If you are like me, you may have read the story of Ruth before and thought Ruth pursued Boaz (see chapter 3). However, as I re-read chapter 2 today, I am increasingly convinced that Boaz pursued Ruth. I don't think Ruth ever would have approached Boaz in chapter 3 if he had not torn down the barriers between them in these first game changing encounters in chapter 2.
Almost immediately from their first encounter, Boaz put himself in the role of protector over Ruth. He ensured her safety while working in the fields, provided for her thirst, and connected her with his servant girls. He went far beyond what the law required in terms of providing for the poor and acknowledged Ruth's extraordinary kindness to Naomi. If the story ended there, it would a very noble platonic act of kindness that spoke well of Boaz' character. Here, he is definitely a good guy.
But here, (Ruth 2: 10-13) he is still far removed from Ruth, socially and polically. There are still numerous boundaries set up between them that would make it impossible for either of them to even consider dating or marriage. (I'm guessing dating wasn't that popular - probably more straight marriage talk.) Ruth even responds to his kindness by admitting she doesn't even have the status of one of his servant girls. This relationship is doomed before it ever starts. He is way out of her league. A proposal is preposterous at this point.
But, game changer, the story doesn't end there. For whatever reason, Boaz reaches out to Ruth again, this time not to protect her, this time he invites her to his table (v 14-15) This time, he removes the social and political barriers, the cultural norms that would normally keep them at a safe distance from each other. He removes and ignores those norms and invites her to eat at his table, with his harvesters. He is in essence saying, you are much more than a servant girl. I want to continue the conversation,to get to know you. I want to invite you into my world.
I wonder if Ruth was flustered. I'm sure she didn't have time to primp and dress up. And after all, she had been working in the field all day - hot and sweaty, probably feeling not so attractive. Of all times to be invited to dinner with this wealthy, influential, probably attractive man and his harvesters. Not that this was a fancy occasion - they had been in the fields all day too - but it was special, because invitations like this didn't come for girls like Ruth. Girls like Ruth weren't invited to dinner, weren't invited anywhere. I wonder if Ruth felt out of place, worried about what to talk about, or how much to eat. She was probably starving, but we all know you don't want people to see you eat too much. I wonder if she was excited, if she started thinking about telling Naomi about her experiences, about this nice guy and his kindness to her. Even if nothing else came from this evening, it would likely be a day she would never forget.
I could fill in some date stories here, but I kind of like keeping the focus on Ruth. Isn't it a beautiful romance in the making? Separated by so many differences, and yet, in one simple act, Boaz removes those barriers and invites her into his world. And I believe it is this act that sets the stage for Chapter 3. This act is far beyond an act of kindness to a stranger; this act turns a stranger and a foreigner into a friend. As any respectable man, he even give her flowers - okay bundles of barley - but he doesn't send her home empty-handed.
Maybe I am romanticizing this encounter a little much. There is nothing overtly romantic in this encounter, but I do think it was a game changer. Without Boaz reaching out to Ruth, inviting her into his world, they would be forever divided by the cultural norms of the day. They would have been in separate worlds divided by ethnicity and socio-economic status. She never would have been able to approach him to ask him to be a kinsman-redeemer. That conversation could never have taken place. This game changer so important for another reason as well. This game changer is a precursor to the biggest game changer of them all - Jesus Christ. We, who were separated from God by our status as sinners, can have a relationship with Him BECAUSE He tore down the barriers. He came into our world, died and rose again to make it possible for us to be reconciled to God, for us in our unrighteousness and unworthiness to approach God in His righteousness and His Holiness. In Him, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female," (Galatians 3:28). All those barriers are now gone. They no longer hold us back from God or from each other. And even better, He invites us to His table (Revelation 19:6-10) to dine with Him. He wants to fellowship with us and get to know us and continue the conversation.
Hmmm... I love that picture. I am so glad that He notices me, that He cares, and that He pursues a relationship with me - even when I've been working in the fields and not feeling very attractive or loveable.
