Elijah"s Disappointment (1Kings:19)

 So Elijah had just witnessed God's amazing power in discrediting the prophets of Baal. He ran all the way to the Gates of Jezreel. He even beat king Ahab there... and he was in a chariot! The king went to his wife Jezabel and told her all about Elijah and how the prophets of Baal had all been killed. She became furious!
   Meanwhile Elijah waited outside the gates of the city for word that the king and queen were now convinced that the true God of Israel was who He said He was. Elijah waited in excited anticipation. He knew that if the king and queen would turn from their false idols, that all of Israel would turn as well. Elijah looked up and he saw the king's messenger a long way off. He couldn't wait. He rushed toward the messenger to hear his message.
 "Queen Jezabel has issued this statement." Elijah waited to hear the words that he had waited so long to hear. And the messenger continued. "May the gods also kill me if by this time tomorrow if I have failed to kill you, just like you killed my prophets! In the words of the queen"
 Elijah was astonished. "What?" He knew he had to get out of there quick. He and his servant quickly left the gate of Jezreel. After a while Elijah told his servant that he wanted to be alone. So Elijah left his servant and continued on his journey the rest of the day on his own. The more Elijah walked, the more depressed he got. He kept going over in his head how he had failed. How things hadn't turned out like he planned. And how he was all alone.

  Sometimes we have such high expectations, that when things don't go how we planned, we get really down. Remember that no matter what, God is good and He is in control. It is OK to have expectations, but if we remember that God sees the bigger picture, and that His plan may not be ours, we can accept disappointment with the knowledge that God has this.

  Elijah finally got so tired of running that he fell asleep under a tree. As he fell asleep he prayed that God would just take his life because he was such a failure. While he was sleeping and angel appeared. "Get up and eat Elijah." The angel nudged him. Elijah woke up and he saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! Elijah ate and fell back asleep. The angel nudged him again. "Eat some more, for you have a long journey ahead of you." Elijah ate and drank some more and then he walked for 40 days until he reached Mt. Sinai. (Remember Mt. Sinai was where God gave the ten commandments to Moses)
  At Mt. Sinai, Elijah found a cave and rested there. He probably had negative thoughts in his head during the whole journey, because when he finally rested he prayed to God. "God, haven't I served you with all my heart? But still the people continue to turn their backs on you. They have killed all the prophets and now I am the only one left! They have also torn down your altars and replaced them with idols. I have had enough, God. I can't do this anymore!"
 God told Elijah, "Go stand outside." As Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by. A mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was so fierce that rocks were torn from the face of the mountain.  But the Lord was not in the wind. Then a strong earthquake shook the mountain. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. Then after that was a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper and Elijah heard the voice of the Lord.

  God was reminding Elijah that He was in control. Not only of nature, weather and fire, but also of circumstances. And that if we let ourselves be still long enough, we can hear from God. (Psalm 46:10) Then God reassured Elijah that he was not the only prophet left. There were 7,000 others. Then God told Elijah to go back to where he came from, anoint a new king of Israel and then anoint Elisha to take his place as prophet.
  Elijah did as Lord commanded. He found Elisha plowing a field with his oxen. He threw his cloak over Elisha's shoulders and walked away. Elisha left his oxen standing there and chased after Elijah. He knew that God had called him. "I am just going to run back real quick and kiss my parents goodbye." Elisha said, "Go right ahead." Elijah answered.

Solomon Becomes King of Israel (1Kings1)

 As we get into the book of 1Kings, we find that David is getting old. He is sickly and cannot even stand, so he rules over Israel from his bed. Everyone knew that David did not have much longer to live, including his son, Adonijah. Adonijah was next in line for the throne according to birth order, but Israel was not like other nations. God appointed the next king, not birth order. But Adonijah didn't see it that way. He got 50 men together and some horses and chariots to escort him around. He figured if he looked like a king and acted like a king.... the throne would be his for the taking. He recruited a few of David's top officials including Joab, his top military leader and Abiathar, the leading priest. They agreed to support Adonijah in his bid to become king even though David had promised the throne to Solomon. Joab and Abiathar thought about what was best for them and not about God's will.

