Musings From The Book Of Ruth
Studying the book of Ruth has raised a lot of questions in my heart and also great admiration for the heroine of the text. There are indeed myriads of lessons to be learnt from this book of the bible.
Over the next few posts, I would be sharing my musings and lessons learnt from the book of Ruth. So stay with me as we go on this journey together.
Chapter One
Verses 11-14 – Stark Realities Of Life
It is clear from the human standpoint that there is no hope whatsoever for whosoever follows Naomi; be it Ruth or Orpah . What would be their means of livelihood? Was there any hope of marriage? There was absolutely no future to look forward to.
Verses 15-18 -Decisions
In the face of the harsh realities before them, the two ladies made their decisions. Orpah looked at all the facts on ground and made a rational decision-Go back to the place where she already had connections, push comes to shove, she has familiar faces she could always turn to for help. What more, there might still be one or two connections that could land her a good marriage.
Ruth on the other hand went out on a limb. She decided to follow the God of her mother-in-law. In spite of the tragedy that had befallen the family, there must be something that shined faith in her heart. Could it be that Ruth caught a glimpse of the Almighty God in the lives of first her husband and then her mother-in-law?
Whatever the reason might be, she took a leap of faith. Just like Abraham, she had strong faith that though it looked like all hope was lost, she was better off following the God of Israel.
Life Application
So in the face of the harsh realities of life and hopeless situations, what should you do as a Christian?
- Remove your eyes from the circumstances and look up- Romans 4:18, 2nd Corinthians 4:18, Hebrews 12:2 and Psalms 34:5.
- Do not seek to know or see the full picture before trusting God. Romans 4:20, Luke 1:20-38 , 45
