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Welcome to the Daily Blade. The word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit,
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the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil. Your hosts
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are Jobimartin and Kyle Thompson, and they stand ready to equip men for the fight. Let's
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Welcome back. Let's get after it. All week long, we're going head to head with the
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culture's narrative about toxic masculinity. We'll examine the claims, test them against
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God's word and build a better framework, and that better framework is what we're calling
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tethered masculinity. Here's the definition. It's the identity and actions of a man submitted
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to the authority of scripture. So let's go to cultural claim number four. Male strength
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is a weapon of intimidation. So I'm sure you've heard from some form of this or heard
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of some form of this at some point in your life. And this is a bit of a downstream
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argument from some of the stuff that we talked about earlier this week, like the claims
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about masculine aggression being toxic and masculine leadership being oppressive. And
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a lot is made about the patriarchy and whatnot. But for the people making these claims, ultimately
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a boils down to this. Strong men make people uncomfortable. And look, the cultural claim
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isn't all wrong. I mean, just look at your own childhood. Didn't you have moments when
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a stronger or bigger man made you feel uncomfortable? Whether they did it on purpose or accident?
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I mean, look at movie and TV villains. Some of the characters were diabolically evil and
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they used their brains to hurt people. But most of the villains, especially like in the
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80s action movies or whatever, they were physically imposing. They were big. They were jacked.
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And they used their size to take advantage of people to bully people. And I think most
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of us have had a bullying experience or two in our lives. I mean, for me growing up,
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like I wasn't the smallest kid and I was never the biggest kid. So I actually experienced
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both sides. I bullied smaller kids sometimes. And I got bullied by bigger kids sometimes.
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It's just kind of one of those things that happened. So pretty much all of us have experienced
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the actual toxic masculinity of someone using their strength to hurt us or those around
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us. But what about tethered strength? What happens when a man's strength is tethered to
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God's will? So let's actually go to the Old Testament book of Ruth. So the book of
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Ruth is set in an unstable period in Israel's history. A famine arises in Bethlehem, a man
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named Alimolec leaves for Moab with his wife Naomi and their two sons. Alimolec dies
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making Naomi a widow. And her two sons marry Moabye women, Orpa and Ruth. And after about
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10 years, both sons die. So now Naomi, having no one, she decides to return to Bethlehem.
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So she actually urges Orpa and Ruth to stay in Moab. Orpa does not, but Ruth declares
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loyalty to her mother-in-law and clings to her. So Ruth asks Naomi if she can go to the
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field to glean some wheat, which was permitted under God's law for poor people and strangers.
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Naomi says, yes, so Ruth does do that. And at the beginning of Route 2, we are introduced
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to a mighty man of wealth and power and also a man from Alimolec's family. And his name
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is Boaz. So his first recorded words in the Bible are a blessing that he gave to the
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reapers that were working in the fields that kind of gives you a hint as to the type of
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man he was. Boaz happens to notice Ruth in the field. He inquires about her, finds out
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that she's a foreigner. He actually draws near to her and not to take advantage of her,
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not to castigate her, but out of concern for her. He then uses his authority and strength
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to protect her. So let's go to Route 2 starting in verse 8.
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Then Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave
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this one. But keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are
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reaping and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when
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you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. Then she fell
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on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor in your eyes
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that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? But Boaz answered her, all
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that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully
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told to me and how you left your father and your mother in your native land and came
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to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done
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and a full reward will be given you by the Lord. The God of Israel under whose wings you
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have come to take refuge. Then she said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for
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you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your
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servants. And guys, I just love this story because it shows what a tethered man does.
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A man that is tethered to God's will and to God's words like Boaz, he reveres God.
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We see that with his spoken blessing. He seeks to be aware and shows concern, which he
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did for Ruth when he saw her, and he uses his strength and power to protect which he
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did for Ruth. And untethered or toxic men wouldn't do that. He wouldn't revere God. He wouldn't
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show concern for someone or use his strength to protect them. He would be a wolf that seeks
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to take advantage of and to devour someone as vulnerable as Ruth. So untethered strength
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intimidates. Tethered strength protects. So do you listening to this? Have you bought
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the cultural lie that your masculine strength is a weapon of intimidation? If you haven't,
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have you tethered your masculine strength as a weapon of protection? And are you tethering
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it to God's word and his will for your life? Keep those questions in mind today.
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Thank you for listening to today's episode. Before you go, if you want to help equip
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other men for the fight, share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review.