Wed.’s Devo - The Story of Redemption

Read: Ruth 1-4:12
I love the story of Ruth. It is such a heart-warmer in the midst of the weird and outlandish stories of the judges. Ruth was a Moabite which is the seed of Lot’s incestrial relationship with his daughter. Naomi and her family move to Moab because of the famine in Israel where they meet Ruth who marries Naomi’s son, Mahlon or Chilion. Both son’s names mean “sickness”. Ruth sees in Naomi’s faith in God something that she is missing in the gods of her idolatrous nation. When both of Ruth’s sons die from sickness and she hears that the famine is over and wants to return to her land. Ruth insists on going back with her. Ruth can not be talked out of it so Naomi brings her home. While gleaning wheat, Ruth meets Boaz who was from a similar background. His mother was the harlot, Rahab, who had hid the spies in Jericho. Rahab, like Ruth, saw the God of the Hebrews as a better god than the ones her people served. She left her people to become an Israelite and serve the one and only God. Boaz understood what it was like to be an alien grafted in to a new people.
Another interesting reference is made. The elders of the city blessed Ruth and Boaz saying, “may the Lord give you descendants who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah”. Of all the patriarchs they could have said, this was the most interesting. Tamar was married to Judah’s son who was evil and died. His next son was suppose to marry her and was also evil and died. Judah’s third son was promised to Tamar when he became of age, but when that didn’t happen, Tamar disguised herself like a harlot and enticed Judah to have sex with her. Perez was the son. So here is another rejected woman that God redeemed and blessed. Perez grew up to be a mighty warrior with many descendants. In 1 Chro. 27:3, it says that Perez was the chief of all the captains of the host of the first month during David’s reign. He had 468 sons that came back with him from captivity with Zerubbabel. So he was a much honored and blessed man who had a very shaky start.
The Bible is the story of redemption. We never have the right to be a victim because God always redeems the broken and rejected and will honor them if they rise above their past and press on.
Lord, we are just like the ones we read today. We are a broken, rejected people that have been grafted into your family. We have nothing but prosperity and blessing ahead!