Worship Wednesday
He Is… OUR REDEEMER
“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud. I have scattered your sins like the morning midst. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22
Recently I completed a study on the book of Ruth with some of my Young Life girls. We chose this book because one of the girls said, “Can we learn about a woman? There are so many men highlighted in the Bible!” My response was that there are many great men AND women of God in the Bible. And yes, of course we can read about a woman! So we began our journey in the book of Ruth. What we didn’t know we were in for was the discovery that He Is… OUR REDEEMER in crazier ways than we could’ve imagined.
Our redemption story opens with a man named Elimelech who moves his wife, Naomi, and their two sons from Bethlehem to the land of Moab, where they both marry Moabite women. Just ten years later, Elimelech and both of his sons die. Naomi decides it is time to return to her people, the holy nation of Israel. At this, she requests that her widowed daughters-in-law remain in their own country to pursue the hope of remarrying and having a family. But Ruth refuses to leave her side and returns with Naomi to her home country - Bethlehem.
“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.’” Ruth 1:16
This is actually quite fascinating considering the fact that Ruth was a Moabite woman. The country of Moab was full of evil false-deity worship. They were not a part of God’s holy nation. So Elimelech’s son marrying Ruth was already a BIG DEAL. Now, returning with Naomi to the land of the Israelites was an EVEN BIGGER DEAL. But, despite her lineage that would suggest she isn’t “one of God’s people”, she has chosen to serve the Lord.
God’s provision for these two widowed women continues to unfolds in extravagant ways. They arrive in Bethlehem just at the beginning of the barley harvest. Ruth decides to go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by the harvesters (this was a common practice according to Leviticus 19). It is this scene where she encounters the field owner and family relative Boaz. He shows her great kindness and cares deeply for her. Because the next nearest kin refuses to take Ruth as his wife, Boaz is then able to marry her.
Now, while this can be interpreted as just a sweet love story, there’s actually SO much more at play here! Ruth’s journey to this place in her life was covered with God’s fingerprints! Let’s review… she’s a Moabite woman who married an Israelite - not common. She chooses to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem and trust God’s plan for her life, knowing that when they get there there’s still no man to provide for their practical needs. She humbly gathers leftovers like a poor person. And amidst the grief of losing her husband, the Lord provides a kind loving man who chooses to redeem her. In this story, Boaz’s heart toward Ruth paints a picture of Jesus’ heart toward us. The Bible says that we were once foreigners, yet before the foundations of the earth were even set in motion, God wrote the story of redemption - one we are ALL invited into. (Ephesians 3:1-9)
“…this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.” Ephesians 3:9
What blows my mind in this story is the reminder that God chose a plan of redemption for me from the beginning. That means He chose me knowing all the times I wouldn’t choose Him. The same is true for you. God didn’t choose you after you chose Him. No, you were His Plan A from the beginning of time. How does that sit with you? Knowing that God loves you that much? Wants you that badly? Knowing this should bring us to a heart of worship and praise toward our heavenly Father! Thanking Him for redeeming our story!
The ending of this book is, in my opinion, one of the happiest endings in all of the Bible! Ruth gives birth to a son, Obed. And the last five verse record his genealogy, which shows him to be the grandfather of king David. Now, why might we find this to be so significant? The lineage of king David is the one from which Jesus Christ will later come. Jesus’ lineage comes straight out of the broken story of RUTH! What a curve ball… God could have chosen to do that any way He wanted. And His choice was to demonstrate what He does through our broken story, if we will only allow Him to redeem it.
In closing today, I’d like to ask you to get out something to write on - a journal, notebook, sticky note if that’s all you have! Write down the places in our own life where you can look back and see God’s fingerprints, and praise Him for the redemption He has brought to your story! Thank Him for His good, sovereign plan for your life. Lastly, worship Him for who He is. I love the lyrics in this song from Amanda Cooke, “You Don’t Miss a Thing.” And that’s the truth, He doesn’t miss a single thing in our life, and He is redeeming every piece of it. Because He Is… OUR REDEEMER.
