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Hearing God Speak through His Word

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
-- Luke 8:15 (NASB)

Archive for the '08: Ruth' Category

Ruth 4:16-17 • Servant, Gift, & Beloved

Saturday, April 4th, 2009
“Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi!’ So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”
    —Ruth 4:16-17 (NASB)

Obed means “servant” and their choice of a name fascinates me. It takes many years of care and feeding and education before a baby can grow out of childhood to the point of serving others, so in one sense the name is an expression of faith and praise to God that he is the answer to Naomi’s previous predicament of facing old age with no one to provide for her. While she will be tending and feeding him for some time to come, it’s acknowledged that he will grow to prove to be God’s answer to Naomi’s prayers.
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Ruth 4:13-15 • Redeemer & Restorer

Friday, April 3rd, 2009
“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.'”
    —Ruth 4:13-15 (NASB)

Yes, Naomi needed a redeemer. “Redeemer” was actually a technical, legal Old Testament term describing someone who could make recovery for a family member by marrying a widow to bear children and continue the family name, to continue the family inheritance allotted in the Promised Land, or to avenge injustice. In the course of Naomi’s life there were elements of all three. But she also needed a redeemer for these things from an eternal perspective as well. And through the redeemer of her earthly life would eventually come the Messiah, the Redeemer of eternal life who would provide Naomi redemption for her eternal name, heavenly inheritance, and ultimate justice for all time.
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Ruth 4:11-12 • Rachel & Leah & Tamar & Ruth

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
“All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.'”
    —Ruth 4:11-12 (NASB)

Boaz is encouraged by the witnesses in his taking of Ruth as wife by wishing for him that she would be as productive and famous as Tamar, Rachel, and Leah. From Rachel and Leah, of course, came the twelve tribes of Israel, and from Tamar the most famous and prolific family within the tribe of Judah, the tribe to which Boaz belongs. But Naomi shared an interesting, additional common characteristic with Rachel and Leah and Tamar: They were all Gentile women.
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Ruth 2:19-20 • Kindness to the Living & to the Dead

Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
“Her mother-in-law then said to her, ‘Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.’ So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, ‘The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.’ Again Naomi said to her, ‘The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.'”
    —Ruth 2:19-20 (NASB)

The most likely and perfectly legitimate interpretation of Naomi’s statement,“May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead” is that she is recognizing that Boaz is acting on behalf of family members that have passed away, in this case Naomi’s husband Elimelech and their son Mahlon. But there is no small irony in the parallel that from many perspectives Naomi herself was dead and essentially “remembered” among the living by Boaz’s kind actions.
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Ruth 2:10-12 • The Making of a Spiritual Giant

Tuesday, March 31st, 2009
“Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?’ Boaz replied to her, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.'”
    —Ruth 2:10-12 (NASB)

Boaz perceives that what has and is going on in Ruth’s life is a reflection of something greater taking place spiritually. She sees herself as a poor foreigner struggling to make a living; Boaz sees the spiritual harvest of her work and sacrifice on behalf of her mother-in-law as “wages…from the Lord“, a greater reward than any earthly treasure could bring. He knows that such spiritual character is not a happenstance result, but the result of one running TO God “under whose wings you have come to seek refuge”.
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Ruth 1:15-17 • Not “Me”, But “You”

Monday, March 30th, 2009
“Then she said, ‘Behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.'”
    —Ruth 1:15-17 (NASB)

Consider the salient points in this vivid picture of salvation and how they build individually into the biblical definition of the visible life of one dedicated to and saved by the One True God:
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Ruth 1:12-14 • To Cling or Let Go

Sunday, March 29th, 2009
“‘Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.’ And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”
    —Ruth 1:12-14 (NASB)

The proof of faithfulness comes not in times of peace and prosperity but hardship and testing. It’s easy to remain faithful during the good times, but more of a direct challenge to one’s strength of character when everything seems to be going wrong. Naomi trained her daughters-in-law the best that she could, putting their needs before her own, and in their choices was revealed the true depth of each one’s faithfulness. There is affection displayed in the course of Orpah’s departure, but the greater strength of love in Ruth’s clinging to Naomi, refusing to be parted. Only Ruth was truly faithful.
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