Lesson 7: The Book of Ruth - God's Rewards

Hello Everyone,

I pray that everyone is well today. God has kept us for another week.  That in itself is enough to rejoice about.  God is able to keep us (Jude 1:24-25).  I am excited to know that He is keeping me!

I hope that you all found time this week to work through the questions from the application last week. Additionally, I pray that the exercise allowed you to examine your relationship with Christ and consider how you can better position yourselves for His favor.

I am on a leadership team for a midday bible study at me church.  We meet once a week during the day to study the word of God together.  We are currently going through the Book of Deuteronomy.  The verse we have chosen to memorize is Deuteronomy 6:23 "Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers".  This verse leads right into our lesson in the Book of Ruth for this week.  He brought Ruth out of the land of Moab to bring her into her land of blessings and rewards.

RESOURCE

Ruth 4:13-22
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;[a] 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

Rewards - a benefit resulting from an action; an act performed to strengthen approved behavior; reaping rewards; virtue is its own reward

LESSON

Now we have labored over Ruth's journey for six weeks.  We have discussed Ruth's right to choose, loyalty, humility, obedience, and positioning.  These seem to be common characteristics among the women highlighted in the bible.  We talked about these same characteristics in Esther and in discussing the Proverbial woman.  (Feel free to go back and review these lessons. They are all listed on this blog page).  There has to be something severely significant about these specific characteristics that God would highlight them so much throughout the bible.  

These characteristics draw us closer to God.  There are so many other scriptures to support this notion.  I have listed a few for you to review, just in case you require reassurance.

1. Humility - 2 Corinthians 7:14, Psalm 25:9
2. Obedience - Romans 2:13, Job 36:11
3. Positioning - 1 Peter 2:15, Philippians 2:13
4. Loyalty (Faithfulness) - Hebrews 10:23, Deuteronomy 6:5
5. Choosing - Romans 12:2, Proverbs 3:5-6

These scriptures listed here are just a small amount of the vast quantity of scriptures that support God's inherit plans for us. 

Adhering to His plans instead of implementing our own allows God the opportunity to reward us. Yahweh (God) grants immediate solutions to every problem presented through marriage and immediate conception after Ruth was barren for 10 years (Asbury 1992).   Ruth acquired the ultimate reward; a husband and a child.  In biblical pretense and the value system implemented by God, this was the ultimate reward for a woman.

Our value system today is corrupted by the societal impressions that material things are our just rewards.  However, while they are a blessing and God allows us to have them, they are not based on a value system pleasing to God.  God requires so much more.

He brought Ruth out of Moab, not to obtain a better piece of land and all the grain she could carry.  Ruth bore a son, through whom thousands and myriads were born to God; ans in being the lineal ancestor of Christ, she was instrumental in the happiness of all that shall be saved by him (Henry 1997).  God brought Ruth out of Moab to bare a supernatural and spiritual legacy.  He brought Ruth out of Moab so that she may discover true relationship with Him. That is the ultimate goal, the ultimate prize, and the ultimate reward.

When I think of all the time I wasted positioning myself based on my own earthly desires, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for God positioning me now.  He blessings and rewards reach beyond my expectations of worldly definition.  We cannot fathom the possibilities with our finite minds.  

In that seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Henry 1997).  Think if Ruth had gone back to Moab!  Where would we be?  The importance of one decision can change lives!

We must implement and practice the principles indicated in the scriptures.  Our legacy depends on it!

Application

This week we will meditate on the scriptures listed in the lesson in order to draw ourselves closer to the concept of practicing these behaviors daily.  Let's operate with the mindset of pleasing God and not ourselves.  

Announcement

I have been working on a documentary that highlights the modern virtuous woman depicted in Proverbs 31. God has called me to a higher responsibility of exposing the practical possibilities of living a Proverbial life in a modern world.  I am positioning myself according to God's plan for me (Jeremiah 29:11).  Your support would be GREATLY appreciated.   Follow the link listed below to see the trailer:

http://project31film.com/


I pray that you all will have a blessed week!

Be blessed,

T. Carter

All scriptures were extracted from the Bible, King James Version. YouVersion (2013)

Carpenter, Eugene E. & McCown, Wayne (1992).  Asbury Bible Commentary.  Wesleyan Publishing

Henry, Matthew (1997).  Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible.  Thomas Nelson Publishing. Nashville, Tennessee

M-W.com (2013).  Merriam-Webster Dictionary Web Version.  Retrieved from : App Store