In Need of Rescue

Ruth 1:1-5 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a man from Bethlehem in Judah left the country because of a severe famine. He took his wife and two sons and went to live in the country of Moab. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. During their stay in Moab, Elimelech died and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her husband or sons.

Did you pick it up? Do you see what’s going on here? This is basically a funeral scene. And no, its not for the people who actually died, but for Ruth and Naomi. This little story is thousands of years of old, and back in those days, to be a woman without a father or a husband or a son who could take care of you was to be as good as dead. If you were a woman without a male protector, a guy who would look after you and provide for you, you were most likely you were a prostitute. Yes, this sounds kinda weird to us nowadays. We tend to think a woman can do just fine without a man around (perhaps even better than with one around). But back then? No way. Ruth and Naomi just became the lowest of the lowest in their society. The have no husbands, no children, and Ruth especially now has no family to look after her. This is the bleakest of scenes. Again, it’s is pretty much a funeral scene. Their lives are as good as gone.

So great, that’s a depressing little devotional for today? Thanks for that sad little funeral story. But hold on! Hang in there. This book is going to turn into a really beautiful story. And what will make so beautiful is how it moves from virtual death and despair into…well…actually, I better not give it away. But trust me, its worth it!

One of the neatest things about the Bible, at least for me, is that it introduces me to a God who searches out the lowest people in the world, who goes and looks for those who suffer and mourn, and then breathes beauty and joy and new life into their story. He’s a God who is so filled with compassion and grace that He’s all about turning tragedies into beautiful stories of redemption and glory. And so naturally, we’re gonna see little stories like Ruth here in His book (the Bible). We read stories like this all the time in the Bible that show us more about God and His awesome love for His people.

But to get how really awesome that love is, you have see it fully in action, from start to finish. And that’s what Ruth will be all about: a story that begins with hopelessness, fear, uncertainty, and despair but then on account of great love ends in…oops…almost did it again. Stay tuned…