The days when the judges governed… (Ruth 1:1-5) 290907
I have finished with the Gospel of John. Now, I am starting on an Old Testament book, the book of Ruth. I am no expert in Old Testament, but nonetheless, it is the Word of God. I will give an attempted to understand how God can speak to me through the story of Ruth.
The story of Ruth took place in the days when the judges governed (v1). This is an literary formula to describe the situation of the time of this story. If we refer to the book of Judges, we will know that in the days of Judges, there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). It was practically - no government, and everyone just did what they think were right, in fact they were doing evil.
Of course, when they did evil, God will not be pleased. There were famine in the land of Bethlehem (v1). Ironically, I just learned from my Hebrew class, Bethlehem means the place of bread. A place of bread was having famine? Where was God providence as He brought His people out of Egypt, roaming in the wilderness? And this family left Bethlehem to Moab, a foreign land. This not right. The Israelites knew that they were the chosen people of God and should have no dealings with the Gentiles - Moab. How can this family forgotten their identity? How can they have no faith in God to provide and seek help from other when God had forbidden?
A family of four left Bethlehem to Moab (v2), the father died (v3), the two sons married two Moabite women and lived there for about ten years (v4), and then the two sons died too (v5). What was left? Three widows without any children. This was a tragic. A happy family ended up in such a state. And they were devastated. They were going through painful moments in life. And they had abandoned God in the process and were lost, not knowing what should be done next.
Recent years I had also experienced some painful moments in my own. The lost of my first child (miscarriage), suffering from permanent physical injury (slip disc condition), and recently my two younger sisters were going through lonely and painful moments too, and that affected me. I have always asked God: WHY? God asked me: why not, My child?
In those days of pain, I had often left the place of fruitfulness and went to look for other places to find solution. I was like this family. I was also as if I was living the days when the Judges governed, not Jesus governed. I did things which seem right in my own eyes, but may not be right in the eyes of God.
As the story of Ruth continues to unfold, we will discover God’s faithfulness and goodness. He never abandons His people and helps them to see hope. I thank God for His faithfulness to my life, so that I do not drift too far away from Him. And keep coming back to His Kingdom and let Him governs my life.
Who governs your life?
HHS…
Abel…
