TRUSTING GOD'S ACCEPTANCE (49 OF 52)
Scripture: Ruth 4:13-17
This content is part of a series.
Trusting God's Acceptance (49 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part Two
Christopher B. Harbin
Ruth 1:15-18, 22; 4:13-17
At times, we have to make decisions to trust when the future seems very uncertain or unclear. As we recognize there is no way for us to make demands of God, that may make us feel even more insecure. That is especially the case when life presents options calling us to decisions and actions we would rather leave unmade. Is it really possible to trust God in difficult circumstances? Is it worth the risk of following God into the unknown? Can we be confident that we matter enough to God to extend that trust?
We tend to look at most of the Old Testament as history, but the Jews have called most of those books ''The Prophets.'' Ruth presents itself as a story to remind us of a chapter in Israelite history, but it does so with a much larger purpose than simply narrating facts from a chapter of Israel's past. Instead of history, we find a prophetic commentary on the writer's past, as well as on issues current in Israelite life during the writer's time. This is more than just a story. It is more than simply history. It lays out a challenge for us to review our own lives and attitudes in light of an incident with great import to the life of a nation and our relationships with God.
At first blush, Ruth is the story of an immigrant widow and daughter-in-law. That should take us a step back. Why would the Hebrew Scriptures dedicate a book to an outsider, an immigrant entering the life of the nation through marriage and widowhood? The story quickly gets more complicated, as we find that Ruth had married an Israelite fleeing Israel to become an immigrant in Moab. Only afterward did she become a widow and then an immigrant, herself. The complications expand as Ruth was from Moab, a country neighboring Israel, between which there was a history of bad blood.
Moab was the nation who had hired Balaam to curse Israel, though Yahweh had thwarted that plan t ...
Series: Discipleship Part Two
Christopher B. Harbin
Ruth 1:15-18, 22; 4:13-17
At times, we have to make decisions to trust when the future seems very uncertain or unclear. As we recognize there is no way for us to make demands of God, that may make us feel even more insecure. That is especially the case when life presents options calling us to decisions and actions we would rather leave unmade. Is it really possible to trust God in difficult circumstances? Is it worth the risk of following God into the unknown? Can we be confident that we matter enough to God to extend that trust?
We tend to look at most of the Old Testament as history, but the Jews have called most of those books ''The Prophets.'' Ruth presents itself as a story to remind us of a chapter in Israelite history, but it does so with a much larger purpose than simply narrating facts from a chapter of Israel's past. Instead of history, we find a prophetic commentary on the writer's past, as well as on issues current in Israelite life during the writer's time. This is more than just a story. It is more than simply history. It lays out a challenge for us to review our own lives and attitudes in light of an incident with great import to the life of a nation and our relationships with God.
At first blush, Ruth is the story of an immigrant widow and daughter-in-law. That should take us a step back. Why would the Hebrew Scriptures dedicate a book to an outsider, an immigrant entering the life of the nation through marriage and widowhood? The story quickly gets more complicated, as we find that Ruth had married an Israelite fleeing Israel to become an immigrant in Moab. Only afterward did she become a widow and then an immigrant, herself. The complications expand as Ruth was from Moab, a country neighboring Israel, between which there was a history of bad blood.
Moab was the nation who had hired Balaam to curse Israel, though Yahweh had thwarted that plan t ...
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