SALVATION CONNECTED WITH THE HOUSEHOLD
N. T. Meek
Exodus 12: 3–8; Ruth 2: 2, 3, 17–23
The Scriptures speak of salvation in many ways. In Acts 4: 12 it is said to be in Christ and in “none other”. To be saved from the righteous wrath of God we certainly need to find that salvation is in Christ, the blessed and only One who was able to bear God’s judgment on our sins, so that the penalty should not be borne by us. Then the early chapters of Acts clearly connect salvation with Christ’s assembly here, as providing practical protection and a sphere of life for the believer. Further, it seems that salvation in a practical sense can be connected also with the believer’s house and I would like briefly to draw attention to this aspect of it.
The scripture in Exodus 12 shows that the believer’s house has a protective character. It is in that house that the passover lamb is found and valued. Any household that cherishes Christ as the holy Sufferer will of necessity afford protection to those in it. The lamb would be talked about; the reason for it being there would be understood and appreciated, and its personal perfection—“without blemish”—would be acknowledged. Persons in such a house would have clearer, purer and richer thoughts than would those in an Egyptian household. Hence, may our households be places where the Lord Jesus is often spoken of.
Another advantage for the children of Israel was that they had light in their dwellings (Exodus 10: 23). This would include light morally, as over against the moral darkness of Egypt. By extension
the believing household has light as to how to walk through an evil world, the book of Proverbs affording help as to this. Then there is light as to future events and as to the soon-coming reign of Christ. All this imparts an immense advantage to those in such a house and one result is that in moving amongst men the believer can be steady and sure in the unstable, anxious world around him. He carries the secret of his Lord’s eventual vindication and millennial glory. Perhaps we could capitalise more on the value of the Christian’s house. It stands as an oasis of refreshment and a haven of peace in a barren and restless world.
Ruth is an example, I suggest, of one who gained advantage from the house she was in. It would be difficult to be too explicit as to her age in this chapter but it is noteworthy that she is called a maiden in verse 5, which suggests she was comparatively young. In verse 2 she proposes to Naomi that she should find a job in the new country, or in words that we commonly use, that she should go out to work. Her mother-in-law, acting like a mother, says,
“Go, my daughter”. Scripture does not say so, but it is more than likely that as Ruth went out of the door Naomi knelt down and prayed for her preservation. This is another advantage of the believer’s house; it is a place of prayer. How many parents have been through this exercise as their children have started out to school, and then in later years to work. Parents, with knowledge borne of experience, realize what the world is, its snares, its delusions, and its moral dangers. I sometimes think that these prayers can invest the young one with invisible, maybe angelic, protection.
Then there is also Ruth’s responsibility. How will she comport herself? When we first start work we are normally very anxious to please our colleagues. Therein lies a possible danger. It is not that we are to be characteristically uncooperative, but we need to watch that we do not get drawn into situations and relationships that can become a snare. The Lord in His ministry here spoke of His disciples being “prudent as the serpents, and guileless as the doves”, Matthew 10: 16. Personal morning prayer and the Word of God are means of fortifying us against our natural tendency to decline, and they act as the covering bound upon the open vessel (Numbers 19: 15).
Ruth comes home at even. It is fine to see that she discloses to Naomi all that had happened during that eventful day. We see therein a practical element of salvation in her openness and transparency as to what had transpired during the time at work. If this is characteristically maintained serious trouble will almost certainly be averted, because any initial steps towards danger or un-wisdom can early become the subject of parental counsel. Therefore in these situations let there be no part dark. The closeness and confidence between Naomi and Ruth are most affecting and in no way work to Ruth’s disadvantage. May all our households prove that the same principles apply in our own day.
Substance of word in meeting for ministry, Malvern
5 July 1983