City Life Starter

I. The Word

“The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there. Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband.” Ruth 1: 2-5 (NLT)

“1This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham… 5Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David… 16Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.” Matthew 1:1, 5-6,16 (NLT)

II. Reflection Questions

1. Have you experienced a tragedy that made you question God’s existence, goodness, or power?
2. How justified are you to make that judgment based on your personal experiences?

By Danielle Clark

Losing loved ones is always hard, but Ruth and Naomi lived in a culture that made the loss of their male relatives quite dire. Women at this time were vulnerable to sexual assault, trafficking, and poverty without a male advocate. After the loss of all the men in their family, Ruth and Naomi move to Israel to start their new life as poor widows. Through a providential series of events, Ruth meets and marries Boaz, a charitable and kind man of God. As we can see in Matthew’s genealogy of Christ, Ruth, and Boaz are ancestors of both King David and Jesus Christ. Ruth could’ve never known how crucial she, a Moabite woman, was to the Israelites’ hope for a Messiah. In addition, she had no idea that her family’s misfortune would help God save the entire world.

Application

You were likely born in the 20th century. God has been around before time started.

You will likely live around 80-90 years. God will exist after time ends.

You can only be in one place at a time. God knows and sees everything in the universe at all times.

You starting to get it? You are in no place to look at any of your personal tragedies and use them to make sweeping statements about the nature of God. None of us will ever see the whole picture, and he never ever promised us a pain-free life. The best choice we have is to submit to Him, try to understand what we can, pray our pain to the Lord, and accept that He is always present, good, and powerful.