Ruth - Women of the Bible

There are so many women in the Old and New Testament to write about. Today, I chose Ruth.

The following passage is from www.oikoumene.org:

"The story of Ruth is about love and solidarity between two women of different ages. One of

them (Ruth) is an immigrant who has let herself be pulled up by the roots from her own

culture in order to accompany her new family, her mother-in-law, when life gets difficult.

They are both poor, homeless and without a family. Their staple food is a product of the grain

harvest, and the thought of grain conjures up thoughts of hunger and drought and the toil and

moil of providing daily bread."

The following is the first Chapter of the book of Ruth:

1In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons. ²The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion; they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. ³But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. ⁴These took Moabite wives; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. When they had lived there for about ten years, ⁵both Mahlon and Chilion also died, so that the woman was left without her two sons or her husband.

 

6.. Then she started to return with her daughters-in-law from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had had consideration for his people and given them food. ⁷So she set out from the place where she had been living, she and her two daughters-in-law, and they went on their way to go back to the land of Judah. ⁸But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back each of you to your mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. ⁹The Lord grant that you may find security, each of you in the house of your husband.’ Then she kissed them, and they wept aloud. ¹⁰They said to her, ‘No, we will return with you to your people.’ ¹¹But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters, why will you go with me? Do I still have sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? ¹²Turn back, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I should have a husband tonight and bear sons, ¹³would you then wait until they were grown? Would you then refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, it has been far more bitter for me than for you, because the hand of the Lord has turned against me.’ ¹⁴Then they wept aloud again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 So she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’ ¹⁶But Ruth said,
‘Do not press me to leave you
   or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
   where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
   and your God my God.
¹⁷ Where you die, I will die—
   there will I be buried.
May the Lord do thus and so to me,
   and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!’
¹⁸When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, ‘Is this Naomi?’ ²⁰She said to them,
‘Call me no longer Naomi,^*
   call me Mara,^*
   for the Almighty^* has dealt bitterly with me.
²¹ I went away full,
   but the Lord has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
   when the Lord has dealt harshly with^* me,
   and the Almighty^* has brought calamity upon me?’
22 So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

So often today there are many jokes about mother-in-laws but we need to take a page out of Ruth's play book. She truly loved her mother-in-law. Ruth was willing to do whatever she need to do to please her.

Abigail - Women of the Bible

On Friday, I went away for the day to a women's conference called Sister to Sister. The theme this year was "Fight Like A Girl." While I was there, we learned about Esther in the bible and we also learned about Deborah and Jael (all three of them are in the Old Testament.) After hearing about these ladies, I became interested in learning more about the women of the bible. The women of the bible were strong women.

In Proverbs 31:10 says "Who can find a worthy woman? For her price is far above rubies."

The story of Abigail so many women can relate to even today. Abigail was married to a man who was rich, mean, and surly in his dealings. Abigail's husband's name was Nabal. As the story goes, David was in the area and he protected Nabal's sheep from people who wanted to steal or kill the sheep. After David and his men protected the sheep, David sent a messanger to Nabal to ask for food for him and his men. Nabal being the careless man, he refused David's request. When the messenger went back to David and told all that Nabal had said, David's anger rose up within him. David gathered more than half of his men and headed towards Nabal's home. He was going to kill Nabal and all of his household (servants, animals, and family).

Abigail heard of what was going to happen. She was full of wisdom and knew exactly what needed to be done to calm David down. She met David before he could approach her home. She came bearing provision for David and his men. She also said the right words to calm David down. David went away much calmer.

Nabal threw a party because he didn't know that his life was in danger. Abigail using wisdom once again waited until the morning after Nabal sobered up to tell him everything that transpired between her a David. Nabal was in such sock that his heart gave out and he died ten days later.

After Nabal died, David sent Abigail a proposal of marriage.

The Living Word Library states, "Behind every successful man is an Abigail."

You can read this story for yourself in the Old Testament. It is located in 1 Samuel 25

Abigail's name means "father rejoices" and Nabal's name means "fool."

Are you like Abigail full of widsom and discernment or are you like Nabal a fool?

Although this picture is not of Abigail and Nabal, I can picture this would be the scene before she tells him about David

I want to be like Abigail. I want to be full of wisdom and discernment in every area of my life.