Tell your story—and tell it well

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth1-4; Psalm 77

TO CHEW ON: "There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz." Ruth 2:1

Don't you just love reading a story as skilfully told as this one? The tale that starts out with two unfortunate widows expands as wealthy Boaz comes on the scene. There is just enough detail and zoom in on specific incidents to make the characters come alive.

We see conscientious Ruth doing all she can to provide for her aging mother-in-law. Her stellar reputation has reached the ears of landowner Boaz who arrives in a flourish of hoofbeats and dust (my imagination here). We watch his gentleness with her and her trusting response. We notice Naomi perk up when Ruth tells her of the day. We look forward to what will happen next as the at-a-safe-distance Boaz-Ruth relationship continues through the harvest season.

The question, Who wrote this? occurred to me. My Bible's introduction to Ruth suggests Samuel:

"It is also reasonable to suppose that Samuel, who witnessed the decline of Saul's rule and was directed by God to anoint David as God's heir-apparent to the throne, could have penned this himself. The lovely story would already have attracted oral retelling among the people of Israel, and the concluding genealogy would have secured a link with the patriarchs—thus giving a steady answer to all in Israel who would desire their king's family background" - Jack Hayford, Introduction to Ruth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 349.

Ruth's story brings to mind the power and usefulness of our stories. I love hearing accounts of how God works in lives—stories that reassure us of God's faithfulness and thus build our own faith. Hayford's defense of Samuel as author (above) suggests other things about stories. They are sometimes first told orally before being written down. They serve as a link to the past. They also provide valuable information about the background of a prominent person.

We can tell our stories in many ways:

• Orally to friends and family, and especially to the next generation.
• More formally as part of a talk, presentation, or sermon.
• In a written devotional.
• In a memoir.
• Through poetry. 
• Via the actions and words of a fictional character in a novel.
• In a play.

Do you tell your story? Do you know how to tell it well? Are you conscious of things like how and when to introduce characters and events with a view to timing, tension and keeping the listener or reader on the interest hook?

Your story is worth telling—and worth telling well!


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the beautiful narrative of Ruth and the stories You are telling through each of our lives. Help me to tell my story with skill and Holy Spirit anointing. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 77

The Bible Project VIDEO: Ruth (Read Scripture series)






MORE: More on story-telling

Another word Bible writers use for story is testimony Here are a few verses that encourage us to tell our stories / testimonies:

• Psalm 60:4
• Psalm 107:2
• Isaiah 12:4
• Acts 1:8
• 2 Timothy 1:81 Peter 3:15
• Revelation 12:11

Get some story-telling hints from Jeff Goins:

• "How to Tell Your Story Without Boring Your Audience to Tears"

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Not our responsibility

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 1:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "… for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me!" Ruth 1:13

Naomi had her situation figured out. She would return to Israel because the famine that caused her family to move to Moab was over. But it was a bitter return. For death had taken all the men in her life and with them all her hopes for grandchildren. The last thing she wanted at this point was to be responsible for the continued childlessness of her daughters-in-law. Our focus verse is almost like an apology to them that they have been implicated in what she feels is God's judgment of her.

However, here, in the middle of her trial, Naomi's sight is still partial. Wasn't she taking on herself a burden of blame that had no place on her shoulders?

But we do that too. Our health gives way, or there's a downturn in the economy, or we suffer a disaster and feel like the course of our life is set. On top of that we feel responsible for and guilty about the people we're dragging along with us into these situations.

Orpah accepted Naomi's logic and turned back. But Ruth didn't. We'll never know exactly why but I like to think she saw something attractive in even depressed Naomi's faith. In the ten-or-so years she had known the family, somehow their God had captured her heart to the extent she could say, "Your God (shall be) my God" - Ruth 1:16.

(Look! here we have it again... that personal decision to make the distant deity of an acquaintance My God)

I love how this story ends, with Ruth a big part of the solution. Here's what the women of the town, rejoicing at the time of Obed's birth (Ruth's son, Naomi's grandson) say to Naomi: "And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him" - Ruth 4:14.

What can we apply to our lives form this story? Two possibilities:

1. It's too soon to judge a situation's conclusion and meaning when we're in the middle of it.

2. God is responsible for those implicated in our problems—not us. If Naomi had insisted that Ruth return home with Orpah she would have missed out on the great climax of her life. Instead, she took Ruth back with her and made it possible for God to give her a surprise ending and show His faithfulness to Ruth as well as to her.


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to release my circumstances and my loved ones to Your care, not take undue responsibility for them. May my words and actions help them believe that You can turn things around and care for them too. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

The scandalous women in Jesus' genealogy

"Judah and Tamar" (1840)
Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 1:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ." Matthew 1:16


There are only five women mentioned in the Matthew genealogy of Jesus. All of them had at least a little scandal in their lives.

