Ruth 2:1-4:22, John 4:43-54, Psalms 105:16-36, Proverbs 14:26-27
Today is May 6th welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is awesome to be here with you today as we gather around the Global Campfire. We find a place and let it go and let the Scriptures speak for themselves into our lives. Around this Global Campfire is on my favorite places to be in the world. And, so, let’s dive in for today. We finished the book of Judges yesterday and began the book of Ruth yesterday. We talked about the book of Ruth. Today we’ll read the rest of the story and complete the book of Ruth before moving ahead, and as confusing as it might be, moving ahead to meet the last judge of Israel as we move into the book of first Samuel tomorrow. But that’s tomorrow and we’re here now and we have the rest of the story of Ruth out in front of us. We’re reading from the Modern English Version this week. Ruth, chapters to 3 and 4 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we concluded the book of Ruth today and it is a gorgeous story and such a story of hope and such an uplifting story in a season where we’ve been through all kinds of tragic stories in the Scriptures. But if we remember back to the beginning of the story it begins in a tragic sort of way. There’s famine in the land. Ruth and her husband and their sons leave and go to the land of Moab where they live for a decade and the sons grow up and so they get wives, Moabite wives, one of whom is Ruth, but everybody dies except for the ladies. The women remain alive Naomi, Orpah and Ruth. Naomi is in the depths. She’s overwhelmed with sadness. She is leaving a land that she has come to know, a land that she’s lived in for a decade to return back to her homeland now that the famine is over, but she’s going home a widow. She’s going home with nothing. And Orpah, one of the daughters-in-law goes back to Moab and disappears from the narrative. So, we don’t know what happened t her. But Ruth will not leave Naomi. She clings to Naomi. She says, “wherever you go I will go. Wherever you die will be buried. Your God will be my God, your people will be my people.” This is…this is a loyalty that gains a reputation quickly when they get back to their homeland in Israel. And, so, Ruth’s reputation is growing, and then she begins to do what is provided for in the Mosaic law. She goes into neighboring fields where she’s able to glean whatever is left over. She is a widow Naomi is a widow and widows are provided for after this fashion. But she catches the attention of Boaz and then we know, we just read the story. Turns out he’s a family redeemer and Naomi begins to see what’s going on here and what’s possible here for Ruth and she guides her through the process of allowing Boaz to know that she’s available, but she doesn’t have to give her dignity away to prove it. And, so, she ends up lying at the feet of Boaz, who wakes up and freaks out as anyone would, and, especially, there is a strange woman in my bed at my feet. That's…well…I don’t know what that feels like, but I think that would be weird. Boaz thought it was weird, but he also knew what it meant, and he begins to also counsel about what needs to happen. And as Naomi told Ruth, he’s not gonna rest until this matter is settled. And the matter is settled, and Ruth and Boaz are wed, and they have a child, a son, and they name him Obed and he brings great joy to a very bitter heart, the heart of Naomi. And Obed grows up and he is the grandfather of King David who we will meet soon enough. This story could have gone any number of ways. May we remember that this is happening at the time of the judges when there is no king in Israel and everybody does what was right in their own eyes. This story could have gone a number of ways. And Ruth could have had a very very different life and/or death being young and vital and foreign. But what we see is people going through hard times and holding on to their integrity, people going through disruption and hardship and being overwhelmed and grieving holding onto their character truly understanding what the message of the wilderness is, that they are utterly dependent upon God for everything. And they hold onto their integrity, and it is honored. May we take that lesson on board in our own lives because it’s a very, very gray world where anything is situational and we can justify anything and any shortcut, but integrity and character are things that are cultivated by the way that we handle disruption and handle grief and handle anger and handle misfortune. Most of the time our character and our integrity is revealed in the extremes of life. In the extreme hardship of life our character is going to be revealed, but also in the extreme abundance of life our character will be revealed. We see integrity and true character in the story of Ruth, and it was honorable to God and God blessed it. And the story changes here. This integrity and character is leading to a king of Israel. So, it is very very easy for us to think about the wrong choices that we make and where those roads are leading and how we don’t want to be on those roads but it’s worth considering where our integrity and our character are leading us because we are being led somewhere good, somewhere righteous. That is the path we want to be on. And, so, let’s give it some thought today.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, we invite you into that thought. Thank you for the story of Ruth. We thank you for what we can glean from it. We thank you that it causes us to consider our own integrity and where that is leading us and for what price we will sell it out. And we need to know these things. We need to strengthen these things. Make us people of integrity and character we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi, it’s Katie here from Nebraska. I wanted to give a shout out to Owen because I’m 18 as well and it’s pretty scary and you don’t know what you’re gonna do with your life. You don’t know how you’re going to manage college and everything else. It’s pretty scary to think about. And I just wanted to say God has a plan for you and I don’t want you to be afraid. I’m slowly learning that and I’m pretty stubborn. So, it’s been taking me awhile to figure out that I don’t get to rule what I get to do. And, yeah, I just wanted to tell you that. Bye.
