Ruth 4 - A Real Man

With the decline of the family and strong marriages, many women long to find a real man; a man who will care for them and provide for their current and future security. We all long to be thoroughly loved and provided for. That complete love is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ, our kinsman-redeemer. Boaz in this chapter redeems Ruth and lifts her out of poverty, gives her the love she desires and together Boaz and Ruth have a son who would be a forefather of Jesus     .  

Boaz loved Ruth and wanted to redeem her, but there was a closer relative (unnamed) who had first rights. Boaz publicly offers the rights to the land to him, but when it is revealed that Ruth the Moabitess would be part of the package and that he would be expected to father a child to Ruth so that her husbands name would not be eliminated altogether the offer was less attractive and hence refused. Boaz then gets exactly what he wanted, to redeem the land and to marry Ruth. 

Boaz was a man of honor. He didn't take the rights from the nearer relative. He honored his responsibility to care for the family and to provide for them. I am sure that he also made an incredible father to the boy in his older years. A man who honors his wife and provides for her financially and emotionally is the full package. A real man that any girl would be blessed to find. 

It is important that as we women seek our mates for life that we look for a man with great character and continue to encourage him to take on the role of leadership of true home all the days of his life. 

It is also important to note that Boaz is a shining example of what Jesus has done for us in redeeming is from our own pit of sin and despair to offer us new hope and a promise of eternal security with Him. No mere man can offer this to us, it is only found in relationship with Jesus. You can have that live in your life if you will only trust Him. Don't miss out; do it today. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him. 

Ruth 3 - Seeking a Husband

In today's culture, marriage has been attacked and many deceive themselves into believing that marriage is either a burden to be avoided or an unnecessary institution. In Ruth's time, they recognized that the man does more for the woman than merely provide children. The man provided for the woman a security and as a kinsman-redeemer, Boaz would also provide a service to Elimilech by standing in his place to carry on the family legacy. Boaz would provide lasting comfort and security for Naomi and Ruth. 

Naomi instructs Ruth on the customs of Israel and what to do. She goes to Boaz After he has bedded for the night and lays at his feet as a sign of submission. When he wakes in the middle of the night and notices her there, she informs him that he is her kinsman-redeemer and asks him to take her as his wife. Boaz is amazed at Ruth's submission to the customs of Israel. She could have sought a much younger man, but Ruth honored tradition and she demonstrated remarkable integrity. Ruth's character would make her attractive to the man. Boaz also had demonstrated piety and  grace to Ruth, traits that would make for an excellent husband. 

In seeking a mate, the character of the person should supersede appearances. Character lasts but looks can change or lose their influence. The character traits of the person will be the glue to keep the relationship successful. 

Our methods of finding a mate and entering into the covenant of marriage often don't prepare us for the commitment required or lead us to people of godly character. We are instructed to focus on character and our own development of the character of Christ in our lives. When Christ is in us and is allowed to be preeminent, our mate will have the confidence that he/she has someone who is of great worth in their lives. 

I believe that if we in our culture held marriage high and offered training for our young to know how to select a mate that we would certainly see a rise in contented couples but also a rise in security for families as parents demonstrate committed love for their children. We have far too many children who do not have the involvement of their fathers on their lives and far too many mothers working hard to provide what the father has not. It skews our view of marriage and of roles of the husband and wife. 

Ruth finds a man of godly character and we can help our children to recognize the value of character in every relationship they have. We too can be that model of godly character in each relationship we are in; mother, wife, employee, Christ member, sister, etc. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him. 

Ruth 2 - Caring for the Poor

In our days, there is a lot of discussion and even contention about how to properly care for the poor in our society. People see abuses of the public provisions and draw conclusions that all receipients are fraudulent and lazy. Others see victims of a society that has not provided the same opportunities for the marginalized. 

Scripture gives us a picture of providing for the poor on Ruth 2. Ruth, a foreigner who has committed herself to Naomi a widow from Bethlehem finds that there is no provision from their immediate family (because they have all died) and now needs to look for provision through the social welfare system. 

At that time gleaning was a means of providing for the poor who had no other means to eat. The widows, the destitute, the ill and the handicapped would be provided for as not all the field's harvest would be gathered. The corners were left for the poor to gather for their provision. If I had no land to farm and had no ability to work, then the gleaning would assure that I didn't starve. 

Note that the poor were not robbed of dignity through hand outs but they gathered for themselves in the harvest. Boaz knowing that Ruth was associated with a relative of his was especially gracious toward Ruth and made sure she had both food and protection. 

While Ruth had to gather the grain, God was providing for her needs by ordering her steps and leading her to Boaz's field as He was about to unfold her story in a beautiful way. At the time, she may not have seen God's hand, but she was humble and hard working and respectful. Those qualities I am sure endeared her to Boaz. There was no sense of entitlement or victimization. Her circumstances were what they were and she just needed to do the next right thing to secure provision for herself and Naomi. 

If we are faced with a need for provision, we should look to the Lord to order our steps and to open opportunities to receive; either through employment or the generosity of others. When poverty comes through no fault of our own as it had to Ruth, the provision from the hands of those who have sufficient provisions is God's means of sustaining. There is no place in scripture where idleness is rewarded, they are expected to be about working for their provision. God's system relies on families to care for their own before relying on public charity. 

The church is also to provide for the poor both individually and corporately. The poor are part of our world and we demonstrate God's love when we reach out to a brother or a sister in need. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him. 

Ruth 1 - Gloom & Despair Not the End

If God were to write your story, what would He say?  Some people who are struggling might think that God has abandoned them or that He is treating them harshly. As we open the book of Ruth we see poverty, emigration to a foreign land, intermarriage to women out of the nation of Israel, death and more death. The story has a grim start. Naomi even changes her name to Mara because she has become bitter against God. He has taken her husbands and her sons and her only means of security. She returns to Bethlehem a broken woman. 

When hard times come for us it is easy in the moment to think that God is punishing or perhaps has removed His blessing from our life. It is far too easy to allow circumstances to overwhelm and to make us bitter. We call out to God, but rather than relief we see another anguish coming our way. 

There is no way I could get into the head of God, but I can look at how He has dealt with people from the pages of scripture and see that sometimes harshness is a result of correction for losing faith in God and placing it in ourselves or idols of the world. In the case of Naomi, I think that God is sustaining her through these hard times because he is in the middle of writing her story. It is a story where God will get the glory and be forever memorialized in the line of our Savior. They don't know it now, but Naomi and Ruth would become ancestors of David the King of Israel and the man after God's own heart. Through whom Messiah would come to save the nation. 

Our own trials and hardships may very well be the tools God uses to chisel us and to write His story in our lives. We are the clay, He is the Potter. In the middle of trials and hardship, don't give up and don't give into bitterness. We can't see the end, but that doesn't mean there isn't one. Our greatest hope is for the day when we are completely one in Heaven with no pain and no sorrow. Today we have sorrow and it may just serve a purpose. 

I believe that if Naomi could have seen the end of her story, she would have found the courage to bear up bravely under her conditions anticipating better things to come. We don't know what lies at then end of our journey even today. Let's keep our hope and trust in God that He will write a wonderful story with our lives. He loves us so, and His story created in us gives the world a glimpse of the hope they can have if they will just look to the Lord for their salvation as well. 

If you are enduring hardship, keep the faith and look to the source of your hppe. If your life is going smoothly, it is then when we can be an encouragement to others. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him.