Zooming in on: RUTH

"Ruth" is means 'pity or compassion', but also means 'loyal friend'

Background

The book of Ruth starts in the heathen country of Moab, then later moves to Bethlehem. A famine causes a man by the name Elimelech and his wife Naomi to move from Judah to Moab. Elimelech dies and Naomi is left with her 2 sons who go on to marry 2 Moabite girls; Orpah and Ruth. Later, the sons both die and Naomi is left with her 2 daughters-in-law and encourages them to return home to their families. Orpah returns to her parents, but Ruth chooses to stay with Naomi, and cannot be persuaded otherwise as she has shared loneliness, anxiety and grief with Naomi, so they travel back to Bethlehem where they meet up with Naomi's wealthy relative; Boaz, a wealthy man. When they arrive in Bethlehem, it is barley harvest time, and not one to sit back and wait as events happened around her, Ruth decides to help glean the barley in the fields (a form of charity work for the disadvantaged such as widows and orphans). As she labours, she finds favour in Boaz' sight and often gets preferential treatment as he is Naomi's next of kin. In a very unorthodox manner, Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz and eventually they get married and have a son together by the name Obed, who becomes the grandfather of David and the ancestor of Jesus.

The Lesson

• Ruth’s obedience brought her into the privileged lineage of Christ.God guided Ruth every step of the way to her becoming His child and to fulfill His plan for her tobecome an ancestor of Jesus. In the same way we should be assured that God has a plan for each and every one of us. Her obedience and trust in God's plan and purpose caused Him to order her footsteps, and get her to a place of greater blessings.
• Ruth is an example of the virtuous woman depicted in Proverbs 31. she was devoted to her family and fully dependent on God, and spoke words of kindness, respect and wisdom.
• Ruth’s devotion to Naomi illustrates her love and loyalty, a characteristic we should all emulate. It was probably much easier for her to remain in her home country of Moab after she was widowed, but her commitment to Naomi magnified God's grace in her life.

A loving tribute to a true Proverbs 31 woman, my mother