Day 15 – Matthew 1 Now this was an odd choice for a reading. Is that what you were thinking? Sometimes we want to just skip right over the genealogies in the Bible. <<yawn!>> However, this genealogy was perhaps more interesting because of some familiar names in it. Did you find Rahab and Ruth and Boaz and even Obed, that cute little baby that brought so much joy, right there in the middle of it all? That’s right, the people we’ve just been studying are highlighted by Matthew. Matthew’s genealogy is unique in that it lists four women as well as the more traditional listing of the men. I wonder if Matthew, the tax collector who was reviled for his profession, was especially grateful for […] Read more »

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Day 14 - Ruth 4:11-22 We finish the beautiful love story of Ruth and Boaz, today. Our section starts with one more startling difference between cultures. After Boaz and the other relative do the exchange of sandals thing and formally declare Boaz the legal owner of Naomi’s property and husband-to-be of Ruth, the witnesses pray. Now, that doesn’t happen in a court of law today, does it? It’s a beautiful prayer of blessing over Boaz and his bride-to-be! They wish him well. They pray that he has many descendants after that first son who will not be his and Ruth’s but Naomi’s. They honor him also with a prayer for prosperity and success. How kind! They are very warm toward this son of Rahab who […] Read more »

Day 13 - Ruth 4:1-10 Things were certainly done differently in those days, weren’t they? Women had so few rights. And yet, women in Israel had more rights than women in many other countries at that time. They had a right to a kinsman-redeemer, for example. If they weren’t going to be able to own property, they had a right to expect a family member of their husband, if he died, to support them. Boaz wastes no time in getting his Ruth. He’s more than willing to be the kinsman-redeemer. He’s eager! At least, it sure looks that way to me. Another difference is how legal matters were settled in Israel in the days of the judges. Men met at the city gates and made […] Read more »

Day 12 - Ruth 3:10-18 Now we get to hear Boaz’s response to Ruth’s rather unorthodox proposal. It’s a resounding YES isn’t it? And he’s a quick thinker. He realizes that there is another relative “first in line” to redeem Naomi’s fields and possessions and carry on her husband’s name by giving Ruth a son. So, he’s pretty much eager to be the one to marry Ruth, but fairness and legality state that he has to check with the other guy first. Anyway, once that’s settled, in - I am sure - very soft whispers, they quietly lay there until it’s almost morning, when Ruth tiptoes away. I bet neither of them slept a wink! Boaz does not just let Ruth tiptoe away, though, without […] Read more »

Day 11 - Ruth 3:1-9 We now come to the part of Ruth’s story that is most surprising. Can you even imagine this? Boaz, sound asleep in the grainery, after a hard day’s work, rolls over around midnight and his foot touches a lump. When he wakes up to investigate, there is Ruth quietly lying there. The Bible tells us that Boaz was surprised. Well, I should think so! Goodness. I doubt even in their culture it was all that normal for a woman to tiptoe into a barn, basically and sleep at a man’s feet. I am stunned that Ruth was able to even do this hard thing and that Naomi dreamed it up. And I have so many questions about it. Was it […] Read more »

Day 10 - Ruth 2:14-23 Well, I love a good love story and right here we start to see the love! Boaz not only notices Ruth, he pays special attention to her. She gets extra food. The harvesters are told to purposefully drop more barley for her. He loads her up with food at the end of the day. He talks to her. Boaz likes her. Can’t you just tell? All the signs are there. This makes me smile. Naomi is pretty amazed by all of this, too. When Ruth comes home with a ton of food and leftovers from the lunch Boaz provided, Naomi has to ask. Who in the world was this kind to Ruth? When she discovers it’s Boaz, she realizes that […] Read more »

Day 9 - Ruth 2:1-13 I was struck by a simple phrase in today’s reading. It’s found in Ruth 2:3. “So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.” The phrase that stands out is, “as it happened.” What’s fun about this, is that we know why it happened, don’t we? God had a plan and so Ruth “just happened” to end up in the fields of the one man God had chosen to help her. That is just such FUN!! Let’s remember some of the scriptures we read last week, shall we? First of all, there’s the gleaning of the fields. As […] Read more »