Ruth 4:1-22

¹ Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.

² Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. ³ Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."
"I will redeem it," he said.

⁵ Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."

⁶ At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."

⁷ (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)

⁸ So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.

⁹ Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

¹¹ Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵ He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. ¹⁷ The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ This, then, is the family line of Perez:
Perez was the father of Hezron,

¹⁹ Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,

²⁰ Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,

²¹ Salmon the father of Boaz,
Boaz the father of Obed,

²² Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David.

So thus ends the book of Ruth. I think that the driving theme of this book is that by Ruth living as faithfully as she did, she ultimately realized a greater purpose for her life. This great purpose was that she became a direct ancestor of King David and of Jesus Christ. She of course could not have known this purpose during her life, but I think that that's the whole point.
As I live my daily life, I need to be focused on the eternal values of God. Realizing that I am part of something that is much larger than myself, I cannot see the big picture that God sees. It is only after my life is done and I am with God in eternity that I may be able to fully grasp God's purpose for my life.

God,

Thank You for giving me purpose in my life and a reason to exist. I may not be able to see that purpose or fully comprehend it, but knowing that You have a plan for me should be enough. Help me to remember Your truth, that I should walk in Your ways. Help me to have an eternal mindset in all things, not worrying about the petty things that come my way, but to fix my eyes on the things that really matter to You.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Ruth 3:1-18

¹ One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? ² Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. ³ Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do."

⁵ "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. ⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

⁷ When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.

⁹ "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."

¹⁰ "The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. ¹² Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. ¹³ Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor."

¹⁵ He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town.

¹⁶ When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?"
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her ¹⁷ and added, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.' "

¹⁸ Then Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

I honestly don't have much to say about this passage. I guess for me, it shows the strong character that Boaz possessed. The Jewish law stated that if a woman became widowed, the dead man's brother should marry the widow and provide for her (a kinsman-redeemer). Since Naomi didn't have any more sons, Ruth was left without a kinsman-redeemer. A close relative could also act as a kinsman-redeemer (remember Ruth's good fortune to end up in a relative's field?). So, Boaz does the honorable thing by promising to marry Ruth, but he also knows that there is a closer relative in town that would have first right to marry Ruth, so he must first check with him to see if he wants to. So, perhaps the whole point of this passage to me is that sometimes doing the right thing will lead to greater rewards that I can realize at the time (Boaz's decision to marry Ruth ultimately leads to him becoming a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ).

Ruth 2:1-23

1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." 3 So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar." When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."
23 So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

So Ruth is in this foreign land where she doesn't know anybody and has no money. Instead of feeling sorry for herself or waiting for Prince Charming, she decided to roll up her sleeves and glean in a nearby field. The fact that gleaning was commanded by law to help poor people means that this was probably a pretty degrading thing to do. Ruth doesn't seem to care, and in fact, works very hard at it. So hard, that the owner of the field Boaz takes notice (Was it lucky that Boaz happened to be a close relative, or was it God's direction in Ruth's life?).
When I find myself in an unfortunate circumstance, do I wallow in self pity or hope for some miraculous stroke of good luck? Perhaps I should take a lesson from Ruth and know that while I can have faith in God's provision in my life, maybe sometimes He's just waiting for me to take that first step.

God,
Thank You for the many blessings that You have poured on my life. There have been many times when I've been overwhelmed by the good fortune You have blessed me with. Back when we were so poor that our water was being shut off, somehow we still managed to get through it. In response to this great faithfulness You've showed in me, I pray that I would be the kind of man that You want me to be. Help me to remember Your truth, so that in times of trouble I would not waver from Your Word.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Ruth 1:1-22

1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. 2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3 Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6 When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. 7 With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8 Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. 9 May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them and they wept aloud 10 and said to her, "We will go back with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? 12 Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons- 13 would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has gone out against me!"
14 At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15 "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her."
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. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"
20 "Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

This chapter is an introduction to Ruth. I'm not sure how much I have to say about this passage, but there are two things that struck me. The first is that Ruth is from Moab, but that doesn't stop her from following Naomi back to Judah and worshipping her God (the one true God). This reflects God's ability and willingness to use anybody to further His Kingdom, regardless of nationality or gender. As we will see later, she ultimately becomes a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ, so her willingness to move with Naomi to Bethlehem is all part of God's master plan.
The other thing that struck me from this passage was Naomi's bitterness on returning to Bethlehem. I understand that she lost her husband and two sons which would be a heavy burden to bear, especially in her culture, but she seems to have lost sight of the great resource that she has with her relationship with God. She cannot see it now, but her family's death was all part of God's plan leading to Jesus Christ coming to this world.

