There is no discrimination with God. As Peter said in Acts 10:34 when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles as well as the Jews, “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.’
Today you may have been born in this country or you may have moved to this country. You may be from a nation that is a Christian nation or not a Christian nation. You may have been brought up in a particular religion or with no religion. But none of this is important because there comes a moment when God wants to connect you to Him through Jesus.
God can bring you out of a very different background into a whole new family and give you a whole new destiny. In the Bible there was a lady who came from a culture where her people believed in many gods and worshipped many idols. They were a cruel people who even practised human sacrifice. They often attacked the people of Israel. And yet this lady became one of the greatest people in the Bible because there came a moment when she was adopted into the family of God.
Her name was Ruth and her mother-in-law was Naomi, and we read about them in the book of Ruth. Together they had experienced great sadness in the land of Moab, which today is called Jordan. Their husbands had died, and they decided to go back to Naomi’s home in Bethlehem, where many years later Jesus was born.
That one decision changed everything. For when they arrived in Bethlehem or Bet Lechem, which in Hebrew means the house of bread, many blessings opened to them. Similarly, when we connect with Jesus who is the Bread of Life, we can have a whole new life and come out of a kingdom of darkness into a kingdom of light, moving from curses to blessings.
This happened to Ruth, who came from a dark and difficult background, and it can happen to you. We see from this story three particular blessings:
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1. God wants to bless you personally (Ruth 2:2-3)
a. The blessing of provision (Ruth 2:3; Philippians 4:19)
b.The blessing of protection (Ruth 2:8-9,12)
2. God wants to bless in your family
a. She was blessed with a great mother in law
b. She was blessed with a loving husband
c. She was blessed with a beautiful baby (Ruth 4:13)
3. God wants to bless your future (Ruth 1:16-17)
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In this story there were blessings for Ruth personally. Like many people arriving from a foreign country, Ruth and Naomi were on their own and needed to survive, so Ruth went looking for work (Ruth 2:2-3). And this is when she started to experience the blessing of provision (Ruth 2:3). Ruth happened to go to a field connected with the family of her late father-in-law. And once Boaz, who owned the field, realised who this stranger was, he gave an order for her to gather as much as she wanted. He made sure that she had food and water while she worked. Ruth was amazed at the favour that had been shown to her. The Bible says that God is our provider and that we can experience financial blessings from God, sometimes when we least expect it. Many immigrants, when they come to this country, have no job. Maybe they don't even have a visa, but God sees them, and God has a purpose for them. God can help them. And He can help you today when you ask Him and trust Him. He wants to look after you. And this promise is for people of every nation because the Bible says that God knows what you have need of and promises He will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Our God wants to look after you. And we see that Ruth received the blessing of protection (Ruth 2:8-9). As a single woman working in a foreign country Ruth was vulnerable but she found that God was looking after her. Even Boaz recognised this (Ruth 2:12). Today God is also watching over you to guard you, to guide you and to provide for you.
God wants to bless in your family. Ruth had experienced a lot of pain in her family life. Maybe you have too. We don’t know about her Moabite family, but we can imagine that they weren’t pleased when she married into a Jewish family. But we do know that Ruth experienced a lot of sadness when her husband died and also her father-in-law and brother-in-law died. Her whole life seemed very uncertain and insecure. But God had more family blessings for her than she imagined. She was blessed with a great mother-in-law. Mothers in law receive a lot of jokes but Naomi was the best mother-in-law. Naomi really cared for Ruth. She gave her great advice and was an excellent matchmaker for Ruth. She was blessed with a loving husband. This is one of the most romantic stories in the Bible. It tells how this faithful man Boaz, who was older, saw her heart, and he saw that she was a good woman. He went to great trouble to look after her. This man organized everything to be able to marry her, he trusted God and put this relationship in His hands. Boaz thought she would marry somebody else, someone younger, but she didn't. And then best of all he married her. And suddenly she was not just a foreigner. She was literally married into a new family. God has blessings for you also in family life. Maybe you are looking for a husband or a wife, but you need to have the one that God provides for you, not just anyone. Don't be desperate to get married. Find the right person. Take care in the process like Boaz and Ruth. Be sure that God has blessed you with this person. Also we see that she was blessed with a beautiful baby (Ruth 4:13). Not only was the baby a blessing to Ruth and Boaz but also this baby was a great joy and comfort to the bereaved mother-in-law Naomi who ‘was sustained and renewed in old age.’ How amazing it was for Ruth to have a new family. You too can be blessed with a restored family.
God wants to bless your future. Ruth who had been a foreigner was adopted into the family of God and used to expand the purposes of God throughout history. For the baby of Ruth and Boaz was called Obed and he was to become the grandfather of the great King David. And it was from David’s line that Jesus, the saviour of the world, was born. And today millions around the world have had their lives changed by experiencing the love of Jesus for all people. When God changes you, everything changes. When He turns your life around you can be used to bless so many people in different nations and generations, both now and in the future. God has a great destiny for you to step into. All these blessings came about because Ruth made a decision and a declaration that has become famous. She chose not to go back to her own people and their gods but to serve the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Ruth 1:16T17). Today, when you leave your past behind you, and decide to follow Jesus, you will be accepted into the family of God and you will be blessed in every way…personally, in your family and in your future.
