Ruth Patiently Waited for Boaz to Work (Ruth 3:18)

4/5/2010 9:15 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  Ruth waited for Boaz to work

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:18

 

            Message of the verses:  “18 Then she said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.’”

            This is the fifth and last point from this third chapter of Ruth that Dr. Wiersbe has made to help believers see what they can do to have a deeper relationship with the Lord.  This step involves patience and patience and waiting are similar, but they are not easy to do.  Wiersbe goes on to say that in his own life he has a hard time waiting and perhaps that is why the Lord has put him in situations where he has had to exercise patience and waiting.  He reveals three things from Scripture which have helped him learn how to wait, and they are 1.  Sit still, which comes from Ruth 3:18, 2.  Stand still, which comes from Exodus 14:13, and “Be still, and know that I am God,” which comes from Psalm 46:10.

            Naomi tells Ruth to wait for she knows that Boaz will not rest until he has taken care of the matter.  Moses is following the plan of God which told him to move forward and Moses believed God that they would move forward even though they were pinned between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army.  David is the author of Psalm 46 and it is a Psalm that has been a comfort to many of God’s children down through the ages, especially when there is trouble in their lives.  When trouble comes into the lives of God’s children it is important to realize that they remember that the Lord is God, and He is in control of all things.  The word from the Hebrew translated “be still” “means take your hands off, relax.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Waiting is something that is hard for me to do, but the older that I get it has become a bit easier for me to wait, for I know that I am waiting on the Lord and that makes it easier.  Waiting on the Lord to do what He wants to do is a good way to draw nearer to Him, and after all that is the goal of my life to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ.  Romans 8:29 “29 ¶  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Continue to learn to wait on the Lord.

 

4/5/2010 9:43 AM

Ruth Receives Gifts from Boaz (Ruth 3:15-17)

4/4/2010 8:47 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus: Ruth receives gifts from Boaz

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:15-17

 

            Message of the verses:  “15  Again he said, "Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it." So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16  When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did it go, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17  She said, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ’Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

            I want to copy and paste the sixteenth verse from the KJV, “16  And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.”  According to Warren Wiersbe the way that it is translated in the KJV is the way that it should be translated and it has given problems to scholars for a long time.  He writes that Naomi could have asked this question to find out if Ruth was engaged, which does make sense.  All that it says in the LXX is “My daughter,” and does not add anything else so it still remains a mystery.

            Boaz now gives Ruth a gift because of his love for her, a gift of two bushels of barley that would last Naomi and her for two weeks.  This is now different than when he allowed Ruth to gleam in his fields even though he provided a way for her to gleam a lot of grain. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can say that there are far too many times when I receive gifts from the Lord that I don’t even realize or give thanks for them.  He does this because of His great love for me and I am sorry that I don’t give thanks for the wonderful gifts that He gives me, gifts like the food that sustains me each day.  I think that the important thing for me to remember is that He gives me these gifts because of His great and wonderful love for me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. “It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2  To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night.”

 

4/4/2010 9:16 AM

Ruth Listens to What Boaz Has to Say (Ruth 3:10-14)

4/3/2010 9:15 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus: Ruth Listens to Boaz

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:10-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “10  Then he said, "May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11  "Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. 12  "Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13  "Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning."

    14 ¶  So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.’”

            As mentioned in an earlier SD that was done on this 3^rd chapter of Ruth that Dr. Wiersbe points out that the things that are in this 3^rd chapter of Ruth speak of how believers can draw closer to the Lord Jesus Christ in their walk with Him and so there are two sub-points in the point that is made today that bring this out.

            Christ accepts us is the first sub-point that I want to write about this morning.  It was because of Boaz’s great love for Ruth that he accepted her, and so it is because of the Lord Jesus Christ’s great love for His children that He accepts us and therefore we as believers should not be afraid to draw close to Him.  “7. Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8a. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,” (James 4:7-8a).

            Christ assures us just as Boaz assured Ruth is the next sub-point.  There are a couple of points that I wish to make from this sub-point, and the first one is that “our assurance is not in our feelings or our circumstances but in His Word.”  This is a very true statement because our circumstances and our feelings change but the Word of God never changes and never will and that is what believer’s are to cling to.

