APRIL 7 READINGS…Ruth 1:1-4:12
What a wonderful story Ruth is. From the beginning of this story we see the hand of God. We know that Ruth who was a Moabite woman would be an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah. God is at work in the time of the judges of Israel. He is keeping the line to Messiah going, and He intends to uses this woman from Moab, that nobody knows, to fulfill His plan. The famine comes to Israel that requires Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons to travel to Moab in order to survive. Their sons marry Moabite women, one being Ruth. Elimelech and his two sons die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah on their own. The famine subsides in Israel and it is time for Naomi to return...she frees her daughter-in-law’s from any commitment to her. Ruth refuses to leave Naomi and from that we have a wonderful and powerful statement of commitment..."Wherever you go I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die. I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us." This statement of commitment is so strong that many Christian couples use it in their marriage ceremony to speak of their commitment to each other. I also like it in the context or our commitment to Christ...for He is our life. Where else are we going to go?
When Naomi and Ruth arrive back in Israel once again the Lord is at work in their lives. Ruth begins to glean in the fields of a righteous and genuinely good man, Boaz. The Lord has set this up, as Boaz is the kinsmen redeemer for Ruth. And in a short time, Boaz would redeem Ruth and make her his wife. I would hope that we would know that just as the Lord was always at work in Ruth's life, even a decade or more before He blessed her with her husband Boaz, that He is also at work in our lives. I love these words from a song by Don Moen, for they speak of this truth for us...even when we can't see it, or know where all this is headed...
"God will make a way
Where there seems to be no way,
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me,
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side,
With love and strength for each new day
God will make a way."
Do you realize that God loves you, and that He is at work in your life? He has a wonderful plan for each of us that belong to Him...and that plan for us all will be complete when we return to the land of promise and get to meet our Redeemer face to face. Like Naomi and Ruth, this world for us is filled with trouble...but we always have a Redeemer. And the troubles of this life will fade into the past when we get to return home and see our Redeemer, Jesus, face to face.
Please share your insights from today's reading. What a blessing, and what a wonderful picture the book of Ruth is for we who have our own Redeemer Jesus.
TOMORROW’S READING...Ruth 4:13-22 &1 Chronicles 2:9-55 & 1 Chronicles 4:1-23 & 1 Samuel 1:1-8
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