Judges 20-21; Ruth 1-4

“May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12). During the violent period of the judges (1:1), Ruth was a foreign widow who, without the privilege of being an Israelite, followed God’s heart by showing self-sacrificial love to her mother-in-law. Boaz, an Israelite, followed God’s law about protecting the vulnerable (ch 2) and becoming the “guardian-redeemer” of Ruth’s family (3:9). Together they became the great-grandparents of King David and blessed multiple generations (4:17).

Whether in times of chaos or in peace, God calls us to courageously follow his heart. The path of self-sacrificial love has been clearly marked out for us by our Guardian-Redeemer, Jesus.