Monday, April 11, 2016

Story of Redemption

It all began with a famine in the time of the Judges.
A man named Elimelech, took his wife, Naomi,
and his two sons to Moab. The rest of his family
stayed in Bethlehem, which, coincidentally,
means House of Bread! Anyway, Elimelech died
and his two sons married Moabite women and
then they too died! Naomi heard that the famine
had ended and decided to return to Bethlehem
where she had a house and some land. She had
become very bitter against the Lord. This
bitterness is very evident as they return to Israel.
However, Ruth is determined to stay with her:

"Do not urge me to leave you or to return from
following you. For where you go I will go, and
where you lodge. Your people shall be my people,
and your God my God. Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to
me and more also if anything but death parts me
from you." Ruth 1:16

What would cause this young woman to leave her
country and go to a place she had never seen with a
woman who felt life was over? Perhaps she fell in
love with the God who cared for His people and
truly wanted to be in relationship with them.

Ruth went to glean in a field whose owner was a man
of integrity, a believer in Yaweh. He comes into His
field and says to the workers:
"The Lord be with you!" 
They answered,
"The Lord Bless you." 
I noticed that Boaz brings the Lord into all he says.
To Ruth he uses these words:
,..."The lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings 
you have come to take refuge."
Such a beautiful picture!
At lunch he feeds her bread and wine. Does that
not remind you of something, of Someone else?

When Naomi discovers whose field Ruth has
gleaned in, she perks up. "Oh," she says, "Boaz is
a close relative." Really? He has been living there
all that time? Naomi had forgotten?

The story ends with Boaz going to the town center
to redeem Ruth and make her his wife.

Reader, the Book of Ruth is a most beautiful story.
When Ruth arrived she had nothing but a bitter
mother-in-law. By the end of the book, she was
married with a son named Obed who was the
father of Jesse, who was the father of David--and
on down to Jesus. Boaz, the son of Rahab!

Passover, The Crucifixion of our Lord, Rahab's
protection and rescue, Ruth's marriage to Boaz are
all Redemption stories in spring time. Our Lord is
coming to redeem us. Could it be this spring?
Look up, for your redemption draws nigh.







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