Well, this is it ladies.  It's a little bitter sweet for me.  I have thoroughly loved and enjoyed studying the book of Ruth with all of you.  I'm so happy we did this but I'm also a little sad that it is ending.  I appreciate the comments and the time and effort you put into it.  I know you are all busy and you could have spent the time over the past few weeks doing something else.  I'm glad you accepted my invitation and God used you to teach me a little more.  Thank you for sharing some of your time and yourself with me.  



Ruth:  Week 5  -- Chapter 4

The outline is titled “Ruth’s Reward - A Husband, A Son, A Lineage”.  When I got out my Bible to re-read chapter 4, the outline for our final study on Ruth really stood out to me this time; a husband, a son, a lineage.  (Is it just me or do you like how her blessing came as three things?)  Look at all Ruth had been through.  She had sadness, loss, trials - but she didn’t lose sight of God and what was right.  Most importantly, God didn’t lose sight of Ruth.  He never loses sight of us either.   If God had just stopped with giving Ruth a new husband and a son, I think she would have been happy with that.  Ecstatic even.  What more could she ask for?  But God didn’t stop there.  He put her in the lineage of Jesus, God’s own Son.  It was like He was saying to her “I’m not just going to give you a loving husband and a child.  No, I’m going to make you part of MY family.  People will read about you and your faithfulness for a long time to come.”   What a reward!

In reading the text for this week, I have to smile thinking about Boaz going to this (nameless) “nearer” kinsman and telling him about how Naomi, being destitute, had sold a parcel of land that belonged to her dead husband.   And since it was the right of the nearest kinsman to buy the land back, this nearer kinsman had first rights to purchasing the land to keep it in the family.  Before the poor guy can answer, Boaz points out something along the lines of “Oh, and by the way, you’ll have to marry and support the widow Ruth too”.  Doesn’t that make you smile?  Don’t you just love how Boaz sticks that in there?  I wonder if the nameless relative thought that since Boaz was offering her to him first – maybe Ruth was ugly, high maintenance, lots of baggage (the real kind and the figurative kind), snored loudly, hogged the blankets or hid the remote. He might have thought Boaz was trying to pawn Ruth off on him.  I wonder this because he doesn’t even give Ruth a thought once he finds out that in order to get the land he is going to have to marry and support her too.  The text reveals that he refuses because he was concerned it would jeopardize his own inheritance and he was worried about the financial burden supporting Ruth would cause.  It’s kind of like he’s saying “Naw (that’s a southern term) you go ahead and marry her.  Sounds like a lot of trouble and money just to keep a field in the family.”  The whole interaction just makes me grin.  

On a serious note, I can’t help but wonder about Naomi too.  She played an important role in the story.  God didn’t forget her either and blessed her.  She got a grandson and another family.  I bet Boaz made a great son-in-law.  I know technically that isn’t what he was but I bet that is how he treated Naomi.  He shows all indication of being an all-around good guy.  

Lastly, I love that the book ends with the genealogy from Pharez through Boaz to David.

    

And one last random thing……

God did it again this week.  I was reading Psalms 3:3 “…the lifter of my head” and I thought to myself – “I think those are words in a song I’ve heard”.  This time I didn’t look it up though.  Well, wouldn’t you know it – we went to church on Saturday night again and I heard the song.  We were a couple of minutes late to church but the worship team was still singing.  We got to our seats just in time for the chorus ………………..

“I will praise the mighty name of Jesus,
Praise the Lord, the lifter of my head.
Praise the Rock of my salvation,
All my days are in His faithful hands.

I know it may seem like a small thing but we NEVER sing this song other than maybe once and that was a while ago.  And just like last week – the song wasn’t one of my favorites.  And isn’t it cool how it goes with this book?  Ruth could have sung this song long ago and I wouldn’t be surprised if she is singing it right now in Heaven…………

…….. I will praise the mighty name of Jesus, praise the Lord, the lifter of my head.  Praise the Rock of my Salvation, all my days are in His faithful hands…….

A small delay....

Hi,

I know that I have posted the week's study on Sunday night each time.  However, it will be tomorrow afternoon before I post this week.  I apologize for this and I plan to have it up tomorrow afternoon or early evening.  

I hope you understand and forgive me?

Hugs,

Kim

Week 4

Ruth's Request

• Suggested by Naomi
  
• Executed by Ruth
  
• Agreed to by Boaz

 

Ruth:  Week 4 – Chapter 3

Hi Ladies!  I hope you have all had a good week.  Mine has been good but busy as always.  I apologize for my semi-absence the past few days.  If I seemed MIA, I was still here but standing in the background.    Can you believe we are almost done with Ruth?  It seems like it is going to end before it gets started.  That’s okay; one of the points to this study was “manageable”.  I hope we’ve accomplished that together.  

I enjoyed my approach last week and diving into the “white space”.  I keep telling you this but it’s because I really mean it – I love all your comments!  I think that is why I like writing here.  It’s sorta like my time to comment. 

So, here we are in the third chapter of Ruth.  I think this chapter is my favorite of the four.  It’s where the love story takes place. I’m not going to rehash the entire chapter but just tell you the parts that stood out to me.   