~Erin
Monday, September 26, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
My God & My Protector
Over ten years ago, when I got my first apartment and moved out of my parents’ to be on my own, one of my dad’s friends commented rather wryly, about how I shouldn’t be moving out on my own and how I should live with my parents until I was married. After all, I would be without a protector, a single woman by herself.
For those of you who know me, you can probably imagine how that comment went over. I can be stubborn, strong-willed, and outspoken at times, and my thinking and his were not exactly on the same page. Part of my story before Christ was that I didn’t think I needed anyone, not even God, but especially not a man. (I like to distinguish here between need and want. Just, FYI.)
But years, later, with hopefully more wisdom and experience, I have a slightly different take on that comment from long ago. I have now been the one with outsider labeled on her forehead multiple times, and I have moved to four different cities in those ten years – Mt Holly, NC then Rock Hill, SC, then Columbia, SC, and now Waco, TX, all places where I didn’t know anyone. All those moves later, I now know how nice it is to have someone take me under their wings, to be that protector for me.
In Rock Hill, it was Susie, one of the most incredibly vivacious and nurturing and loving women I have ever met. She immediately proclaimed herself to be my Rock Hill mother – to look after me as she would want someone to look after her daughters if they were away from home. She became an incredible mentor in my life and someone who just invested time and love in me. I so want to radiate Christ’s love to others like she did and to show that kind of hospitality.
In Columbia, it was a guy friend that I met at church that introduced me to people and helped me get connected. He became like an older brother to me over the years, the one I could turn to with crises. And then it was other friends of mine, true community – we would look out for each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually – praying during tough times, or walking each other to our cars late at night, or speaking up on relationship issues, or changing tires. Many of us didn’t have family close by, so we became like family for each other.
I think those experiences give me an appreciation for that role of protector that I didn’t have before, the need for someone I could turn to when I needed help. Now, wherever I am, I try to identify a car trouble friend – someone that I can call if my car breaks down on the side of the road. I have roadside assistance, but it is that principle of knowing who I could turn to if I needed help in a vulnerable situation. It’s one of the first to-do’s on my moving list, seeking out an emergency contact. Wow – God has a way of changing us. It sounds a little different from ten years ago and my steely stubbornness of not needing anyone.
And as I read this 2nd chapter of Ruth, I am struck by Boaz reaching out to Ruth and putting himself immediately in that role. He could easily have ignored this strange girl. He didn’t have any obligation to her. He was already providing according to the law, by allowing her to glean from the leftovers of the harvest. But he went beyond the law, beyond what he was required to do. He immediately recognized her vulnerability and reached out to her as a father figure, making arrangements to ensure her protection, urging her not to go to other fields, instructing his men to leave her alone, and placing her in community with other servant girls, so that she wouldn’t be by herself.
I can imagine how many fears Ruth must have had going into those fields for the first time by herself – as a young, single, poor foreigner. I can only imagine how relieved and how much safer she must have felt knowing now that someone was looking out for her safety and wellbeing, providing for her thirst, and showing genuine concern.
And as any wise single woman, she knows to question the kindness – to make sure it doesn’t come with strings attached of a far more sinister nature. What a relief it must have been to realize that Boaz’ kindness was not just a random act of kindness to a stranger, but a kindness of heart with sound character. Boaz’ kindness to her was with recognition of the sacrifices and kindness that Ruth herself had shown to Naomi. His kindness is not just hospitality to a stranger, but a way of recognizing and honoring Ruth’s kindness, one that could easily have been overlooked by others. I have a hard time picturing the people of Bethlehem giving Ruth a pat on the back for coming back with Naomi. I picture them instead much more likely to be saying – what on earth was she thinking? In light of her sacrifices though, how much more beautiful is it to have Boaz say, I see what you did and I think it is amazing. And just as you have taken care of Naomi, may God look over and protect you. And I’ll do my part as well.
That’s pretty amazing. My God, and my protector…
For those of you who know me, you can probably imagine how that comment went over. I can be stubborn, strong-willed, and outspoken at times, and my thinking and his were not exactly on the same page. Part of my story before Christ was that I didn’t think I needed anyone, not even God, but especially not a man. (I like to distinguish here between need and want. Just, FYI.)
