SCRIPTURE: Ruth 1:1-22
OBSERVATION:
This story (Ruth) will show how history is His story, how God works through the dramatic details of the lives of His people. God does not eliminate hardship, but He does work through it to restore His creation. And He works in surprising ways.
That Elimelech moves his family to Moab was a sign of his lack of confidence in the God of Israel. He does not find hope in Moab, and least not in the way he expected. Ruth becomes God’s surprising gift, not only to Elimelech’s family, but also to all of Israel (later in the story).
Ruth becomes another illustration of how God reveals and covenant faith and loyalty through outsiders (see Luke 7:1-10). Ruth becomes a member of Jesus family tree (see Matthew 1:5-6).
APPLICATION:
The details of my life are not irrelevent to God’s plan, even the difficult ones. God is at work fulfilling His kingdom plan of restoring His creation, and every detail is a part of the unfolding of that plan. This does not make the hardships easy, but it does give hope in the midst of tears.
Do I try to find shortcuts to God’s blessing? The way of blessing is the way of trusting and following God, not looking elsewhere (Moab). Fortunately, God is merciful even when we run away, and He brings us to our senses when we are far from home (see Luke 15:11-24).
Ruth is a reminder that God shows Himself through non-Christians, that they often demonstrate amazing faith, loyalty and goodness, an evidence of His power at work in them. Do I tend to dismiss those who are not in my ‘group’, do I miss seeing God in and through them?
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me for not trusting You, for running from You to find my hope elsewhere, and for failing to see You at work in those around me. Open my eyes to see You and others as I ought to, and to find my hope and joy in You! Amen.
The part of this passage that struck me was in verse 21:
“I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty”
When I visualize Naomi, leaving Judah with her husband and two sons (not quite sure how old they would have been); it creates a certain picture in my mind of this family. Naomi has her family, and follows her husbands lead into a new land.
Then her husband dies. Scripture does not reveal how but he is now dead and Naomi is on her own with her two sons.
Joy returns as Naomi witnesses the marriages of both her sons. Now she has a fullhouse again I am sure. She now has the fellowship of two young women along with her two sons.
Then both her sons die. Again, scripture does not reveal how they die but now Naomi is on her own – her blood family is gone from her midst.
Observation: Naomi’s character impresses on me as one who has been left with the raw reality of life and it has made her character raw as well. She wants no pity from her daughters-in-law, she advises them to be practical and return to their homes and get new husbands. She probably does not understand the fortitude of Ruths compassion towards her. You can see the beginning roots of bitterness in Naomi forming as she returns to Bethlehem and tells the women there to call her “Mara” which means bitterness.
Application: I suppose we all have a choice when it comes to responding to our circumstances. Naomi and Ruth both suffered loss. Naomi choose to become bitter. Ruth choose to be faithful.
Acceptance does not always have to create bitterness, you do have a choice to allow acceptance to create peace as well. I suppose it all stems from your perspective of how you see God and your view of how He sees you.
Elimelech moved his family from the land God had given him into the land of the enemy to provide for his family and his family died. Upon hearing that the famine had ended, Naomi and the girls go back to Israel. At Naomi’s urging, one of the two daughters-in-law, returned to her own people and their gods, but Ruth made the choice to leave her people and their gods and identify herself with Naomi’s God.
I have decided to follow Jesus. When trials and adversity come my way, what do I do? Do I run away from God’s presence and the refuge/shelter of His wings? Do I only depend upon my personal resources and solve/deal with my daily struggles without my Redeemer King. During the days of Judges when tis story takes place, the constant refrain was that the people did what was right in their own eyes. As I live today, it is may prayer, that despite the temptations and pressures of the world today, I choose to live a Godly life, following the steps of my Master, Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Help me in my walk today Lord to keep my hand in Your hand. Nowhere am I safer than this.