In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
Our women’s bible study just concluded a study of the books of Judges and Ruth.
The book of Judges would have made a great movie with thrills and suspense. I can imagine myself sitting in the theater with a large buttery popcorn and my eyes glued to the screen.
I might have told Gideon to “put on his big boy pants.” After taking a few sips of my soda I could see myself cheering for Deborah and Jael and shouting, “You go girls”. And if I were honest I would have told Samson, “FYI, Delilah is playing you” snap out of it!
I also think that about midway through the Judges movie I would have a strange feeling that maybe I was watching “Groundhog day”. God’s people kept repeating their cycle of misery again and again. In God’s mercy he would raise up a deliverer but every victory was soon followed by defeat.
But where did this all begin? We learned in our very first lesson the root cause of Israel’s misery. God’s people lived in desperate and devastating cycles because they compromised their high spiritual calling. The prevailing problem was that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”
There was a national mutiny in their divine mission. How? In chapter one of Judges we read verse after verse how Israel failed to drive all the people out of the land (as God had commanded) and they adopted the customs of the people living around them.
Why was it so important to obey God in this matter? Because these individuals were a clear and present danger to the spiritual welfare of the nation. They worshiped other gods and practiced a lifestyle that was in direct contradiction to God’s purpose for Israel.
Israel was meant to be a light to the nations and a witness to the one true God (2 Pet 2:9). But that could only be lived out as they clung to the Lord, obeyed His commands and held fast to their love for Him.
Neal A. Maxwell said, “Speculation seems more fun than consecration, and so is trying to soften the hard doctrines instead of submitting to them.” We learned in our study that compromise was and is costly!
What a breath of fresh air it was to turn the page and study the book of Ruth!
The study began with a very bleak picture. Two of the primary characters Ruth and Naomi, were both despondent and destitute widows. These women had little to hope for and no one to help. But in the midst of their grief, these women made a decision that would prove to have a profound outcome.
Naomi chooses to go back to her homeland in Bethlehem and Ruth chooses to follow Naomi. Why is this important to know? They were living in Moab, a land and a people who were worshippers of false gods and enemies of the nation Israel. Instead staying in Moab and hoping for a handout, Naomi chooses to go back to the people of the one true God.
I was reminded of something about this precious little book of the bible. Ruth’s story occurred during the time of the Judges a time marked by disobedience, idolatry and violence. But in the midst of overwhelming odds, there were those who chose to follow God.
No matter how discouraging or antagonistic the world may be, no matter how desperate our circumstances may appear God is at work for those who choose Him. (2 Chron 16:9)
Ruth and Naomi faced a tsunami of sadness and the road ahead was bleak, but they chose God in every step. In only four short chapters it wasn’t long before we saw the gracious hand of God. This is a story of God’s redeeming love a small handful of individuals who set their hearts on Him.
Be conscious ladies, character is a choice. It’s never easy and it’s rarely convenient. We too live in a day when everyone is doing what’s right in their own eyes. Character is forged choice-by-choice, day by day choosing obedience over expedience.
Oh how we (God’s women) must cultivate godly character by can shining the light of Christ in the midst of darkness, holding fast to biblical truth in a world of lies, and makes the most of this life not in service of self but to serve the true and living God.