But years, later, with hopefully more wisdom and experience, I have a slightly different take on that comment from long ago. I have now been the one with outsider labeled on her forehead multiple times, and I have moved to four different cities in those ten years – Mt Holly, NC then Rock Hill, SC, then Columbia, SC, and now Waco, TX, all places where I didn’t know anyone. All those moves later, I now know how nice it is to have someone take me under their wings, to be that protector for me.
In Rock Hill, it was Susie, one of the most incredibly vivacious and nurturing and loving women I have ever met. She immediately proclaimed herself to be my Rock Hill mother – to look after me as she would want someone to look after her daughters if they were away from home. She became an incredible mentor in my life and someone who just invested time and love in me. I so want to radiate Christ’s love to others like she did and to show that kind of hospitality.
In Columbia, it was a guy friend that I met at church that introduced me to people and helped me get connected. He became like an older brother to me over the years, the one I could turn to with crises. And then it was other friends of mine, true community – we would look out for each other physically, emotionally, and spiritually – praying during tough times, or walking each other to our cars late at night, or speaking up on relationship issues, or changing tires. Many of us didn’t have family close by, so we became like family for each other.
I think those experiences give me an appreciation for that role of protector that I didn’t have before, the need for someone I could turn to when I needed help. Now, wherever I am, I try to identify a car trouble friend – someone that I can call if my car breaks down on the side of the road. I have roadside assistance, but it is that principle of knowing who I could turn to if I needed help in a vulnerable situation. It’s one of the first to-do’s on my moving list, seeking out an emergency contact. Wow – God has a way of changing us. It sounds a little different from ten years ago and my steely stubbornness of not needing anyone.
And as I read this 2nd chapter of Ruth, I am struck by Boaz reaching out to Ruth and putting himself immediately in that role. He could easily have ignored this strange girl. He didn’t have any obligation to her. He was already providing according to the law, by allowing her to glean from the leftovers of the harvest. But he went beyond the law, beyond what he was required to do. He immediately recognized her vulnerability and reached out to her as a father figure, making arrangements to ensure her protection, urging her not to go to other fields, instructing his men to leave her alone, and placing her in community with other servant girls, so that she wouldn’t be by herself.
I can imagine how many fears Ruth must have had going into those fields for the first time by herself – as a young, single, poor foreigner. I can only imagine how relieved and how much safer she must have felt knowing now that someone was looking out for her safety and wellbeing, providing for her thirst, and showing genuine concern.
And as any wise single woman, she knows to question the kindness – to make sure it doesn’t come with strings attached of a far more sinister nature. What a relief it must have been to realize that Boaz’ kindness was not just a random act of kindness to a stranger, but a kindness of heart with sound character. Boaz’ kindness to her was with recognition of the sacrifices and kindness that Ruth herself had shown to Naomi. His kindness is not just hospitality to a stranger, but a way of recognizing and honoring Ruth’s kindness, one that could easily have been overlooked by others. I have a hard time picturing the people of Bethlehem giving Ruth a pat on the back for coming back with Naomi. I picture them instead much more likely to be saying – what on earth was she thinking? In light of her sacrifices though, how much more beautiful is it to have Boaz say, I see what you did and I think it is amazing. And just as you have taken care of Naomi, may God look over and protect you. And I’ll do my part as well.
That’s pretty amazing. My God, and my protector…
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
A Stranger in a Strange Land
Texas is a strange land. Things are just a little different in Texas. Sometimes I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s this feeling that I don’t belong here, that I am an outsider in an insider world. Don’t get me wrong – people here are polite and friendly, but most of the people around here have roots deeper than the California Redwoods. And I don’t – I don’t have that common sense of history, those common memories, that sense of settledness that seems to come with the territory. I’m single and I’ve been rather transient. I’m used to coming and going, but not necessarily staying.
I take great encouragement in the fact that Ruth was a foreigner too and very much an outsider in an insider world, an outsider geographically and an outsider religiously. I can just almost hear the gossip now –Who does she think she is? The covenant doesn’t apply to her. Over and over again the author of Ruth refers to her as Ruth the Moabitess – as if she actually wears a label saying outsider stamped on her forehead. I can relate. Sometimes, we can’t hide that the fact that we stick out like a sore thumb in a place where everyone knows everyone.
