Ruth 1:14-18; 2:2-3; 4:9-11
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you."
(Psalm 32:8)
Have you ever made a life-altering decision, following your intuition rather the rational facts? Ruth's choice of going with Naomi or returning to her own people wasn't only about being a good daughter-in-law. It was also about listening to the yearnings of her heart and following God's voice. It was more than intuition.
Things looked bleak when the two women arrived in Bethlehem. Ruth offered to do what she could, gathering grain left behind by the harvesters. God led her to work the fields of Boaz, a wealthy, righteous man, but, under Jewish law, also a relative responsible to protect these women. It's a redemption story, with a forecast of the future. Eventually, Ruth married Boaz and gave birth to a son who'd carry the family name directly to King David and ultimately to Jesus.
The consequences of Ruth's decision to submit to God extended far beyond her lifetime. Who can tell what long term effect our godly choices today may have, not only on our immediate future, but in God's eternal plan?
INSIGHT
"I AM NOT SKILLED TO UNDERSTAND/ WHAT GOD HAS WILLED, WHAT GOD HAS PLANNED/ I ONLY KNOW AT HIS RIGHT HAND/ IS ONE WHO IS MY SAVIOR."
(DORA GREENWELL, 1873)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Nehemiah 10-11
Psalm 36
Mark 15
uth 1:14-18
New International Version (NIV)
14 At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
15 “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her
Ruth 2:2-3
New International Version (NIV)
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. ”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.
Ruth 4:9-11
New International Version (NIV)
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses! ”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
THE STRONG ONE
Have you ever met someone who wanted to be weak? Nearly everyone recognizes that strength is desirable and many work hard to gain it. But what about spiritual strength? Can you work hard to gain that?
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