A Biblical Love Story

A few days ago, I posted a review of Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs. If you don't know about this book or haven't read it then you really should check it out! It is amazing! Also, if you want to take a few seconds to rate my review (don't forget to verify your email), I would greatly appreciate it. Anyway, back to the point. As great as Mine is the Night is, it's nothing compared to the Biblical story that the book is based on.

The story I am referring to is the story of Ruth. Ruth is a Moabitess (which means she is from the country of Moab). Back in the day, when the Israelites come out of Egypt and were conquering the Promised Land, they were supposed to totally wipe out all the people who lived there. This included the Moabites. But the Israelites had some problems following all of God's directions (that's a whole other story) so there were still remnants of these people groups living in the Promised Land and the surrounding areas who were worshiping other gods. When Israel comes on hard times it's to these people and their country that Naomi and her husband and two sons flee, and eventually Ruth marries one of Naomi's sons (which is a pretty big no, no).

However, Naomi's husbands and her sons die. As a widow in this society, Naomi is totally dependent on her friends but more specifically on her male family member--only she doesn't have any. So she decides to head back home to Israel. This is when we really see the work that God has done in Ruth's live. Ruth could have stayed in her homeland with her people and her gods and found a new husband and been happy, but she chose to leave everything behind. She leaves her family and turns her back on her gods so that she can take care of Naomi and worship the One True God. So together they head back.

The long and short of this story is that because of Ruth's love for her mother-in-law and because of her obedience to God and her reputation, Ruth catches the eye of the most eligible bachelor around. But this guy isn't just anyone. Boaz is a close relative which means that he actually has the right and responsibility to marry Ruth and to provide for Naomi (although when he first starts falling for Ruth he doesn't know that). God worked it out perfectly so that through the obedience of Ruth she would find love, provision, and protection even though she was an outsider -- someone that an Israelite should never have married in the first place! God blessed her.

In the end, Boaz and Ruth are married and they have a son. His name was Obed. If you don't know, this little guy was very special. Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of King David. And because of her obedience to God and her willingness to leave everything else behind to follow Him, Ruth is one of only four women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1). I would say that's a pretty special love story.