 We do that all the time, don't we? I know that is is God's will for me to forgive, but I want to hang on to that feeling I have toward someone that has hurt me. But God's will is ultimately for our own good, and He knows that forgiving is the key to setting our mind and our hearts free.

 Well Nathan the prophet, (Remember him? He confronted David about his sin with Bathsheba.) heard about Adonijah's plan to become king and told Solomon's mother, Bathsheba about it. He told her that she must tell David right away because Adonijah had already made sacrifices and was throwing a huge banquet to honor himself as king. Nathan told Bathsheba to go to David's bedside and tell him about Adonijah, then he said that he would come in and confirm the story so that David would have no doubt that it was true.
 So Bathsheba went in and asked David. "I beg your pardon my lord, but didn't you promise me that my son Solomon would succeed you as king?  (1Chronicles 22:5-9) It appears that Adonijah has not even waited for your blessing. He has declared himself king, and is having a great feast right now as we speak."
 Then Nathan came in and asked the king, "Have you appointed Adonijah as the next king without consulting any of your trusted advisors? He has already exalted himself as the next king!"

From his bed David declared to Bathsheba, "As surely as the Lord lives, your son Solomon will sit on the throne!" Then He said to Nathan, Zadok the priest and Benaiah, "Quick, gather up my officials. Take Solomon down to Gihon Spring. Let him ride my royal mule for the journey. When you get there, anoint him with oil, blow the trumpet and shout 'Long live King Solomon!' Then when you return with him, Solomon will sit on the throne."
 The 3 men did as David had asked. They anointed Solomon, blew the trumpets and shouted "Long live king Solomon." Then there was a great parade back to the castle. The people were all shouting, playing flutes and making a joyful ruckus.
 When Adonijah and Joab heard all the noise, they were confused. Just then the son of Abiathar, the priest who supported Adonijah, came running up to them in the middle of their feast..
 "I hope you have good news for us so we can continue celebrating." Joab said.
 "No, in fact it is troubling news for Adonijah and all who have supported him. King David has just made Solomon king. The loud roars that you heard were all the people cheering as they paraded back to the palace where Solomon is now sitting on the throne!"
 When all who were celebrating with Adonijah heard the news, they were afraid for their lives. They all got out of there as fast as they could, because the new king could have anyone executed. Adonijah feared for his life especially. He ran to the sacred tent and grabbed ahold the horns of the altar. (This was a holy place and Adonijah hoped that king Solomon would respect that and not have him killed). Word soon reached Solomon that Adonijah was pleading for his life in the sacred tent. Solomon sent one of his men to the tent to assure Adonijah that as long as he was loyal to the king, he would not be harmed. Adonijah went to the temple, threw himself at the feet of king Solomon and thanked him for his mercy.

Consequences of the Census (2 Samuel 24)

  So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel because they had rebelled against His decision.... again. God used David's sin to enact punishment against the entire nation of Israel. When we left last time, the prophet Gad had relayed God's message to David. David had a choice to make about the punishment that would be executed against the nation of Israel. Here were the three choices. Either three years of famine, three months of fleeing from their enemies or 3 days of a deadly plague.

  If you had a tough decision like this, what would you choose? I know what I would NOT choose. Since I would be the king, I wouldn't have to worry about a famine, because the king had plenty of food stored up. Or I wouldn't have to worry about fighting off the enemy, because as king, I would be protected at all cost. I wouldn't pick the plague, because death could strike anyone at any time. As king, I would be as vulnerable as anyone else in the kingdom. So that would definitely NOT be one of my choices..... but that is exactly what David chose. He knew that he had sinned. (he takes full blame at the end of the chapter) and he says in verse 13., "Let me fall into the merciful hands of our Lord. If he sees fit to inflict me, then so be it."

