It’s amazing to see so many of you on board with the #RuthChallenge having done the #EstherChallenge. We have reached the end of the Challenge! Wahey, praise God for His word. Thank you all for sharing your wisdom, many have been blessed including myself! The next challenge will be during our Easter break! We will be reading the book of ROMANS for 16 days. Don’t worry I will remind you closer to the time 🙂 If you have any notes from previous challenges or chapters, please send them to biblechallenge@outlook.com so I can add it to the relevent blog posts!
DAY FOUR- CHAPTER FOUR
MY SHORT SUMMARY: Everyone loves a happy ending and I’m glad that the story of Ruth had one too! But it took a while to get there. Boaz abided by the custom of the land by offering Ruth to a man deemed as the closest relative to her late father in-law, called the guardian-redeemer. In the presence of 10 elders (NOLLYWOOD ) he offered to this ‘guardian redeemer’ Ruth alongside the piece of land that belonged to Elimelech. Now this man accepted to buy the land but refused to take Ruth because she was a Moabite (Gentile, not one of their own). So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz ‘buy it yourself’. So he did! GLORY. Boaz and Ruth got married and were blessed with a Son called Obed. Naomi was no longer bitter, she was now a proud grandma and everyone praised her and God for His amazing work and for not forsaking them.
YOU HAVE BEEN REDEEMED!
I got an awesome understanding of what it means to be redeemed by Christ and not the law. The ‘guardian redeemer refused to take the land and Ruth because Ruth was a Moabite, a gentile, someone considered to be separate from God’s people. He had every right to because He was simply going by the ‘law’. BUT, the law did not stop Ruth from being redeemed. Boaz was there and READY to take Ruth just as she was. Regardless of her background he wanted to redeem her. I don’t see his motive for doing so being anything other than true LOVE!
There were ten elders who were called to witness two things – firstly they witnessed that the closer relative couldn’t redeem Ruth, and secondly, they witnessed that Boaz could. Basically…These ten elders represent the ten commandments that also tell us two things – the law itself cannot save but they lead us to the one who can.
The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ showing that He is the only one that could save us, so that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
In our Christian lives we must always look at where our redemption comes from. Does our salvation come from our best efforts to keep Gods law (which we can’t even do!!!) or is it also by trusting in the Lord Jesus as we did when we first met Him (just like Ruth trusted Boaz)?
”Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.” – Galatians 3:23-25
The story of Ruth foreshadows the glorious act of salvation to be told in the New Testament. It shows the beautiful exchange that Christ made. His law is perfect, but because of the love He had for us, because of the love Boaz had for Ruth, He decided to save us when the law could no longer save us and when we couldn’t save ourselves.
GOD TURNS THINGS AROUND
As we come to the end of our challenge we see the blessing of God restored to Naomi. Naomi has gone from a bitter woman, to a blessed and famous mother in Israel. It started with bitterness, but it ends with a smiling.We also see the life of the humble and dedicated Ruth totally turned around. She has gone from a widowed gentile, far from God, to become a mother in a generational line that would not only produce King David, but would one day give to the world their redeemer, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
This story is not only about Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. It is also about our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is about our redemption! You may be like Naomi once was, bitter at God, or Ruth, far from the knowledge of the true God. Even if you are as far away as these two were, this story shows us that God can turn things around and make something, out of nothing. And God loves to make a ‘somebody’, out of a ‘nobody.’
WHAT EVERYONE ELSE DOING RUTH CHALLENGE HAS LEARNED:
Look at the end, what did Naomi gain? A grandson and she also gained such a loyal daughter in law. After the struggle she went through losing her sons and losing her husband, you can say that Ruth was Naomi’s strength, Ruth was the one that kept Naomi going, Ruth was the one when Naomi had lost faith in The Lord was trying to restore that faith.
Many times have myself or anyone else been like Naomi, lost faith and lost a sense of direction and what I’ve really needed is a Ruth or acted like Ruth. MAINTAINING FAITH.
@LawyerMeeks
So many times when something inconvenient happens or something that we did not imagine to happen happens, we automatically lose faith and we automatically blame God. But the truth is things happen for a reason. We may blame God, but just know that The Lord has something in store for you, something big in store for you. The Lord would never put you in harms way, NEVER. Look at Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold”.