            The second point that I wish to make is that Boaz did not hold back the truth that there was a closer kinsmen redeemer for Ruth.  He was more interested in allowing Ruth to be redeemed that who it was that was going to do it.  In Ezekiel 18:4 he writes, “The soul who sins will die.”  This would seem to be a problem for the Lord when it came to redeeming those that He had chosen from eternity past, yet Paul writes in Romans 8:32, “32  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?”

            Dr. Wiersbe also mentions a number of “fear not” statements that the Lord made to His people throughout both the old and the new testaments and this is what is implied by Boaz.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The “fear not” statements are good to remember, especially whenever I am afraid because of my circumstances or bad and fearful feelings that I have from time to time.  God’s Word has great and wonderful promises that will never change and these are what I must cling to when things are not going will in my life. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

 

4/3/2010 10:05 AM

Ruth Submitted to Boaz (Ruth 3:6-9)

3/31/2010 7:44 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Ruth Submitted to Boaz

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:6-9

 

            Message of the verses:  “6 ¶  So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7  When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8  It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9  He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, ‘I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.’”

            This is the picture of the second step for a believer to take if they want to draw closer to the Lord, which is the believer must submit to the Lord as Ruth submitted to Boaz.

            Ruth was following her mother-in-law’s advice, for this was how one submitted to the close relative in those days.  Ruth, according to Dr. Wiersbe, was purposing marriage to Boaz, for Boaz was her kinsman redeemer.  In verse ten of chapter three Boaz seems surprised that Ruth wanted to be married to him because he thought that he was too old for her and that she would go after someone younger, but Ruth was doing according to what Naomi wanted her to do, for she loved Naomi and wanted to care for her and this was a wonderful opportunity to do that.  There was another kinsman redeemer that was actually closer than Boaz, so this would give Boaz a chance to speak to him about redeeming the property of Elimelech, which would mean that he would have to marry Ruth in order to redeem the property.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is one thing to be redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, but another thing to submit to Him as Lord and Savior of my life.  This story is a picture of submission to the Lord and doing what He wants me to do just as Ruth was submitting to Boaz and would wait and follow what it was that he wanted her to do.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Again I think of Proverbs 3:5-6, for these verses speak of submitting to the Lord and trusting Him to direct my path as I follow Him.  “5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
2. Verse six of Proverbs three speaks of acknowledging the Lord in all of the decisions that I am to make so that He will direct my path.

 

3/31/2010 8:10 AM 

           

Ruth Promised to Obey (Ruth 3:5)

3/30/2010 10:08 AM

 

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Ruth promised to obey

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:5

 

            Message of the verses:  “5 She said to her, ‘All that you say I will do.’”

            I believe that the thing the Naomi was telling Ruth to do was the will of the Lord in Ruth’s life, as will show in the conclusion of the book.  Ruth was choosing to obey the will of the Lord without hesitation and because of her obedience she would be blessed by the Lord for she would be married to Boaz because of her obedience and would be in the blood line of the Messiah, being the grandmother of King David, what an honor!

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As Dr. Wiersbe “The will of God is not a cafeteria where we can pick and choose what we want.  God expects us to accept all that He plans for us and to obey Him completely.  Coming to God with a hidden agenda and with reservations in our hearts will only lead to grieving the Spirit and missing God’s best.”   These are good words to live by.  Sometimes it is difficult to discern the will of God, but most of the time when I follow the written Word of God I will be following the will of God in my life.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Proverbs 3:5-6 is my step of faith for today:  “5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

 

3/30/2010 10:23 AM

Spiritual Meaning of Ruth Changing her Clothes (Ruth 3:3c)

3/26/2010 9:14 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Ruth changes her clothes

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:3c

 

            Message of the verses:  “put on your best clothes,”

            Naomi tells Ruth to put on her best clothes before she goes to meet Boaz, and it is possible that Naomi was still wearing clothes of morning for after all her husband had died.  Isaiah speaks of the Lord taking care of those who have been morning and this could be a picture of what Ruth was going through:  “1 ¶  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners; 2  To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, 3  To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified,” (Isa. 61:1-3). 

