EAT UP MERCY! (15 OF 52)
Scripture: Ruth 2:7-16
This content is part of a series.
Eat Up Mercy! (15 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part Three
Christopher B. Harbin
Ruth 2:7-16
We tend to think of mercy as something people must earn, even while that goes contrary to the very definition of mercy. We tend to make sure that people are worthy of the mercy we offer. It is too hard for us to accept that we are charged to exhibit mercy according to the manner with which God has shown mercy to us? Is it too hard to establish mercy more like a banquet than a begrudged snack?
She was an outsider. She did not belong. The language was confusing. The place and people were new. The customs and ways of doing things were not like those of her homeland. She had left Moab after the deaths of her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband. She had followed Naomi, her mother-in-law who had no one left to care for her. It was a difficult journey, especially for two women traveling alone from Moab to Israel. They had come to Bethlehem, Naomi's home town. Now she had to figure out how they would find provision for their needs in this strange land.
A woman alone, even two women together, had little recourse for making a living. There were no jobs for women, much less for an immigrant perceived to cursed by the gods. Naomi's family had left Israel amid a famine, but life had turned south for them while seeking better opportunities. Most anyone would say Yahweh had punished them for leaving Israel. Having nothing positive to show for her time away did not increase Naomi's standing among her people.
Ruth had stuck by Naomi, adopting a people she did not know beyond her cross-cultural marriage which had ended in widowhood. She had opted to remain by her mother-in-law. Naomi had no one, especially back in Moab. Ruth determined she would care for her mother-in-law, even when society did not really allow for that. She was young enough to work in the fields. It was time to harvest barley. She begged Naomi to allow her to glean behind the harvesters. It was better ...
Series: Discipleship Part Three
Christopher B. Harbin
Ruth 2:7-16
We tend to think of mercy as something people must earn, even while that goes contrary to the very definition of mercy. We tend to make sure that people are worthy of the mercy we offer. It is too hard for us to accept that we are charged to exhibit mercy according to the manner with which God has shown mercy to us? Is it too hard to establish mercy more like a banquet than a begrudged snack?
She was an outsider. She did not belong. The language was confusing. The place and people were new. The customs and ways of doing things were not like those of her homeland. She had left Moab after the deaths of her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband. She had followed Naomi, her mother-in-law who had no one left to care for her. It was a difficult journey, especially for two women traveling alone from Moab to Israel. They had come to Bethlehem, Naomi's home town. Now she had to figure out how they would find provision for their needs in this strange land.
A woman alone, even two women together, had little recourse for making a living. There were no jobs for women, much less for an immigrant perceived to cursed by the gods. Naomi's family had left Israel amid a famine, but life had turned south for them while seeking better opportunities. Most anyone would say Yahweh had punished them for leaving Israel. Having nothing positive to show for her time away did not increase Naomi's standing among her people.
Ruth had stuck by Naomi, adopting a people she did not know beyond her cross-cultural marriage which had ended in widowhood. She had opted to remain by her mother-in-law. Naomi had no one, especially back in Moab. Ruth determined she would care for her mother-in-law, even when society did not really allow for that. She was young enough to work in the fields. It was time to harvest barley. She begged Naomi to allow her to glean behind the harvesters. It was better ...
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