly relative. Ruth would be a stranger with no means of support and no one who anyone would feel sentimental reason to aid.
That being said, I want to point out that Ruth’s statement to Naomi tells us a lot about Naomi. What kind of person had Naomi been that Ruth would say to her, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God?” Do we live a life which causes those with whom we interact to say, “Your God will be my God?”