            The changing of clothes in the Scriptures is something that has meaning in a spiritual way.  For instance when Adam and Eve sinned they tried to cover themselves, yet it took the shedding of blood of an innocence to cover them.  (My feeling on this is that it was a lamb that was killed in order to get the covering that they needed).  In the books of Ephesians and Colossians there is a picture of taking off the old and putting on of the new in order to walk closely to the Lord.  In the book of Luke where Jesus tells the parable of the young man who ran away and then came to his senses and came back to his father there is a picture of salvation as a changing of clothes:  “"But the father said to his slaves, ’Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet,” (Luke 15:22).

            I wish to do one more section from the outline given in “Be Committed,” which is the commentary from Warren Wiersbe that I am following.

            Ruth was learning how to present herself to Boaz:          Ruth 3:3d-4:  ‘“go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4  ‘It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.’”

            I would suppose that I wondered in the past why it was that Ruth would do what she did in these two verses, but in the commentary from Be Committed Warren Wiersbe points out that this was the proper procedure for one to come to their kinsman redeemer and that is why she followed this procedure. 

 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I t seems that all through this story of Ruth that one can see that it was love at first sight for Boaz.  Now when Ruth goes to the threshing floor to lay at his feet, even if you haven’t read through this book before you get the idea that the two of them will marry.  But Ruth is more than a love story between Boas and Ruth as it pictures the Lord Jesus Christ showing His love for aliens and then paying the price for them when He lays down His life on Calvary in order to provide for them eternal life so that they may live with Him forever.  The story of Ruth brings out this fact of Jesus Christ’s love for His Church.

            As far as the part of coming to the Lord Jesus Christ in the proper way to worship Him the Bible is clear as to how to do this.  Hebrews 10:19-25 speak of this procedure:  “19 ¶  Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20  by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21  and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22  let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24  and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  It must be remembered that the book of Hebrews was written to Jewish believer in Jesus Christ who were ready to go back to Judaism because they were coming under persecution from other Jews who were not believers in Jesus Christ as Messiah.  I t must also be remembered that these people knew the OT order of worshiping the Lord and so I can learn a lot of worship by reading and studying the OT which I have been doing for the last almost three years. 

            As far as the order the first thing one must do in order to worship the Lord it to accept His as your Savior and Lord and then there are other things that you must do.  Keep up a good devotional time with the Lord as you meet Him each day in His Word, and have a good time of prayer speaking to Him each day.  Keep your life clean from sin as you take off the old and put on the new in order to worship the Lord.  Jesus Christ said to the woman at the well that “you must worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.”  John writes in the first chapter of Revelations that he was in the Spirit on the Lord ’s Day, and that is Sunday, the first day of the week the day that Jesus Christ arose from the dead, and the day that corporate worship is to be done.  I believe that Psalm 139:23-24 are something that needs to be done everyday by every believer, and something that I need to do more myself:  “23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”  In order to worship the Lord in a way that is pleasing to Him I think that I need to put on my spiritual armor each and every day too even though the tense of the Greek verb indicates that it is a one time thing to do.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Worship the Lord in Spirit and truth.
2. “23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”
3. “14  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15  and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17  and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18  praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.”

 

3/26/2010 10:08 AM

 

 

 

Ruth Anoints Herself (Ruth 3:3b)

3/25/2010 8:22 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Anoint herself

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:3b

 

            Message of the verses:  “--and anoint yourself “

            The anointing of Ruth was something that was done frequently in the culture that she lived in as it made one’s fragrance pleasant to be around.  ‘“Your oils have a pleasing fragrance, Your name is like purified oil; Therefore the maidens love you.’”  This comes from Song of Solomon 1:3. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  1 John 2:20, 27 speak of the anointing of the Holy Spirit in the life of all believers:  “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”  The picture of Ruth anointing herself is that of believers today being anointed with the Holy Spirit.  The anointing of the Holy Spirit in a believer makes them have the fragrance of Christ and is something that pleases God the Father.

