Ruth 1:20-22, 4:13-17, God‘s reversal Grace

Ruth 1:20-22, 4:13-17, God‘s reversal Grace

    The Bible is a story of God's reversal Grace. He gave the grace of reversal to many people. God made the idolater Abram the father of faith, the deceiver Jacob the father of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Egyptian servant Joseph the prime minister, and the shepherd David the great king of Israel. The captive Daniel became the prime minister of Babylon, the orphan Esther became the queen of Persia, and the beggar Lazarus became a citizen of heaven. Jesus' terrible death on the cross achieved the greatest reversal through resurrection.
    The Book of Ruth is also a story of God's reversal Grace. Even in situations of impossibility, sadness, pain, and despair, God can give us the grace to turn things around. Let’s share that grace through the Book of Ruth.

1. Naomi’s story of reversal
  1:19-22, Elimelech and his wife Naomi move to Moab and lose their land due to poor harvests. God gives the grace of praise that turns the empty life of Naomi, who has returned from suffering, into a reversal. 4:9-10, 14-17, she regains her land and her family.

2. Ruth’s story of reversal
  1:16, Ruth, a foreign woman, returns to Bethlehem, deciding to follow her mother-in-law and believe in her God, a widow who had worshiped her idols. But she supported her mother-in-law by gleaning, married Boaz, and bore her son Obed (4:13). A life of despair receives the grace of reversal from God, becoming the ancestors of David and the Messiah, God's people who gained eternal life.

3. The story of Boaz’s reversal
  Mt. 1:5, Boaz is the son of Rahab, a Jericho prostitute and a cursed foreign woman, and his wife Ruth is also a foreign Moabite woman. He would have lived in shame and contempt. However, by the grace of God, he becomes a powerful man in Bethlehem (2:1). He also experience God's grace of reversal by bearing the burden of sacrificing their fortunes. He becomes the ancestor of the great King David and even the ancestor of Jesus, the savior of mankind (4:17, 21-22)

  To whom will the grace of reversal be given? It is given to those who trust in God, those who are loyal to God and the church, and those who practice God's kindness. After the terrible suffering of the cross, Jesus was resurrected and showed humanity's greatest reversal of grace.

Loving everyone! Even in the dark moments of life, we are blessed to live as blessed saints who trust in Jesus, are loyal to the Lord and the church, practise God's kindness, and experience the Lord's reversal of grace. Amen.