This is Kathy from Kentucky. I have an issue that has gone all the way back to my childhood and that issue is shame. That has followed me for most of my life. I know that I had a hard time overcoming shame when I was going through treatment for my depression. So, also, I realized now that I stayed in a job for 20 years where I was not treated with respect at all. And because I don’t know if I just didn’t think I deserved better or what. But anyways I’m in recovery from drugs and alcohol year 30 years clean and sober. But shame follows a lot of us who are recovering from addiction. So, I ask your prayers for that. Thank you. Kathy from Kentucky.
Happy Monday DAB family this is Jason from Louisiana. Today is may the 2nd. I’m catching up. I’m about a week behind and I’m calling today to encourage the lady who called on April 26th, the very last person who spoke. Your son is named Josh, he’s 22 years old and he’s facing some legal issues. First, I want to say I am praying with you in agreement for favor and a miracle regarding this but I also want to encourage you that regardless of the outcome of this next few weeks in the courtroom it’s not the end of the world regardless of the outcome. I’m going to share my story. I was in a similar situation. At 26 I was arrested, and I was facing some really serious legal issues and we prayed for a miracle. Long story short the miracle for me ended up being sitting in prison for 3 ½ years and finally surrendering my heart fully to Christ after two years in prison. And, so, I’ve been out for over eight years now and serving the Lord loving life and I am who I am today because of what I’ve been through. So, I just want to encourage you with your son Josh that no matter the outcome of the next few weeks God is in control. I’m reminded of two scriptures today. Isaiah 55, his thoughts are not our thoughts his ways are not our ways. And also, Romans 8:28. You know in my situation and even your sons I believe this and I will speak this over him, that what the enemy may have meant for evil regarding your son Josh the Lord is going to and is turning it around and using it for good. So, you be encouraged today. God bless you.
Good day DAB family I wanted to reach out today 18-year-old just turned 18 and now facing adulthood. And you are amazing and just even calling and asking. And God will guide you. Stand firm. And even as we get older, we are all faced with challenges. And Susan God’s Yellow Flower, you touched me today for the words that I needed to hear. And maybe it is time I just stand on top of my pile and put the cross there as the only thing it’s doing is creating anxiety and not trusting God for my future. And I need prayers for that, to just let it go. Never been this way until this past couple of years and it’s just really hitting home. And I feel lost and alone. I know that’s not true. I have a hard time talking to people about this. And I know that God is there, but I feel alone. Maybe He’s carrying me now, but it just ask for prayers and it’s just Humbled in California. Thank you, DAB family.
Hello DAB family this is Terry the Trucker today calling in and I’ve got a prayer request and a praise report. for it. The prayer request is my brother-in-law James passed out at work the other day. They carried him to the local hospital, and then they transferred him over to a bigger hospital in Waco. And come to find out he’s got some kind of an infection in his lungs. He was…he had a rash for a long time and his local doctor was treating him with steroids. The local doctor overdid it and kept him on steroids so long that his immune system actually dropped to zero. He came down with pneumonia and passed out at work. Come to find out the infection that he’s got is highly contagious. They did an MRI. We’re waiting to find out if it’s done any damage to any other parts of his body, his brain, veins, organs. They say he could be in their hospital all the way up to December. It’s pretty serious. The CDC, the contagious disease center is working with the doctors to help treat him and figure out what to do but the infection is actually from soil, from dirt. He’s __ welder. Yeah, but as I said his body is exposed, covered with galvanized particles. But it’s pretty serious. I ask you to lift up James and my sister Tina…they…as they go through this. Thank you for your prayers. I want you to remember I always pray for you. God bless.