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Tag: Ruth

  • The only family tree that matters

    The only family tree that matters

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]By Rosie Moore.

    (This is the final devotion on Ruth. You can read the first part here, A woman who hid beneath God’s wings.)

    “So Ruth set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech…(Ruth 2:3)

    And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers” (Ruth 2:20).

    Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?” (Ruth 3:1)

     

    If you’ve been reading the book of Ruth, you’ll know that each of its four chapters is dripping with raw gospel honey. Ruth is surely a great love story, but not the Hollywood variety. Strangely, there’s no mention of Ruth’s beauty and Naomi’s plan sounds a lot like a seduction ploy to our 21st century ears! But Ruth’s story is infinitely more profound than any rags-to-royalty, famine-to-fullness, widow-to-wedding story you and I have ever heard.

    Boaz and Ruth’s marriage models  God’s relationship with His people throughout history. Their royal lineage is just a tiny sample of God’s massive family tree. And their love story is a perfectly formed embryo of God’s great story of redeeming grace. But it all hinges on a kinsman-redeemer.

    A kinsman-redeemer

    If we dig a little deeper into Moses’s books, we see that a kinsman-redeemer was God’s gracious provision to help families of an Israelite man who died childless: The nearest relative was to marry his widow to provide an heir and buy back any land they’d lost (Deut 25:5-10; Lev 25:25). Otherwise, a family name and land would disappear forever and they’d lose their claim to God’s promised blessings to Abraham (Gen 17:7-8). They would be cut off from the people of God and their name blotted out. Elimelech’s land was a hard asset, but Ruth was hardly a safe bet for any kinsman redeemer!

    It’s no wonder Elimelech’s nearest relative was unwilling to endanger his own estate by taking Ruth as his wife (Ruth 4:6). After all, why would a man pay for land that wouldn’t benefit his own heirs? And imagine having a son that wouldn’t even be able to take his family name! The cost was too high for a sensible man driven by self interest. But not Boaz! Here was a man of grace who loved God and cared about his laws for the poor and the foreigner (Lev 19:9-10). Here was a godly man living in a godless era (Judges 17:6; 21:25). Here was a man who happened to be the son of Rahab!

    Rahab? Boaz’s mom was none other than the Canaanite prostitute who had also taken a grave risk when she hid Israelite spies in her house in Jericho a generation before (Joshua 2:1,4, 9; Josh 6:17). Like Ruth, Rahab was from enemy territory, hardly a safe bet herself. Yet, a God-fearing Jew called Salmon had made her his wife. What a perfect mom and dad to teach Boaz about God’s redeeming grace! Grace even to strangers and enemies.

    “And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman” (Ruth 3:10-11).

    A worthy woman? Wasn’t Ruth just a nobody from Moab? Boaz counted the cost of redeeming Ruth’s family and he knew he would be sacrificing his own inheritance. But as it turned out, he gained a royal lineage instead. In fact, Boaz and Ruth became the great-grandparents of King David…And ultimately the ancestors of King Jesus (Ruth 4:21-22; Matt 1:5-6; 16)! Boaz and Ruth had no ordinary family lineage. They had a royal lineage. And strangely, the little town of Bethlehem was the epicentre of it all.

    Can my name be blotted out?

    “Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day” (Ruth 4:10).

    In four chapters of Old Testament history, we see hundreds of gospel beams shining into the dark and difficult life of Ruth, an ordinary woman just like us. A stranger to God’s people. A widow who knew loss. A refugee who made a choice to cover herself beneath God’s wings of mercy. May you and I see the same gospel beams in our own lives.

    But this is much more than a tale of a hardworking, loyal, brave woman who was rescued by her Prince Charming! No, Ruth and Boaz’s story is an exquisite thumbnail sketch of what Christ does for each of us when we ask Him to be our Redeemer. Listen to the parallel in Hebrews:

    Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters…And again he says,“Here am I, and the children God has given me.” (Heb 2:11; 13).

    Our great Kinsman-Redeemer has indeed made a way for us to inherit the family land and name God has promised us, so “that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers” (Ruth 4:10). It cost God’s Heir everything to pay for our sin and write each of our names in His book of life. Never to be erased, never to be blotted out (Rev 3:5; Matt 21:37-39).

