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- Ruth 3:11
We saw earlier what we can learn from Naomi’s example of love. There is more for us to learn about love from the example of Boaz.
Love waits. “She lay at his feet until the morning” (3:14). Boaz faced an extraordinary test of his character a...
- Ruth 3:2, 3:7, 3:9, 2:12, 3:11
After the winnowing was done, one of the farm workers would spend the night on the threshing floor to guard the grain. Naomi knew that Boaz would be guarding the grain that night (3:2). And when Ruth went to the threshing floor, she found Boaz sle...
- Ruth 3:2-4
Naomi tells her daughter-in-law to make herself as attractive as possible, to sneak up on a man in the middle of the night, and to lie down at his feet.
It’s not surprising that Naomi has received harsh criticism for her plan. Is she suggest...
- Ruth 3:1
Naomi was an older woman. Ruth had made an extraordinary commitment to care for her, but what would happen when Naomi was gone? Naomi gives us a marvellous example of love.
Love appreciates what others have done and seeks to do good for them...
- Philippians 4:19
The story of Ruth is a marvellous story of hope. If you are feeling hopeless today, what should you do?
Do what you can. Ruth took responsibility, and she used the strength God had given her. She also took the initiative to go out into the f...
- Ruth 2:15-16
Ruth had been following the reapers and picking up the scraps. But after the meal, the reapers started dropping entire stalks on the ground—pre-cut stalks of grain, waiting to be picked up!
When the day’s work was done, Ruth returned home wi...
- Ruth 2:14
The whole Bible is one story that consistently points to our Lord Jesus Christ, and Boaz points us very clearly to Jesus. Naomi describes him as “one of our redeemers” (2:20). Jesus is the Redeemer who welcomes us and blesses us. And Jesus welcome...
- Ruth 2:12
Boaz had heard about Ruth’s loving commitment to her mother-in-law. He is deeply impressed, and he wants her kindness to be rewarded. Boaz extends himself in showing kindness to Ruth, and his prayer is that God will do the same.
God often de...
- Ruth 2:3
It seems that this all happened by chance. Ruth did not know the field belonged to an eligible member of her husband’s family. But we do!
Boaz is a marvellous example of a good employer. He takes an active interest in his employees. As a bel...
- Ruth 2:1
Now we are introduced to the third main character in the story. The fact that Boaz belonged to Naomi’s family is mentioned twice (2:1, 3). We are being let in on a secret: There is another relative. He is “a worthy man” of good character and great...
- Leviticus 26:12-13
Here are two more principles for growing in faith in the midst of sorrow.
Remember that the LORD has made a covenant with you. “LORD” in four capital letters is the name used in relation to the covenant God made with His people. The LORD sai...
- Ruth 1:20-21
How are we to overcome the waves of sorrow, the distortions of grief, and the bitterness that lurks at sorrow’s door? A beautiful strategy unfolds in Naomi’s example. Here is the first of three principles for growing in faith in times of loss: aff...
- Ruth 1:20-21
Here are two more truths we learn from how Naomi navigates her grief.
Grief distorts. “I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty” (1:21). When Naomi left Bethlehem, she had a husband and two sons. None of them are with her now...
- Ruth 1:19
Ten years had passed since Naomi left Bethlehem. Three bereavements had taken their toll and when she arrived home with Ruth, her friends barely recognised her. The first thing they would say would be, “How’s Elimelech?”
“Oh, he died shortly...
- Ruth 1:16-17
Ruth makes a marvellous commitment to Naomi, and we see three marks of this loving commitment in her words.
Love commits to God. “Your God [shall be] my God” (1:16). Ruth is saying, “I have watched you love your God through three losses. I h...
- Ruth 1:14-15
Orpah is a sad example of temporary faith. Ruth and Orpah had come under the influence of Naomi, and there is good reason to believe that they had made some profession of faith. But while Ruth persevered, Orpah turned back.
Naomi says, “See,...
- Ruth 1:8-9
The book of Ruth is a love story. As events unfold in these ordinary lives, we will see three distinguishing marks of genuine love. First, we see that love considers.
Naomi had moved to Moab, but she never really belonged there. So, when she...
- Ruth 4:14
When you bring ordinary people and our extraordinary God together, you get a story of redemption. The words redeem, redeemer, and redemption occur 23 times in the 85 verses of the book of Ruth, so in order to understand this book, you have to meet...
- Genesis 12:2,3
Right from the start we need to understand that the lives, loves, and losses of these ordinary people are woven into God’s hidden plan to bring blessing to the world. This story is about Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. But the central character is God Hims...
- Ruth 1:1
Here we come to a question that will affect how we understand and apply this story. Some commentators castigate Elimelech and Naomi for moving to Moab. Should they have stayed in Bethlehem and trusted God to provide?
God’s Word offers other ...
- Ruth 1:1
There was a famine… in the Promised Land! This was the land God gave to His people—a land flowing with milk and honey. And the famine was in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread.” The fields in the area were especially fertile, so why was there ...
- Ruth 1:1
The book of Ruth is one of the most beautiful stories in the Bible. It is a story about ordinary people, and it is a story about our extraordinary God. When you bring ordinary people and our extraordinary God together, what you get is a story of r...
- Hebrews 2:13
The gospel story won't be finished until the day Jesus stands in the presence of the Father and says these words.
Jesus has come to us. Now we must come to Him. The Gospels are given so that you will know this Jesus to whom you must come. T...
- Mark 16:7
Mark ends his Gospel with an invitation for the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. This invitation is for you, not to meet Christ in Galilee, but to come to Him by faith. Notice, there is something for you to do.
Imagine a family living in...
- Mark 16:6
Christian faith hangs not only on what God has done, but on God’s explanation of what He has done.
If all we had at Christmas was the story of a baby born to a virgin, lying in a manger, we would never know who this child is, so God gives u...
- Mark 16:6
Notice that it was an angel from heaven who tells the women that Jesus has risen. Mary did not go into the tomb, find it empty, and say to Salome. "Jesus must have risen from the dead.” That thought did not even occur to the women. It was the ange...
- Romans 6:1
If you’re asking this question, it means you’ve understood the gospel. In Romans 5, Paul explains what Jesus achieved on the cross. Then in Romans 6, he begins with this question. Once you’ve understood the gospel, this is the natural question.</p...
- Isaiah 53:5
Jesus suffered under the judgement of God so that, in Him, you would be saved from God’s judgement. There’s a movie called Double Jeopardy, in which a man fakes his own death and then frames his wife for his murder. She is convicted and sentenced ...
- Mark 15:34
Here we come to the deepest suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will never be able to fully take in what this meant for Jesus.
The Father delights in the Son, and the Son delights in the Father.
The love of the Son for the Father ...
- Mark 15:33
At the birth of Jesus, we’re told that shepherds were watching their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them (Luke 2:9).
When Jesus was born, there was light at midnight, but when ...