  So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel and it last three days. Seventy thousand people died throughout the nation. But as the death angel was in Jerusalem, he stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. (A threshing floor was a hard floor where a wheat farmer would crush his crop to remove the grain from it's husk by having oxen drag a large heavy board over it) When David saw the angel of the Lord. He prayed that the plague would end and that if anyone else should die, it would be David himself. Just then Gad the prophet came to David and said, "Build an altar to God on this very site. So David went to Araunah, the man who owned the site where the altar was to be built. Araunah was a little nervous because the king wanted to talk to him. "Why have you come my lord?" he asked.
  David replied. "I have come to buy your threshing floor so that I could build and altar to the Lord there, so that He will stop the plague."
 "Please take it my lord. And here are some oxen for the offering and wood to make the fire. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice." Araunah answered.
   David insisted. "No. I must pay you for the place, the oxen and the wood. For what kind of sacrifice would it be if it cost me nothing?"

  The word sacrifice itself means to give up something. If David took the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood and offered it up to God, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice. We must remember that when we live our lives for Jesus, we are giving up our own desires and plans and replacing them with God's. But the amazing thing is that God loves us so much! His desires and plans for us are for our own good. He wants the best for us! The Bible says that the more we give up for Him, the more we have! That is called a paradox, and the Bible is full of them. (The last shall be first..... the humble will be exalted... to name a couple of examples.)

 So David bought the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood. Then he built and altar and sacrificed to the Lord. The plague stopped right there at the threshing room floor!

  The amazing thing about where that threshing room floor was located was that it was on Mount Moriah. The same place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to God a thousand years earlier. And it is also the same place where Jesus sacrificed his life for us on the cross a thousand years later! God is so amazing!
 Well that finishes the books of First and Second Samuel. Next time we will be starting First Kings.

The Fall of Saul (1 Samuel:13-15)

  When we left last time, Samuel had anointed Saul as king. Samuel warned the people that God was not very pleased with them about choosing a king over Him. But that as long as they looked to God first for everything, that He would continue to bless them.

 Saul was 30 years old when he became the first king of Israel. He ruled for 40 years. Saul had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan became a great soldier in Saul's army. In one battle, Saul took 2,000 men and gave Jonathan 1,000 men. Jonathan defeated a garrison of Philistines with half the men that his dad had. Saul sent a message out that he had won a great battle against the Philistines. The Philistines got mad and mounted a great attack with chariots and horsemen. Saul and his men got scared and camped at Micmash.
  Samuel the Prophet sent a message to Saul. The message said that he would be there within seven days to pray and make a sacrifice to God. Saul waited and waited. But his men began deserting. Some hid in caves, and some crossed the Jordan River and ran. After seven days, Saul was too fearful to wait any longer. "Bring me the burnt offering." he shouted.

 Just a Saul had finished the sacrifice, guess who shows up? Yep Samuel.
 "What have you done!?" Samuel asked. " Sacrifices must only be offered up by priests and prophets. That was a very foolish thing to do."
 "I didn't think you were coming. All my men were leaving and I thought that the Philistines were ready to attack." Saul replied. Then Samuel told Saul that his disobedience would result in losing the crown.... and that God already had someone after His own heart in mind. Then Samuel left.
 There were only 600 men left with Saul. They left Micmash just in time, because the massive Philistine army showed up there and set up camp.  Saul and his army were in Geba, not far from where the Philistines were set up.Without telling his father, Jonathan took one of his servants. They snuck up on the Philistines. Jonathan told his servant that God would be with them. They attacked the Philistines. The Philistine army was so confused, that they began killing each other! Saul's lookout saw something going on and reported it to Saul. Then he saw the Philistine army running off in every direction. Saul knew that he had to get over there to help Jonathan before the Philistines regathered their troops. He called his men together to pray, but it was taking too long, so he said to forget it, and they left. When they arrived. The Philistine army was gone. The Lord saved Israel that day, but the battle was far from over.

 In the years that followed, Saul fought against Israel's enemies in every direction. He won battles against Moab, Ammon, Edom and Zobah. The Israelites continued to battle the Philistines.
  One day Samuel said to Saul. " I have anointed you as king because God told me to. So now listen to what the Lord wants you to do. He wants you to destroy the country of Amelek because of the evil they did against the Israelites when the left Egypt during Moses' day." Samuel continued. " Make sure you follow these instructions exactly. Destroy everything and everyone. Do not take anything or anyone or any animal. from the land."
  So Saul gathered his army. They destroyed most of Amelek. Saul took the king as prisoner and brought back the best sheep, donkeys and cattle and anything else that appealed to them.