            The anointing of the Holy Spirit in my life is something that I have seen from time to time, but I believe the important thing is that I keep myself in fellowship with my heavenly Father in order to have the Holy Spirit work in my life to accomplish the things that He has planed for me to do before the world was set in place.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. “For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”
2. I want to be the fragrance of Jesus Christ to the lost that the Lord brings into my life in order to tell them the good news of the Gospel.

 

3/25/2010 8:40 AM

Ruth Prepared to Meet Boaz, She Washed Herself (Ruth 3:1-3a)

3/24/2010 8:34 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time           Focus:  Ruth prepared to meet Boaz, she washed herself 

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 3:1-3a

 

            Bible Reading & Meditation:  “1 ¶  Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2  "Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3  "Wash yourself therefore.”

            The book of Ruth is “much more than the record of marriage of a rejected alien to a respected Jew.  It’s also the picture of Christ’s relationship to those who trust Him and belong to Him.”  (“Be Committed”)  Warren Wiersbe begins this third chapter in “Be Committed,” which is his commentary on the book of Ruth and also Ester writing about how Ruth prepares herself to meet Boaz.  He titles this third chapter “The Midnight Meeting” and begins with these words, “In which a simple act of faith brings the dawning of a new day.”  In today’s SD I will look at the first sub-point under “Ruth prepared to meet Boaz,” which is “she washed herself.”

            The water used in the Middle East is a lot less than in other countries because there is not that much there, and so when one reads in the Bible about a person taking the time to wash themselves it also has a spiritual meaning to it as seen in Genesis 35:1-3, “1 ¶  Then God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau." 2  So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; 3  and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.’”  As seen in this passage the changing of one’s clothes was also involved.

            There is another passage in the OT that speaks of a bride washing herself before she is married, and that is found in Eze. 16:9-12, “9  "Then I bathed you with water, washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. 10  "I also clothed you with embroidered cloth and put sandals of porpoise skin on your feet; and I wrapped you with fine linen and covered you with silk. 11  "I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck. 12  "I also put a ring in your nostril, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.”  In this passage the Lord is speaking through Ezekiel about how He had chosen Israel to be His people.  I recently heard a sermon on the love of God by John MacArthur and he used this 16^th chapter of Ezekiel to make some rather dramatic points on how God loves His people.

           

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Warren Wiersbe writes that the steps that Ruth takes in this chapter are also steps that believers must take if they are to have a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, and the first step involves washing which is a picture of confessing one’s sin, and to get personal it means confessing my sins.  I have been in and out of the practice of asking the Holy Spirit to search my heart for unconfessed sin so that I may confess it to Him in order to have a fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.  There are other things that I have to also do and that is to get rid of things that are hindering my fellowship and relationship with the Lord and one of them is getting rid of some of the cable channels that we currently have.  When we go to Florida I will be putting the cable system on a holding pattern and when we return I will be making a decision on which channels I will restore and in order not to have such a high cable bill I will be getting rid of some of them, as this is certainly for spiritual reasons too.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.  “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

 

3/24/2010 9:30 AM  

 

We Must Live in Hope (Ruth 2:17-23)

3/23/2010 9:21 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  We must live in hope

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 2:17-23

 

            Message of the verses:  “17 ¶ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, ’You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’" 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that others do not fall upon you in another field." 23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”

            Warren Wiersbe points out that “grace is love that pays the price to help the undeserving one.  Ruth’s experience of grace gave her hope as she anticipated what her kinsman redeemer would do.

            “And now abide faith, hope, love’ (1 Cor. 13:13), and they still abide with us as we abide in Jesus Christ and trust in Him.”  All three of these, faith, hope and love, are seen in this second chapter of Ruth.