The widow Tamar, overlooked by her father-in-law Judah as a wife for his youngest son (the way widows were dealt with justly in those days), dressed up like a prostitute and seduced Judah. When she was discovered pregnant and he called for her to be burned (talk about a double standard!) she produced proof that he was the father. The son Perez that came of their union is in Jesus' lineage (Genesis 38:6-30).

Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho. She hid the spies, telling them how the city was paralyzed by fear of them and their God. Later the soldiers rescued her and her family — the only ones to escape the falling walls of Jericho (Joshua 2). She married Salmon and mothered Boaz.

Ruth was a Gentile from Moab. This loyal young widow chose her Jewish mother-in-law's country and God over her own. She, in turn, was chosen by Boaz to be his wife. They had Obed, the grandfather of David. (Read her story in the book of Ruth).

The next woman isn't even named in this passage. "Her (who had been the wife) of Uriah"—Bathsheba—was the beautiful woman idle king David found irresistible. When he got her pregnant he tried to cover his adultery by having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. She was the mother of Solomon (2 Samuel 11).

And then we have Mary, the young women to whom the angel said, "You have found favour with God." Despite that favour, she had to face the disgrace of being pregnant and unmarried—leading to a reputation she was probably burdened with for years.

I love these women—Tamar for her determination to get justice; Rahab for her fear of God and courage to go against her own city; Ruth for her loyalty and care for a somewhat depressed mother-in-law; Bathsheba for her mother bear qualities when later fighting for Solomon's right to succeed David as king; Mary for her attitude of complete surrender, and for her thoughtfulness. The fact that God chose and used each one (and the multitude more that aren't named) despite flaws and shortcomings tells me there's hope for me, for you, for all of us.

This motley sampling of the women of God also makes me look at the women in my life — family members, friends, the women whose books and blogs I read — with a new appreciation. No matter what our pedigrees, histories, education, weaknesses and strengths, God has a place and purpose for each one of us too, in this, our time.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for these less-than-perfect women named in Jesus' genealogy. Help me to find and fulfill my destiny as they did. Amen.

MORE: Feast of Saint Joseph

Today the church celebrates Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus in the Feast of Saint Joseph.

The liturgy for the day begins with the following Collect:

"O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Part of a bigger story

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 4:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David." Ruth 4:17.

The story of Boaz and Ruth ends happily. The other relative and first-in-line with a right to redeem Naomi's land (and inherit Ruth as his wife) declines. And so Boaz gets the land and the wife, and soon there is a baby on the way.

Naomi becomes a grandma whose happy lot is lauded by the "chorus"—the women of Bethlehem. They sing the praises of Ruth while Naomi cuddles little Obed (Ruth 4:14-17).

And then the author does something interesting—recites a genealogy. By doing this, I believe he is telling us this story of Naomi and Ruth, Boaz and Obed fits into a much larger one.

Some of the characters of this larger story:

Perez
Perez was the son of Judah (son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Israel's patriarch Abraham) and Tamar. Tamar was that woman first married to Judah's firstborn son, who, when he died, Judah gave her to his second son. When he died too, Judah promised her to the third son. Tamar, not trusting Judah to keep his word, dressed as a prostitute and got pregnant by Judah himself. Yikes! (Read the story in Genesis 38. Perez appears in Genesis 38:29).

Nahshon
Nahshon was the head of the tribe of Judah during their time of wandering in the wilderness under Moses - Numbers 1:7; 2:3.

David
He was the second king of Israel and the prophets predicted Messiah would come from His house and line - Jeremiah 23:5; Isaiah 9:7; 11:1; Acts 13:34.

Flipping over to the New Testament book of Matthew, we see a continuation of the genealogy begun in Ruth and how it eventually leads to—Jesus! (Matthew 1:1-16).

All our stories are also part of a larger story. Just like Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz had no idea they were living out an episode in the narrative of God's big story of redemption, neither do we know the plot line or significance of the story of our lives.

God does, though:

"And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them" - Psalm 139:16

and

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" - Ephesians 2:10 (emphases added).

I'm looking forward to heaven—when I'll be able to read and understand the whole book, including my little chapter of it! You too?

PRAYER: Dear Father, how exciting to zoom in on these little episodes of Your story and see You working in the details of the lives of ordinary people. May I be a sympathetic character in Your story on earth. Amen. 

MORE: I came across a short video about the book of Ruth by Dr. Daniel I Block (professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College). He has recently written the commentary on Ruth in the  Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament series. This under 5-minute video puts a perfect cherry on top of our short study! Watch it. It's so worthwhile!