  God said to Samuel the Prophet. " I am sorry that I ever made Saul king. He has been disloyal to me and has disobeyed me at every turn." Samuel was so upset with Saul that he set right out to confront him. When Samuel finally reached the camp, he asked one of the men where Saul was. Guess where he was? He was out in a field surrounded by all the sheep, goats, and cattle that he took from Amelek and he was building a monument.... to himself!
  "I did it!" Saul exclaimed. " I followed God's commands."

 "Then what is all the bleating of sheep and lowing of cattle that I hear?!" Samuel was very angry.
"Oh, I was going to sacrifice them to God later." Saul lied.
"Obedience is much more important to God than sacrifices!" Samuel retorted.
Saul knew he had done wrong. He confessed, but Samuel told him that the since he had rejected the Lord's command..... the Lord will now reject him as king.

   We can see Saul's gradual fall away fro God. We can learn from his mistakes. Let's look at his demise:
1. Saul took credit for Jonathan's victory.
2. Saul sacrificed without Samuel. (He thought of it as a magic wand, not as communing with God)
3. Saul didn't pray because it would have taken too long.
4. Saul directly disobeyed God's commands.
5. Saul thought more of himself than God. (When he built a monument to himself.)
 We should continually check ourselves. Do I take credit for things I did not do. Do I treat the things of God (prayer and bible reading) like a magic lamp? Do I hurry through my prayers or forget about them altogether? Do I break any of God's commandments. Do I think more of myself than of God? All of these things pull us away from God. He loves us and wants us near. He is always in the same place. we are the ones who pull away.

 

Saul is Anointed and Crowned King (1 Samuel 9-12)

  After the feast was over, Samuel took Saul to the rooftop where he had already prepared a bed for him. Saul still did not know what all the fuss was about. (Last time we learned that God had picked Saul as the first king of Israel)
The next morning, Samuel woke up Saul and his servant. Samuel sent the servant on his way and he brought Saul to a house at the edge of town. Then Samuel took out a flask of oil. He poured it over Saul’s head. I’m sure Saul was till wondering what was going on. He just came to this town looking for his lost donkeys!
 As Samuel as anointing Saul with oil, he said. “ I have received a special message for you from God. He has appointed you as leader over the people of Israel! Now be on your way and return tomorrow for the big announcement to all the people.”

  So Saul went home. The next day Samuel called all the Israelites together to introduce them to their first king ever. Samuel made a long speech about how God didn’t really want the people to have a king. And that God was their king, but God gave the people what they wanted. Finally the time came to announce Saul as the new king, but he was nowhere to be found. God told Samuel where to find Saul and he brought him out and said. “This is Saul! Son of Kish! God has chosen him and in all Israel there is no equal!”
 All the people shouted. “Long live the king!”
  Samuel stood next to Saul and read all the duties of the king from a long scroll. Saul was a very tall handsome man. He stood head and shoulders above everyone in Israel. The people agreed that God had picked the right man as their king. (Whether the people agreed or not, God always chooses right)
 When Samuel was finished reading, he sent the people home. Saul went home too. He was still not too sure about this whole king thing. He went back to working in his fields. Many people brought him gifts and encouraged him, but of course there were a few wicked men who complained about Saul as king.

  About a month later, the king of Ammon led his army against the Israelite city of Jabesh-gilead. The people surrendered to the king and offered themselves as his servants. The king said that he would return in seven day to not only take them as servants, but he said that he would gouge out every single Israelite’s right eye too!
 When the word about the king’s threat reached Saul’s hometown, everyone began to cry. Saul finished plowing his field and went into town. “Why is everyone crying?” He asked.
 The messenger from Jabesh-gilead filled Saul in on all the details. Then the Holy Spirit came upon Saul and he knew what he needed to do. (In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come upon people as God saw fit. Now, because of Jesus, we can have the Holy Spirit living inside us, if we believe that Jesus died for us and we follow Him.)
 Saul went around Israel and gathered 330,000 men. They launched a surprise attack on the Ammonites and defeated them completely.The people hailed Saul as king.
 Samuel said. “OK now lets go reaffirm Saul as king.” So in a solemn ceremony, Saul was crowned king of Israel. The people of Israel rejoiced because they had a brave and strong king.
 Samuel then made his final speech as judge over Israel. “ Now you have your king. My work as judge is done, but I will never stop praying for you, teaching you or giving you godly advice. I will continue as God’s prophet. Even though you rejected God as your king, He has given you a brave and strong king. Just remember to look to the Lord for your help and remember all the wonderful things He has done for you.”

