I’ve been scouting the land ahead to see what lies before us before we all travel down and begin our study on the book of Ruth. As I mentioned before, I’ve never done a personal study on the book of Ruth before so I wanted a general idea of the layout of the land so I could start mapping out our route and specific places to visit.
I had my first impressions of the book. You might like me, have read the book of Ruth several times but never really studied it before. So let me ask, what is your first initial impression of the book of Ruth? Or if you have studied it before, what did you find to be most memorable about it?
Your first impressions of it may be much like mine, it’s a love story. It’s a story of God’s providence, of women’s friendship, about the kinsman redeemer, about the heritage of Jesus. Those were my first impressions. Not too deep. First impressions usually aren’t and that’s ok. I’ve had women tell me before that I have a lot of depth in my studies, well now you know where I start. Pretty shallow waters. I’m like anyone else when I begin a study. I don’t know anything and unless God open’s my mind and helps me understand the scriptures, I have no hope of understanding anything on own. I need a helper and God has promised his own Helper. (John 14:26) I can’t go any deeper than that into His Word without His revelation, which is freely available to anyone who would humbly seeks Him with due diligence.
Initially, I viewed studying Ruth as an opportunity to travel to the promise land, a land flowing with the richness of milk and honey. A land filled with over sized abundant fruit to be enjoyed. I think back to the Israelites returning from scouting the promise land with one single cluster of grapes carried on a pole between two men for their sheer size and weight. (Numbers 13:23) Such are the richness of the fruit of the land that God would have us carry back and enjoy from the book of Ruth. Studying Ruth is a trip that any woman would love to go on given the opportunity. It is like having an opportunity to travel to Paris or Italy with all its world renowned sights. What woman in her right mind would say no? Ruth? Sure! Let’s go!
But now after reading several articles and listening to various sermons to get a deeper impression of the book before we began, I’m left a bit apprehensive, excited but apprehensive. There are a few giants dwelling in the land.
I suppose every bible study has to have a few giants that need to be faced in order to possess the treasure of God’s word as our own. There are giant questions that would oppose us, giant fears that would divert us, giant truths and revelations about our own hearts that are sometimes difficult to face head on that stand before us to be addressed before we can possess His promises. These giant truths would have us give up and turn back and tell others that yes God’s Promise Land is intensely beautiful and has wonderful ideals from a distance but it’s impossible for us to take real possession of them and live within them, enjoying daily their giant blessings and fruits.
Admiring God’s promises only from a safe distance instead of doing battle to enter into them at any cost is a giant temptation. It is the first of the ugly giants that we must put to death through flinging the mighty rock of his word at the temptations.
God’s promises are intended for our full possession and enjoyment of them now in this life. We will have no need for them in the next, for we will be living in their wake. We need to enjoy the comfort of the knowledge of God’s continual presence and sovereignty now in this life to calm our fears. We need to enjoy the knowledge of his love for us now so that we can smile in our sufferings. And yes, owning these truths is very much worth fighting for.
One of my greatest fears is entering into heaven and seeing all that was available, all that I had immediate, continual access to but never took advantage of or availed myself to because my own lack of belief in what God had promised me and His ability to help me to obtain that which He promised to me. I know there is a storehouse of resources in Christ to meet all our needs that is already mine to enjoy now and intended for me to attempt to empty and spend now as I have need; but I wonder how often I have suffered and gone at it alone because I didn’t believe or come to him and accept his gifts, strength, wisdom, peace for the situation at hand. How often have I needlessly suffered the world’s blows where his promises were intended to shield me and provide me with refuge? I wonder how hard I am going to kick myself once I get to heaven when I am fully able to see the riches God’s goodness that went unspent in my time of need because of my own lack of faith in Him resulting in a failure to possess his promises?
I am seeing the book of Ruth as a reminder of the great promise that we have a great God, who is completely sovereign and offers us refuge under the shelter of his wing in our time of need. It doesn’t matter if we find ourselves in a foreign land if we would just turn around and begin making the journey home to Him. It doesn’t matter if we never knew Him before and are coming to Him for the first time, we can make Him our God. He will cover us with himself. He will allow us entrance into His promises if we but take the Christian vow to bind our lives to Jesus, for better or worse, in sickness or in health for as long as we shall live.
