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Overview
Friendship, devotion, reconciliation, childlessness, poverty, faith, commitment, romance, and love. These are issues many women will face in their lives today, and they are the same issues Ruth dealt with centuries ago.
In this delightful book, Diana Hagee leads women through the book of Ruth and explores the powerful promise of God's redemptive grace for each woman and for all mankind. Each chapter details the struggle of Israel and our entire humanity as we seek to find the answers to our emptiness, hunger, loneliness and estrangement from God.
The historic characters show God's story of redemption, culminating in the romance between Ruth (the heroine) and Boaz (the kinsman redeemer).
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780785208662 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Nelson, Thomas, Inc. |
| Publication date: | 09/18/2005 |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.60(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.63(d) |
About the Author
Ministries at Cornerstone Church. Diana is the author of the best-selling book The King's Daughter and Not by Bread Alone, a cookbook encouraging creative ministry through food. Diana and Pastor John Hagee have five children and three grandchildren.
Read an Excerpt
Ruth the ROMANCE of REDEMPTION
A LOVE STORYBy DIANA HAGEE
Nelson Books
Copyright © 2007 Diana HageeAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-7852-0866-2
Chapter One
THE ROMANCE OF REDEMPTION
Naomi's husband, Elimelech, told her to do something she thought she would never have to do. He asked her to close the doors of her home and pack their belongings for a long journey, perhaps the longest journey of their lives. It was difficult for her to understand her husband's reasoning, but she knew she must follow him to Moab.
Naomi's palatial home had been a great joy to her and her family for decades. She gave birth to her adored sons in this home. Fond memories of precious days of laughter lingered within the walls of her lovely sanctuary. As she folded her clothing into large trunks, she found herself crying for the good times. Oh, how she missed them.
She carefully packed away a beautiful linen robe made with trim of red silk and gold thread; it was the robe she wore the day of her betrothal to her beloved husband. The town envied her beauty that day. What a fine day that was! Never had she seen Bethlehem so joyful and Elimelech so handsome. He had always been a man of striking features and strong will-two qualities she admired in him.
Today will be the most difficult of days. Today Naomi will remove the final remembrances of her family from her home. Today she will bid her friends goodbye.
A famine had plagued Israel for years, but Naomi had always kept a secret supply of flour and honey for her renowned honey cakes. She faithfully thanked Jehovah for the blessings of provision and favor that followed her family.
Tears streamed down her face as she began to prepare tea for her cherished guests. She had known them for as long as she could remember. They shared the good times and the sad moments of each other's lives. It was time to say goodbye to a lifetime of beautiful memories and treasured friendships. What would she say?
THE BIBLE STUDY
In order to better understand the Book of Ruth I asked questions of the Lord before I began to study the first verse. Questions such as: Why did the Holy Spirit choose this remarkable work from so many inspirational writings to be included in His divine library called the Holy Scriptures? Why did the prophet Samuel feel he should author this amazing manuscript? How did a gentile woman enter the genealogy of Christ? The answers to these questions helped me to unveil some of the mysteries within the pages of the Book of Ruth.
Many liberal interpretations of Scripture teach that the Bible is degrading in its portrayal of women. This could not be further from the truth. Just think, out of the sixty-six books of the Bible, two are completely devoted to women. The first, the Book of Esther, is a book about a Jewish maiden who marries a gentile and saves her people from annihilation. This book is known as the Romance of Providence.
The second is the Book of Ruth, a book about a Gentile girl who marries an Israelite and is grafted into the root of David. This book is known as the Romance of Redemption.
The Jews read five books, called the Megilloth, in their synagogues during the Feasts. These feasts celebrate past events that have greatly impacted the Jewish people. The Book of Esther is read during the Feast of Purim, which celebrates the deliverance of the Jews from death at the hand of Haman.
The Book of Ruth is read during Shavout, or the Feast of Pentecost. Why is this book read during Pentecost? For the Jew, there are three reasons. First, the book of Ruth begins with the barley harvest and ends with the wheat harvest (from Passover to Pentecost). During this season of anticipation, Ruth went to Boaz on the threshing floor, and their meeting became part of a series of events which led to their marriage and eventual birth of their son Obed. Second, the book of Ruth centers on the personality of King David's grandmother, and it is believed that David was born and died during Shavout. And third, Shavout is also recorded as the time when God revealed the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai, reminding every Jew that they too were once converts to Judaism just as Ruth, who is the consummate paradigm of converts. It was at this moment in time that all of God's chosen had the opportunity to accept the great challenge, responsibility, and destiny of becoming a Jew.
To the Christian, Pentecost is the birthday of the church. Pentecost is the Bethlehem of the Holy Spirit-its birthplace-for He came on that day to be made flesh. Scripture says:
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you? (I Corinthians 6:19 KJV)
J. Vernon McGee states that "Pentecost is the line of demarcation between Law and grace. It marks the ending of the age of Law and the beginning of the age of grace."
Oh, how we as children of the living God depend on His mercy and His grace! Grace is the main component throughout this precious book. I know this is one of the reasons I love it so, for what would have become of my life without my portion of grace?
Samuel is said to have written Ruth during the reign of David (1000-961 BC), yet the actual setting takes place during the period of the judges' rule over Israel, sometime between 1150 and 1100 BC. During this time in Israel's history the judgment of God was upon His people because of their adulterous relationships with other gods. Israel reaped the consequences of their disobedience through the famine God sent to the land.
