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©
[1]
See Hebrews
12:1-3
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