Ruth

I hadn't planned on this being my first post from my solo Bible study, but I was hit with a bit of a revelation today and I figured I needed to get this one written down. You see, I am knee deep in the old testament (about 400 pages in) and about 5am this morning I got to the Book of Ruth. This will probably sound odd, but I finally found God in the Bible. This book really hit home for two reasons.

First, the book describes a God that I grew up learning about. This wasn't the fire and brimstone God. This was not the God that seems to strike down followers for the slightest transgression. This wasn't the God dictating complex rituals and instituting multiple levels of religious dogma. This was the God the helps those who works hard. Those who are dedicated to doing good and appreciating life. This was a God that loves those who are devoted followers and those who live a godly life, not a God who casts those aside who stray from the path. This is the God I hear about in church. The God that motivates you to live a good life because you want to be close to him, not because you fear him.

Second, it is a story about a God we can experience in today's world. Now I believe I have strong faith in God (I am sure some would disagree), but I am equally cynical of man. When I read some of the outlandish tales in the Bible, I do so with a raised eyebrow. Miracles defying physics and logic around every turn.. ancestors living for 100's of years.. burning bushes and water from rock. But the Book of Ruth is different and it almost seems out of place when compared to the previous books.

I would contend that it is easy to be a believer after having witnessed bread come down from heaven or watching the Red Sea part before you eyes. It is easy to hear God when he yells, but it takes a true believer to hear him when he whispers. That is what the Book of Ruth is about. We don't have smoke over a Tabernacle that tells us which direction to travel. God does not speak to us on a mountain top and tells us what rules to live by in the modern world. We don't see God raining down fire and sulfur on the wicked, nor do we see the wicked get struck down when they do the unthinkable. Instead, in today's world, we need to watch and listen closely to experience God's work. There were no miracles in the book of Ruth. God didn't promise Ruth or Naomi generations of prosperity or grants of land. Ruth and Naomi lived a difficult life; first of losing their husbands, and then living a life of poverty and shame, forced to live off of the scraps of others. Ruth had a choice to leave Naomi and go back to her family but she refused. Together they struggled and persevered without losing faith in themselves, nor God. God blessed them in a tangible way by leading them to a kind, generous man who took care of them and lifted them out of their hardship and into a better life.

You see, I think the point here is that we don't need to win the lottery to see God's work. God's work is all around us doing "little miracles" everyday. I see God's work when I am on a mountain top looking over a pristine alpine lake. I see God's work when I hold my daughter in my arms. I see God's work when I wake up to a new day. I even see God's work when I watch my grass grow in my backyard, although, I wish God didn't work so hard on that one so I wouldn't have to mow so much.

(Btw, what makes this an even better story is that Ruth and Naomi were Moabs, a civilization that was an enemy to Israel and still God was on their side (completely inconsistent, in my opinion, to the book of Joshua). True to form in real life that regardless of your lineage, God accepts anyone who walks in his path. Perhaps another lesson here. )

Now, I have a lot more to blog about the Bible and religion in general (if I have the guts), but I'll leave that for another time.