^{Ruth Chapter1}

¹⁶ 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.

 ¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
      And there will I be buried.
      The LORD do so to me, and more also,
      If anything but death parts you and me.”

The story of Ruth is a section in the Bible that just isn’t talked about enough.  Imagine if this story was told from a secular viewpoint in a Hollywood film.  It could be a box office hit.  Well the way I see it we have here in scripture an awesome story that does not need Hollywood’s imagery.  Instead we just need to present the Gospel message.

To get a feel for this story we must go back in time to when Israel lived under the period of Judges.  God gave Israel Judges to Judge the land and rebuke wickedness as well as promote Godly living.  However there was more backsliding then revival during this time.  This was after the days of Moses and Joshua but before the days of kings like Saul, David and Solomon. For a historical timeline of your Bible please check out this link. http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i4/TimelineOfTheBible.pdf

The story begins with a family led by the father Elimelech who is married to a woman named Naomi.  This family leaves their land which is Bethlehem.  That’s right the “City of David”.  They leave because there is a famine.  This famine is not recorded in the book of Judges so it makes it a tough for the story to have an exact date. They go into the land of Moab.  Now here is an important part of the story.  Moab is a land that the Jews frowned upon.  The people of Moab are the descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter.  Needless to say they are from the wrong side of the tracks and God did not permit Jews to marry non-Jews.   Remembers Jews are not a race.  They are a people of a belief system which originated by the Spirit of God given to men for instruction.  This same mandate is in effect today and this is why Paul says that we are not to be unevenly yoked in marriage.  The world says opposites attract the Bible says opposites attack.  However keep in mind that Ruth is a Moabite. 

This leads to this posts lesson point.  How come the OT and Paul’s teaching about marriage can focus so much on the abstinence of marriage outside of our faith and yet the story of Ruth is Biblical without contradiction.  The reason is because the story of Ruth illustrates saving Faith.  You see today people focus on the outside and not the inside.  The story Ruth has it all.  There is a lost sinner who is led to the Gospel by a believer and is finally redeemed by the Redeemer.  There is no contradiction or racial prejudice in the Bible.  Once again scripture reminds us the Bible does not stand for what we should not do, but instead what we should do.  The Bible is the translated will of God.  We need to quit resisting his will and begin to seeking it, and you can’t do that with a closed Bible!

Check in for more from the book of Ruth.

Jesus Saves

RR

                                                                                             

Passion for Souls

Luke 9:56 “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them”.

Here in Dr. Luke’s account of Samaria’s rejection of Christ he records a declaration of our Lord that sums up the purpose of the Church.  We have to keep in mind that Christians got their name for acting like Jesus.  If we then are going to be Christian than we need to resemble him.  To do this nothing represents the motive of our Lord more than desiring the salvation of men.

In this text Christ is denied reception among the Samaritans because Christ would not entertain their idol worship.  Instead Jesus had as the scriptures described “set his face to Jerusalem”.  This means that Jesus was focused.  He did not look around or in other words compromise.  This is important to note because we see clearly in scripture that men should have compassion for the lost but abstain from the sins of the lost.  Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem but his mind is on the cross.

What a picture!  Our mind needs to be set on the cross.  If the ministry of Christ is focused on the souls of men how much more should ours be?  After all he offered salvation and we have experienced salvation.  The disciples wanted Jesus to destroy those who rejected him, but Christ has compassion for the lost.  He does not see them as an enemy but instead those who have been blinded by the enemy.

We have a job to do.  We are to be the light in a dark world.  We do not need to request God’s judgment on others but instead lead others to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  May God use you for the glory of his kingdom!

Jesus Saves,

RR