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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Two love stories

Boaz and Ruth - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And she said to her, 'All that you say to me I will do.'" Ruth 3:5

The plot grows more intriguing as Naomi sets Ruth up to push for what the older woman has probably had in mind since she heard Boaz was in the picture—a marriage between Boaz and Ruth.

Some lovely bits that jump out at me from today's chapter:

• Ruth's absolute trust of Naomi.

This trust comes out in her reply to Naomi's plan for the night visit to Boaz at the threshing floor: "All that you say to me, I will do." Doesn't that remind you of the reply of young Mary who was to be part of another risky chain of events (Luke 1:38)?

• Ruth's words to Boaz: "'Take your maidservant under your wing…'"

We read similar words yesterday coming from Boaz: "'The Lord repay your work and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge" - Ruth 2:12. I wonder if, when Boaz said them, he had any idea that he would soon be the very embodiment of those wings for Ruth?.

• Boaz was a "close relative."

That sounds innocent enough to us, but in the Hebrew the meaning of "close relative" is way more load involving duties and responsibilities.

[Close relative - gaal  means to redeem, to act as kinsmen redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman. To redeem from slavery. To redeem by payment.]

The story of Boaz and Ruth is a beautiful human love story. But it is also a type of the spiritual love story between God and us.

We people are Ruth.

 We come to Him in Ruth-like abandonment, as Paul did on the Damascus Road: "'Lord, what do you want me to do?'" - Acts 9:6.
 
Jesus is our Redeemer.

" Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” - Galatians 3:13.

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons" - Galatians 4:4,5.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" - Ephesians 1:7.

"…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" 1 Peter 1:18,19.

He longs to take His lost ones under His wings.

"'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!'" - Matthew 23:37.


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for paying with Your life to redeem me by buying my freedom from sin and the demands of the law. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Coming full-circle

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 1:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. … Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem." Ruth 1:1,19

Today we begin reading the book of Ruth. The story starts with an Israeli man Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons Mahlon and Chilion. They leave their home town of Bethlehem for Moab because of a famine.

In Moab Elimelech dies, the boys marry Moabite girls, and then the sons die. Naomi is left husbandless, and maleless with only two foreign daughters-in-law to show for her years in Moab. It's not a good position.

She hears the famine is over and decides to return to Bethlehem. But I would guess the decision is not an easy one. She has pretty much nothing to show for the Moabite years.  She is returning "empty" - Ruth 1:21.

The family may have been prominent in Bethlehem for when Naomi returns, not completely empty but with one daughter-in-law, "all the city is excited because of them; and the women said, 'Is this Naomi?'"- Ruth 1:19.

Can't you just hear the subtext? "Have you noticed Naomi's wrinkled face, her grey hair? She looked so good when they left. What happened?"

I can imagine Naomi dreading exactly such a thing. But I believe God is in this. Before He can move her on she has to come full-circle, back to the place where it all started (even though it means temporary humiliation).

I am reminded of at least two other instances where Bible characters are brought full circle.

Moses' return to Mount Horeb  (or Mt. Sinai) proves God's presence is/was with him (Exodus 3:12; 19;  the names Horeb and Sinai are used interchangeably for the same mountain).

Peter's full-circle trip to the Sea of Galilee is a confirmation of his call to leave fishing and follow Jesus (Mark 1:17; John 21:19).

What is God saying to Naomi when He brings her back to Bethlehem? Perhaps that her real provision ("Bethlehem" means "house of bread") and protection (Boaz speaks to Ruth of God bringing her to Israel to live under His wings - Ruth 2:12) are in God's land with His people?


Have you noticed God taking you full-circle? He's done that with me. Whenever He does, let's pay attention. There may just be something we need to hear.



PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You that no journey with You is wasted—when even I'm brought back to old starting points. Help me to learn from Your full-circle leading. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A daughter-in-law who loved

"Ruth, Naomi & Obed" by T.M.Rooke

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 4:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "'And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him'" Ruth 4:15

It was no small praise that the women of Bethlehem heaped on Ruth a Moabite Gentile. What was it about her that made her "better...than seven sons"?

It was her love, which was more than just words. She demonstrated it:
- When she chose to go with Naomi instead of returning home to Moab with Orpah.
- When she offered to gather food for them.
- When she listened to Naomi's advice about how to glean in the customary way.
- When she followed Naomi's instructions and approached Boaz.
- When she married Boaz, a man who may have been old enough to be her father.

At the beginning of our story Ruth had nothing to give Naomi except her love. But when she gave what she had, she enriched countless lives—Naomi's, Boaz's, her own, and generations to come who will have an eternal home in heaven because of Ruth's descendant Jesus.

Maybe we can learn from Ruth in this. In situations where we feel helpless, where we can do nothing else, maybe we too can love and demonstrate that love in selfless, practical ways.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Ruth, this beautiful godly woman who distinguished herself by her love. Help me to be less self-centered, more willing to extend myself in practical acts of love. Amen.

