Ruth and Boaz is one of the greatest Biblical examples of an astounding love story. If God chose to entitle the name of one of the books of His holy Scriptures with the name of a woman, then it must mean something. Any time I read the book of Ruth, my heart is humbled in subjection to such a great a faith. Ruth has many attributes a Christian woman should have, and she is the image of the gentle, meek woman faithful to God.
After becoming a widow, she chose to follow her mother-in-law instead of returning to her pagan land, worshiping other gods and following strange ways as her sister-in-law Orpah did.
Ruth 1:16-17 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:
I was raised an Orthodox, but since I got saved I know that I will forever be under the Lord's wing. In Orthodoxy, as in other religions, people earn their way to Heaven by works, although the Scriptures tell otherwise,
Titus 3:5-7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
We know we are sealed until the day of redemption and we will never lose the indwelling Holy Spirit,
Ephesians 4:30-32 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Yet, in the Old Testament the Lord dealt a bit differently with people: the Spirit of God was coming and departing from people. So Ruth preferred to follow God's ways by forsaking her own ways. We find out that she is in the lineage of Jesus Christ, so she is Christ's great great great great great great great grandmother.
From the beginning Ruth chose to follow the true God that Naomi (her mother-in-law) worshiped, in spite of being told to turn away to her previous land.
Ruth 1:15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
How many of us would have done as Ruth did? Ruth was a hard worker in order to fulfill her duties, and she was also obedient,
Ruth 3:3-5 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
Such a great blessing to read about Ruth and her benevolence to respect in obedience her mother-in-law. She found favour in Boaz' sight, so he took her to wife in spite of the land's rules to marry a woman with the same nationality.
Ruth is the image of the Gentile woman who turns to God, and Boaz the image of Christ by accepting a Moabitess to marry him. Their son was Obed, who had a son Jesse, who begat DAVID - the great king, from whom Jesus Christ's seed came from.
How many times people tell us to follow them - to have fun and live in the moment? That is the broad way. However, God tells us to be on the narrow way,
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
I, like Ruth, have made my choice some time ago. Have you made yours? God does not promise us it is going to be easy, but the reward is great. I have chosen to follow my King, Lord and Saviour, what about you?
Hebrews 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
With wisdom from above,
Denisa
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