   Isn’t it amazing that even though the people rejected God as their king, he didn’t punish them. That is called mercy. Then on top of it, God picked out the best man for the job and empowered him with the Holy Spirit. That is called Grace.
 Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. We don’t deserve to go to heaven because of our sin. God sparing us is mercy. God sent Jesus as our savior to die for us and the Holy Spirit to live in us. That is Grace. Isn’t that amazing!  Amazing Grace!

The Attack of the Philistines (1Samuel 3-5)

                          
                        "As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him, and everything he said 
                          was wise and helpful. All the people of Israel, from one end to the 
                          other, knew that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 
                          The Lord continued to give messages to Samuel  and Samuel’s
                          words went out to all the people of Israel.”    (1Samuel 3: 19-21)

 Remember the Philistines from the story of Samson? They were still at war with the Israelites. During one of the battles four thousand Israelites were killed. When they returned to the camp they began to cry to each other, “How could God let this happen to us! Why didn’t God do something?”
 Just the fact that they were crying to each other and not crying out to God showed that their hearts were in the wrong place. We do that sometimes, don’t we? We complain to each other about how things are going. We say things like “Why now?” or “Why me?” and “If only!” God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to come to Him. It’s OK to cry out to God.

 Well the Israelites had a great idea. “Let’s carry the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord into battle. We will surely be victorious with it!”
 Do you remember the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord? Moses had the people build it as they were wandering in the desert on the way to the promise land. It was like a portable temple that they could carry with them. (Exodus 25:10-31)

 They sent for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought into camp. Eli’s sons Hophni and Phinehas  were priests, so they helped carry the Ark of the Covenant into camp and then into battle the next day. The Philistines heard a large cheer coming from the Israelite camp and found out that it was because of the Ark of the Covenant. They became very afraid because they remembered hearing about how God had helped the Israelites at the Red Sea and Jericho when the walls came down. “We must fight harder than we have ever fought before.” The Philistine General shouted as they charged into battle.

 When the battle dust had cleared, thirty thousand Israelites were dead and The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord had been taken by the Philistines! It was a huge defeat for the Israelites. They could not understand how they could lose as long as they had the Ark of the Covenant.

 God is not a good luck charm. Just because we wear a cross around our neck or have a picture of Jesus hanging on our wall, doesn’t mean that everything is going to work out. As a matter of fact, if we trust in out crosses and pictures, they become idols! Isn’t that unbelievable? A picture of Jesus could be an idol? But it’s true. Some people even put their trust in their prayers instead of the One that they are praying to. God wants us to trust in Him.

During the battle, Eli had put a chair just outside the city gate so he could get the news about the battle a soon as possible. He was very old now and could hardly see. Finally one of the messengers came running from the battle with news.
 “What happened?” Eli asked.
 The messenger answered. "The Israelites were beaten badly. We lost over thirty thousand men. I’m sorry to tell you this Eli, but your two sons were killed. And on top of it all, the Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord!”
 When Eli heard this, he threw himself back in his chair. It fell backwards and Eli broke his neck and died. Thus fulfilling what God had told Samuel years earlier.

Samuel and Eli (1Samuel 1-4)

 During the story of Ruth and Naomi, there was a lot going on with the Israelites. They were still battling the Philistines. Remember Samson had killed 3,000 Philistines during a celebration? The Israelites were also grumbling about how all the other countries had a king.... but they didn’t. They really had the best king of all, God, but they didn’t see it that way. So God gave them a king. He had a great prophet named Samuel anoint a king even though God knew that it was not the best thing for them.

