I just finished Judges -the story of Benjamin's tribe and what takes place to replace the women always bothers me. I don't understand the choices the Israelites do over the course of history, Judges is very disheartening.
However, at some point "During the time of Judges" the story of Ruth happens. Which I read today.
Realizing that we have all this broad view of the history of Israel falling in and out of grace and somewhere during the time of the judges a woman finds herself widowed. No money, no husband, sons dead. She moves back home and changes her name to "Bitter" and through the bitterness, the sadness, the desperate time she is living in a family redeemer steps up. For Naomi, her options were limited and she had the extra weight of being a mother to her daughter-in-law Ruth, who would not leave her. Would Boaz have stepped up for just Naomi? Would her story have meant the same to him without Ruth? What if Ruth went home like Orpah. Would Naomi have survived the trip alone? Without Ruth and her determination to remain with Naomi and to serve Naomi's God there would be no Jesse, no David.
How many times in our lives are we faced with decisions where both are right, both are respectable and both are acceptable. Do we choose the path that will lead to future David's? Was David who He was - because of his great-grandmother Ruth? Did he have extra faith because he knew what resulted from Kinsman Redeemers? That God didn't let Naomi or Ruth down and He wouldn't let Israel down during his time?
Will generations that come after me, know who God is because of my life? Will my life be a living testament - after I'm gone?
I'm not Ruth, but I hope someday that my grandchildren and their children will know how real God is and I hope/pray that my life is one of many that is able to help them see God in His fullness.
1 comment:
At different points in my life Judges has caused different emotions. As a teenager it caused wonder because I realized that there was so much of the Bible that gets censored in church, and I also realized how brutally honest a book the Bible is. As an younger adult the book gave me a sense of futility and emptiness. More recently, the book has filled me with a sense that the Old Testament is very intent on establishing the futility of humanity's situation without a Savior. When men do as they see fit, as they are wont to do, the result is disgusting.
Ruth is such an encouraging book. While you see the futility, you also see the rescuer and type of Christ in Boaz. I cannot fathom the fear that both Naomi and Ruth had to face in dealing with this situation. It is nice to have a book with a happy ending after reading Judges, though.
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