January 8 Daily Discovery
January 8 Daily Discovery
Read Ruth Chapter 1
O, Love that Will not let me Go!
The address of Ruth to Naomi reminds me of this Hymn written by George Matheson. This is the first verse:
O love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
Ruth dearly loved her mother-in-law and refused to let go of her!
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
~ Ruth 1:16-17
Three Dead Husbands
Naomi came into the land of Moab seeking solace from the famine that was in Judah. She came at the leadership of her husband, Elimelech. They had two sons together: Mahlon and Chilion and the four of them arrived in the land of Moab.
Perhaps they fared better with food in Moab, but for some reason, Elimelech died.
Both of the boys married Moabite girls and they lived in Moab ten years, and then both of the sons died as well.
Now, Naomi has no husband and her daughter-in-laws have no husbands.
Naomi's Lament
Naomi succumbed to the "woe is me" syndrome after having lost her husband and her two sons. This was surely a lapse of faith on her part.
It is understandable, but not excusable.
Read Ruth 1:19-21
We, too, may have such shortfalls of faith in our lives as well, which may as well be understandable, but still not excusable.
Let no man say when he is tempted that he is tempted of God.
12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
~ James 1:12-14
An enemy hath done this!
24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
~ Matthew 13:24-30
Don't blame God for Satan's work.
Job was the best man on earth at the time he was alive, but during the trial of his faith, he prayed, "The Lord gives and takes away". (Job 1:21) His blessing God was certainly noble, but the beginning of his failure started here.
It was God that gave to him, but it was the adversary that took away. God did not do it. Granted, he did not have the book of Job to read! Of course, God is Sovereign and God did ALLOW Satan to test Job, but He did not do it Himself.
Naomi's Care
Naomi was a good woman. I pointed out a failure on her part, but the balance of the book of Ruth does not show her as faithless.
She is not thinking of herself, but of the future of her daughters-in-law. She is convinced they will be better off without her. They won't feel compelled to take care of her if she moves back to Judah. She tells them goodbye and reasons with them to stay in Moab among their people.
Orpah cries and tells mom bye, but Ruth CLAVE to her mom by marriage.
The text makes it clear that unlike Orpah, Ruth had also become endeared to the God of Israel.
Ruth's Choice
Ruth decided to go with mom to her homeland and the land of the God of Israel. Ruth had evidently chosen to honor the living and true God, which would have been a big reason she begged Naomi to let her go with her.
Life was most likely to me more difficult for her in Judah that in her familiar Moab, but she made the right choice.
She had a love for God and a love for her mom that honored God.
She had a love that would not let Naomi go!
She made the better choice on both accounts and God is going to reward her for her faith.
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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