Devotional writing from Ruth from The Message

December 26, 2005

Ruth 1: It was back in the days when judges led Israel.

The stories in Judges get darker and darker, with the final one, the one about the Levite's concubine, being the worst of all.  It is not only a story of civil war, but one which highlights just how terribly women in general were treated in that day.  Then I turn the page and find myself reading a beautiful, gentle love story.  Even in the midst of diminishing worship of God and the resulting lowering of morality in general, I find that God was still working in the lives of those who would walk with him.  I see that some people weren't absorbed by the common culture.  Some were noble and kind and generous even when they were totally out of step with their society.  This is a wonderful reminder to me as I reflect on my own culture -- a culture that seems fully committed to removing God from all public life, a culture that "calls the darkness 'light' and calls the light 'darkness.'  There is still the possibility of purity and Christian gentleness, even in my culture.  Not only is it possible, but a small, unnoticed act might just impact the world in ways I can never imagine.

December 27, 2005

Ruth 1: Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live.  Your people are my people, your God is my god.

A family of refugees moves to her neighborhood and over time she marries one of the sons.  Her in-laws often surprise Ruth.  Their ways are different than hers.  Most unique is their religion.  They have but one God and they tell many stories of his deliverance of their people and his love for them.  Their laws are just and intended to protect the weak.  Even as Ruth is becoming a part of this family, the family begins coming apart.  First, her father-in-law dies.  Then her brother-in-law passes away and then her own husband.  In time, her broken-hearted mother-in-law declares that she is releasing the wives of her two deceased sons.  The young women can marry again and start life anew.  As for her, it is time she returns home.  How sad: she left with a husband and two fine sons, but she will return alone.  Ruth is having none of this.  In Naomi she has not only a mother-in-law but also a friend.  Beyond that, going back to her old life, now that she had had a glimpse of something better is unthinkable. So we come to her beautiful statement of commitment.  She will cast her lot with Naomi.  She will be her friend and she will make Naomi's values and Naomi's God her own.  I wonder if my life, even in the face of heartache, has the potential of causing anyone to say, "I will serve and love the God you serve and love."

December 28, 2005

Ruth 2: God hasn't quite walked out on us after all! He still loves us, in bad times as well as good!

Naomi and Ruth are destitute and alone as they return to Israel.  It seems that everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.  They are two widows on their own.  Ruth goes out to the fields hoping to find enough left over from the harvest to give her and Naomi something to eat.  To her surprise, she finds herself talking to a wealthy landowner that welcomes her and treats her kindly.  Upon returning home, she tells Naomi of her adventure.  It is then that Naomi makes this wonderful statement concerning God's grace.  "God hasn't quite walked out on us after all!"   It has seemed that way.  She has buried a husband and two sons.  In Ruth's surprisingly good day of gleaning, and especially in her encounter with Boaz, she sees God at work.  "He still loves us, in bad times as well as good!"  Pretty good theology from a widow woman living in the dark days of the book of Judges.  I am reminded today that my circumstances are not an indicator of God's work, or lack thereof, in my life.  Just because things get hard it doesn't mean that God has stopped loving me.  Naomi was wise enough to recognize this truth, and I need to realize it too.

December 29, 2005

Ruth 4: Boaz married Ruth.

It's a happy ending.  Ruth lost her husband, left her homeland, and committed herself to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and Naomi's faith.  It seems she has lost everything.  But God is always at work.  He has a good husband for Ruth and a good wife for Boaz.  Things are moving in ways no one person can imagine.  At just the right time God puts into Naomi's mind the right suggestion, and he is already working on the heart of Boaz.  It is, well, a match made in heaven.  God is the God of Second Chances.  For Ruth it is another chance of a happy life.  For Naomi, it is a grandchild, the continuation of her family.  Then, one more thing: as I said, there is more going on here than any one person knows.  We finish the story with the future family tree.  Boaz and Ruth's great-great grandson will be a fellow named David, King of Israel.  Oh yes, God is at work here.