Our ULTIMATE REFUGE should be GOD ALONE
March 19 Bible
Reading: Ruth Chapters 1-4
Our ULTIMATE REFUGE should be GOD ALONE
The story of Ruth took place sometime during the rule of the Judges (Ruth 1:1a) when there was anarchy and total disregard for God’s law, and "...everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6). One family left their ancestral property and went to the land of Moab to live among foreigners in a strange culture. This resulted in the two sons getting married to Moabite women, and the death of the three men of the family leaving behind an old Jewish widow and two young Moabite widows. However, the story of Ruth hinges on a crucial decision that Ruth took when it was time to make a choice between returning back to her heathen parent’s home and slipping into oblivion like her sister-in-law Orpah or adopting the God of Israel as her God and the people of Israel as her people. But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)
Ruth was a
Moabite, a descendent of Lot (Gen 19:37) who was excluded from the congregation
of Israel forever (see Deut 23:3-4; Neh 13:1-2). However, what we see here is
that Ruth left her parents (earthly ties), her people (societal ties), and the
land of her birth (territorial ties) to adopt and live among the people of
Israel she never knew before. Her Kinsman-Redeemer Boaz recognized what she had
done. And Boaz answered and said to her,
"It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your
mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your
birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. The Lord repay your work and a full reward
be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for
refuge." (Ruth 2:11-12). In
reality, Ruth had taken refuge under the wings of the Lord God of Israel
Himself. Due to this one act, she became the great grandmother of King
David and was listed in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 1:5) and
also had the wonderful privilege of having a book in the Bible named after her.
Let us be clear about one thing: our ultimate refuge should be God alone. If we take refuge in God, He will surely take care of us. He will be our safety zone in the times of trouble. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (Psalms 46:1)
