GOD’S LOVE STORY

• There are people in this world who love putting together puzzles. I don’t understand it, but they exist.

• While puzzling as a hobby seems about as fun as watching paint dry, some people seem to adore piecing together a massive picture by assembling one little odd-shaped puzzle piece at a time.

• Now, it’s time for some critical thinking. Imagine if I were to give you a single puzzle piece.

• You can obsess over the contours, colors, and little graphics all you want, but you cannot figure out the final product with a single piece. To get a better understanding, you need to see the full picture.

• You need to zoom out.

SETTING UP THE SESSION

• As we journey through the book of Ruth, let’s zoom out to see beyond the individual circumstances and gain a greater understanding of the character and nature of our loving and gracious God.

• As we come into this second section, let’s not look at just its relevance to us as individuals but also at what it reveals about the nature of God.

• It’s tragically easy to approach Scripture with a focus on ourselves.

• A “me, myself, and I” perspective is universal in modern times. • We tend to say, “What can I learn about myself from these stories?”

• The ancient Hebrews of antiquity adopted a different approach.

• They asked: “What do the scriptures teach me about God?”

• Today, we will adopt this ancient Jewish perspective, looking upward rather than inward as we study the book of Ruth.

• We will see what this book, viewed through an ancient Hebrew lens, teaches us about God.

• This book may seem like a simple love story about a foreign woman and her mother-in-law. However, there is so much more going on here.

• When we enlarge our view, we see the intricate details of God’s plan for redemption and restoration.

• There are numerous lessons that the book of Ruth teaches us about God, but for practicality, let’s focus on two big ones.

God Does Not Discriminate

• Do you recall that, according to Hebrew law, if a man died without children, a family member was obligated to marry the widow and raise offspring in honor of the deceased man so their family name would continue?

• Essentially, it was to save the family. That close relative was called a kinsman redeemer.

• However, In Ruth chapter 4, we are introduced to another kinsman-redeemer who is closer to Ruth and Naomi than Boaz.

• The text expounds that this mystery man specifically served as her “guardian redeemer.”

• For context, this man was legally obligated to marry her.

• However, he didn’t want to. Why was that? The truth breaks your heart. Do you notice that Ruth is referred to as “Ruth, the Moabite” during their conversation?

• His rejection likely came from a place of discrimination.

• Her skin looked different.

• Her customs were strange to him.

• Her culture was confusing to him.

• Her economic status was much lower than his.

• He couldn’t look past all of that to see her heart of gold, so he rejected her and left her to suffer.

• Peering at Boaz, he remarked, “You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it” (Ruth 4:6).

• He didn’t want Ruth in his family because he deemed her inferior and a “danger” to his estate.

• Thankfully, God doesn’t underestimate Ruth because of her background. God had a big plan and purpose for Ruth, and he provided for her despite some man’s discrimination and rejection.

• The book of Ruth teaches us that God never discriminates.

• He loves every one of us passionately, regardless of race, gender, color, social status, or nationality.

• Imagine that I am holding two crisp $50 bills. Each one carries a certain value in our country. You’re probably thinking, “Well, that’s because they’re exactly the same. They have the same value.” But that’s not entirely true.

• One has a small mark in the corner, and the other has more wear and tear. One was printed in Washington, D.C., and the other was pressed in Texas. One is a little older, so the design is different, and the ink is fading. Despite these differences, they both still hold the same value. Regardless of any differences in appearance, both pieces of paper are worth $50. They possess intrinsic value because the government declares they’re worth $50.

• Human value is much like these $50 bills because God says we are valuable.

• He grants intrinsic value to all people because they are all made in His image.

• Discrimination among humans occurs for a variety of reasons, whether race, gender, religious beliefs, financial status, or social status.

• But this tendency stems from two main causes.

• First, we fail to love others the way we should.

• Second, for a fleeting moment of putting someone down, we feel lifted up.

• God, however, doesn’t need to belittle others to feel superior. He knows who He is and uses His supremacy to bless rather than oppress. How beautiful is that?

• God does not discriminate against anyone, so neither should we.

• There is no room for division in God’s Kingdom.

• We are not divided by race, class, wealth, or gender.

• Rather, we are all united by a shared covenant with God.

• From every cultural perspective at that time, Ruth was an outcast.

• She was from a foreign land, her people worshipped a different god, and she was a poor widow.

• We can see this play out through her public rejection from her guardian redeemer.

• Everything looked lost. Until Boaz, a foreshadowing of Christ, stepped into the picture to redeem her.

• It’s a recurring theme in Scripture: God is a big fan of leveraging people who are rejected, overlooked, and forsaken by their society.

Imagine you were in a creative writing class and were asked to come up with a story of a female heroine for a fictional story.

• When crafting your protagonist, it would likely look nothing like Ruth.

• You’d likely give her a more exciting backstory, better skills, and maybe even superpowers or an animal sidekick.

• That’s not how God operates, though. He selected someone like Ruth—an overlooked, poor, and forsaken outcast.

• God prefers to use the ordinary to pull off the extraordinary.

• Why? Because it guarantees He gets the glory.

• No human can receive glory before God. We must give glory to the One who deserves it. And isn’t that wonderful?

• He took a poor widow and an outcast like Ruth and immortalized her into one of the greatest love stories in Scripture.

• I find great comfort in this because it shows the character of our God.

• He uses people who were rejected by their culture to accomplish His purpose.

• No one is disqualified. No one is discriminated against.

Landing

The book of Ruth teaches us two things about God: He never discriminates, and He loves to use the people that culture refuses.

• In the words of the amazing Bible teacher Kristi McLelland, “The living God is better than I ever knew.”

TALK IT OUT Go through these questions with your circle. Be honest. Be open. Talk through the tough stuff.

In what ways have you seen discrimination play out around you? How do you think God feels about that?

God sees all His children with the same intrinsic value. How should that change the way we treat each other?

How have you seen God use an unexpected person to accomplish His ultimate purpose?

How does knowing that God delights in using unlikely people to accomplish great things make you feel about Him working in your life?

Application:

What is one thing you have learned about God from the book of Ruth that

you can pass on to someone else?

READ THESE PASSAGES IN ORDER EVERY DAY

Ruth 1:1-6

Ruth 1:7-10

Ruth 1:11-16

Ruth 1:17-22

Ruth 2:1-9

Ruth 2:10-17

Ruth 18-23

Do the following with each passage: 

ASK– God to connect with you here. In prayer, start by slowing down and inviting God to be present. Begin with focus and openness to see what God has for you today.

READ– the selected section of Scripture slowly. Take note of the words and phrases that intrigue you, reading them a second time if necessary.

REFLECT– on what grabs you. How does this passage personally relate to your own life and experiences?

RESPOND– to the Scripture. Speak directly to God about what’s on your mind and heart. Look for ways to live out what you’ve uncovered.