a. The LORD gave her conception: The gift of children was never taken for granted in Israel. The fact that Boaz and Ruth were able to raise up a son to the deceased Elimelech was evidence of God’s blessing. (Guzik)
”Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.“
Ruth 4:14-16 NKJV
a. Blessed be the LORD: Look at blessed Naomi! She now had a grandson; she was now famous in Israel; and she got to be a nurse to her own grandson.
b. Who has not left you this day without a close relative: It was fitting that these blessings in the life of Naomi be given so much attention at the end of the book. Naomi was the one whose original returning to the LORD began all this great work of God. If Naomi had not decided to go back to Bethlehem, the land of Israel, and the God of Israel, none of this would have happened.
i. This is a marvelous demonstration of what God can do through one poor woman who gets right with Him.
ii. It is also fitting because Naomi was the one who said in chapter one, the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me... the LORD has brought me home again empty... the LORD has testified against me(Ruth 1:20-21). If only Naomi could have seen then how greatly the LORD would bless her at the end!
iii. We can’t blame Naomi - we certainly do the same kind of thing. But we should also learn from what she learned. We should learn that God’s plan is perfect and filled with love, and even when we can’t figure out what He is doing and it all seems so desperate, He still knows what He is doing. We should learn that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). (Guzik)
Are Called According to His Purpose!
”And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.“
Romans 8:28 NKJV
Last summer our church counselor retired and though it seemed abrupt he had been planning it for two years. The problem was the church didn’t have a plan in place for a replacement weekly program to replace Compassionate Recovery. It was a biblical 12 step program for hurts, hangups and habits. My wife and I suggested a replacement using the Life Recovery Bible but a different one was chosen for a semester and the leader left after that semester.
Long story short, we are leading the Life Recovery Bible group at our church! Some members have said that they have learned more with the LRB program than with years of the other program.
We were called according to His Purpose!
Is God calling you?
Blessings
https://liferecoverygroups.com
https://www.tyndale.com/sites/liferecovery/
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