 |
he Story of Ruth |  |
 |
|
Ruth
is a story of love,devotion,and redemption.
It is the story of a Moabite woman who forsakes her pagan heritage in order
to cling to the people of israel and to the God of Israel.
Because of her faithfulness in a time of national fatihfulness.
God rewards her by giving her a new husband(Boaz),a son(Obed)and a priveledged position in the lineage of David and Christ.
Ruth means's friendship or satisfied,
Certainly the character of Ruth reveals that she was a woman capable of great
friendship. There are only two books named in the bible after woman. First one
is Ruth they read at the feast of Pentecost. Ruth was a Moabite .She married a
Hebrew husband and became the ancestor of Jesus Christ. At the time of judges,
there were periods of prosperity and periods of depression. "Every man did what
was right in their eyes"(Jud 21:25) this standard is quite comparable to that of
our own days. Men everywhere have rejected the standard of morality and do what
is right in their own eyes. There are certain movements in the worlds in which
the righteous suffer with the wicked. When righteous man suffers we should not
judge him, as a greater sinner, than someone else. "The rain falls upon the
righteous as well as wicked". Ruth a woman to whose life dealt a very
unfair blow.like Deborah and Hannah, she lived in Israel during the time of the
Judges. The four chapters that tell her life story are sandwiched in between the books of
Judges and 1st Samuel. And it's easy to find because Ruth is one of only
two women who has an entire book of the Bible named after her...the
other woman is Esther. Ruth's narrative has been called the most charming short story in the
Old Testament.Even people who are not believers have enjoyed reading this tiny book
Ruth's young husband has died. Her father-in-law and brother-in-law have died as
well. It seemed all the men in the household are gone. And Ruth's mother-in-law,
Naomi, whose name means "pleasant" and who must have lived up to that name,
since she had obviously endeared herself to Ruth and Orpah...well, she has
slipped into a deep depression that has caused her to become very cynical. In
verse 20 she changes her name to "Mara," which means "bitter." Naomi is no
longer pleasant! Before all this happened Naomi and her entire family must have
had a deep faith in God. In fact Ruth's father-in-law, Elimilech.... his name
means, "God is my King." The family's faith was so genuine in fact that it drew
Ruth from worshiping the false gods of the Moabite people to following the one
True God. But now Elimilech and his sons Mahlon and Chilion are also died
without having children, thus three widows were left without any resources to
support themselves. And Naomi seems to have lost her faith. She's angry at God.
She blames Him for the unfairness of her situation.(Ruth1:20) Ruth-a new believer in God-has gone from being a part of a large,happy,God-worshiping
family-to being a young widow alone with an embittered mother-in-law. And
in fairness to Naomi, we should note that she had good cause to be
concerned about her situation. These two women were in just about as dire a straight
as women could be in that male-dominated age for to be women alone without men
was to be faced with ruin. There was no social security in those days, no
safety net, no source for any kind of future if a woman didn't have a man in
her life. In those days, as Naomi alluded in (Ruth1:12)A woman without a man was
a woman without hope. So I am sure you will agree that at this point in her life
Ruth had definitely been forcibly enrolled in the school of hard knocks! She
had run smack dab into the unfairness of life. We should pause here and note
that several women today are in a similar situation. Now, they don't live in
that kind of male-dominated culture but, like Ruth and Naomi, they are suddenly single.
Several of women have had their husbands died in recent years and are
dealing with the unfairness of being alone example by recent terror attacks(WTC). The Bible says that in marriage husband and wife become one and this is not
just referring to a physical oneness. There is a spiritual union that takes
place-especially in long. When Naomi pleaded her two young daughters-in-laws to
leave her she said, their mothers would take care of them better than she, as
she had no place to lay her head .She revealed her helpless condition. she
wanted them to remarry and live happily, Naomi kissed Orpah, and Ruth and they
wept together, If love exits between women, it is a beautiful thing, because it
is one of the highest of all forms of love. Ruth made the most wonderful
confession of love ever spoken by a daughter-in -law" intreat me not to leave
thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people and thy God
my God.(Ruth1:6). Life is a series of decisions , our decisions may have eternal
consequences. Ruth had the greatest trail,but she made up her mind. She begged her mother-in-law to say no more against
her. True faith and beauty come from the inner heart. Ruth made the best choice
gracefully. The choice concerning education, selection of companions,
friendships are life's crossroads. A decision to obey God, may involve a great
price. Ruth had given up her country, her relationship with young friends, or
her chance to marry a man in her own country, She never looked back to her idols
in Moab. The wise old Naomi and the beautiful young Ruth set their faces toward
Bethlehem.. Naomi and Ruth the destitute widows had to survive. They found
refuge in God the Almighty, who has promised, "I will never leave you nor
forsake you" I truly believe that Ruth would want you to know some things she
discovered that will help you. Now we all know the story of Ruth to some extent the way she decided to do
the lowliest task of gleaning ears of corn in the fields… which was left behind
for the poor by the reapers, she was willing to work hard to sustain herself and
her mother-in -law. Slothfulness is always condemned by God." If any would not
work, neither should he eat (2 Thess.3: 10). If a woman is lazy it is hard to
run a home. As Ruth went looking for work, God directed her path to the right
place. "Trust in the lord with all thine heart: and he shall direct thy paths.
(Pro3: 5-6). In the book of Ruth "Lord "is given the central place by all the
characters in the narrative, Naomi, who suffered the most recognized the hand of
the lord against her (Ruth1 :13). God plays a part in the smallest things of our lives, Ruth obeyed Naomi
in the Lord and followed the desires of her mother-in-law. Likewise Boaz put
"Lord" first in his life. Even the placed "Lord" central in their thoughts as
Boaz decided to marry Ruth (Ruth 4:11) Ruth was a perfect daughter-in-law. Its
ever growing number of strained relationships, broken homes and loveless
lives, characterizes the twentieth century. In contrast, Ruth's love for her
aged mothering-law was as pure as gold and as strong as death. Her
selfishness devotion to Naomi, her firm decision to follow Jehovah and to
completely identify with his people brought her a rich reward. Ruth decision was not
only for her earthly life, but it was also for her eternal welfare. Her faith
matched her deeds. Women! Do you life, actions and words reflect you commitment to
God. God directed the steps of a perfect daughter -in -law? The women said to
Naomi "thy daughter -in-law. which loved thee, which is better to thee than seven
sons" (Ruth 4; 15) what a blessed statement!!. Dear reader IT IS NOT
ALWAYS BAD TO GO THROUGH BAD TIMES.They give us an opportunity to trust God.
But the greatest benefit of tough times is when God uses them to shape us more into the image of Jesus.
God promised us this in Romans 8:28 .
Remember its words?
"In ALL THINGS [Good and bad] God works for the good of those who love Him,
....who have been called according to His purpose."
And according to verse 29, that PURPOSE is for us to be "conformed to the image of His Son." If we let Him,
God uses bad times as tools to make us more
compassionate....more humble...more patient...more self-less....more like Jesus!
|
