Instruments in the Redeemer’s hands

When All Is Lost, God Is Near

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28 “For they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is no understanding in them.
29 If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would discern their latter end!
30 How could one have chased a thousand,
    and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
    and the Lord had given them up?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock;
    our enemies are by themselves.
32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
their grapes are grapes of poison;
    their clusters are bitter;
33 their wine is the poison of serpents
    and the cruel venom of asps.

34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
    sealed up in my treasuries?
35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense,
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.’
36 For the Lord will vindicate his people
    and have compassion on his servants,
when he sees that their power is gone
    and there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
    the rock in which they took refuge,
38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you;
    let them be your protection!’” – Deuteronomy 32:28-38 ESV

Israel had enemies. From their days of captivity in Egypt to their journey to the promised land, the people of God had found themselves opposed by foreign nations. Even on the eastern side of the borders of Canaan, they had been forced to fight the forces of  Og and Sihon, two Amorite kings who had refused to allow the Israelites to pass through their land. But God gave the Israelites victory over these enemies, allowing the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh to settle there.

And there would be plenty of other enemies on the other side of the Jordan, once the Israelites crossed over and began their conquest of the land of Canaan. There would always be enemies of God and His people. And the song God had given to Moses to teach to the people of Israel contained foreboding warnings about future enemies who would defeat the Israelites and take them captive. They would be used by God to punish the Israelites for their persistent and unrepentant rebellion against Him.

But God had a message for these nations. Rather than understand their role as His divine instruments of judgment, they would take credit for the conquest of God’s people, even bragging about their victory and robbing God of glory.

“Our hand is triumphant,
    it was not the Lord who did all this.” – Deuteronomy 32:27 ESV

But God had news for these arrogant and pride-filled upstarts.

“…they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is no understanding in them.
If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would discern their latter end!” – Deuteronomy 32:28-29 ESV

God describes them as clueless. When the day came, and they defeated the people of God, they would consider their conquest the byproduct of their own military prowess. These two nations, Assyria and Babylon, would each enjoy unprecedented success, conquering much of the known world and being used by God to punish His rebellious people. Assyria would conquer the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 BC. And 136 years later, in 586 BC, the Babylonians would conquer and destroy the city of Jerusalem, leaving the temple of God in ruins.

But God points out the obvious. The only explanation for the future success of the Assyrians and Babylonians would be because God ordained it. The eventual fall of the Israelites would be because “their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up” (Deuteronomy 32:30 ESV). Neither the Assyrians or Babylonians would be able to take credit for the destruction of God’s people. It would be the work of God’s hand, not the result of their superior military strength.

The enemies of Israel would find their victories to be a walk in the park, with one of their soldiers giving chase to 1,000 Israelites, and two putting 10,000 to flight. In other words, their battles would be ridiculously lopsided. But, strange as it may seem, the reason behind their success would be the God of Israel.  And God lets them know that their gods would be no match for Him.

For their rock is not as our Rock;
    our enemies are by themselves. – Deuteronomy 32:31 ESV

They were on their own. Their false gods would prove powerless before God Almighty because they were lifeless. And after self-congratulating themselves for having defeated the forces of Israel, these two nations would find themselves having to answer to God for their actions. Why? Because these pagan nations were no better than Sodom and Gomorrah. They were equally as wicked, like vines branching off of the original plant and producing the same evil fruit.

And God reveals that He already has plans in store for them. He is going to use them to punish His rebellious children, but then He is going to repay them for their involvement.

“I will get revenge and pay them back
at the time their foot slips;
for the day of their disaster is near,
and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!” – Deuteronomy 32:35 NLT

These nations will destroy Samaria and Jerusalem. They will enslave the citizens of Israel and Judah. But they will have to answer to God for their actions. And, one day, God will turn the tables, reversing the fortunes of Israel and extending once again His mercy, grace, and love.

The Lord will judge his people,
and will change his plans concerning his servants;
when he sees that their power has disappeared,
and that no one is left, whether confined or set free. – Deuteronomy 32:36 NLT

Just when things look like they can’t get any worse, God will step in and rescue His chosen people. He will remember and redeem them. He will redeem them from captivity yet again. And He will mock the mighty nations of Assyria and Babylon, challenging them to seek help and hope from their false gods.

“Where are their gods,
the rock in whom they sought security,
who ate the best of their sacrifices,
and drank the wine of their drink offerings?
Let them rise and help you;
let them be your refuge!” – Deuteronomy 32:37-38 NLT

And their calls for help will go unheard and unheeded because their gods are false. The Assyrians and Babylonians would one day find themselves on the wrong end of the world-domination game. They would become the conquered rather than the conqueror. Their 15-minutes of fame would come to an abrupt and ignominious end. Because their false gods would fail to rise up, rescue them, and provide refuge for them. But Israel would experience the gracious hand of God Almighty. Right when their strength is gone, and all hope is lost, their God will show up, and He “will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants” (Deuteronomy 32:36 ESV).

