RUTH

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Read Ruth 1 - 4

     Ruth replied, "… Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 NIV

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     Ruth’s people, the Moabites, worshiped the false god Chemosh, but Ruth chose to follow the God of her deceased husband, and return to the land of Israel. The Lord blessed Ruth, and her widowed mother-in-law, when Boaz bought Naomi’s land and married Ruth, thereby redeeming Naomi’s inheritance. Through this practical legal transaction by Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband, Boaz and Ruth became the ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ.

     The words of the Elders to Naomi were prophetic: “May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem, because of the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman.” (Ruth 4:11b, 12b NKJV) Truly Bethlehem became famous at the birth of our Savior.

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     We never really know how our common every day transactions will fit into God’s plan for the future. Help us Lord, to develop an eternal perspective about life and how we live it. May we be like Ruth whose behavior won her the respect and praise of Naomi’s people who said to her, “May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:12)

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     The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman redeemer… For your daughter‑in‑law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."   Ruth 4:14a,15b NIV