    But our name was written at great cost. Jesus’s name was cut off from God’s blessing when He bore our sin on the cross (Gal 3:13-14). Like Lady Jane Grey, Christ’s Father didn’t come to his rescue, but crushed him instead (Isa 53:4, 10). No one cared that he died without descendants and all alone (Isa 53:8).

    But after His work of redemption was done, Jesus was rewarded with a royal lineage much greater than the heritage of Boaz. His massive family tree is jam-packed with names like ours from every tribe and nation under the sun (Rev 7:9; 5:9)! All those strangers from grace down the centuries, who have asked Jesus to cover their sins with his wings of mercy, to wear his pure white garments of righteousness (Eph 2:12; Rev 3:5). Jesus welcomes all foreigners of grace to share his royal inheritance, with all the blessings promised to Abraham (Gal 3:14; Rom 8:17). All we need to do is ask Christ to be our Kinsman-Redeemer, to cover our sin with His wings of mercy. That’s how we become worthy men and women, whose souls are well and at rest (Ruth 3:11, 1).

    Only the Holy Spirit could have drawn such a tender picture of God’s providence to his children, with Boaz as the human face of God’s kindness. Ruth’s story reminds us that we too may only see God’s loving purposes in our lives when we look back from eternity. In the meantime, let’s stay tucked under those wings until we inherit the home God has promised us.

    You may be sorrowful about your past and fearful about your future. You may have no human family of your own to support or rescue you. But if you’re a Christian, be assured that you’ve been grafted into God’s tree just as Ruth was (Rom 11:19). And that’s the only family tree that matters.

    Further reading

    Teaching Ruth and Esther, Christopher Ash.

    The Son of David: Seeing Jesus in the historical books, Nancy Guthrie.

    Lineage of Grace, Francine Rivers.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_3″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”center center” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_3″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”2%” margin_top=”2%” margin_bottom=”2%” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Receive our latest devotion in your Inbox[/fusion_title][fusion_code]Q2xpY2sgZWRpdCBidXR0b24gdG8gY2hhbmdlIHRoaXMgY29kZS4=[/fusion_code][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Other devotions from the God Walk…[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_recent_posts layout=”default” hover_type=”none” columns=”3″ number_posts=”6″ offset=”” cat_slug=”devotion” exclude_cats=”” thumbnail=”yes” title=”yes” meta=”no” excerpt=”yes” excerpt_length=”0″ strip_html=”yes” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][/fusion_recent_posts][fusion_text]– more devotions –[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

  • The woman who hid beneath God’s wings

    The woman who hid beneath God’s wings

    [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_text]By Rosie Moore.

    I’m fascinated by the names on my mom’s massive family tree* dating back to King John of England (1119-1296). But the name that intrigues me most is Lady Jane Grey –born 1537, beheaded 1554, “Nine-days Queen” of England. This 17-year old heroine of the Reformation was sent to the gallows at the order of her cousin, Mary (aka. Bloody Mary). Her crime? Being a pawn in a family power struggle. No father or relative came to rescue her in the Tower of London. Neither could her noble title or family name save her. But this is what Jane wrote for her younger sister, Katherine, in the flyleaf of her Greek Bible:

    “This is the book, dear sister, of the Law of the Lord. It is his testament and last will, which he bequeathed unto us wretches, which shall lead you to the path of eternal joy. . . . And as touching my death, rejoice as I do, good sister, that I shall be delivered of this corruption, and put on incorruption. For I am assured that I shall for losing of a mortal life, win an immortal life.”**

    Although my distant ancestor died young, leaving no descendants, Lady Jane now lives in ‘eternal joy’. She chose to hide herself beneath the wings of Christ and her inheritance remains safe with her Redeemer. But Jane Grey reminds me of another young woman called Ruth. She lived, not in 1550AD but in 1550BC. Not in England but in Israel. Bethlehem was no safe place for a widowed refugee during the time of the judges, a time when almost every man decided for himself what was right, with no regard for God (Judges 2:11-12; Judges 17:6). Like Lady Jane Grey, Ruth’s life was hard and dangerous. Both women had little influence over their own destiny. But their legacy led straight to Christ, their ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer (Matt 1:16).

    This is the first in a two-part devotion on the book of Ruth. Please read this amazing little book and see for yourself the embryos of the gospel on every page.

    Ruth’s risky choice

    Ruth replied (to Naomi), “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).