Ruth 1-2, Romans 1

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Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands.
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Ruth 1-2, Romans 1

The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge! – Ruth 2:12 ESV

The sovereignty of God is a difficult concept for most of us to get our hearts and minds around. The idea that He is completely in control of all things can be a comfort at times and a confusing contradiction at others. When things are going well in our lives, it seems to make sense that God is in control. But when difficulty shows up in our lives, we can either begin to wonder where God has gone or why He is doing what He is doing to us. In the story of Ruth, we find a fascinating snap shot of God’s sovereignty over the lives of men. The book chronicles the life of an obscure Moabite woman, who becomes the great-grandmother of King David, and one of the few women whose names appear in the family tree of Jesus Christ found in the gospels. But along with the sovereignty of God, the book of Ruth provides a wonderful illustration of how God uses men to accomplish His divine will. As the title of Paul David Tripp’s book so aptly describes them, men and women can become Instruments In the Redeemer’s Hands. Even in the book of Romans we see Paul writing to the believers in Rome, expressing his sincere longing to visit them. He reveals that he has repeatedly asked God to allow him the privilege of traveling to Rome in order to spread the gospel among the Gentiles there. And little did Paul know that his prayer would be answered in the form of his arrest in Caesarea and a long and arduous boat trip to Rome under Roman guard. He would eventually get his wish and arrive in Rome, but as a prisoner. In God’s sovereignty, He would arrange for Paul to get free passage to Rome as a “guest” of Caesar, with all expenses paid by the Roman government. And once there, Paul would have the opportunity to act as God’s instrument in the lives of the people of Rome.

What does this passage reveal about God?

God is in control. We can’t always see it and we may only be able to recognize it long after the fact. In other words, it is oftentimes in hindsight that we best see God’s sovereign hand in our lives. The story of Ruth provides us with a perfect example of that fact. It gives us a 36,000-foot view of the events surrounding the lives of Elimelech, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, allowing us to see what they could not see at the time. For Naomi, none of what was happening in her life made sense. In fact, she wrestled with God’s actions, wrongly assuming that God was against her. “…the hand of the Lord has gone out against me” (Ruth 1:13 ESV). And who could blame her? She and her husband had been forced to flee from their hometown of Bethlehem because of a famine. They ended up in Moab, where she had to watch her husband and two adult sons die prematurely and unexpectedly. She was left a widow in a foreign land with no source of income and responsibility for two widowed daughters-in-law. Her conclusion, based on all that had happened to her was, “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away very full, and the Lord has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:20-21 ESV). Noami’s take was that, “the Almighty has brought calamity upon me” (Ruth 1:21 ESV). But while her life had been difficult, her conclusion could not have been more wrong. The sovereign God of the universe was orchestrating events in such a way that what Naomi thought was a curse from God would prove to be a blessing.

Paul’s desire to visit Rome and to “reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Romans 1:13 ESV) was obviously from God. And yet, it would be easy to wonder where God was when Paul ended up sailing on a boat to Rome in the custody of Roman guards. He could have easily questioned God’s sovereignty when faced with a perilous storm and the likelihood of shipwreck and even possible death as they made their way to Rome. But all of this was part of God’s plan. And instead of questioning God, Paul determined to see himself as an instrument in the hands of the Redeemer, ministering to the men on the boat with him. And when he eventually made it safe and sound to Rome, he would continue to operate as an instrument in the Redeemer’s hands, bringing help, hope and healing to all those with whom he came into contact.

What does this passage reveal about man?

One of the most encouraging and inspiring characters in the book of Ruth is that of Boaz. While Ruth is the main character and exhibits some remarkable character qualities, it is Boaz who holds the story together and best illustrates someone who sees himself as God’s instrument. When he finds out about Ruth and her relationship with Naomi, he steps in. After hearing about all that had happened to Naomi and how Ruth ministered to her even in the midst of her own pain and loss, Boaz tells her, “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:12 ESV). Boaz believed in the sovereignty of God and he also believed in the mercy, grace, and compassion of God. But he also knew that God sometimes expresses Himself through the lives of men. He understood that God had placed this woman in his field and in his life so that he might minister to her needs and becomes God’s instrument to repay her, reward her, and provide refuge for her. He immediately began the process of providing for her needs and arranging for her protection. God used Boaz to bless Ruth and Naomi, just as He used Paul to bless the people of Rome. They were both conduits of God’s blessing to others, willingly allowing themselves to be used by Him to redeem and restore those who were in desperate need.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I don’t always understand how God works. At times I even question His actions, wondering what in the world He thinks He is doing. But these two passages remind me that God is always in control, regardless of what I may see or think. And they also encourage me to see myself as an instrument in His hands, providing help, hope and healing to those around me. God places people in my life at key times to whom He expects me to minister. And He places people in my life from whom I unexpectedly receive His love, mercy and comfort. The moments of pain and sorrow in our lives are difficult to bear, but we must always remember that God has an overarching purpose and plan for our lives and can and does use “all things” to work together for our own good (Romans 8:28). We may not be able to see it or appreciate in the heat of the moment, but given time and perspective, we will always be able to see that God was there, ministering to us and providing for us. And the most amazing thing is that He will typically, if not always, use one of His children as an instrument of His redeeming love in our lives. Our heart’s desire should be to live like Boaz and Paul, willing to be used by God and confident that He is ultimately in charge of the affairs of our life, so that we rightly conclude that there are no unexpected and unintentional moments that ever happen that He has not ordained or intends to redeem for our good and His glory.

Father, make me a Boaz for my day. Let me live like Paul, with a desire to be used by You and the perspective to see Your hand in all that happens in my life. May I live with a attitude of expectancy, willing to be used as an instrument in Your loving, redemptive hands. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org