THE VOICE OF RUTH - FAVORITE BIBLICAL WOMAN

 

Mary is probably the most famous women in the Bible and many people's favorite biblical heroines  She did give birth to the Savior the world, so there's that.

That being said, who is your next favorite biblical woman?

When I was a young wife and Mama I wanted to be a Proverbs 31 girl, as many others do.  But, I always fell short (I've heard biblical commentaries talking about how the Proverbs 31 Woman was probably not just one woman, but vast examples of the qualities a godly woman should have. Maybe I'll blog about this sometime.)

While the bible is full of women heroines.   Mine is Ruth: she wasn't the mother of all creation. She wasn't a queen who persuade the king to spare the Jews-risking her own life. She wasn't a judge.  She didn't give Jesus a cup of water or wash His feet with her tears...

She was a simple peasant girl; widowed, with no where else to go.  She chose to cling to her mother-in-law and vowed to follow her ever she went.  Ruth 1:16 says:

Where you go I will go and where you stay I will stay.   You people will be my people and you GOD will be my God.  Where you die I will die and there I will be buried.  May the LORD deal with me ever so severely if anything but death separates you and me.

There are two tones to the story.  The first is the story of a dutiful daughter-in-law who loves and obeys her mother-in-law.  and went to find food.  While on this pursuit, she meets Boaz who treated her kindly.  He was a relative of Ruth's late husband and a kinsman redeemer.

Now, we must remember and understand that back  then, women were seen as property and not really as humans.  They "needed" to be "taken" care of.  It was actually a business transaction and she needed someone to "buy" her in order to "take care" of her.  

Boaz wasn't Ruth's late husband's nearest kinsmen redeemer, but the male relative  that was closer kinsmen redeemer  had too much to lose to "take" care of her.

So Boaz redeemed her and they became ancestors of our LORD, JESUS.

The reason I love Ruth is she's simple and pure.  She doesn't try to be something she's not.  She's content to settle down, get married and have a baby.  I believe that this is the life GOD intended for us when HE first created Adam and Eve.

The other tone of the story is a preview of Jesus.  He is the great kinsmen redeemer; the only one who has no sin and therefore is the only one who is pure enough to stand in our place and die for our sins to regain our favor with GOD.