We all see where Naomi tells Ruth to go to Boaz.  This part of the story is hard for me to imagine.  I’m getting caught up thinking about Boaz sleeping next to the grain to protect it.  I’ll admit I don’t quite understand the context – that people would have to sleep next to the food to protect it but then again, wasn’t a famine mentioned in the first chapter? 

 Boaz wakes up in the middle of the night, startled, and Ruth is there and asks him to spread his skirt over her - she is basically asking him to marry her.    She points out that he is her “near kinsman” or “kinsman redeemer”.  My Bible notes say that a Kinsman redeemer’s responsibilities included – redeeming any family property that had changed ownership and also marrying a childless widow so that children could be raised up in her dead husband’s name.  For Ruth to initiate this, it was in accordance with levirate law.

How cool is a kinsman redeemer?  Someone who steps in when there is no one else to look after us, help us, pay our debts, etc?   Jesus is the ultimate kinsman redeemer.  He paid our debt. A debt no one else could pay.

When Boaz wakes up and finds Ruth at his feet and figures out she wants him to marry her, he is delighted.  He thinks Ruth is the best thing since sliced bread and probably can’t imagine why she would want someone so much older.  I think about that.  Why would Ruth want to marry him when the scriptures even say there is another relative or “nearer” kinsman redeemer?  I think it’s because Ruth knows a good man when she sees one and isn’t about to pass him up.

Boaz proves he is a good man too.  He shows in verse 14 that he is concerned about her honor and reputation.  He wants to protect her. 

My favorite part to the story so far?  I love verse 18 – it says that Boaz “will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day”.   I picture Boaz getting up that next morning and rushing to get dressed.  Imagine him grinning from head to toe and almost running around to settle the matter of marrying Ruth.  That’s the kind of man little girls dream of.  Men who can’t wait to be their husband, to protect them, provide for them, be their friend and to love them more than anyone else.

The more I read this book, the more beautiful it becomes. 

On that note, I want to share the words to a song.  Why?  No reason other than this song has been in my head all week – literally - and I feel led to share it.  I’m trying to learn how to follow when led.  Not as easy as it sounds but I’m sure God has a reason for wanting you to know this song.  For me, I love that no one loves me the way He loves me.   A little background to the song - we sing it at church but it’s been a long time since and wasn’t even one of my favorites – until now.  Now I love it. 

Several mornings ago, I was reading in Job (sorry I dropped the ball on posting “Follow me through the Bible – told you it’s been crazy busy) and the words to this song randomly popped into my head.  It had been so long ago that I had heard it; I couldn’t remember most of the lyrics.  Like I said, it wasn't one of my favorites at that time so the fact that it came up HAD to be God.  I had to Google the two lines I could  remember and that led to me finding the song and adding it to the playlist at the side if you want to listen to it.  I still cannot get the song out of my head.  

I know it may sound a bit odd but this seems to be a familiar thing between God and me.  I’ll be reading my Bible and random words to a song that has NOTHING to do with the text, will pop into my head.  I’ll go around for the next 3 or 4 days singing that song.  It’s like God has His own mp3 hooked up to my brain.  (I can’t sing - even a little so this just proves that God loves a joyful heart.)  The best part to this little side story of mine is this…….My church has three services on Sunday morning and one on Saturday night.  Our church just doesn’t have enough seating so we’ve expanded to four weekend services.  Once in a blue moon, Kent and I will take the boys to the Saturday night service instead of Sunday.  I like Sunday better because I’m a creature of habit and the Saturday night service has a different praise and worship team.  It’s a petty reason, I know, but I said I was a creature of habit.  Saturday afternoon, Kent and I decided to go to church.   The very last song was about to begin and the worship leader began by saying they were going to do a song they had not performed on a Saturday night before -  Sunday services had done it but it would be new to Saturday evening people.  I knew without a doubt – before that song even played – it would be “Sing My Love”…… and it was.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

I don't believe in chance.  Chance removes God's hand and I believe firmly God is in control over everything.  That brings me back to why did He led me to post this song with this particular chapter?  I don't know.  He didn't tell me that part.  He only told me the part that concerned me.  He didn't tell me your part.  I do know that He wanted you to know it - and don't read "you" as a generic/general "you".  This song was meant for someone who is reading this and I bet it is literally YOU.  The "why" is between you and Him.  

It’s a great love story song. Maybe God just wants us to know the best love story ever written is the one between us and Him.  Maybe?  Without a doubt.

Here are the lyrics:

Kim Walker/Jesus Culture – “Sing My Love”

Words could never say the way He says my name
He calls me lovely
No one ever sees the way He looks at me
He sees me holy
Words could never hold this love that burn my soul Heaven holds me, oh heaven holds me

I can't hold my love back from You
I can't hold my love back from You
I've gotta sing, I've gotta sing, sing my love

You would not believe the way He touches me
He burns right through me
And i could not forget every word He said
He always knew me
The earth could never hold this love that burns my soul Heaven holds me oh heaven holds me

I can't hold my love back from You
I can't hold my love back from You
I've gotta sing I've gotta sing, sing my love

I can't hold my praise back from You
I can't hold my praise back from You
I've gotta shout, I've gotta shout, shout my praise
I can't hold my praise back from You
I can't hold my praise back from You
I've gotta shout, I've gotta shout, shout my love

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord
my soul makes, makes its boast in the Lord

Your turn........