MORE: Wesley speaks to Naomi (and us):

"See how God sometimes makes up the want of those relations from whom we expected most comfort, in those from whom we expected least! The bonds of love prove stronger than those of nature" - Wesley's Notes (scroll to entry under 4:15).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Whatever You say, I will do"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "And she said to her, 'All that you say to me, I will do.'" Ruth 3:5

I wonder if Ruth understood the full meaning of what Naomi was asking her to do. Whether she did or didn't, her simple, "All that you say to me, I will do," shows her faith in Naomi's wisdom and her complete willingness to comply with whatever she had in mind. She had cast her lot with Naomi and Naomi's God when she turned her back on Moab and she was  along for the ride, wherever that took her.

Her reply to Naomi reminds me of Mary's when the angel came to her with the troubling message that she would bear a son by the Holy Spirit: "Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Your word" - Luke 1:38.

In the responses of these two women we see the total surrender that Paul talks about in Romans 12:1 - "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1

I ask myself, am I that surrendered? When God reveals the next step—through a person, circumstance or His word, do I say, "I'm dead. A sacrifice on the altar. All that you say to me, I will do"?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the beautiful example of Ruth and Mary. Help me to view my life as a sacrifice, dead to myself, available to You for whatever You have in mind. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Welcoming wings

"Having checked all were present and correct,

 the mother swan gently tucked back her wings 

to stop them falling off before gliding back to her nest" 

From "All Aboard"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 2:1-23

TO CHEW ON: "'The Lord repay your work and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel under whose wings you have come for refuge.'" Ruth 2:12

Ruth was in Bethlehem, the home of her mother-in-law, where she was an outsider. However, that didn't stop her from taking the initiative in getting food on their table. Perhaps Naomi told her about the Israeli custom of gleaning, where the farmer purposely left some of his crop for the poor to pick up after his harvesters were done. For she seemed to know about it and offered to glean food for them.

Her first morning out she 'happened' to choose the field of Boaz to glean in. He noticed her, perhaps not surprisingly, for it seems her arrival with Naomi had been all the buzz around town.

 If Ruth had any fears about the reaction of this wealthy farmer, she needn't have. For his attentions were all good. How comforting his words must have sounded: "The Lord repay your work and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge."

In many places God expresses His tender-heartedness for the alien, foreigner, orphan and widow. Do we have a similarly welcoming attitude toward immigrants, outsiders, newcomers with strange customs, language, clothes, and food? The recent debate in Canada over whether Muslim women immigrants to Canada should be allowed to wear the face-covering niqab during citizenship swearing in has brought feelings and discussion about foreigners into the open. I know I need to constantly check my own heart on this, asking, am I as welcoming as Boaz was?

God's wings are big enough for us all. He invites us all to come to Him for comfort, rest, protection, safety, healing and renewal:

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings" - Psalm 36:7

(See also Psalm 91:1-6 and Malachi 4:2)


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your welcome to all people. Help me to reflect Your welcoming attitude toward others, especially newcomers, immigrants and foreigners. Amen.

MORE: We are all aliens

"The divide could not have been larger between sinful human beings and the infinitely holy Son of God. But Christ did not despise us. He came to us. He loved us. He died in our place to give us life. And he did all this when we were more alien to him than anyone has ever been alien to us. When we feel or think or act with disdain or disrespect or avoidance or exclusion or malice toward a person simply because he or she is of another race or another ethnic group, we are, in effect, saying that Jesus acted in a foolish way toward us. You don’t want to say that."   By John Piper- read all of "Probability, Prejudice and Christ"   ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org.  

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Ruth at the crossroads

Ruth and Naomi by Harold Copping

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ruth 1:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "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


Ruth was about to make the second-most important decision in her life. The first had been marrying Mahlon and being joined to his Jewish family. Now Naomi was urging her to return home to her Moabite family. Orpah had already decided to go back and all eyes were on Ruth.

Her reply suggests she may have been mulling over her options for a while and made up her mind before this moment. It reflects her character and more. It shows that her marriage to Mahlon had also had spiritual implications for her. She had left behind the gods of Moab to worship Yahweh.

Now she stuck with that decision. Her profession of loyalty was deep, eloquent and has proved durable, for it is often quoted, especially in wedding services, to this day.

Her decision not only proved her character and spiritual resolve, but it  had/has eternal repercussions. For Ruth was a great, great, great... grandmother of Jesus.

I ask, what do my under-pressure decisions say about my character? What do yours? Do we realize and take into consideration how today's choices will impact our future and the future of those we love?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this story of Ruth with its picture of character and faith in You. Help me to be a woman of character and faith like she was. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.