Ruth has always been one of my favorite women in the Bible. She’s one of two women after whom a book is named and she is the only woman in the Bible specifically said to be virtuous. Not only that, but she isn’t even a Jew. She’s a Moabitess. She married a Jewish man and then watched while her father-in-law, her brother-in-law and her husband died. Then, she followed her mother-in-law back to Israel. To a country, she had never been to before. She left her family, her gods, and her nationality. And she traveled to a land she had never seen where she knew no one. She was a foreigner and an outsider determined to find the God of Israel. Ruth is a picture of God’s grace in offering salvation to Gentiles. What did she see in her husband and his family that drew her to God? God blessed her devotion to her mother-in-law, Naomi. She married and had a little boy who became the grandfather of David. David’s great-grandmother was Ruth. Did he know her? We aren’t told, but I’m sure at the very least he heard stories about this godly woman. By the way, did I mention that she’s the first woman on record who proposed to her husband?
A new year arises in just a few days? How will you start it? I can only hope I can one day be seen in God's eyes as a Virtuous Woman of God.
Hugs, Prayers and God Bless
Izzy
izzy