Friday, November 5, 2021

The Sandal of Integrity - Part 2

 

Friday, November 5, 2021

Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses!  May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended!  May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.  And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”  So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife.  When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son.  Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family!  May this child be famous in Israel.  May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age.  For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”  Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast.  And she cared for him as if he were her own.  The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!”  And they named him Obed.  He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David.  Ruth 4:11-17

It is entirely possible that Boaz and Ruth lived to see their great-grandson, David, become Israel’s second king.  Legacy is not dependent on whether or not you live to see it.  King David’s earthly life did not extend a thousand years to see his family name reach the pinnacle of pinnacles in lowly Bethlehem’s manger.  But that day in Bethlehem, when all the elders and townsfolk stood in the gate of the city and notarized Boaz’ sandal of integrity, their prayer became a prophecy.  The kindness of Boaz and Ruth’s faithful unselfishness birthed Obed, continuing a heritage that one day hung on a cross for our salvation. 

Integrity is never extinguished!  Madmen and evil dictators have done their worst to spread the darkness.  King Saul didn’t want to relinquish the throne he had squandered to the shepherd-boy, David.  He threw spears at his protégé in manic rage, and pursued him with armies and soothsayers throughout Palestine to kill Obed’s grandson…but all it accomplished was God’s will, not Saul’s.  Herod heard the prophecy about Obed’s lineage producing a Redeemer (just like Boaz and Ruth’s neighbors prophesied), and it led to the slaughter of the innocents to attempt saving his crown. 

But Jesus, the Son of God, and Promised Messiah/Redeemer lived on to die for us.

Integrity is much more than telling the truth, or knowing right from wrong; integrity is something woven deep in the soul that becomes obedience to God…at any cost!

For You Today

Many people have a trust issue that first asks in prayer for a sign.  That prayer is seldom answered, because it is based in seeing before believing, which is the polar opposite of faith.  Faith trusts by acting…and is sometimes rewarded with sight.  But whether-or-not God blesses your obedience with physical evidence to validate your integrity to serve Him, serve Him anyway!  You’ll be in the company of Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon, and a host – a veritable cloud of greatness among the witnesses![1]

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

[1] Title and Other Images:  Wikimedia Commons (public domain)  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©    


 

No comments:

Post a Comment