Separating the Sabbath

but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, Deuteronomy 5:14 Work – What does the Sabbath mean to you? Of course, if you’re Christian, you’ve moved from Saturday to Sunday. Actually, you moved from the Sabbath (the only day named by God) to…

God as Redeemer

You have by Your power redeemed Your people Psalm 77:15 Redeemed – Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer, a go’el. But he is not the most important kinsman-redeemer. That role is played by Jesus. Jesus, our kinsman, born as one of us, is the ultimate kinsman-redeemer. He buys us back from bondage. Isaiah 52:3 tells us that…

What the Fool Lacks

“A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him.”  Proverbs 28:22 Want – Cindy Lauper vocalized the culture’s mantra: “Money fixes everything.”  If you allow the world to prescribe your antidote to want, you would certainly believe her.  Everywhere we look, this world bows down…

Redemption in Action

Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today ” Ruth 4:14 Redeemer – You are the living canvas of the pictures of God’s character. Saint Francis of Assisi told us to “preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” He understood…

Random Accidents?

And she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz Ruth 2:3 Happened – This world believes in serendipity. That’s the “happy accidents” perspective. In general, we have forgotten what every believing Jew knows is at the core of existence. The truth is that God is in charge. Therefore, there are…

A Plot in the Names

Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz Ruth 2:1 Elimelech . . Boaz – Naomi takes the name Marah, a play on the Hebrew word for “bitter”. Then we find that she has a kinsman, a moda’, within her husband’s…

Naming Myself

“Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Ruth 1:20 Mara . . Bitterly – Do you know why Naomi gives herself a new name? That is quite unusual, even in our own day. When someone decides to take a new first name, it usually signals…

The Smell of Sacrifice

The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, Genesis 8:21 Soothing Aroma – Can you imagine the scene? Noah brings the animals out of the ark. He takes one of each of the acceptable animals and birds and sacrifices them…

Wander No Longer

“If you will return, O Israel,” declares the LORD, “Then you should return to Me.” Jeremiah 4:1 Return – Perhaps the most important Hebrew word you can ever learn is shuv. Why? Because it is the verb for turning to God. It is used more than 1000 times in the Bible. God calls to every…