Lessons from Ruth:

I have talked about Ruth in the past but this time I’m attempting a series of short lessons from the book of Ruth. It is one of my favorite books and it holds a number of important points. First, I think we should get a broader picture of the homeland of Ruth- Moab. If we go back several centuries in the Bible, we will find the origin of these people. Moab was the son of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. You can find this information in Genesis 19. Even before this, we have to go back several years earlier when Abram and Lot separated. Their possessions were so great that the land could not support both at the same time. (Genesis 13) Here is the beginning of what happens when a wrong choice is made. All too often, wrong choices can have severe and far-reaching consequences. Abraham offered Lot a choice of areas to move to and Lot chose the beautiful, well-watered land of the southern Jordan Valley. In fact, the Bible tells us it was like “the Garden of the LORD.” (Genesis 13:10) This area included the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. I don’t know how wicked Sodom and Gomorrah was at that time, but we know that they became so wicked that GOD destroyed both cities and the land around them. However, prior to this massive judgment, the LORD recused Lot, his two daughters, and his wife. Lot was warned to get out quickly and he obeyed. Sadly, on their escape route, Lot’s wife disobeyed the LORD and was turned into a pillar of salt. And so, the Scriptures allow us to follow a thread which would cover many, many centuries, a thread that would go back even before Abraham. It is a thread that would eventually lead us to the MESSIAH, JESUS the SON of GOD. It is somewhere along that thread that we come across a young woman by the name of Ruth. Ruth the Moabitess who was destitute, who refused to leave her mother-in-law’s side, who left everything she knew behind, who adopted a people and a GOD. And, in turn, becomes a person of major importance in our own redemption.

Russell Ashby