Ruth- A Heavenly Love Story
The Background
The Book of Ruth is a love saga in the history of Jews, and no doubt it matters to Christians the most. It is about a Moabite widow who was married into a Jewish family when the judges ruled over Israel. After the death of her husband, she accompanied her mother-in-law to Israel. They were living in a foreign country before that.
The story of Ruth is quite important to Christians because it shows how much God loves us. He breaks the walls, tears down all the barriers, and reaches out to us not to demand anything but to lavishly pour His love onto us.
You might be wondering now-how does it show God's love?
Well, many people do not know that Ruth was a Moabite. She belonged to a tribe that Yahweh, the God of Israel, forbade to come into His presence. In no way could she be a part of the blessings promised to only Jews by their God.
That is the reason that Ruth symbolizes all of us who are non-Jews.
Here is the point where you need a little bit of background of Israel and its importance in today's world.
The Abrahamic Covenant
The creator who is known to all of us as God called a man named Abraham. God promised Abraham the blessings that are called success in a modern world language.
Yes, that is right.
Abraham believed that God is true and will keep His promise for eternity. He called God Yahweh, which means a promise keeping God. Also, Yahweh means He was He is, and He will be.
And indeed, all the opponents and enemies of Israel, even till today, know that their God protects them mightily. Today, Israel has got the number 1 army to protect them. It is a world-known fact that Jews have inherited banking skills and are unparalleled at making and managing money. The maximum number of Nobel Prize Winners is Jews.
No, I am not promoting Israel over any other nation.
My point is that Israel is today not because of its strength, expertise, or technology. Instead, they are blessed because Yahweh kept all His promises to Abraham about his descendants. Yahweh promised protection, prosperity, family blessings, and whatnot.
Aren't all of us looking for a life like this? Don't we want someone to take care of us, protect us wherever we go, and bring us out of trouble of our own making?
Just imagine how one man, Abraham, became a nation. It is only possible for Almighty God.
Life Account of Ruth
Let's come back to the story.
You must be thinking, what all of this has to do with Ruth and all of us?
Let me answer this.
Ruth believed in the God of Abraham. After her husband died, her mother-in-law decided to move back to her people. Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, asked her to go back to her family and start her life afresh. However, her sister-in-law went back, but she held on to Naomi.
But Ruth said:
"Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God. (Ruth 1:16 NKJV)
After Ruth and Naomi reached Bethlehem, Ruth happened to take up a menial job of collecting grains left by the reapers during harvest. That was when she met the legally authorized person (term used for the ease of understanding) who could help her get back her forfeited property.
Naomi asked Ruth to propose to Boaz to exercise his redeeming authority and help her. God gave Ruth favor in the eyes of Boaz, the most eligible bachelor. He not only redeemed the property and all that was Naomi's and Ruth's husband, but he also married Ruth. God blessed their family; they had a son, Obed, who Naomi nursed.
When you see these happenings, there was no chance the Israelites would have accepted Ruth. Jews thought of a Moabite as their enemy and would behave likewise. But instead of hatred, Ruth was loved by Boaz. Despite being an enemy of Jews, she received the honor in a foreign land and among unfamiliar people.
Yahweh blessed Ruth with family blessings and wealth. God changed her fate, from widowhood to married woman, from barrenness to fruitfulness, from poverty to great prosperity.
How do we fit into all of this?
It is the right question to ask.
After thousands of years, Yahweh God sent His promised Son, our heavenly Boaz, Jesus Christ, to redeem all our blessings. But to redeem all our forfeited blessings of good health, prosperity, career, and family blessings, He had to bleed on the cross and wipe our sins permanently.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises, we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53: 4-6 NRSV Bible)
Final Call
Like Ruth, if you also put your trust in the Heavenly Boaz, Jesus Christ- sent by God, is always there to redeem all your lost blessings and give you the life that you have always dreamt of!!
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