            Warren Wiersbe also explains about the “kinsman redeemer” in this section, and it is first found in Lev. 25:47-55:  “47  ’Now if the means of a stranger or of a sojourner with you becomes sufficient, and a countryman of yours becomes so poor with regard to him as to sell himself to a stranger who is sojourning with you, or to the descendants of a stranger’s family, 48  then he shall have redemption right after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49  or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him; or if he prospers, he may redeem himself. 50  ’He then with his purchaser shall calculate from the year when he sold himself to him up to the year of jubilee; and the price of his sale shall correspond to the number of years. It is like the days of a hired man that he shall be with him. 51  ’If there are still many years, he shall refund part of his purchase price in proportion to them for his own redemption; 52  and if few years remain until the year of jubilee, he shall so calculate with him. In proportion to his years he is to refund the amount for his redemption. 53  ’Like a man hired year by year he shall be with him; he shall not rule over him with severity in your sight. 54  ’Even if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall still go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him. 55  ’For the sons of Israel are My servants; they are My servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”

            In the case of Ruth, who was the daughter-in-law of Elimelech, Boaz was in the position of redeeming the property that was owned by Elimelech who had mortgaged it before leaving for Moab.  It must have been the custom in Ruth’s day for the person who would redeem the person to marry the widow and to raise up children in the close relative’s name.  There will be more of this in a latter chapter. 

            The subject of this section is Naomi and when last seen she was very bitter towards God, but now in this section, because of Ruth and Boaz there is a new hope in her life and she uses the word blessed and we see this new hope in her as it replaces her bitterness. 

            This concludes the second chapter of Ruth and I must say that with the help of Warren Wiersbe’s commentary and of course, the help of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God I have learned new things from this wonderful little book.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I must also add forgiveness to faith, hope, and love as I think about this 2^nd chapter of Ruth.  For without forgiveness one cannot have faith, hope and love.  Forgiveness is a two way street, and first of all I had to be forgiven of all of my sins before I could truly forgive others who have offended me otherwise I would not realize how to forgive them.  It is the same with love, for the Bible says that we can love others because He first loved us, for we could not know how to love if He had not first loved us.  Learning to forgive others and to love others sets me free to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord and it is not something that I can learn overnight, but something I have to continue to learn and to put into practice.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Love and forgive others as I have been loved and forgiven.

 

3/23/2010 9:57 AM

           

We Must Live by the Grace of God PT-3 (Ruth 2:10-13)

3/22/2010 7:08 PM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  We must live by the grace of God Part 3

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Ruth 2:10-13

 

            Message of the verses:  “10  Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" 11  Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12  "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." 13  Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.’”

            This is part four of Warren Wiersbe’s sub-point that is shown in the focus of this SD.  He entitles part four “Boas encourages Ruth.”

            Ruth decided to come to Israel with her mother-in-law and to serve her God, the God of Israel and she was overwhelmed by the kindness that she found in Boaz, however she humbly accepted the promises that Boaz gave to her.  This pictures how the Lord takes care of His people, and one of the things that needs to be done in the lives of believers is that they are to do as the author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus.”  This is what Ruth did as she believed that Boaz would take care of her and therefore she did not have to worry but trust that he would do as he said he would do.

            The last point in Warren Wiersbe’s sub-points is called “Boaz saw to it that she was satisfied” and this covers Ruth 2:14 and 18.  “14  At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.  18  She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.”

            The good things that happened to Ruth happened because she learned to trust the Lord, the God of Israel and she proved her faith in him by taking care of Naomi, her mother-in-law, and this new was given to Boaz, for this was a small town and the news traveled fast. 

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  There are far to many times that I want to trust in things other in the Lord, and as one of the texts quoted here in this SD I must keep my eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and not on the world for the world will disappear sometime soon but the Lord is eternal and I began my eternal life with Him on the 26^th of January in 1974.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1.    Trust that the Lord will give me the grace that I need to serve Him each and everyday of my life.

 

3/22/2010 7:31 PM

We Must Live by the Grace of God PT-2 (Ruth 2:9-16)

3/19/2010 9:40 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                    Focus:  We must live by the grace of God Part 2

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 2:9-16

 

            Message of the verses:  “9  "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." 10  Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" 11  Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12  "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." 13  Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants." 14  At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. 15  When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16  "Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.’”

            In yesterday’s SD I covered two of the five sub-points that are under this second main point of chapter two:  “The Greatest Of These.”  Today I wish to look at the third sub-point “Boaz promised to protect Ruth and provide for her needs.” 

