A Redemption From Obscurity...
I have not been very familiar with the Book of Ruth.
I was reading up on passages in the Bible concerning God and social justice, and the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz was referenced; I think I spent a good 5-7 minutes thumbing through the pages looking for the Book of Ruth (I was in the Job, Proverbs, Psalms area, haha) before I finally gave up and used the Table of Contents only to find out that this 4-chapter book was snuggled right in between of Judges and I Samuel. I evidently need to brush up on my Old Testament book order... but in hindsight, it seemed an appropriate beginning to a lesson about obscurity- and the quite glorious redemption from it. (Oh, God... You're so clever...)
Ruth's story, simply put: Widowed, loyally living with her mother-in-law who was also widowed, in Bethlehem where her people (Moabites) weren't exactly in great standing with the Israelites, making her a foreigner with not that much going her way. Not very impressive on paper, undoubtedly; and I can only assume the day-to-day living of such a life wouldn't prove so comfortable either. And yet, such is God's inexplicable workings that Ruth, through a series of circumstances earmarked by her obedience and submission, goes from an unenviable widow to a direct ancestor of David, Solomon, and ultimately Jesus himself. Her legacy may have been unbeknownst to her during her lifetime, but she became an active agent in defining human history.
I try to imagine who Ruth was before she married one of Naomi's sons- what her family was like; if she had any siblings, and if so, what her relationship was like with them; what kind of friends she had; what kind of desires and hopes she may have had for herself, if during those days luxuries such as those could be had, and so on. I try to imagine her and her failed Plan A , then look around at my peers, my siblings, my colleagues, my parents, and myself with all of our failed Plan As, Bs, and Cs. I know for me there is a very real fear of living a life of uselessness and obscurity, and I see it and feel it with our entire generation- but I see Ruth, her circumstances, and God's hand of redemption and it restores my hope for the purposes and plans for every one of us. Her legacy was defined by her faithfulness to love (in her case, Naomi, her mother-in-law), and it would be an honor for of us once we're able to say the same.
"...where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God... May the Lord deal with me if anything but death separates you and me..."
Ruth 1:16-18
Love you guys and girls!
Sam from JesusBranded
I was reading up on passages in the Bible concerning God and social justice, and the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz was referenced; I think I spent a good 5-7 minutes thumbing through the pages looking for the Book of Ruth (I was in the Job, Proverbs, Psalms area, haha) before I finally gave up and used the Table of Contents only to find out that this 4-chapter book was snuggled right in between of Judges and I Samuel. I evidently need to brush up on my Old Testament book order... but in hindsight, it seemed an appropriate beginning to a lesson about obscurity- and the quite glorious redemption from it. (Oh, God... You're so clever...)
Ruth's story, simply put: Widowed, loyally living with her mother-in-law who was also widowed, in Bethlehem where her people (Moabites) weren't exactly in great standing with the Israelites, making her a foreigner with not that much going her way. Not very impressive on paper, undoubtedly; and I can only assume the day-to-day living of such a life wouldn't prove so comfortable either. And yet, such is God's inexplicable workings that Ruth, through a series of circumstances earmarked by her obedience and submission, goes from an unenviable widow to a direct ancestor of David, Solomon, and ultimately Jesus himself. Her legacy may have been unbeknownst to her during her lifetime, but she became an active agent in defining human history.
I try to imagine who Ruth was before she married one of Naomi's sons- what her family was like; if she had any siblings, and if so, what her relationship was like with them; what kind of friends she had; what kind of desires and hopes she may have had for herself, if during those days luxuries such as those could be had, and so on. I try to imagine her and her failed Plan A , then look around at my peers, my siblings, my colleagues, my parents, and myself with all of our failed Plan As, Bs, and Cs. I know for me there is a very real fear of living a life of uselessness and obscurity, and I see it and feel it with our entire generation- but I see Ruth, her circumstances, and God's hand of redemption and it restores my hope for the purposes and plans for every one of us. Her legacy was defined by her faithfulness to love (in her case, Naomi, her mother-in-law), and it would be an honor for of us once we're able to say the same.
"...where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God... May the Lord deal with me if anything but death separates you and me..."
Ruth 1:16-18
Love you guys and girls!
Sam from JesusBranded
Labels: faithfulness, legacy, love, obscurity, redemption, The Book of Ruth
posted by JesusBranded at
9:51 PM
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