RPG Adults
THE BLESSING OF THE HOME (7)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11
Ruth 4:11-22
1 Peter 3:9-12
“…knowing that ye
are thereunto called,
that ye should inherit a blessing.”
THE BLESSING OF THE HOME (7)
Prayer too is not to be taken as a formality. In prayer, we commune with God who hears and is pleased to answer our prayer. Both private and secret prayers, as well as corporate and public prayers, have immense value for personal family life. Just as the words of Boaz to Ruth, and to the elders and the people, were not empty promises, the words of blessing pronounced on Boaz and Ruth by the elders were not empty blessings.
“The LORD gave her conception, and she bare a son” (Ruth 4:13). The pronouncements and prayers that blessed Boaz and Ruth had the name of the LORD invoked. His name was not invoked in vain. In the Ten Commandments, God commanded that His name must not be taken in vain. What joy Ruth must have felt. Surely, none can imagine. She had been a wife before, her husband had died, and at the point of coming with Naomi to Bethlehemjudah, the picture presented was bleak. She came under no illusion; she came trusting only in God. And then, she was married again, to a godly man too. And “the LORD gave her conception.” She would be a mother for the first time as the provisions for Levirate marriage applied where there was no child born.
The picture presented here is an encouraging one. It is one that offers to us an encouragement to pray. It is one that implies that we have a privilege in prayer. We may come to God with a confidence that is solely based on the attributes and Word of God, irrespective of past experiences because God graciously gives help to those in need. It also offers us an encouragement to obey. It is a picture that shows us that God does honour obedience and commitment to His will as revealed in His Word. The words of Naomi to Ruth that same morning recorded at the end of chapter 3 (“Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day”) were realised, the intentions of Boaz were honoured, and the prayers of the elders were answered.
THOUGHT: (Read 1 John 5:14-15.)
PRAYER: Help me, Father, to trust Thy goodness in all that Thou wilt.