God,
Thank You for the promises that You have given me. That You love all people, and that You can use me regardless of where I've been or who I am. All that You require is a responsive heart, and I pray that I would be open to Your leading. May I be continually looking for it, so that I can discern Your voice when it comes. When trials come into my life, may I be ever mindful of Your provision and faithfulness to me. I want to keep the bigger picture in mind and remember that "my present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." When I am in the midst of this pain I cannot see the purpose in it, but I will trust that You have a plan for me, and with You I will be okay.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Judges 16:22-31

22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved. 23 Now the rulers of the Philistines assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to celebrate, saying, "Our god has delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands."
24 When the people saw him, they praised their god, saying, "Our god has delivered our enemy into our hands, the one who laid waste our land and multiplied our slain."
25 While they were in high spirits, they shouted, "Bring out Samson to entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he performed for them. When they stood him among the pillars, 26 Samson said to the servant who held his hand, "Put me where I can feel the pillars that support the temple, so that I may lean against them." 27 Now the temple was crowded with men and women; all the rulers of the Philistines were there, and on the roof were about three thousand men and women watching Samson perform. 28 Then Samson prayed to the LORD, "O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more, and let me with one blow get revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Then Samson reached toward the two central pillars on which the temple stood. Bracing himself against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other, 30 Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" Then he pushed with all his might, and down came the temple on the rulers and all the people in it. Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived.
31 Then his brothers and his father's whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.

Yesterday I read about Samson's tragic choice to give into his lustful desires for Delilah, which ultimately resulted in his physical blindness, imprisonment and humiliation. The Philistines, now feeling exceptionally confident in their god Dagon, wanted to show off their prized captor in the temple to further humiliate him. It's hard to feel sorry for Samson here, because his own choices and lustful desires led him to this situation. It was in this weakened moment that Samson cried out to God. Despite his previous failings, he acknowledged his need for God and asked to be used one last time.
God answered his prayer, restoring his strength. This passage speaks to my life in the sense that no matter how much I fail God, He still hears my prayers. My moral behaviour is not a prerequisite for prayer. God does not require me to be perfect in order for Him to hear my prayers, but to have a broken spirit and acknowledge my need for Him.

God,
I am nothing without You. Without You, all life is meaningless. May your Spirit be always present in my heart, that I may be ever mindful of You. I will not let guilty feelings about my own past failings keep me from praying to You. I know that You love me where I am, and it is through my continual relationship with You that I find healing, growth and hope. Thank You for the promise that You have given to me, and for your perfect grace and mercy to call me yours.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.

Judges 16:1-21

1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, "Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, "At dawn we'll kill him."
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
4 Some time later, he fell in love with a woman in the Valley of Sorek whose name was Delilah. 5 The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, "See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him. Each one of us will give you eleven hundred shekels of silver."
6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Tell me the secret of your great strength and how you can be tied up and subdued."
7 Samson answered her, "If anyone ties me with seven fresh thongs that have not been dried, I'll become as weak as any other man."
8 Then the rulers of the Philistines brought her seven fresh thongs that had not been dried, and she tied him with them. 9 With men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the thongs as easily as a piece of string snaps when it comes close to a flame. So the secret of his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "You have made a fool of me; you lied to me. Come now, tell me how you can be tied."
11 He said, "If anyone ties me securely with new ropes that have never been used, I'll become as weak as any other man."
12 So Delilah took new ropes and tied him with them. Then, with men hidden in the room, she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" But he snapped the ropes off his arms as if they were threads.
13 Delilah then said to Samson, "Until now, you have been making a fool of me and lying to me. Tell me how you can be tied." He replied, "If you weave the seven braids of my head into the fabric on the loom and tighten it with the pin, I'll become as weak as any other man." So while he was sleeping, Delilah took the seven braids of his head, wove them into the fabric 14 and tightened it with the pin. Again she called to him, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and pulled up the pin and the loom, with the fabric.
15 Then she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you won't confide in me? This is the third time you have made a fool of me and haven't told me the secret of your great strength." 16 With such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death.
17 So he told her everything. "No razor has ever been used on my head," he said, "because I have been a Nazirite set apart to God since birth. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man."
18 When Delilah saw that he had told her everything, she sent word to the rulers of the Philistines, "Come back once more; he has told me everything." So the rulers of the Philistines returned with the silver in their hands. 19 Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him.
20 Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him.
21 Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison. 22 But the hair on his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Okay, so when I first read this passage, my first thought was, "How can Samson be so gullible to keep falling for Delilah's traps?" Any sensible man would have questioned her intentions after the first time she tied him up, let alone three times! I'm thinking that he was gullible because he desparately wanted to believe her lies. She was hot, and he was horny. His lust for her blinded him from all reason.
So how do I apply this passage to my life? This passage is obviously a warning against unchecked sexual desires. So many times in movies, we see couples that it seems all they ever do is have sex. Shouldn't our relationships be deeper than that? I am sexually attracted to my wife, but I love her so much more than that. She is my best friend, whether we're having sex or not.

God,
May my mind be ever fixed on you, remembering that true fulfillment is found in You. Help me to combat the temptations that bombard me every day to focus on satisfying temporary physical desires. May I be ever mindful of how great and magnificent You are compared to any earthly fulfillments I may find.
In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.