Gideon had about seventy sons. One of these, Abimelech, was not a full-blooded Israelite, for his mother was a Shechemite. The Shechemites were a group of Canaanites who lived peaceably among the Israelites. During the times of the Judges in Israel, Abilimelech, developed a thirst for power. He decided he wanted to...
After exercising his right of redemption, Boaz married Ruth. By God’s gracious gift Ruth conceived and they had a son. They named him Obed, which means "worshipping" or "worshipper." After this amazing turn of events, the friends of Naomi began to worship the Lord. They blessed the Lord because He had not left Ruth "without a redeemer," a declaration that could...
Oftentimes in church we use words, but we don’t really know their true meaning. “Redeemed” is one such word. There is an old hymn that goes, “redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.” But do we understand what “redeemed” really means?
Here in chapter 3 of Ruth, Boaz makes a tremendous promise to Ruth. He tells her (if her closer relative won’t do it)...
Boaz, a very wealthy man and Elimelech’s relative, saw Ruth working in his fields and said to her, “I’ve heard all about you—heard about the way you treated your mother-in-law after the death of her husband, and how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to...
During the period that Judges ruled Israel*, we are told the story of one family – the family of a man named Elimelech with his wife Naomi and their two sons. The year is approximately 1200 B.C. Because of a severe famine in Israel, this family had to travel to the region of Moab to avoid starvation.
As the story unfolds, we meet a young woman named Ruth, who falls for one...
God allowed Gideon only three hundred men to launch the attack against the Midianites, so that Israel might know that victory was not by military power or man’s ingenuity but by God’s intervention and power.
Gideon and the armies of Israel are about to take on the Midianites - an intimidating enemy. So, Gideon prepares the nation for war. He gathers over 30,000 soldiers to fight in the battle – a number that he was confident would be enough to conquer Midian. As the troops move closer to the enemy territory, Gideon is interrupted by...
