Day 73, or March the 14th. You are a really special, ordinary person.
Our thoughts today are from Ruth chapter 1, verses 3 and 4.
Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married
Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other, Ruth.
Now the big picture surrounding these verses. The Book of Ruth is one of only two books
in the whole Bible which bears a woman's name. She lived during the period of Judges, but
was from the east of the Jordan River, a land called Moab. A man named Elimelek and his
wife Naomi migrated to Moab because of a famine in the Promised Land, and settled there with
their family. Their two sons married local women, and one of these was Ruth. The whole
family was rocked when all the men died. Only Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, Ruth and
Orpah, survived, and Naomi decided to return to her homeland. Both Ruth and Orpah wanted
to return with her, but she did all she could to dissuade them. In the end Orpah remained,
and Naomi and Ruth travelled to Naomi's hometown of Bethlehem. Ruth married a local man who
was called Boaz, and was a relative of Naomi. They had a son called Obed, who had a son
called Jesse, who had a son called David, who became King of Israel.
And now our action step for today. Little did Ruth know that her marriage and subsequent
journey into the land of the Jews would give her a unique place in history as a direct
ancestor of Jesus Christ. She was an average sort of person with a simple faith in God.
She had a son called Obed, about whom we know almost nothing. In a sense, that's the end
of her story, but God had other plans, which Ruth never knew anything about. She will be
really surprised when you want to meet her in heaven. Are you a Ruth, not really standing
out from the rest? God also has a special place for you in history, even though you
may never discover it. Enjoy your life in the light of this. You are a key person in
God's plans.