Advent Devotions

Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Carol Swanson.

Read the Book of Ruth (4 chapters).

Last week, when I was thinking about writing devotions for this week, our women’s Circle bible study from Gather magazine was on Ruth. It’s title “Bold faith on an unexpected journey” fit very well with our worship theme of Open Doors: Going God’s Way.  Then Sunday’s sermon by Scott Tunseth was powerful, tackling the violence portrayed in Joshua, and in Monday’s devotion, Scott introduced Joshua as a sort of “shaky” bridge between major periods of the Old Testament.  Now I would like to continue that “bridge” made up of Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. The Lutheran Study Bible introduces Ruth this way: The book of Ruth is a bridge between the unruly end of the period of the Judges (see Judges 21:25) and the beginning of the kingdom ruled by David and his descendants. [Our text this coming Sunday is on David.]  The author might have been a village teacher such as a priest or a wise woman, who told ancestral stories to instruct and inspire the people.

To read Ruth is a soothing balm. It’s a love story that followed great loss. It begins,

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. (1:1)

The two sons marry Moabite women, then the father dies, the sons die. Aging, grieving Naomi wants to return to Bethlehem and tells her grieving daughters-in-law to return to their Moabite families. But Ruth insists on going with her, saying the famous words,

“Do not press me to leave you
or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God….”

I’d like to share a few of the insights of Tiffany C. Chaney, the author of the Gather study (pp 38-43). In her introduction, she writes:

Ruth, a Moabite woman, chooses loyalty amid uncertainty. As she walks into an unknown future in an unfamiliar land, her bold faith reveals how God works through relationship to bring provision, belonging, love and new life.

Chapter 1 of Ruth is heavy. It is filled with loss, grief and uncertainty…. There are 21 verses of bad news. Then comes verse 22: “They [Naomi and Ruth] came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.”… It doesn’t erase what has been lost. Their circumstances have not fully changed.

But it is a clue. A signal, a glimmer of hope, a sign of God’s provision….

That is often how God works. Not always with a dramatic change in an instant, but with subtle shifts we miss if we are not paying attention– shifts like a door opening, a relationship forming, a resource becoming available or a small sign that something new is possible….

The love woven throughout Ruth’s story is captured in the Hebrew word hesed used throughout the Book of Ruth, describing a love that is steadfast, faithful and active. …

In this story, we see that kind of love most clearly in Ruth. Ruth demonstrates bold faith from the very beginning of her journey. She stays when she could have left. She goes when she does not know what lies ahead. She commits herself to a people, a place, a future that are not her own. Ruth’s faith is not rooted in certainty. It is rooted in relationships. …

That is hesed. A love that commits, even without guarantees. A love that moves forward, even without clarity.

We also see hesed in Boaz….

Boaz notices Ruth and learns her story. He sees her not simply as a migrant, but as a person: someone who has shown loyalty, someone doing what she can to survive. He responds by going above and beyond, giving generously and making space for Ruth to have a seat at the table with dignity….

And through both Ruth and Boaz, we begin to see something even deeper: Hesed reflects how God cares for us through one another. God often works through people willing to stay and show up.

The author of the Gather study, Tiffany C. Chaney, raises up the themes of loneliness and isolation, of migration and immigrants that we share in our present time. She poses questions for us to ponder:

During times of transition or uncertainty, what kinds of relationships or communities have helped you feel a sense of belonging?

When life feels overwhelming, what helps you pay attention to small signs of hope?

What would it look like to participate in God’s work by helping to create not simply survival, but dignity and belonging for others in our own communities?

Here is one way: The Circle bible studies are a time for women to gather in small groups, to share hope and stories, to care, to develop relationships of belonging and true friendship. We’d love to grow our Circles and start new ones. Ladies, come join us.

The Book of Ruth is a bridge between the uncertain and chaotic times of Joshua and Judges and the future kingdom ruled by David. For Ruth and Boaz marry and have a son, who will be the grandfather of David. And more…

The Lutheran Study Bible notes, On the marriage of Moabite Ruth and Israelite Boaz, Luther says it was a union of Gentile and Israelite blood, so that Ruth the Moabitess also became the mother of Christ. This union shows how God is not only the God of the Jews but also the God of the Gentiles. –– See Ruth in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, Matthew 1:1-17.

Gather study prayer:
O God who leads us on life’s journeys, as we read and listen to the story of Ruth and Naomi, help us to see how lives can be formed by love and courage. Open our hearts to recognize those who have walked with us in our lives. Open our eyes to the ways you are present through relationships that sustain us. Open our spirits to hear your call to love more deeply, show up more fully, and walk alongside others with grace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.