AN ISRAELITE LOVE STORY
Ruth Chapters1-4
Ruth reached up to push her hair back under her head covering.
She was wet with sweat from working in the hot sun. But her sack as full of grain that would keep her and her mother-in-law, Naomi, from going hungry. Looking around, Ruth sighed. Everything seemed so strange. She was glad she had come to Israel from her home in Moab. She couldn't leave Naomi alone. But she did feel as if her life had taken a turn she hadn't truly expected. Little did she know her life was about to take another unexpected trun.
A shadow fell across the field in front of her as she worked. Ruth looked up to see a stranger. Silly that she would think of him as a stranger-everyone here was a stranger except Naomi. The man introduced himself as Boaz, the owner of the field. The he spoke so kindly to Ruth that she felt tears start in her eyes. His kind words soothed her feelings of loneliness and strangeness. Ruth didn't know it, but that day she met her future husband and father of her son Obed. Her future in this strange new land was secure.
THE MAIN POINT:
Redemption, a word rich with meaning and portent, fills the book of Ruth. God redeemed Naomi's grief over the loss of her husband and sons by giving her a grandson and a continuation of her family line. God redeemed Ruth by bringing her out of her heathen family and nation snf making her part of His own peoole and a part of the family of HIs Son, Jesus. God redeemed a situation distorted by sorrow and bitterness and offered fulfillment and joy in its place.
When Boaz first met Ruth, he realized that she was his relative. He began to take an interest in her, offering her protection of working in his fields, giving her bread to eat and telling her he admired her for all she had done for his relative, Naomi. The greater point of his attention in the spotlight it puts on Boaz as a good and godly man, one not only able but suitable to marry a woman like Ruth and carry on her dead husband's family line as kinsman-redeemer.
Did you know that you have a kinsman-reedemer? Yes, as your brother (Hebrews 2:12), Jesus came to avenge all that sin had done harm to.
Question: Which of these characteristics is most absent from your life? How can you go about developing it?
Naomi, who had lost her husband and her two sons in Moab, could only look at her losses. She told her friends to not call her Naomi, which means "pleasant," but to call her Mara, meaning "bitter" She couldn't see any blessing or the compassion from her friends. But God hadn't forgotten about Naomi, he was getting ready to make some radical changes in her life. As well as for you God has not forgotten about your prayers and desires. He has the same plan in mind for you.
Each step of the story of Ruth reveals a little more about her outstanding character, her tenderness toward Naomi, her willingness to endure living in a foreign land, her hard work in the fields, her compassion her humilty; all excellent traits in anyone.
In your prayer time today, focus on that attribute, seeking God's help in developing it. Ask Him to reveal to you where you are lacking and where He wants to help you grow.
Dear Father, I need your help, to become all that You intended me to be. Develop me where I am lacking, especially in this specific area. The harder I try, Lord the more I realize I can't do this on
Ruth Chapters1-4
Ruth reached up to push her hair back under her head covering.
She was wet with sweat from working in the hot sun. But her sack as full of grain that would keep her and her mother-in-law, Naomi, from going hungry. Looking around, Ruth sighed. Everything seemed so strange. She was glad she had come to Israel from her home in Moab. She couldn't leave Naomi alone. But she did feel as if her life had taken a turn she hadn't truly expected. Little did she know her life was about to take another unexpected trun.
A shadow fell across the field in front of her as she worked. Ruth looked up to see a stranger. Silly that she would think of him as a stranger-everyone here was a stranger except Naomi. The man introduced himself as Boaz, the owner of the field. The he spoke so kindly to Ruth that she felt tears start in her eyes. His kind words soothed her feelings of loneliness and strangeness. Ruth didn't know it, but that day she met her future husband and father of her son Obed. Her future in this strange new land was secure.
THE MAIN POINT:
Redemption, a word rich with meaning and portent, fills the book of Ruth. God redeemed Naomi's grief over the loss of her husband and sons by giving her a grandson and a continuation of her family line. God redeemed Ruth by bringing her out of her heathen family and nation snf making her part of His own peoole and a part of the family of HIs Son, Jesus. God redeemed a situation distorted by sorrow and bitterness and offered fulfillment and joy in its place.
When Boaz first met Ruth, he realized that she was his relative. He began to take an interest in her, offering her protection of working in his fields, giving her bread to eat and telling her he admired her for all she had done for his relative, Naomi. The greater point of his attention in the spotlight it puts on Boaz as a good and godly man, one not only able but suitable to marry a woman like Ruth and carry on her dead husband's family line as kinsman-redeemer.
Did you know that you have a kinsman-reedemer? Yes, as your brother (Hebrews 2:12), Jesus came to avenge all that sin had done harm to.
Question: Which of these characteristics is most absent from your life? How can you go about developing it?
Naomi, who had lost her husband and her two sons in Moab, could only look at her losses. She told her friends to not call her Naomi, which means "pleasant," but to call her Mara, meaning "bitter" She couldn't see any blessing or the compassion from her friends. But God hadn't forgotten about Naomi, he was getting ready to make some radical changes in her life. As well as for you God has not forgotten about your prayers and desires. He has the same plan in mind for you.
Each step of the story of Ruth reveals a little more about her outstanding character, her tenderness toward Naomi, her willingness to endure living in a foreign land, her hard work in the fields, her compassion her humilty; all excellent traits in anyone.
In your prayer time today, focus on that attribute, seeking God's help in developing it. Ask Him to reveal to you where you are lacking and where He wants to help you grow.
Dear Father, I need your help, to become all that You intended me to be. Develop me where I am lacking, especially in this specific area. The harder I try, Lord the more I realize I can't do this on
