Here is the enhanced version of your post. I applied the formatting checklist: using blockquotes for the scriptures, breaking the text into readable sections with clear subheadings, and using bold text instead of all-caps to emphasize your powerful points about the Law and Grace.
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." — Romans 3:19-20
Jesus in the Center
As we study the Old Testament and divide it into two main portions—the Law and the Prophets—we find three books sandwiched between them: Judges, Joshua, and Ruth.
Now, we know that Joshua in Hebrew means "God is Salvation"—the exact same meaning as Jesus in Greek. So we see Jesus perfectly in the center of even the Old Testament! Just as He is the center of all creation, and the center of time itself, dividing B.C. from A.D. (Anno Domini—Years of Grace... chapter over, close the book! 😊 But we will come back to that later).
On the side of the Law is the book of Judges. If you take Joshua to be the central book of the Old Testament, it shows us a profound truth: if we try to come to Jesus through the Law, we will enter into Judgement. As Paul wrote, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight (Romans 3:20, Galatians 2:16).
The Foreigner and the Closer Relative
But thank God, you can approach the heavenly Joshua from the other side—through what the Prophets foretold, and through the beautiful book of Ruth.
Ruth was a Moabite—a foreigner, a Gentile. She was disqualified in every way according to the Law of Moses. But by coming back to the place of bread (Bethlehem literally means "house of bread") along with Naomi, Ruth finds the Kinsman-Redeemer who is willing to redeem and marry her!
But hark! There is a problem. There is a still closer relative who must be consulted first (Ruth 3:12) to see if he can perform the dutiful redemption. Will he be able to perform the duty of a close relative? Can he redeem her and take her?
Who does this unnamed close relative typify?
My friends, it is the Law.
"I Cannot Redeem"
The Law demands perfection. It calls for excellence in performance, tolerates no failures, and is quick to judge every error. The Law says, "Do this, don't do that!" And when it comes to true redemption, do you want to know what this close relative says?
"I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance." — Ruth 4:6
The Law takes off its sandals, saying, "I cannot walk that path of redemption for you." The Law boasts of not missing even the dots and crosses of the letter, yet it is utterly unable to justify even one person who tries to keep it. The Law shows how wrong you are, with all the right reasons, but it is entirely unable to make the wrong right!
It subjects everyone under it to a life of bondage—bringing up the Ishmael generation and the old covenant on Mount Sinai, while persecuting the children of promise (the Isaac generation) who hold the promises of the new and everlasting covenant on Mount Zion (Galatians 4:24-28).
Grace Finds Us
Thank God for grace. Grace that is greater than all my sin. Grace that pardons and cleanses within. Grace that pours until waters flow in deserts, and the scorching heat of summer turns to a springtime glow.
There is a true Kinsman-Redeemer: Jesus, God's own Son. The precious Lamb of God, the Messiah, slain for sinners. Just as Boaz redeemed Ruth and married her—turning a barren, foreign widow into the great-grandmother of Israel's sweet psalmist, King David—Jesus redeems us.
How do we find grace? Or does grace find us? It is a bit like asking, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Yes, grace found me. And yes, I found grace.
"So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free." — Galatians 4:31
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Hallelujah! What a friend!
Stay blessed in Jesus. Amen.
There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother - JESUS MESSIAH.
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