Reading With the People of God #9 - FaithfulnessНамуна

Memorization Challenge:

As we engage in our daily readings this month, we’ll focus on memorizing a portion of Samuel’s final charge to God’s people in 1 Samuel 12:13-15 and 24-25. These verses emphasize the enduring theme of faithfulness to the Lord—a principle as vital for leadership today as it was in Samuel’s time.

Each week, we’ll concentrate on a new verse, with the goal of memorizing all five verses by the end of the month. As you meditate on these challenging and timeless words, may God inspire and challenge you and your faith community, just as He did with Israel through Samuel’s message.

This week's verse to focus on:

13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the Lord has set a king over you. - Samuel 12:13

Reading Primer:

This plan will include a brief primer to introduce the day's readings each day. These primers will either offer an overview of a book or highlight key insights to watch for in the day's passages, all centered on the theme of "faithfulness." The closing psalm is intended to serve as a prayerful response, helping to reflect on and internalize the day's readings.

Primer: An Introduction to Ruth

The story of Ruth really begins when Joshua sent two spies into Jericho and they encountered a woman of the night named Rahab. Rahab became known among the Israelites as a heroine, an example of faith that produces action and the embodiment of the admonition given to Joshua and the Israelites, “be strong and of good courage”. By God’s grace, Rahab believed while all of the inhabitants of the entire city of Jericho remained the enemies of God and His people.

The Hebrews were restricted from marrying others from outside of the chosen people of God, the Israelites. A young man named Salmon, who was a member of the tribe of Judah, fell in love with Rahab and was given permission to marry this heroine who exhibited exemplary faith and was now living just outside the camp of the people of Israel with her family.

Living in the Promised Land, now Israel, Salmon and Rahab had a son that they named Boaz. Boaz was known as a “man of standing” which means he had an excellent reputation plus land and wealth. His widowed relatives, Naomi and her Moabitess daughter-in-law, Ruth, approached Boaz for help. Under the Mosaic Law Boaz was legally obligated to help Naomi, then he fell in love with Ruth and married her. Ruth, like Rahab, is also a woman who was not born into the faith of the Hebrew people but later experienced God and responded to Him through faith and commitment.

The story of Boaz and Ruth is set during the time of the judges in Israel. They had a son they named Obed. Obed did well for himself, married and had a son he named Jesse. Jesse had eight sons and God chose the youngest, David, to be the second king of Israel. This is very significant because it would later be prophesied the Savior would be of the lineage of David. (II Samuel 7:12-13; Psalm 132:11; Jeremiah 23 & 33)The genealogies of Jesus in Mathew and Luke, found in the New Testament, show this to be true.

It is not only significant that the prophecies regarding Jesus’ link to David are true but it is a revelation of something else that God had His prophets foretell. God had said that not only would the Israelites be a part of His kingdom of called people but He would also bring in Gentiles, those not of Hebrew lineage. (Isaiah 42:6-7, Hosea 2:23) In the same way He brought in Abraham, by grace through faith, He brought in these two Gentile women. Rahab and Ruth are striking examples of God reaching into a hostile world and drawing the unlikely, those formerly His enemies, to experience His saving grace. They became women of faith, action and courage, both related to Jesus, who now has Gentiles in His ancestry.

*Overview contributed by: Jinet Troost