    Here is a Moabite widow who chooses to follow her mother-in-law to Bethlehem– hardly a welcome home for a penniless, landless, family-less widow from Moab. Add to that Ruth’s responsibility to care for her despondent mother-in-law, battered by famine, immigration and the loss of a husband and two sons. The Elimilech family was hardly a safe bet.

    I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for Ruth to leave behind her identity, security, community, marriage prospects and childhood gods to become a covenant daughter of Israel. Orpah, her sister-in-law, made the easy choice, but Ruth chose Yahweh’s protection over everything else (Ruth 1:14). “My people, my God…there I will be buried.” There’s nothing abstract about her fierce, action-backed pledge to the God of Israel and His covenant promises. And it cost Ruth everything to take refuge under His wings. It meant becoming a refugee.

    Ruth’s refuge and rich reward

    11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

    Isn’t it just like God to use Boaz as the answer to his own blessing over Ruth in verse 12? Boaz himself becomes God’s instrument of protection. A chapter later it’s Ruth who asks Boaz to cover her with his wings as her kinsman-redeemer: “Boaz said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings (garment) over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (Ruth 3:9).

    Wings! What an extraordinary picture of refuge and protection. Listen to what Moses and David wrote about God’s wings in relation to his people:

    ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Ex 19:4). “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by….Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!” (Ps 61:4)

    And listen to what Malachi says of the coming Messiah that God would send:

    “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings” (Mal 4:2).

    Doesn’t it sound a lot like Jesus calling to the Israelites of his day, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing” (Luke 13:34)?

    And doesn’t Ruth sound a lot like believers who would leave their houses, families and lands for the sake of Christ’s name, but would receive a hundredfold in return and inherit an eternal home? (Matt 19:29)

    Surely Ruth’s risky choice is the same choice each of us faces if we’re to take hold of God’s promises and make them our own? Rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, noble or nobody, none of us can save our own lives. And there’s only one way to take refuge under God’s wings: It’s to admit our sin and ask to be covered by Christ’s righteousness. It’s to die to self and trust only in Christ as our Redeemer (Matt 16:14). And it’s to live the rest of our lives for Him, tucked securely beneath His wings of mercy (Matt 16:25). Like Ruth, we’ve got to realise that we’re pilgrims, strangers, exiles in a strange land (1 Peter 2:11-12). For sure, it’s not a safe bet. But if you asked Ruth, she would tell you that it’s worth the risk! For without God’s wings of mercy, we will have no covering for our sin and no protection on God’s day of judgment. We desperately need a Kinsman-redeemer to remain safe on that day.

    Although Ruth didn’t know much about Yahweh, and lived 1500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, she seemed to understand that the God of Israel gives grace to anyone who turns to him and embraces Him by faith. The little she knew about Yahweh gave her enough confidence to abandon every other source of identity and safety, and to cling to Him. Next week we will look at how Ruth’s faith is richly rewarded: From famine to fullness, from rags to royalty, from widowhood to a wedding. The story of Boaz and Ruth is the gospel in seed form. Know for sure that whatever your human heritage or family name, being part of God’s family tree is all that counts in the end.

    Footnotes:

    *A great-uncle spent the better part of his life researching the family genealogy, which features me and my siblings as a mere scribble in the bottom corner. The irony is that a rat has been nibbling at the edges of the massive paper scroll, as if to demonstrate that a human lineage doesn’t ultimately matter!

    *You can read about Lady Jane Grey here.

    [/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_3″ last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”center center” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] [/fusion_imageframe][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”2_3″ last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”2%” margin_top=”2%” margin_bottom=”2%” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Receive our latest devotion in your Inbox[/fusion_title][fusion_code]Q2xpY2sgZWRpdCBidXR0b24gdG8gY2hhbmdlIHRoaXMgY29kZS4=[/fusion_code][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container][fusion_builder_container background_color=”#ffffff” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”5%” padding_right=”5%” hundred_percent=”yes” equal_height_columns=”yes” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_title size=”2″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Other devotions from the God Walk…[/fusion_title][/fusion_builder_column][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_recent_posts layout=”default” hover_type=”none” columns=”3″ number_posts=”6″ offset=”” cat_slug=”devotion” exclude_cats=”” thumbnail=”yes” title=”yes” meta=”no” excerpt=”yes” excerpt_length=”0″ strip_html=”yes” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][/fusion_recent_posts][fusion_text]– more devotions –[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]