Deuteronomy 30:19
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
Joshua 24:15
, …then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Proverbs 12:26
The righteous choose their friends carefully,
Proverbs 8:10
Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,
Psalm 119:30
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws.
We are the sum of our choices. For as long as we’ve been out from under the constraint and control of our parents or guardians who reared us, it’s been our own, individual responsibility to choose our life’s path. This week’s lesson highlights that fact. Elimelech made a choice. He relocated his family to Moab in a time of famine. His sons chose Moabite women for wives. The nation of Israel strayed away from God in the time of the Judges and this is what that looked like. But now Elimelech was dead and his sons were dead, and it was time for Naomi to make a choice. She’d heard that God had visited Israel and brought her bread (sustenance). Should she stay in Moab, a widow, with no support system to sustain her? Or should she return to Israel and place herself at the mercy of God’s sovereign and providential will? Selah.
A good place to pause and reflect: should you or I remain in a place of abject misery and despair or should we throw ourselves at God’s feet and seek His tender Mercy? Many are the choices before us. Among them, the Father beckons. Choose the path He lays before you. In it are the blessings of eternal life. Naomi chose God. Beloved, there are no risks with God. When He beckons to you to step out on faith, be assured that where you step will be a solid place, a sturdy place.
Orpah and Ruth had choices to make. Orpah chose to stay in a place of familiarity. Though she too was a widow, the scripture infers that she had some family that remained in Moab. A new beginning would be tough, but doable. Ruth made a different choice: she chose to remain with Naomi. What fueled that relationship? What inspired Ruth to take on the unknown? I always fall back to the witness of Naomi. Her godly demeanor evoked great love from both of her daughter in laws. Make no mistake, both Orpah and Ruth loved Naomi deeply, and she loved them just as deeply. Separation would be hard. Ruth saw something in Naomi that she wanted more of. Were there more people with the demeanor and temperament of Naomi? Ruth was counting on it. Selah… another moment to pause and consider. What kind of temperament do we display when we meet the new employee in our workplace? A guest of a family member at the family outing? A visitor at Church? The first impression you leave could have eternal consequences. Be nice!
Ruth not only chose Naomi and Naomi’s people (Israel), but she chose the God that Naomi served. She too, had heard that God had visited Israel, bringing Life. Ruth chose Life. God was a stranger to Ruth, but Ruth was no stranger to God. He knew her from the beginning and He had a plan for her: a plan for a future and a hope. As we follow Ruth’s story over the next few weeks, we’ll see how God rewarded her choice. We’ll see that He is Caring, Faithful, Loving and Powerful. We’ll watch as He opens doors for Ruth because of her faithfulness and loyalty. We will find, in God, a Father who always blesses and never curses as He brought Ruth from a place of poverty to a position of honor and blessing in Israel and a place of relationship with Him. Beloved, God wants nothing more than to bless you and to make Himself known to you. He may be or may have been a stranger to you, but He calls you Friend. Don’t be hesitant. He means you no harm, only blessing. Choose His direction at every turn in the path. Naomi did. Ruth did. They found and God demonstrated that He could be trusted entirely. Selah!.. pause and consider. The scriptures were inspired by God, breathed by the Spirit, recorded for our benefit. God left them as a witness of His faithfulness. He demonstrated complete love to a complete stranger: Ruth and He recorded it for our benefit, so that we would know… that we can trust Him. Choose God and Live.
Blessings,
-wb
James 1:16
So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light.
Matthew 22:14
“For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 11:27
“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will,
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
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