Sun.’s Devo - Finding a Bride

Read: Judges 21:1-Ruth 1:22; John 4:4-42; Psalm 105:1-15; Proverbs 14:25 The Israelites had vowed not to give their daughters in marriage to any man of the tribe of Benjamin so the tribe was going to die out. The leaders of the tribes got together and found it devastating to lose a tribe, but they had made a vow. Now they had to find a way around it. *** They still had the 600-plus men that had hidden in Rimmon. They needed to find wives for them to preserve the tribe of Benjamin. They inquired around to find that no one from the town of Jabesh-gilead had showed up to fight so they hadn’t made the vow. They went to the town and killed everyone in the town except the virgins. They found wives for 400 of them. They still needed about 200 women. *** Every year they had a festival at Shiloh where the virgins would do a dance. They told the men who needed wives to watch from vineyards and pick out a wife then rush out and grab her. Since their parents didn’t legally give their daughters to them, they would not be breaking their vow. They did this and the rest of the men in Benjamin had wives. *** In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. *** Ruth. Israel experienced a great famine. There was a man and his wife: Elimelech and Naomi, who had two sons named Mahlon and Kilion. they were from the tribe of Ephraim who lived in Bethlehem. The famine became so severe, they moved to the land of Moab. Mahlon and Kilion married wives there: Ruth and Orpah. Elimelech and his two sons died leaving no children. *** Naomi heard there was bread in Judah and decided to return home. She tried to convince her two daughter-in-laws to stay and remarry their people, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi. *** They traveled to Bethlehem and got there just at the time of Pentecost when the farmers were harvesting the barley. The whole town was happy to have Naomi back. *** In John, Jesus traveled through Samaria and came to the village of Sychar. This was near the land Jacob had given to Joseph. Jacob’s well was there and Jesus sat beside the well while his disciples went to find food. One of the women from Samaria came to draw water around noon and Jesus asked her to draw him some water. *** The woman was surprised he had talked to her since she was a much-hated Samaritan. She asked him about that and Jesus began to tell her about the living water he could offer her. The water he was offering her was water that would forever quench her thirst. It was fresh and bubbling and would give them eternal life. Then she wanted his water. He told her to go get her husband. *** She replied that she didn’t have a husband. He already knew that. He told her that she had had seven and the one she was with now wouldn’t marry her. *** She was amazed that he knew her and all she had been through. She perceived him to be a prophet and begin asking him religious questions about where it was the right place to worship God. *** Jesus told her of a time that was coming where it didn’t matter where you worshipped the Lord but how you worshipped him. God was Spirit so he must be worshipped by someone’s spirit who truly loved him. *** Then the women mentioned the Messiah that was coming who is called Christ and when he came he would explain all this to them. *** Jesus told her he was the Messiah. At this time, the disciples returned and she ran to the village to tell everyone about the man who knew everything about her. Could this man be the Messiah? *** The disciples urged Jesus to eat but he couldn’t. He told them that his nourishment came from doing the will of God. He had planted in his vineyard and now he was experiencing the harvest and it was nourishing him. Many of the people from her Samaritan town came to hear and believe in Jesus. They begged him to stay longer and he did for two days. *** Just like the men of Benjamin, Jesus was looking for a bride. His is still looking for those who will be his bride. *** Lord, we say “Yes!” We want to be your bride. May we be nourished by working in your vineyard and seeing the harvest come in.