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Abide in Bethlehem

/ Ginger Davenport / Leave a comment

Ruth Chapter 2:

You’ve received the diagnosis, put to rest your loved one, come to grips with reality. The suffering you’re enduring is not going away. Day by day passes and you pray for comfort or a resolution of your anguish. Relief seems far away as you wait for God to move.

So, what do you do in the waiting? I can imagine Ruth and Naomi in their suffering. They have placed their faith in God and returned to Bethlehem, all the while wondering how God will move. How would He heal their brokenness? How would they manage as they waited for God?

First, Naomi and Ruth did not become paralyzed with fear, but moved in faith. According to the Levitical law if a woman was widowed and had not had children, the nearest male relative was to marry her to maintain the family name (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Naomi knew of a kinsman of the clan of her husband Elimelech who could fulfill this law by marrying Ruth, one who could be a kinsman redeemer. Ruth, understanding this, told Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” (Chapter 2:2). Ruth stepped out in faith, believing that God would provide, and He did. “So, she set out to come to the part of the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.” (Chapter 2:3). God’s providence led her to the field of a kinsman redeemer.

Second, Ruth did not give up on God, but held on with perseverance. She gleaned in the field of Boaz from early morning until Boaz took notice (Chapter 2:7). The scripture does not say exactly how long she gleaned, but the response of the reapers seems to indicate that she had worked for quite a while with only a short rest (Chapter 2:7).  The truth is that sometimes the wait is long. Romans 5:3 says, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Ruth did not give up on God.

So, what does the story of Ruth teach us about God? As the story unfolds, the providence of God, his provision and his love are evident. His character is revealed in the details.

First, in our physical and spiritual brokenness, the Lord sees us in our suffering, and he does not turn away. It was no accident that God led Ruth to the field of Boaz and that Boaz noticed her (Chapter 2:5). Boaz saw Ruth, even in her shame and suffering, and God sees us.

Second, in our physical and spiritual brokenness, the Lord shelters us under his wing. Boaz tells Ruth, “The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Chapter 2:12)

Third, in our physical and spiritual brokenness, the Lord serves us at his table. Chapter 2:14 says, “And at mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” As illustrated in the 23rd Psalm, we are welcome and invited guests at the Lord’s table. He fills our cups until they are overflowing.

The truth is the Lord looks down on us when we are spiritually fractured with compassion and grace. When we place our hand in His, accept his grace and step out in obedience we can find comfort in knowing that we are not alone in our suffering. His providence will sustain us as he showers us with kindness, mercy, goodness, and self-less loyalty.  The greatest lesson we learn from Ruth is that God, our kinsman redeemer, has sent himself in the form of His Son to save us from our sin.

Are you struggling to see God in the waiting? Abide in Bethlehem. Jesus is in the details. He sees you, shelters you and provides for you.  Are you physically hurting? Abide in Bethlehem. Jesus will weep with you. Are you struggling with shame and sin? Abide in Bethlehem. Jesus sees you and wants to redeem you.

Look to Bethlehem

/ Ginger Davenport / Leave a comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ruth Chapter 1

The loss of a job, an unforeseen diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, threats and rumors of war, division and hatred, a pandemic. There are times when chaos, loss and pain seem out of control. Our lives spin as we attempt to hang on through the daily grind, while all the while we crumble on the inside.

Have you ever had those moments? When external circumstances drive you to your knees in tears? In my short adult life I have had those crying in the shower, questioning God moments.  Haven’t we all? The truth is all around us there is brokenness, both big and small. Some face hairline cracks, smaller more insignificant moments of vulnerability, while others face large schisms that threaten to break them right in half.

Ruth and Naomi were familiar with brokenness. Naomi, a Jew, had lived in the land of Moab with her husband, Elimelech. Then one day tragedy struck. Elimelech died. Naomi was left a widow with two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, who had both married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. I can only imagine the pain Naomi must have felt at the loss of her husband. But this was not the only tragedy for Naomi. After living for 10 years in the country of Moab with her sons and daughters-in-law, Mahlon and Chilion also died.

Three widows now found themselves all alone and without a male provider. In their culture this was the height of tragedy. They were homeless and without protection or someone to provide for their basic needs.  They found themselves physically alone, spiritually devastated in a land of sinners, and without hope of salvation.

I can imagine each one of them falling to their knees. Shattered. Shaking. Dizzy. Would they allow their faith to be shaken? No.

You see, Naomi knew something that she had obviously passed on to her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Naomi chose to cling to faith and hope. She would return to Bethlehem, the land of bread and promise, with expectation in a God bigger than her spiritual and physical challenges. Even in believing that “the Lord had dealt bitterly with her,” (Ruth 1:20) she believed in the hope of finding a kinsmen redeemer. Ruth also held onto this hope. Despite having been told by her mother-in-law to stay in Moab, Ruth vowed to follow Naomi to Bethlehem.

Ruth said, “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16 ESV)

Together Ruth and Naomi would look to Bethlehem for hope.

And so, in our physical brokenness we are reminded of our spiritual brokenness. We are all but sinners in a desolate land, lost and in need of a redeemer.  Like Naomi and Ruth, we can grasp for hope and look to Bethlehem. No matter the outcome of our physical circumstances we can place our faith in Jesus, a baby, who would grow up to become a king, a friend, and ultimately Savior.

Are you feeling physically broken? Look to Bethlehem. Jesus is Healer (Matthew 9:35). Are you mentally worn? Look to Bethlehem. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Are you spiritually broken? Look to Bethlehem. Jesus is Redeemer.

Isaiah 9:6: “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”