Ruth 4:13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife….and she gave birth to a son.
The short book of Ruth seems the embodiment of Isaiah 61:3. From Naomi’s bitter return to Bethlehem, lamenting “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter” (Ruth 1:20) to the women’s celebration of “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer” (Ruth 4:14), we see Naomi and Ruth claiming “…beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…” (Isaiah 61:3).
Ruth 4:14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD….For your daughter-in-law, who loves you…has given…birth.”
Perhaps the book of Ruth also helps me explain (or perhaps justify?) my hope is Isaiah 43:19: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness….” In the ashes of their broken hopes and dreams, Naomi and Ruth could not yet perceive the way forward that God was already working out. No matter what ashes you feel you are sitting in the middle of right now, know that God is already making a way for you, too.
Ruth 4:17a The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed….
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the hope that can only come from You, a hope exemplified in the book of Ruth. Thank You that even when we can’t see beyond the grief of our shattered dreams, You are already making a way, even if we can’t yet perceive it. Draw us closer to You. Amen.
Ruth 4:17b He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Have a blessed day.
Bold, brave, and trusting… (devo reflection)
Ruth 3:10 “The LORD bless you, my daughter….This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier….”
I can learn a lot about trusting God and obeying Him from Ruth. I really think my gut-instinct would have been to do what Orpah did. After all, Naomi insisted they stay in their homeland. As a widow with no living sons, Naomi had no real hope of providing them with husbands or heirs. Even the belief system was vastly different, with the Moabites worshiping various gods while the Israelites followed the one true God. Yet Ruth was determined to go with Naomi.
Ruth 3:11 “…All the people of my town know you are a woman of noble character.”
And because she followed the one true God, because she stayed with her mother-in-law, because she trusted and obeyed, her kindness and noble character shine through her actions, and God is working through Boaz to ensure both Ruth and Naomi are taken care of.
Ruth 3:13 “…if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it….”
Lord, Thank You for this day and for this scripture. It is so easy to cling to comfort and familiarity as Orpah did, and no one faulted her, but sometimes You call us to be brave and trusting like Ruth, stepping completely out of our comfort zone so that You can work through us. Help me to know Your will for my life, Lord. Help me to be bold, brave, and trusting when You call. Amen.
Ruth 3:15 …he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her….
Have a blessed day.
“May you be richly rewarded by the LORD…” (devo reflection)
Ruth 2:10 …She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
Ruth was a foreigner in a foreign land. She lost her husband, was left with no chance of an “easy life” with her mother-in-law (also a widow, now with no surviving sons), and still chose to follow her mother-in-law back to her home country, chose to leave behind her home, family, and gods, and to embrace Naomi as family, and her God as Ruth’s own.
Ruth 2:11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with people you did not know before.”
She expects nothing, no kindness, no favor. She works hard to gather grain for herself and her mother-in-law. She’s a fledgling in her faith, and yet, God guides her to the field of Boaz, who sees her hard work, who understands her kindness towards Naomi, who shows her favor and wishes for her God’s kindness and favor.
Ruth 2:12a “May the LORD repay you for what your have done….”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for showing me the beautiful picture of Ruth’s fledgling faith. Thank You that we don’t have to be bible scholars to draw closer to You, to find favor in You. Thank You for allowing us to draw closer to You each day. Amen.
Ruth 2:12b “…May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Have a blessed day.
An act of faith…. (devo reflection)
Ruth 1:16b “…Where you go I will go….”
Naomi’s family left the Promised Land (regardless of how long they might have intended to be gone); they agreed (maybe encouraged) their sons to marry Moabite women. Naomi felt God had dealt bitterly (though she seems to accept it as fair treatment) with her by taking her husband and sons. Even so, she releases her daughters-in-law and determines to go back to her country and her God.
Ruth 1:16c “…and where you stay I will stay….”
Somehow, through all of this, Ruth sees something that she is missing. She will not take the easy out Naomi gives. Even knowing the low position (a widow with no sons and no brothers-in-law) it puts her in, she stays with Naomi, pledging to make Naomi’s home, people, and God her own. What a tremendous act of faith.
Ruth 1:16d “…Your people will be my people, and your God my God.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for helping me to see this chapter with new eyes. I see Naomi humbling herself and going back to her land, drawing closer to You. I see Ruth, who doesn’t even know You, vowing through You to stay by Naomi’s side. Help me to remember that my actions speak my heart, even if I don’t say Your name. Help others to see You through my life. Amen.
Ruth 1:17 “…May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Have a blessed day.