Sunday Reading: Ruth 4:9-12
Key Verse: Ruth 4:11
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:
Devotion:
Just as this story is a reminder of the love that we should have for God, it also reminds us of the failings of men, of their greed and their pride. How so, I hear you ask. Well think on this. When Boaz approached the kinsman of Elimelech, he had his intentions that were personal but honest and open. The kinsman, when he heard of Elimelech's parcel of land which was now in Naomi’s trust, was quite eager to take up that inheritance so that he could expand on his own land. But what he did not want was any of the things that came with that!
Is that not how we are with our lives in Christ? Do we not see many people who are willing to be called Christians if they are able to be left alone or to continue on in their own ways? But what happens when they are called to go forward and do something that they don’t like the sound of? Many people will turn away from Christ because they believe that their lot is too much to accept or that God requires too much of them! How small their minds are in not seeing all that God has already done for us! How small their minds are in not looking at the bigger picture and the requirement to do what is right and not what is selfish instead.
Boaz was willing to take on everything and to do what was right in the eyes of God by following through with the law as laid down by God and recounted by Moses. God’s laws were given so that man could stick to them and do things more pleasing in His eyes. Man was not willing to take on the burden of following those laws if they did not fit into their own plans in life! How sad it is that we put restrictions on God’s will in our lives instead of bending to His ways!
Ruth stood by those laws even though she was not born into them. Naomi stood by the laws and returned to her land to ‘face the music’ and see what God had in store for her. Boaz continued to do what was right in God’s eyes. God was the one who brought those three people together to make sure that His plan for bringing our Lord and Saviour into this world was put in place long before it happened. If God is willing to do all that in our lives, then does He not deserve a bit more respect and support from us?
Points to Ponder:
How often do you shy away from God’s work?
Are you willing to do that extra mile for God?
