Ruth

The King’s Great-Grandmother

Friday, May 5, 2023

Ruth became a widow at a young age. She was from the nation of Moab. When Naomi, her Israelite mother-in-law, decided to leave Moab and return to Israel, Ruth insisted on joining her. She courageously made that choice although she knew there was animosity between the two nations.

When the two women arrived in Bethlehem, all the town was aflutter with curiosity. Not too long afterward, Ruth found herself at dinner with Boaz, an influential landowner. Events rolled fast and Boaz married Ruth. She gave birth to a son who later became King David’s grandfather. Ruth, the girl from Moab, became the great-grandmother of King David and, of course, an ancestor of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Read the entire Book of Ruth in the Bible.)

Prayer

Majestic God in heaven, you are the King of the ages. You guide history. You direct the affairs of eternity. You control events. You are also the God who redeems. Thank you, our Lord and Redeemer, for the story of Ruth, a foreigner and a childless widow. You turned her misery and loneliness into great and profound blessings. You honored her. No one can turn the dark night into bright morning like you.

I pray that many Muslim women will be like Ruth, full of courage to follow the only true God into an unknown future at the expense of being ostracized and ridiculed.

May the ladies who come to Jesus from Islam be filled with the assurance of your love and care. Help them realize that no sacrifice they make will go unnoticed by the Father in heaven. May their determination to follow our Lord break down the resistance in their culture. May these followers of Christ, considered “underdogs,” become leaders who bring others to you. Amen.

Promise

The women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD…. your daughter-in-law… has been better to you than seven sons!” (Ruth 4:14-15, NLT).