            This section covers verse 9 and 14-16.  All of the five sub-points in this second point picture how the Lord Jesus Christ cares for His children and it is a beautiful picture indeed.  Boaz called Ruth “my daughter” not only because she was younger but because it was a term of endearment, because she was a member of his family in a kind of round about way.  Boaz made sure that Ruth got the best of the gleanings, the first of them.  Is she become hungry or thirsty he would take care of that and he did so as seen in the text.

            Warren Wiersbe points out the picture of God grace to His children when he writes the following:  “Jesus Christ came to this earth as a servant (Phil. 2:1-11) that He might save us and make us a part of His family.  He has shared with us the riches of His mercy and love (Eph. 2:4), the riches of his grace (v-7), the riches of His wisdom and knowledge (Rom. 11:33), His riches in glory (Phil. 4:19), and yes His ‘unsearchable riches’ (Eph. 3:8 NIV).  We, undeserving ‘foreigners,’ are members of the family of God and have all His inheritance at our disposal.” 

            I would like to cut a paste these verses from the above paragraph as a conclusion to this SD, with the exception of the first one because of the length of it.

            1.  Phil. 2:1-11

            2.  Eph. 2:4 “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.”

            3.  Eph. 2:7 “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

            4.  Rom. 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!”

            5.  Phil. 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

            6. Eph. 3:8 (NIV) “Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I had to have a talk with my Lord this morning over the way that I have been handling the health care issue in this country that our government is, with good reason, fighting about.  This issue could affect the entire world because of the cost of it and how dependent the world is at this time on the US dollar.  I angers me with what I believe a justifiable anger, and yet I had to confess to my Lord how I am handling this issue for He is in charge of it and will do what He wants to do in all of this.  There is a verse in Daniel that I can’t find at this moment that speaks of God being in charge of the rulers so that they will do as what will fit into His plans, and this is what I am to rely on, for God is indeed in charge of all of this and what happens will bring glory to the Lord some how some way.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Trust the Lord for He has His plan and He will bring it about.

 

 

We Must Live by the Grace of God (Ruth 2:4-16)

3/18/2010 8:15 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  We must live by the grace of God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation               Reference:  Ruth 2:4-16

 

            Message of the verses:  “4 ¶  Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you." 5  Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6  The servant in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7  "And she said, ’Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while." 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. 9  "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." 10  Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" 11  Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12  "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." 13  Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants." 14  At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. 15  When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16  "Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.’”

            I would suppose that most people like to read a good love story, and this seems to have the makings of a good love story.  As Warren Wiersbe unfolds this portion of the story of Ruth he does it by having his readers notice the evidences of God’s grace in the way Boaz related to Ruth, and he does it in five bullet points that cover verses 4-16 if the second chapter of Ruth.  It must be remembered that this second point in which these five sub-points are outlined is the second way in which we as believers see God work in our lives and circumstances that will accomplish His gracious purposes, and then there are certain conditions that we must meet.  These conditions are illustrated in Ruth’s experiences in this chapter of which this is the second.

(1) Boaz took the initiative (Ruth 2:8)   Before I get into this part I want to make a brief comment on the verses 4-8 of this second chapter of Ruth.  Boaz, who was an important man in Bethlehem, and must have been quite wealthy, comes out to greet the reapers who were working for him and while doing this he sees Ruth and asks about her.  I believe that Warren Wiersbe hits the nail on the head when he writes that he believes that it was love at first sight for what happens next seems to prove his point.  Boaz asks who she is and then he goes right to her and talks to her and because he had heard that she was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and that she had left her country and her parents to come here with Ruth he seems very impressed.

            In verse eight it is seen that Boaz took the initiative in speaking to Ruth and as stated above it was probably because of the love that he had for Ruth.  This is not unlike God who took the first step in loving me as stated in 1John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.” 

(2) Boaz spoke to Ruth (Ruth 2:8) Boaz spoke to Ruth first as it would have been wrong for her to speak to him first.  I know that I had spoken to God before I became a believer but I am not so sure that He listened to me until I first listen to Him speak to me as God is so very much higher than me and yet He not only spoke to me, but He loved me and saved me through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.  (When saying that God spoke to me it was through His Word and through His Holy Spirit who lives in me since I have become His child, and this has never been in an audible voice, rather Spirit to spirit).