Yet in even the darkest of days, we see a loving God working out His purposes in the lives of individuals who are rightly related to Him by covenant. In Hebrew, two terms denote people within Scripture. One is am and the other is goi. Am refers to a people with a shared cohesion of values-a people of covenant. God calls Israel His ami or "My people." The word goi or goyim is a word that refers to a nation of people in terms of politics or geography. As history has evolved, goyim has become linked to those people or nations outside of God's chosen. Scripture attests that God, our Father, is always interested in the affairs of His children.
I used to refer to myself as a goi when speaking to Rabbi Scheinberg because I was a non-Jew; however, after researching the Hebrew I realized I was grafted into the root of Jesse by the death of my Savior at the cross. I am God's ami, part of His people-of His covenant. I was not God's child by birth; I became God's child through adoption. Hallelujah!
Jewish scholars believe the prophet Samuel wrote the Book of Ruth in honor of David to justify his royalty. The crown of kingship is placed on David's head as well as on the regal household of the Messiah because of the lineage included in this historical book. In essence the Book of Ruth establishes the "Scarlet Thread" of genealogy within Scripture.
In 1 Samuel we see the story of a disobedient Israel, an Israel that demanded a king from the Lord. At this time, God was Israel's king. He raised judges for her and guided them to lead her. Through these judges He protected her and He provided for her:
And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies. (Judges 2:18)
This was not enough for God's people, and they went their own way. God brought judgment to them by lifting His protection and allowing other nations to suppress them:
Then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel; and He said, "Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died." (Judges 2:20-21)
However, the Israelites did not know the heart of God, and they believed their oppression was brought on because they did not have a king to lead them in battle. They demanded a king, and therefore, rejected the Lord God of Israel:
And the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them." (1 Samuel 8:7)
This was a time of spiritual confusion for Israel, marked by compromise and apostasy. Israel's desire for a king was not the dilemma-Israel's impure motive for wanting a king was the problem. They wanted to be like other nations; they wanted someone else's supervision other than God's. They did not want to be a people set apart to the one and only true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles." (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
Even though Samuel was displeased with Israel's disobedience and was reluctant to appoint a king over her, he obeyed the voice of the Lord and anointed Saul as commander over the people:
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: "Is it not because the LORD has anointed you commander over His inheritance?" (1 Samuel 10:1)
Samuel anointed Saul. Samuel kissed Saul on the forehead. Samuel spoke of Saul before the nation of Israel. As time passed Samuel grew to love Saul; through the Lord's guidance, Samuel discipled Saul and taught him to fear the Holy One of Israel.
After serving as leader over Israel, Saul, too, became disobedient. He sought the advice of a witch and obeyed the voice of the people instead of the God who anointed him commander. The kingdom was taken from Saul by the Lord and given to another, and Samuel was heartbroken. Always obeying the voice of God, Samuel went to Bethlehem in search of the new king that the Holy One of Israel had selected. Yet Samuel searched with a grieving spirit:
Now the Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." (1 Samuel 16:1)
Samuel lamented so deeply over the loss of Saul that he did not recognize God's anointed. The Lord rebuked Samuel when David stood before him, and He instructed His prophet to anoint His chosen king:
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. (1 Samuel 16:13)
The Lord had instructed Samuel to anoint Saul using a flask of oil, which signified a temporary kingdom, but David was anointed with a horn of oil, which represented a kingdom that would last for eternity. Saul was appointed "commander" over the Lord's inheritance while David was declared "king" over Israel.
Saul was a commoner who became a commander. David was a commoner who became a king, prophet, poet, and a man after God's own heart. Out of David's loins would come a kingdom without end, a kingdom where Shiloh would have dominion forevermore:
He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. (2 Samuel 7:13)
In crowning David king, God was doing a separate and sovereign work that would affect the future of mankind and eternity.
Many Christian scholars, such as J. Vernon McGee, believe one of the main purposes of the Old Testament is to furnish a reliable genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Book of Ruth is the only book in the Old Testament that presents the family tree of David, proving to be the most vital link from Abraham to the coming Messiah. The genealogical table in Ruth is duplicated, in part, in the New Testament in the Gospel of Matthew from Perez to David, with a few unique details added to the lineage in Matthew.
Four names are added to the genealogy of Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, and they are not the names of men. These names are of four women, unique in itself because women were omitted from genealogy according to the practice of the times. One of these women is Ruth. We will follow the trail of Ruth and the other chosen Gentile women in our journey as we uncover some of the beautiful lessons the Word of God has for us.
Samuel fulfilled his destiny when he wrote this book about a Moabitess portraying her as she really was, a woman of beauty and humility who took refuge under the wing of her Redeemer. The Book of Ruth is infused with hidden love for her grandson, David, and from this book Samuel's purpose is accomplished-a crown is placed on the royal house of the Messiah.
Thus the story begins.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Ruth the ROMANCE of REDEMPTION by DIANA HAGEE Copyright © 2007 by Diana Hagee. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Confessions of a Pastor's Wife....................ix1 The Romance of Redemption....................1
2 The Visitation....................9
3 The Road to Repentance....................25
4 The Conversion....................33
5 The Homecoming....................47
6 The Divine Appointment....................59
7 The Kinsman....................77
8 The Favor....................87
9 Hands Full on Purpose....................101
10 The Hope....................115
11 The Threshing Floor....................129
12 The Blessing....................145
13 The Romance....................159
14 The Prophecy....................175
15 The Redeemer....................183
16 The Covenant....................207
17 The Restoration....................219
18 The Love Story....................235
Notes....................251