Judges: It was interesting to see that the Israelites doing what was right in their own eyes equaled a pattern of compromise, sin, destruction, cry for help, and deliverance by God. While reading it, it’s easy to judge the Israelites and say, “Man, you’d think they would learn the first (second, third, fourth, etc.) time!” But look at us, we are no different. We fall short of God’s glory every day, some constantly “returning to their own vomit.” The cool thing about it, is the demonstration of God’s faithfulness. No matter what, he delivered his people when they cried out to him and turned from their evil ways. I was inspired by the faith and respect for God that Jephthah had; he kept the vow he made with God and killed his young daughter. Moreso, the faith of the daughter willfully allowing to be sacrificed to make sure her father remains faithful to God.
Ruth: The central message of Ruth is the kinsman redeemer. Ruth chose to remain with her widowed mother-in-law Naomi and go live in a foreign land. She was willing to glean the fields for herself and Naomi and found favor in Boaz’s sight. Boaz took Ruth as his wife and they had a son named Obed. Jesus came from the line of Obed.
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