RUTH 1:16

But Ruth replied, “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.

TO PONDER

I’ll start by recommending the You-Version Bible app for your smart phone or tablet. It has several useful utilities and the capacity to read the text to you is among the best. 

I was wondering what it was that caused Ruth, a Moabite (modern day Jordanian) and an enemy of Israel to commit to Ruth, her nation, and her God. I was looking for character traits like resilience and determination and the ability to make a commitment and stick to it, but after listening to her story on the You-version Bible app. I realised that I was looking in the wrong direction.

The story is not about Ruth in the first place, it is about God and his plan for the salvation of all things and all people. 

The book of Ruth serves to confirm the genealogy and therefore, the legitimacy of David as Israel’s King. Ruth was the great grandmother of David and, David and his line of succession are God’s legitimate kings of Israel. Jesus, the King of kings, is a descendant of both David and the Moabite convert, with the huge heart, Ruth.

Ruth, for all her wonderful qualities, was playing her part in bringing unity to humanity, through the promised saviour, Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God. This story is about God who recruits people like Ruth who are willing to surrender and serve God. God, who calls us to go where he goes, and for his people, to be our people.

PRAYER: Father, people are too often untrustworthy, so submission is not a strong quality for me. I often fear the unknown and the unpredictable and yet you invite me into a full and fulfilling life. For this I need to trust you. Forgive my unbelief and heal my doubts. To you be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Today's devotion written by David Schuppan, LifeWay Illawarra