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Lord has seen fit in these last seven years of my life and in the life of my wife to use some difficult circumstances to grow us more to be like the image of His Son as Romans 8:29 tells us we are to be like.  There has been a great loss of money, a church split, a botched up surgery done to my wife, and now some difficult times again in our church.  God knows all about this and has worked in our lives through this and supplied all our needs through this financial crisis.  I will be glade when circumstances change for our better, yet I can say with assurance that God is faithful and that God loves us with the perfect kind of love that only He can love us.  This book of Ruth is becoming a real encouragement to me and I am thankful for the privilege of studying it.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Continue to trust and to serve the Lord.

 

3/18/2010 9:07 AM

 

 

We Must Live by Faith in the Lord (Ruth 2:1-3)

3/17/2010 8:29 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  We must live by faith in the Lord

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Ruth 2:1-3

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2  And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3  So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.”

            In his commentary on Ruth, Warren Wiersbe begins chapter two, “THE GREATEST OF THESE,” with these words:  “In which Boaz is surprised by love, and Ruth is overwhelmed by grace.”  He goes on to say:  “Before God changes our circumstances, He wants to change our hearts.  If our circumstances change for the better, but we remain the same, then we will become worse.  God’s purpose in providence is not to make us comfortable, but to make us conformable, ‘conformed to the image of His Son’ (Rom. 8:29).  Christlike character is the divine goal for each of His children.”

            To preview how the chapter is going to go he writes the following:  “If we want God to work in our lives and circumstances and accomplish His gracious purposes, then there are certain conditions that we must meet.  These conditions are illustrated in Ruth’s experiences in this chapter.”   And so I begin the study of the second chapter of the book of Ruth with great anticipation. 

            God put provisions into His Law to care for the widows, the orphans, and also the aliens, of which Ruth was not only a widow but also an alien.  Ruth decides to go out and gleam from the fields, and this is part of the provisions that God put into His Law to help these people who were poor, that when fields were harvested that the corners would be left for the poor, after all it was all the Lords and He could do with it as He saw fit. 

            In verse three these words are found:  “and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz.”  Here God’s providence is seen in that Ruth did not know whose field she was working in, but God did and He had a plan in all of this in that Ruth would marry Boaz and they would have a baby and they would be in the line that would bring the Messiah into the world.  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “God’s providential working in our lives is both a delight and a mystery.  God is constantly working with us (Mark 16:20), in us (Phil. 2:12-13), and for us (Rom. 8:28) and accomplishing His gracious purposes.  We pray, we seek His will, and make decisions (and sometimes make mistakes); but it is God who orders events and guides His willing children.” 

            I wish to make one more point from this chapter and it comes from James 2:20b which says, “Faith without works is useless.”  Ruth believed that God would provide for her and also for Naomi and so she went out to work in the field to gleam grain so that they would have something to eat.  Ruth put her faith into action and went out and worked.  Ephesians 2:10 also seems to be good to look at in the context of this section of Ruth:  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Now I realize that Ruth was on the other side of the cross, but she was doing the work that God had prepared for her to do before she was even born and because of that work that she was doing I am able to write these things that I am writing today because of her being in the bloodline of Jesus Christ who came to earth to provide salvation for the likes of me.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I look at this wonderful story of Ruth I also see Naomi and her family who were very much involved in all of this and they made some mistakes in their lives which God turned out for good for not only her but also for Ruth and as expressed above even me.  I have made mistakes in the handling of our retirement funds that has caused a great many problems in the lives of Sandy and of me, and yet I have sought the Lord to show me the sin in my life over this and have confessed all that He has reveled to me.  God changed my heart over this and has been so very faithful in providing for us even though the retirement fund has been gone for seven years, and hopes of ever getting it back lie in the hands of the Lord, yet He if faithful.  I do not wish to make any more mistakes like this in order to see the providence of God working in my life, but I want to live my life in a godly manner trusting the Lord to bring about what He desires to bring about in my life in order to make me more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Continue to trust the Lord to bring about His will in my life.

 

3/17/2010 9:21 AM