But what I like about Ruth is that she doesn’t just sit around hanging out with Naomi. She ventures out. She decides to be productive, to go about building some kind of life. She knows she & Naomi need food and she sets out to provide, even when she’s not so sure what she is doing. You could say it was reckless and dangerous to set out by herself to go glean in other people’s fields. She was young, single, poor, and a foreigner, probably the most vulnerable of all people. She sets out by herself, though, to do something, something rather than nothing. At the time, she had no idea how God would provide. She had no idea the story yet to be written. She just made a decision to do the best thing she knew to do and left the rest in God’s hands.
Sometimes starting over is like learning to walk, taking a couple of steps and falling down and getting back up again. And I’ve learned that sometimes I don’t know what to do to make things be okay, to get where God wants me to be, to get to the insider track. Sometimes I just step out and do something, hoping that God will bless it, that He will protect me even in light of my sometimes seemingly reckless decisions.
And He does. Several times this week as I have been pondering this study, God has brought to my mind my move to Columbia almost five years ago. It is almost eerie how similar the struggles are, the questions, the fears, and the process of settling in to a new environment. But what is so wonderful is seeing how God placed me right where I needed to be, answered those questions and resolved those fears over time, and led me to a peace and settledness that was much more real than geography.
Now, as I find myself asking questions or missing home, I look back at the answers He provided before, and I hear Him saying the same thing. Trust me. I work all things for good and I am at work here for your good and for a greater good. I am in control. And I care. I’m not done writing the story yet.
I look forward to letting Him write the story and to discovering the end He has in store, for Ruth and for me. Good things await. God things await.
I take great encouragement in the fact that Ruth was a foreigner too and very much an outsider in an insider world, an outsider geographically and an outsider religiously. I can just almost hear the gossip now –Who does she think she is? The covenant doesn’t apply to her. Over and over again the author of Ruth refers to her as Ruth the Moabitess – as if she actually wears a label saying outsider stamped on her forehead. I can relate. Sometimes, we can’t hide that the fact that we stick out like a sore thumb in a place where everyone knows everyone.
But what I like about Ruth is that she doesn’t just sit around hanging out with Naomi. She ventures out. She decides to be productive, to go about building some kind of life. She knows she & Naomi need food and she sets out to provide, even when she’s not so sure what she is doing. You could say it was reckless and dangerous to set out by herself to go glean in other people’s fields. She was young, single, poor, and a foreigner, probably the most vulnerable of all people. She sets out by herself, though, to do something, something rather than nothing. At the time, she had no idea how God would provide. She had no idea the story yet to be written. She just made a decision to do the best thing she knew to do and left the rest in God’s hands.
Sometimes starting over is like learning to walk, taking a couple of steps and falling down and getting back up again. And I’ve learned that sometimes I don’t know what to do to make things be okay, to get where God wants me to be, to get to the insider track. Sometimes I just step out and do something, hoping that God will bless it, that He will protect me even in light of my sometimes seemingly reckless decisions.
And He does. Several times this week as I have been pondering this study, God has brought to my mind my move to Columbia almost five years ago. It is almost eerie how similar the struggles are, the questions, the fears, and the process of settling in to a new environment. But what is so wonderful is seeing how God placed me right where I needed to be, answered those questions and resolved those fears over time, and led me to a peace and settledness that was much more real than geography.
Now, as I find myself asking questions or missing home, I look back at the answers He provided before, and I hear Him saying the same thing. Trust me. I work all things for good and I am at work here for your good and for a greater good. I am in control. And I care. I’m not done writing the story yet.
I look forward to letting Him write the story and to discovering the end He has in store, for Ruth and for me. Good things await. God things await.