I have learnt so much during the Ruth Challenge, so much. I say that Ruth is someone that I should or we should embody and embody the way she was as a woman. Looking after her mother in law while she was so fragile. We must try to embody Ruth. We must try. – @NalaMiimii98
The tragedies won’t be the end of your story – @LawyerMeeks
To all the girls who are in a hurry to have a boyfriend or get married, a piece of Biblical advice: “Ruth patiently waited for her mate Boaz.” While you are waiting on YOUR Boaz, don’t settle for any of his relatives: Broke-az, Lyin-az, Cheatin-az, Dumb-az, Drunk-az, Cheap-az, Lockedup-az, Goodfornothingaz, Lazyaz and especially his third cousin Beatinyouaz. Wait on your Boaz and make sure he respects Yoaz!
“swiped from a friend” I wish I knew who wrote this! It’s the best advice ever!
Tweets from a few of those doing the #RuthChallenge
This final chapter made me realize a few things. One of the main things was, if something is meant to be it will always be. Boaz wanted to give Ruth to someone else but that was not part of God’s plan. The owner who had agreed to buy the land that belonged to Naomi refused to buy the land once he heard what came in the whole package. Little did he know what a blessing he was letting go off! There are times we might feel rejected by some people but we fail to realize that God’s plan is always the best plan. At the end of the day he knows us best and he will do what is best for us. Ruth finally got Boaz and it was happily ever after – @_Rudoe
A collection of tweets from a few people involved in the #RuthChallenge
‘God has written your love story,let him read it to you’…..
Oh! Yes..too bad there: were no wedding bells in those days lol!!…Boaz!!!,my man….acknowledged custom and decided to follow protocols..he had principles which made him a man of integrity…..Ruth’s time of honour had already come..this kind of love could make God arise and ask for a clapping ovation in heaven..that’s because his scripts were properly memorized by both parties(Boaz & Ruth) they did so by obeying God and his standards for marriage!
Ruth was a lady,one with a gentle and good heart..that was her worth..Boaz recognized that and was really impressed that was why he refused to take Advantage of her…she presented her self like an egg and Boaz treated her like one!!! Because of her faithfulness and other good virtues,the lord God of Israel honoured her by making her begin the lineage of our saviour Jesus Christ – @saved_nicolee
Kanayo is a Multi-award winning, Author and Senior leader in education whose experience ranges from being a Deputy Head of Sixth Form, Head of Psychology and Lead Practitioner. Kanayo believes that these 3 elements are the driving force of her ministry and career. D.I.G; Drive, Integrity and Grace.
Having a psychology degree provides me with a broad scope to experience many industries and fields of work. Although, my main aim is to continuously learn and also to share my knowledge and experience with others, within and beyond the constraints of the psychology community. Hence my pursuit to teach!
Hopefully, the readers of this blog will find that it is infested with a scope of psychological knowledge, with the intention of conveying psychology in such a way that it is interesting and understandable to those who aren’t studying it as a discipline. In addition, you will find that I heavily cover various topics aside of psychology such as, Christianity because I am a Christian. I draw both passions together, Psychology and Christianity, observing how they complement and sometimes clash! This blog is where ‘Psychology meets Scripture’.
As well as teaching Psychology, I know God has called me to do something far greater in this world. My passion is for His Word and to encourage others to read the Bible, fall in love with it, but most importantly…fall in love with The Author! My role of teaching is not limited to psychology. I strongly believe God is stirring up the ‘teacher’ office of the Five fold ministry in me.
I’m a doctor by virtue, healing and performing heart surgery with words of encouragement.
I am extremely driven and passionate about getting everyone; both Christians and non-Christians to read, understand and live out the word of God. To achieve this, I’ve created online Bible Challenges, whereby people around the world via social media, read a book in the Bible, one chapter a day and share what they have drawn out from the text. I have numerous Bible challenges, all accessible from my blog (www.doctorkanayo.com) and the YouVersion Bible App where over 250,000 people have completed my devotionals around the world. One Bible Challenge at a time, I aim to change the skewed perceptions of the Bible being irrelevant and to show the true reality that the bible is ‘juicy’, tremendously relevant, fun and easy to read. My one prayer is that my teachings and writings from His word, will touch at least ONE person. That would be a serious mission accomplished to the glory of God!
If you have anything you would like me to blog about, do let me know by either commenting, or contacting me via my contact form.
Thank you for visiting my blog. With love, Kanayo x
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