LHC Midday Word: September 2021

Thursday, 30 September 2021

The Book of RUTH - Chapter Four

Boaz marries Ruth

1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, ‘Come over here, my friend, and sit down.’ So he went over and sat down.

2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, ‘Sit here,’ and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, ‘Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.’

‘I will redeem it,’ he said.

5 Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.’

6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, ‘Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.’

7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalising transactions in Israel.)

8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, ‘Buy it yourself.’ And he removed his sandal.

9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his home town. Today you are witnesses!’

11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’

Naomi gains a son

13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.’

16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’ And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The genealogy of David

18 This, then, is the family line of Perez:

Perez was the father of Hezron,

19 Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,

20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

21 Salmon the father of Boaz,

Boaz the father of Obed,

22 Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of David.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Ruth 4: “legalising” (v.7)

Times and customs change. Before the time when these events were recorded, “in earlier times” they had methods in Israel for “legalising transactions” (v.7). For the redemption or transfer of property one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. At first Boaz had been given an affirmative before witnesses by the closer relative, but it was withdrawn on realising that sealing the deal included marrying Ruth (vv.2-5). That gave Boaz the go-ahead. Conversion is like that. Take it or leave it. Clarity. “Believe … confess” (Romans 10 vv.9-10).

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The Book of RUTH - Chapter 4

- Read by David Suchet -

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The Book of RUTH

- short films -

https://youtu.be/pXFdNhRy9jA

https://youtu.be/o48GTsB31s0

OVERVIEW

THE BOOK OF RUTH

- Overview

The Bible Project

https://youtu.be/0h1eoBeR4Jk

STUDY - LINKS

The Book of RUTH

by David Pawson

https://youtu.be/WHGbkXiN5Mk

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The Book of RUTH

The Big Story in the Little Story

by Matt Mackie (the Bible Project )

https://youtu.be/--Tzi-jMD1E

CHILDREN CORNER

The Story of Ruth and Naomi

https://youtu.be/YIeRJmLDeQ0

https://youtu.be/irThVpdeSXk

https://youtu.be/UTZjvMzXQs4

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Wednesday, 29 September 2021

The Book of RUTH - Chapter Three

Ruth and Boaz at the threshing-floor

1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, ‘My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing-floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing-floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.’

5 ‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing-floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned – and there was a woman lying at his feet!

9 ‘Who are you?’ he asked.

‘I am your servant Ruth,’ she said. ‘Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.’

10 ‘The Lord bless you, my daughter,’ he replied. ‘This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.’

14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognised; and he said, ‘No one must know that a woman came to the threshing-floor.’

15 He also said, ‘Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.’ When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.

16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’

Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, “Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”’

18 Then Naomi said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.’

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Ruth 3: kinsman-redeemer” (v.9)

The customs in Israel paved the way for a ‘happy ending’ to Ruth’s tribulations. Boaz was willing to act as “kinsman-redeemer” (v.9) and explained to Ruth how the system worked. Although another man had priority as a closer relative (v.12), he told her she was known for her “noble character” (v.11) who had behaved with decorum (“not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor” v.10).

Boaz is a ‘type’ of Jesus, ‘kinsman’ in his humanity, and ‘redeemer’ by his sacrifice, a ‘substitute’ who ‘married’ the widow (the church).

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The Book of RUTH - Chapter 3

- Read by David Suchet -

-=-

The Book of RUTH

- short films -

https://youtu.be/pXFdNhRy9jA

https://youtu.be/o48GTsB31s0

OVERVIEW

-=-=-

THE BOOK OF RUTH

- Overview

The Bible Project

https://youtu.be/0h1eoBeR4Jk

STUDY - LINKS

-=-=-

The Book of RUTH

by David Pawson

https://youtu.be/WHGbkXiN5Mk

-=-=-

The Book of RUTH

The Big Story in the Little Story

by Matt Mackie (the Bible Project )

https://youtu.be/--Tzi-jMD1E

CHILDREN CORNER

-----

The Story of Ruth and Naomi

https://youtu.be/YIeRJmLDeQ0

https://youtu.be/irThVpdeSXk

https://youtu.be/UTZjvMzXQs4

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Tuesday, 28 September 2021

The Book of RUTH - Chapter Two

Ruth meets Boaz in the cornfield

1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour.’

Naomi said to her, ‘Go ahead, my daughter.’ 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The Lord be with you!’

‘The Lord bless you!’ they answered.

5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, ‘Who does that young woman belong to?’

6 The overseer replied, ‘She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.” She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.’

8 So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.’

10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, ‘Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?’

11 Boaz replied, ‘I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.’

13 ‘May I continue to find favour in your eyes, my lord,’ she said. ‘You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.’

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’

When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.’

17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ‘Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’

Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. ‘The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,’ she said.

20 ‘The Lord bless him!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.’

21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He even said to me, “Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.”’

22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.’

23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

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Word by Word Meditations

by Fred Ursell

Ruth 2: “favour” (v.10)

Meet Boaz! Some man! Polite and godly, just see how he greeted his workmen, “the LORD be with you!” (v.4). Considerate from the start to Ruth, “stay here … I have told the men not to touch you … get a drink from the water jars” (vv.8-9). Sympathetic of her circumstances, (“I’ve been told … what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your hus-band” v.11), he instructed them to be kind to her (v.15). Ruth appreciated his great “favour” to her, “a foreigner” (v.10), a picture of Christ’s even more gracious favour to us his church.