Mother in Laws & Religion
Chapter 1 of the Ruth Saga continues... Today, we read about Naomi asking Ruth & Orpah, her two widowed daughter in laws, to return and go back to Moab. Indulge me in a picture of how this scene may have transpired, in a completely fictionalized scenario. We don’t know much about what actually happened from scripture, but just imagine what it might look like today. Imagine…
Imagine getting married to someone of a different faith, knowing the parents likely will not approve. (The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites… A Moabite probably was not the spouse Naomi wished for either of her sons.) Imagine getting married anyway and just learning to deal with the topic of religion when it comes up with his family. Maybe it’s just easier to pretend to believe the same things, to worship the same God, to silence the talk of all those “differences.” Or maybe you and your spouse compromise – choose to worship together, one week with his God, the other week with your gods. Maybe you enjoy learning more about his religion, his beliefs, his people, their culture, their faith. Maybe it’s intriguing, even if it is different from the ways you were taught, the gods that you serve, the beliefs of your people. Or maybe you just want your mother-in-law to stop holding your faith against you. Maybe you just want to get along and not replay the same faith argument over and over.
Imagine, now, that it’s several years after you got married. Your father-in-law dies, and then you husband dies. You still have a relationship with your mother-in-law, but now it’s not the same. You are both grieving. You both are facing lonely and impoverished lives as heir-less widows. But now, you don’t have to get along. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like her faith or her people, her culture. Your husband isn’t there to urge the two of you to play nice and get along. He isn’t there to mitigate the faith conversation and now you don’t have to care or explain or bother with the differences. Now you are free to worship as you please. And, your mother-in-law is preparing to return to her country. You start to go along, because you think you should. You don’t want to leave her and hear her complain again about how horrible her life is and how she has been abandoned by everyone, even God, and now even you. You just aren’t in the mood to hear her complain, so you take the path of least resistance which is to just join her. You might stay for awhile and then come up with an excuse later or a family “emergency” to turn back.
And then, wonder of all wonders, your mother-in-law gives you a way out. She brings up going back. She urges you to go back. It catches you off guard. You can’t believe she is being this nice, that she understands, that she gets it. She does see that all your hopes of getting remarried lie in your hometown, not in her land, with her people. Ah, this is the best gift she could give you, a guilt-free option to return home….
Now I realize this is a fictionalized account based on my imagination of this scene. But doesn’t it put this story in perspective a little bit? Could you imagine being in an inter-faith marriage, a marriage attached with a great deal of stigma, and then choosing to return with your mother-in-law?
It really defies reason. I completely understand Orpah turning back in the story (Ruth 1:14). But, Ruth stays. Three times, Naomi gives her a way out, and three times Ruth chooses to stay. Why? In verse 15 Naomi makes her final plea, “Look, your sister in law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her” (v15). Now, don’t you think this is typical mother-in-law behavior, bringing up the touchy subject of religion here? In our fictionalized account, this is your mother in law saying, I am on to you. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like my God. I know you were playing nice for your husband’s sake. I’m not going to try to win you over anymore to our beliefs. You are free to worship as you choose. Let’s not fight anymore and just go our separate ways.
So, here is the amazing part – Ruth wasn’t pretending. Somewhere along the way, her beliefs changed. Somewhere along the way, she turns her back on her culture and her people in lieu of something better. She boldly professes to Naomi – No, “Your people will be my people and your God, my God” (v16). Why? She worshipped many gods. She could have just added the God of Israel as one of her many gods. She could have went with Naomi without converting to her faith – after all, she had lived as a Moabite for years without converting to her husband’s faith.
Why? I am left wondering the why. I don’t have the clear answer from scripture, but speculating again, I suspect that something got her attention. Maybe she had heard of God’s blessing on the Israelites and His covenant with them. Maybe she had heard rumors of the Promised Land. In her statement to Naomi, though, she personalizes God, my God. So I think she had experienced Him personally in some way, through her relationship with her husband or Naomi. I suspect their love for her echoed God’s love. I imagine she saw something in them, even through the family tragedies that spoke of a peace or comfort that her gods couldn’t provide. Maybe they left her craving to know more and willing to continue on the journey with her mother-in-law, willing to choose to follow this other God and experience Him for herself.
As I ponder this story, I am left with some haunting questions, and I pose them to you as well – Do we echo God’s love for others? Is there something about our lives that leaves others craving to know God more? Are there times we go through the motions with faith, pretending to go along with the beliefs of others or unsure of what we believe? Or do we personalize our relationship with Him and choose Him over all the other false gods and distractions around?
