No Moabite!

Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite is to enter the kingdom of God, even to the tenth generation, nor any of his children.

Here we have some of the Laws of Moses, spoken by him in his last sermon on the plain before entering the Promised Land. The message seems pretty clear. Just three books later, however, we have the book of Ruth, the story of a Moabite woman who does not just become part of the Israelite community, but also becomes the great grandmother to the greatest king in Israel’s history, King David. Is she the exception that proves the rule? What is going on here?

The Bible is full of just these kinds of contradictions. The Jewish tradition, as well as the Orthodox Christian tradition, finds it easy to hold conflicting and contradictory messages in one’s mind, which is why, when the Bible was assembled, no attempt was made to smooth out all these differences and make them agree. You can see the same spirit at work in the record of the four Gospels of the New Testament. We Western Christians, however, want everything tied down and clear; we want to get our instructions without confusion so we know exactly what to do. These kinds of contradictions tend to frustrate us: which one is it?

I wonder if that isn’t part of the Wisdom the Bible holds. Perhaps we can find God even in the confusion. Perhaps the point is that life is too complex to go through just applying a bunch of rules to every situation. Perhaps we are meant to struggle with the particulars in our lives, to struggle with the meaning of scripture, with how to discern God’s will in the circumstances in which we find ourselves. If I just apply the rules, without actually grappling with what is happening and praying for God’s guidance and intervention, how can I see when God is calling me into a new direction? If Peter hadn’t been open to new directions in Acts (Acts 10:9-29) none of us Gentiles would even be Christians.

Prayer: Dear God, Sometimes I want answers that are clear and easy; it’s hard to sit with the messiness and ambiguity of life. Help me remember that no matter how messy it gets you are there to guide me, and open my heart to discern your call. Amen.