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Ruth 4 - Redemption

If you recall in my posting about chapter one, I referenced the following verse.

Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.

However a remarkable thing happens in this chapter. God blesses the union of Ruth and Boaz so greatly that their great grandson, just three generations removed, becomes one of the greatest kings Israel has ever known.

Ruth 4:13-17 Boaz married Ruth. She became his wife. Boaz slept with her. By God's gracious gift she conceived and had a son. The town women said to Naomi, "Blessed be God! He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! He'll make you young again! He'll take care of you in old age. And this daughter-in-law who has brought him into the world and loves you so much, why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!" Naomi took the baby and held him in her arms, cuddling him, cooing over him, waiting on him hand and foot. The neighborhood women started calling him "Naomi's baby boy!" But his real name was Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

Did you notice that God is the one that gave Ruth the gracious gift? He enabled her to conceive. By doing this He signified that He had accepted her into His family. In chapter one, she had chosen Him as her God. In this chapter we see God choosing her to be the ancestor of mankind's future redeemer - Jesus.

Thank You Lord for your wonderful redemption story. Ruth was one of the outsiders. You redeemed her life, and through her loving obedience brought life to us all. In Jesus' name, Amen.

What a story! Jan
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Ruth 3 - Mother-In-Law

Below are some jokes that show the common perception of "mother-in-laws". They may be funny, but often quite a bit of truth is found in humor.

Standing at the edge of the lake, a man saw a woman flailing about in the deep water. Unable to swim, the man screamed for help. A trout fisherman ran up. The man said, "My wife is drowning and I can't swim. Please save her. I'll give you a hundred dollars." The fisherman dove into the water. In ten powerful strokes he reached the woman, put his arm around her, and swam back to shore. Depositing her at the feet of the man, the fisherman said, "Okay, where's my hundred dollars?" The man said, "Look, when I saw her going down for the third time, I thought it was my wife. But this is my mother-in-law." The fisherman reached into his pocket and said, "Just my luck. How much do I owe you?"

I was out shopping the other day when I saw six women beating my mother-in-law up. As I stood there and watched, her neighbor, who knew me, said, "Well, aren't you going to help?" I replied, "No. Six of them is enough".

Two men were in a pub. One says to his mate, "My mother-in-law is an angel." His friend replies, "You're lucky. Mine is still alive."

A guy brings his dog into the vet and says, "Could you please cut my dog's tail off?" The vet examines the tail and says, "There is nothing wrong. Why would you want this done?" The man replies, "My mother-in-law is coming to visit, and I don't want anything in the house to make her think that she is welcome!"

Adam and Eve were the happiest, and the luckiest, couple in the world, because neither of them had a mother-in-law.

I think you get the idea. But what an amazing contrast Naomi and Ruth are! Just look at the relationship these two shared.

Ruth 2:11-12 Boaz answered her, "People have told me about everything you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to people that you didn't know before. May the LORD reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward from the LORD God of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter."

Ruth 2:18 She picked it up and went into the town, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gathered. Ruth also took out what she had left over from lunch and gave it to Naomi.

Ruth 3:1 One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, "My dear daughter, isn't it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life?

Ruth 3:5 Ruth said, "If you say so, I'll do it, just as you've told me."

Ruth 4:14-17a The town women said to Naomi, "Blessed be God! He didn't leave you without family to carry on your life. May this baby grow up to be famous in Israel! He'll make you young again! He'll take care of you in old age. And this daughter-in-law who has brought him into the world and loves you so much, why, she's worth more to you than seven sons!" Naomi took the baby and held him in her arms, cuddling him, cooing over him, waiting on him hand and foot. The neighborhood women started calling him "Naomi's baby boy!"

This is what an in-law relationship is supposed to look like! It is such a shame that we allow our own petty jealousies and pride to get in the way. Sin corrupts everything that it touches, and this certainly is one biggie. Satan loves to drive a wedge between people because divided we fall.

Heavenly Father, please give us the courage and humility to treat our in-laws the way that we want to be treated. It does not matter how they may treat us or others, our responsibility is to show the example of Christ. Thank You Lord that through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us can be a reality. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Show them love. Jan
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Ruth 2 - Law of Grace

I wonder if God placed this particular law into His Old Testament with Ruth and Naomi in mind.

Leviticus 23:22 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.'"

God ensured that the poor and foreigners would have something to eat. Now look at what Ruth, the foreigner, was doing.

Ruth 2:6-7 And the foreman replied, "She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes' rest over there in the shelter."

Ruth received grace as the benefit of a command from Leviticus, instituted by God nearly one hundred years prior to her ever having been born. He knew what the need would be and provided for it in advance. He is not a God of random chance. As has been said many times, there are no accidents in God's world. He knows about everything, even about a poor nineteen year old girl's love for her mother-in-law and their physical needs.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God--those whom he has called according to his plan.

What an amazing plan God had for Ruth! I'm looking forward to digging deeper into the life of this hero of the faith.

Thank You Father that You know everything and work things out for us even before we need it. In Jesus' name, Amen.

He is gracious. Jan
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Ruth 1 - Who's God?

This chapter is the story of one of Jesus' earthly ancestors, Ruth. The interesting thing abut her is that she is a Moabitess. Jews were not to marry Moabites. If they did, their offspring were considered impure to the tenth generation.

Deuteronomy 23:3 No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.

Yet the sons of Naomi did marry women of Moab. Both sons died early in life too. Many biblical scholars believe that it was divine judgment.

What I find amazing is the character of Ruth vs. her sister-in-law Orpah. Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to return to their people and their gods. Orpah does, Ruth doesn't.

Ruth 1:15-16 "See," Naomi said to her, "your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. You should do the same." But Ruth replied, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.

Notice that Ruth did not say, I will obey your God's laws. No, she said that He will be her God. It was personal. She had obviously seen something worthy of her allegiance in His character. I believe that Ruth was honored by God for her faithfulness to Naomi and for choosing Naomi's God as her own. In fact she was so highly honored that through her blood-line came the Messiah.

Thank You Father for this wonderful redemption story. May it illuminate more of your character to us as we read it in detail. In Jesus' name, Amen.

May He be your God. Jan
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