Thank you for reading and for sharing this part of Ruth’s journey with me. Stay tuned for more, the saga is just beginning.
Imagine getting married to someone of a different faith, knowing the parents likely will not approve. (The Moabites were enemies of the Israelites… A Moabite probably was not the spouse Naomi wished for either of her sons.) Imagine getting married anyway and just learning to deal with the topic of religion when it comes up with his family. Maybe it’s just easier to pretend to believe the same things, to worship the same God, to silence the talk of all those “differences.” Or maybe you and your spouse compromise – choose to worship together, one week with his God, the other week with your gods. Maybe you enjoy learning more about his religion, his beliefs, his people, their culture, their faith. Maybe it’s intriguing, even if it is different from the ways you were taught, the gods that you serve, the beliefs of your people. Or maybe you just want your mother-in-law to stop holding your faith against you. Maybe you just want to get along and not replay the same faith argument over and over.
Imagine, now, that it’s several years after you got married. Your father-in-law dies, and then you husband dies. You still have a relationship with your mother-in-law, but now it’s not the same. You are both grieving. You both are facing lonely and impoverished lives as heir-less widows. But now, you don’t have to get along. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like her faith or her people, her culture. Your husband isn’t there to urge the two of you to play nice and get along. He isn’t there to mitigate the faith conversation and now you don’t have to care or explain or bother with the differences. Now you are free to worship as you please. And, your mother-in-law is preparing to return to her country. You start to go along, because you think you should. You don’t want to leave her and hear her complain again about how horrible her life is and how she has been abandoned by everyone, even God, and now even you. You just aren’t in the mood to hear her complain, so you take the path of least resistance which is to just join her. You might stay for awhile and then come up with an excuse later or a family “emergency” to turn back.
And then, wonder of all wonders, your mother-in-law gives you a way out. She brings up going back. She urges you to go back. It catches you off guard. You can’t believe she is being this nice, that she understands, that she gets it. She does see that all your hopes of getting remarried lie in your hometown, not in her land, with her people. Ah, this is the best gift she could give you, a guilt-free option to return home….
Now I realize this is a fictionalized account based on my imagination of this scene. But doesn’t it put this story in perspective a little bit? Could you imagine being in an inter-faith marriage, a marriage attached with a great deal of stigma, and then choosing to return with your mother-in-law?
It really defies reason. I completely understand Orpah turning back in the story (Ruth 1:14). But, Ruth stays. Three times, Naomi gives her a way out, and three times Ruth chooses to stay. Why? In verse 15 Naomi makes her final plea, “Look, your sister in law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her” (v15). Now, don’t you think this is typical mother-in-law behavior, bringing up the touchy subject of religion here? In our fictionalized account, this is your mother in law saying, I am on to you. You don’t have to pretend anymore to like my God. I know you were playing nice for your husband’s sake. I’m not going to try to win you over anymore to our beliefs. You are free to worship as you choose. Let’s not fight anymore and just go our separate ways.
So, here is the amazing part – Ruth wasn’t pretending. Somewhere along the way, her beliefs changed. Somewhere along the way, she turns her back on her culture and her people in lieu of something better. She boldly professes to Naomi – No, “Your people will be my people and your God, my God” (v16). Why? She worshipped many gods. She could have just added the God of Israel as one of her many gods. She could have went with Naomi without converting to her faith – after all, she had lived as a Moabite for years without converting to her husband’s faith.
Why? I am left wondering the why. I don’t have the clear answer from scripture, but speculating again, I suspect that something got her attention. Maybe she had heard of God’s blessing on the Israelites and His covenant with them. Maybe she had heard rumors of the Promised Land. In her statement to Naomi, though, she personalizes God, my God. So I think she had experienced Him personally in some way, through her relationship with her husband or Naomi. I suspect their love for her echoed God’s love. I imagine she saw something in them, even through the family tragedies that spoke of a peace or comfort that her gods couldn’t provide. Maybe they left her craving to know more and willing to continue on the journey with her mother-in-law, willing to choose to follow this other God and experience Him for herself.
