The Plan

The Plan

Learning about God's Plan for Salvation at South Shore Trinity Lutheran Church

Week 13 – Samson and Ruth

The accounts of Samson and Ruth are perfect examples of how God uses the most unlikely people to accomplish His plan. Samson was a Judge of Israel who was given amazing strength by God. He was a Nazarite who was supposed to let his hair grow long to show his complete commitment to the Lord. However, even though his physical gifts were from God, Samson struggled to keep his heart focused on Him. Samson’s story warns us against playing with temptation but it is also a story of redemption.

In contrast to the account of Samson, we have Ruth. Ruth is an unlikely heroine because, even though she was a virtuous woman, she comes from outside the chosen people of God. She was a Moabite, a people who had been enemies of Israel from the earliest days. Nonetheless, God still used her in His plan by making her King David’s great-grandmother and, more importantly, one of Jesus’ ancestors. In her we see that God’s plan is to save all nations.

Both Samson and Ruth show us that God can use us for His purposes no matter where we come from or what our past has been. The defining factor is never how great we are but how great is the God that is working through us.

Week 12 – The Judges: Deborah, Gideon, and Samson

After Moses died Joshua led the people of Israel for many years, but when Joshua died there was no longer one foundational leader to lead Israel back to God when they strayed, so God raised up the Judges. The Judges were men and women God used to move His plan of salvation forward and to save Israel at the same time.

The regular pattern throughout the book of Judges is that Israel is unfaithful to God, God sends one nation or another to punish Israel and bring them back to Him, Israel then repents and calls to God for help, and finally God sends a Judge to save them. Wash, rinse, repeat.

We see in Judges that God takes sin seriously but that He takes true repentance just as seriously. God’s punishments are meant to bring us back to Him and His forgiveness.

Numbers 14:11-34

Israel rebels and is punished with 40 years in the wilderness

Week 11 – Moses and the 40 years

We often speak of Israel being God’s chosen nation and they were. However, as we have already seen, that doesn’t mean that Israel always listened to God. This week’s readings show us that even after Israel had been saved from Egypt and had seen countless miracles, they still doubted God; doubt that would ultimately result in a punishment that would last for 40 years. We will also see that even Moses is not free from rebelling against God.

What is wonderful about this week’s readings is that once again we see God being faithful to His people even when they are unfaithful to Him. It is important to remember as you read about the punishments that God imposes on Israel that these are not eternal punishments. Israel is punished with 40 years in the desert before they can enter the Promised Land and Moses is forbidden from entering it, but neither of them are cut off from God. Just as a good parent disciplines a child but still continues to love that child, God disciplines Israel but He continues to love them. Because of God’s plan of salvation, their eternal home is still with the Lord; a fact that is very comforting for us as we struggle with the sometimes very serious consequences of our own mistakes and sins.