Ruth 4:22: “Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.”

May 9th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

At first, this short Book of Ruth seems to be just the sweet story of the struggles of an insignificant farmer’s family in a tiny village, in a tiny country, after the deaths of the farmer and his two sons. No one in this book had any idea of the critical role they were playing in God’s plan to redeem the world by His Son. In hindsight it’s of course clear to us that this is the love story of the great-grandparents of Israel’s greatest monarch, King David, from whom the Messiah would come.

Like Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, none of us can see exactly what God is doing in the world around us today. We don’t know how an act of kindness, courage, or benevolence might affect the future. How a simple choice made for God this day might set in motion a whole chain of events that God uses to change the course of history. What might happen today if we choose to serve God and He takes that tiny offering and magnifies it a 1000 times, as only He can do?

This story could have ended with Ruth, when all seemed lost, returning to her own people. But instead of giving in to the pain of losing her husband and the struggle of adapting to a new culture, she made a choice. Out of her discouragement and despair, she chose to continue serving God by serving her mother-in-law. What good could that possibly bring? When we follow her genealogy, we see that it was through her line that the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us. It is amazing that God created the cosmos with sensate beings with free will, but it is even more astounding that He cares about us in our daily struggles and condescends to use us. Can God be trusted with our lives and the future that only He can see? Absolutely.

“Even though we can’t see everything ahead today, we trust You Lord to direct our path, in Jesus’ name.”