As I ponder this story, I am left with some haunting questions, and I pose them to you as well – Do we echo God’s love for others? Is there something about our lives that leaves others craving to know God more? Are there times we go through the motions with faith, pretending to go along with the beliefs of others or unsure of what we believe? Or do we personalize our relationship with Him and choose Him over all the other false gods and distractions around?
Thank you for reading and for sharing this part of Ruth’s journey with me. Stay tuned for more, the saga is just beginning.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Facing the Famine
I started a new Bible study this week on Ruth. There was something appealing about taking a new look at the woman who left family, friends, and home behind to follow God, not really knowing what was ahead. Maybe it just sounded familiar to me, and I maybe I just craved the ending of the story where it turns out she is exactly where she is supposed to be. Maybe, just maybe I needed that reassurance myself, to be reminded that God provides and restores and that He has a good ending in store.
The story of week one & chapter one, though, starts not with Ruth but with Naomi and starts not with hope or redemption but with famine, with the land of God’s promise and provision being replaced with a dry & thirsty land. Of course, the Promised Land had never stopped being the land of promise. God was always there and always calling His people back to Himself. But they had turned their backs on Him. Seeing only the famine and not seeing God’s promises, Naomi and her husband and their two sons pack up and move. They leave town, leave the Promised Land in search of food.
God is Jehovah-Jirah, the God who provides, but He allows the famines to come. The physical famine in Egypt that brought Joseph’s brothers there (Genesis 41 & 42), the wilderness where the Israelites lived only off quail & manna (Exodus 16), the barrenness of Hannah who desperately wanted a child (1 Samuel 1), the tremendous loss in Job’s life (Job 1 & 2), the widow’s last bit of flour and oil (1 Kings 17) – scripture is full of famines, physical, emotional, and spiritual. The famines come, times when we feel that God is distant and far away, times when we question if He has forgotten us or forsaken us, times when we don’t know what is next, when it looks and feels like the barrel is running dry.
It’s a scary place to be. I would like to be like Job who responded so gracefully, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead, my tendency is like Naomi and her husband’s response – let me go looking for some food, let me go searching for where God is and let me go make things happen. I like to make things happen. I am not one to whine about my circumstances. I like to fix things, to fix people, to step in and change things. It goes against my nature during a famine to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).
For Naomi, things just got worse. Now, she is in a distant land, her husband dies, and then later her two sons die – a famine of an entirely different kind. Now, she is alone and bitter.
I’ve been in a famine. I need to admit that, really even before I moved to Texas. It sounds crazy to say that because my life has been incredibly blessed. It’s been rough, though, barren in some ways. In some ways, Texas was relief from some of that famine – relief from financial struggles and work issues. But in some ways, it led to a different kind of famine – isolation from family and friends, a lack of purpose and ministry. I left behind so much that was good in my life, people that I care about, a church and a community that felt like home. And sometimes, every once in awhile, I feel a little like Naomi – alone in a distant land and bordering on bitterness. It’s not a good place to be.
But… and I love BUTs here. But, Naomi remembers God, remembers His promises and His provision. God didn’t change. He hadn’t gone anywhere, but Naomi had gotten sidetracked by life, by the famine, by her circumstances. Then, though, she hears about God’s provision in Judah. She hears from folks at home that the famine is over, that God is providing, that there is food to eat. And immediately, she wants to be there. She wants to be back in the Promised Land and she immediately makes preparations for the journey. She remembers. She remembers (I’m imagining here) what it was like to experience God’s blessings and to live in the land flowing with milk and honey. She remembers what it felt like to be home, and she started craving it.
I fully believe one reason that God allows famines in our lives is to lead us to the place where we crave Him, where we crave His presence and His provision in our lives. Sometimes we can fill our lives with so much junk and so many distractions, and He wants us to fill our lives with Him, with His spirit, with His love. That’s what I am craving. I want more of Him and less of me. I want to be in the land of His promise and provision. I want to sense His presence and to know that I am where He has called me to be. He is the Living Water (John 4), and the One who provides a well in the desert (Genesis 21), a well that will never run dry.
