Ruth

July 16–Ruth

From the LCMS website:

Ruth of Moab, the subject of the biblical book that bears her name, is an inspiring example of God’s grace. Although she was a Gentile, God made her the great grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:17), and an ancestress of Jesus himself (Mt 1:5). A famine in Israel led Elimelech and Naomi of Bethlehem to emigrate to the neighboring nation of Moab with their two sons. The sons marriend Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth, but after about ten years, Elimelech and his sons died (Ruth 1:1–5). Naomi then decided to return to Bethlehem and urged her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Orpah listened to Naomi’s but Ruth refused, replying with the stirring words: “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). After Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, Boaz, a close relative of Elimelech, agreed to be Ruth’s “redeemer” (Ruth 3:7–13; 4:9–12). He took her as his wife, and Ruth gave birth to Obed, the grandfather of David (Ruth 4:13–17), thus preserving the Messianic seed. Ruth’s kindness and selfless loyalty toward Naomi, and her faith in Naomi’s God, have long endeared her to the faithful and redounded to God’s praise for his merciful choice of one so unexpected.

The Jesse Tree–Day Twelve

Today we read about Ruth (Ruth 1:15-18). Not the story about her being redeemed by Boaz, as you might expect, but the story of her faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi. I love this story, because it shows just how God can use anyone, regardless of gender, age, or nationality, to do His work. Here was Ruth, a stranger to the Israelites, a foreigner who had worshipped false gods, and yet she came to have faith in the One, True God, followed His will, and ended being the great-grandmother of Israel’s greatest king, and an ancestor of the Messiah! Even though Ruth is one of the Bible’s shorter books, it’s quite a story of faithfulness and redemption, and lays the groundwork for some very important members of Jesus’ family tree.

“Here Burns My Candle” Blog Book Tour

I have been waiting for Liz Curtis Higgs’ new book, Here Burns My Candle, for years. Literally. Her last Scottish novel, Grace in Thine Eyes, came out in March 2006, and ever since, I have been anxiously awaiting whatever she had in store next. If WaterBrook hadn’t kindly provided me with a copy (a pre-release, no less! A dream come true for me!), I certainly would have pre-ordered it from Amazon. Obviously, my expectations for the book were high.

I was once again astounded by Liz’s attention to detail–particularly her use of Scottish dialect and knowledge of Scottish history, among other things. Her characters, as always, are interesting, likable, flawed, and very, very real.

The story was very engaging. It focuses on the well-to-do Kerr family–matriarch Marjory, her two sons, Donald, who is the source of much gossip for his many rumored affairs, and Andrew, and their wives, Elisabeth, whose lowly past and secret pagan life make her an unlikely match for the aristocratic Donald, and Janet, whose life’s purpose is to be a high society woman.

The story takes place around the Jacobite uprising in Scotland, with Elisabeth being sympathetic to the cause of Bonny Prince Charlie, and the men of her family eventually also deciding to join in the uprising. Parts of the story follow the Biblical narrative of Ruth (but only through verse 18 of chapter one), and other parts illustrate a story you might expect to hear from the descendants of a Scottish family who lived through these events, and all the repercussions said events would have on a family, from social status to finances.

All that being said, I was disappointed with one thing. This is supposed to be Biblical fiction–a retelling of the story of Ruth in a 18th century Scottish setting. I didn’t feel that the book was able to delve into the Biblical account nearly enough–there was so much backstory and character development that you could almost forget that it’s supposed to be based on a Bible story until the end of the book. As far as flat-out historical fiction, this book is excellent, but as Biblical fiction, it was a bit lacking. I’m hoping that problem will be corrected in the sequel, Mine is the Night, coming out next spring. I know I’ll be counting down the days until then!