Torch, Summer 1999

Prayer reminds us that we are not beggars seeking to pry loose a few moments of sustenance from a tight-fisted and angry father. Prayer reminds us that, like the prodigil son in Luke's gospel (Luke 15:11-32), when we come to our senses, we can "arise ~nd go to [ou.r] Father." 62.esson #S (@-uth 31-18) 12raper acknowledg-es (JUr respon.f!m/itpfar participation wtth l'0od infarmulat1n5 and even : responding to ourprcrpers Prayer is an active approach to . life's challenges, not_a passive response to life's eventualities. Notice the interplay between prayer and action in the events of Ruth: • Naomi recognizes– whar- needs to be done for Ruth to be . provided for (3:1~4). • Ruth obeys and acts (3:5-7). • Boaz responds quickly yet ethically (3:8-14). • Boaz responds generously (3:15-16). • Naomi then leaves the results in the hands of others (3:18). 12 Torch Naomi and Ruth recognized they had a role to play in God's grand scheme. They were sensitized to the situation, knew God's pl~n was in place, and acted as they were led by the Spirit. 62.esson #6 (@-uth lf 1-22) 12rtiper acknrJW!edg-es cf;od's intention to re.tptJnd to the praper in waps entirelp consistent wtth c2Jod's ~hciracter Boaz' response to Ruth was more than one person could ask from another. However, it is the kind of response we can and should expect from God. Boaz acted with the totally proper response: Boaz allows the right thing to happen (4: 1-6), Boaz aligns with _God's right way (4:7-9), -and Boaz affirms God's right ends (4: 10-12). '\ 62.esson #? · (@?.uth lf 13-22) _ 12rap_er acknowledges cY,od's pard(Jn /{Jr whosoever -wi{ 1 ' ~ Ruth was a Moabitess. Recali that the Moabites were the descendants of the older of Lot's nvo daughters (the Ammonites were the descendants of the younger), conceived in an incestuous plot by Lot's daughters after their · escape from Sodom and Gomorrah. The Moabites settled on the east bank of the, Dead Sea and.refused to allow the Israelites to peacefully pass through their land into Canaan. The Moabites were enemies primarily in the sense of their lack of hospitality; in Deuteronomy 23:3 we read of the exclusion of both the Ammonites and the Moabites forever from being part of the Lord's congregation. Ahd yet, Ruth is redeemed by Boaz. As a co sequence of this act of gr~ce, a Moabite is laced in the genealogical line f Obed, the father ofJesse, the grandfather of David. A Moabitess became an ancestor-of Jesus Christ.