The famines come, but I am so glad they are not the end of the story. In fact, the famine is only the beginning. And although Naomi returns home bitter and barren, God isn’t done with her. She is where God wants her to be and He is about to do an amazing work in her life.
Hmmm… I knew I would enjoy the story of Ruth and this Bible study. It’s definitely a message I needed to hear and needed to share. Stay tuned for more, or read ahead yourself, Ruth 1-4.
The story of week one & chapter one, though, starts not with Ruth but with Naomi and starts not with hope or redemption but with famine, with the land of God’s promise and provision being replaced with a dry & thirsty land. Of course, the Promised Land had never stopped being the land of promise. God was always there and always calling His people back to Himself. But they had turned their backs on Him. Seeing only the famine and not seeing God’s promises, Naomi and her husband and their two sons pack up and move. They leave town, leave the Promised Land in search of food.
God is Jehovah-Jirah, the God who provides, but He allows the famines to come. The physical famine in Egypt that brought Joseph’s brothers there (Genesis 41 & 42), the wilderness where the Israelites lived only off quail & manna (Exodus 16), the barrenness of Hannah who desperately wanted a child (1 Samuel 1), the tremendous loss in Job’s life (Job 1 & 2), the widow’s last bit of flour and oil (1 Kings 17) – scripture is full of famines, physical, emotional, and spiritual. The famines come, times when we feel that God is distant and far away, times when we question if He has forgotten us or forsaken us, times when we don’t know what is next, when it looks and feels like the barrel is running dry.
It’s a scary place to be. I would like to be like Job who responded so gracefully, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Instead, my tendency is like Naomi and her husband’s response – let me go looking for some food, let me go searching for where God is and let me go make things happen. I like to make things happen. I am not one to whine about my circumstances. I like to fix things, to fix people, to step in and change things. It goes against my nature during a famine to “Be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).
For Naomi, things just got worse. Now, she is in a distant land, her husband dies, and then later her two sons die – a famine of an entirely different kind. Now, she is alone and bitter.
I’ve been in a famine. I need to admit that, really even before I moved to Texas. It sounds crazy to say that because my life has been incredibly blessed. It’s been rough, though, barren in some ways. In some ways, Texas was relief from some of that famine – relief from financial struggles and work issues. But in some ways, it led to a different kind of famine – isolation from family and friends, a lack of purpose and ministry. I left behind so much that was good in my life, people that I care about, a church and a community that felt like home. And sometimes, every once in awhile, I feel a little like Naomi – alone in a distant land and bordering on bitterness. It’s not a good place to be.
But… and I love BUTs here. But, Naomi remembers God, remembers His promises and His provision. God didn’t change. He hadn’t gone anywhere, but Naomi had gotten sidetracked by life, by the famine, by her circumstances. Then, though, she hears about God’s provision in Judah. She hears from folks at home that the famine is over, that God is providing, that there is food to eat. And immediately, she wants to be there. She wants to be back in the Promised Land and she immediately makes preparations for the journey. She remembers. She remembers (I’m imagining here) what it was like to experience God’s blessings and to live in the land flowing with milk and honey. She remembers what it felt like to be home, and she started craving it.
I fully believe one reason that God allows famines in our lives is to lead us to the place where we crave Him, where we crave His presence and His provision in our lives. Sometimes we can fill our lives with so much junk and so many distractions, and He wants us to fill our lives with Him, with His spirit, with His love. That’s what I am craving. I want more of Him and less of me. I want to be in the land of His promise and provision. I want to sense His presence and to know that I am where He has called me to be. He is the Living Water (John 4), and the One who provides a well in the desert (Genesis 21), a well that will never run dry.
The famines come, but I am so glad they are not the end of the story. In fact, the famine is only the beginning. And although Naomi returns home bitter and barren, God isn’t done with her. She is where God wants her to be and He is about to do an amazing work in her life.
Hmmm… I knew I would enjoy the story of Ruth and this Bible study. It’s definitely a message I needed to hear and needed to share. Stay tuned for more, or read ahead yourself, Ruth 1-4.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)