WE are familiar with the story of Ruth. However, what can we learn from her?
Rev Hii Mei Yan of Hosanna BEM stated that, the event of Ruth happened during the time of the Judges, a dark age of religious and moral degeneracy, national disunity and foreign oppression. However, even at a time at its worse, God was still in charge. He chose to portray through a small family of two widows, Ruth and her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi. Their story reflected hope in darkness, hope in tsunami.
Ruth was not an Israelite but a Moabite who was married to an Israelite. When her husband died, she was completely loyal to her husband’s family. Her total devotion and love to her desolate mother-in-law mark her as a true daughter of Israel and a worthy ancestress of David.
After Naomi became widowed and her two sons died thereafter, she decided to return to Bethlehem. So she advised her two daughters-in-law to stay back in Moab or get remarried. However, Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people are my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
The beauty of her obedience “attracted” heaven, and heaven (God) chose her to partner with heaven in the heavenly plan. Outwardly, she was being obedient and loyal to her mother-in-law, but from heavenly view, her submissive heart was seen and chosen to fulfil the ultimate plan of Messiah, which was the biggest plan of God on earth. What an honour!
What influences did Ruth‘s obedience bring about? Her obedience prepared the way of universal salvation, the birth of the Messiah, and brought about a breakthrough that broke the unbreakable power of religion (from Jewish religion to gentiles), tradition, culture, tribe, nation, Old Covenant and etc.
Through the obedience of Ruth, a gentile became the ancestor of the Messiah. It was impossible to happen under the Jewish Law but it was the heart of the Father. God was thus looking for someone to partner with Him to make a breakthrough of the “Law” and “division”. Ruth’s obedience fulfilled the Messiah Plan which was still thousands years away at that time.
“The kingdom of God is not by blood or by birth, it is by obedience that comes from faith,” stressed Rev Hii.
Apart from that, Ruth’s obedience was also risk taking. Her decision to follow her mother-in-law back to Bethlehem was into an unknown future. She knew she was helpless and poor with only a widowed mother-in-law. She needed a change of her life and circumstances. She just couldn’t keep staying back at her own familiar place—Moab. She was crying and fighting for a change, a breakthrough and a new beginning.
My fellow sisters,
1/ Does your heart attract heaven to
partner with you? God is looking for someone to partner with.
2/ The power of your obedience will
also break the unbreakable power of religion, laws, rules, division between tribes, nations, and the power of darkness.
3/ Are you conscious of your present
situation? Your personal life, your family, your church your country also need a breakthrough and a new beginning? Are you willing to take the risk to partner with God and to move into His heart, to move into the New and Unknown?
Reported by Lee Sing
Translated by Christina