 So let’s go back a few years to when Samuel was born.
 Hannah was a young Israelite woman who did not have any children. Some of the other women would tease her so much, that she would be driven to tears. One day she was very distraught. She went to the temple and prayed. She prayed that if God would give a son, she would dedicate the child and give him back to Him. She prayed with such emotion, that the priest, Eli, went up to her and said. “Excuse me, but if you have been drinking, I must ask you to leave the temple.”

 “No!” Said Hannah. “ I am not drunk. I am praying to God for a son.”
Then Eli said. “God has heard your prayer. May He grant you your request!”
“Thank you!” Hanna said as she ran back home with a smile on her face.
 Soon afterward Hanna found out that she was having a baby and when the time came she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel which means “heard by God.” She kept her promise to God and when Samuel was a few years old, Hanna brought him to the temple.
 Hanna took the child to Eli. “Do you remember me?” She asked. “I promised God to give my child back to Him. He will now belong to the Lord for the rest of his life.” And she left Samuel there with Eli.

God hears our prayers. If our requests are in line with God’s will, He will give us what we ask. (Psalm 37:4)

Every year Hanna would make Samuel a new coat and bring it to him in the temple. Eli would bless her and tell her that he hoped the Lord would bless her with other children, and God did. Hanna ended up having 3 more sons and 2 daughters. God is willing and able to give us more than we ask or even imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)
 Samuel served the Lord with all his heart even though Eli’s sons (Hophni and Phinehas) who were older than Samuel did not. They would steal from the temple. They would treat the servants badly and they did not respect their father. They got fat from feasting on all the best offerings that were supposed to be sacrificed to God.
 One night while Samuel, Eli and his two sons were sleeping, Samuel heard a voice. “Samuel Samuel!”
Samuel jumped out of bed and ran to Eli. “Yes? What do you need?”
 Eli woke up and told Samuel to go back to bed. It was nothing. Then Samuel heard the voice again. “Samuel Samuel!” He jumped up and ran to Eli. “Here I am. What do you need?” Samuel asked.
I didn’t say anything. Go back to bed. It happened again and the Eli realized that God was calling Samuel. He told Samuel to stay in bed and the next time the Lord called to say. “Yes Lord. Here I am. Your servant is listening.” And that’s just what Samuel did.
 The Lord spoke to Samuel. “I have warned Eli about his sons already. He hasn’t done anything, so now I have to do something.”
 The next morning Eli asked Samuel what God had said to him. Samuel did not want to tell him, but Eli insisted. So Samuel told him that he and his sons were going to die in the very near future. Eli told Samuel that God was right. He had warned him, but Eli didn’t want his sons to get mad at him, so he let them get away with a lot of stuff. Now God was not going to let them get away with it any more. “Let the Lord do what He thinks is best.” Eli said as he hung his head in sadness and shame.

 God has put our parents in charge. Sometimes we think that they are being mean or uncaring, but they want the best for us. We need boundaries now so that we won’t be punished later. (Galatians 6:7)

Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 2,3 &4)

 As Ruth was collecting the grain that was left behind, the owner of the field stopped by. His name was Boaz and he just so happened to be a relative of Ruth’s father-in-law who was killed years earlier. He noticed Ruth in the field because she was pretty and also because she was a hard worker.

 As children of God, we should be noticed as doing the best we can at everything we do. (Col 3:23)

 Boaz went over to where Ruth was working and said, “Stay in this field to gather grain. Don’t go to any other fields because they are dangerous. I have told my men not to bother you. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water that they have drawn from the well.”
 Ruth fell at Boaz’ feet and thanked him for being so kind to her, even though she was a foreigner in the land. Boaz told Ruth that he heard all about how kind she had been to Naomi.

 As children of God, our deeds to others should go before us. So that they glorify Him. (1 Peter 2:12)

 At lunchtime Boaz called her over to eat with the harvesters. He gave her so much food that she couldn’t eat it all, so she brought the leftovers home to Naomi along with a lot of grain that she had picked up in the fields. The reason she had so much grain was because Boaz had ordered his men to leave more grain than usual behind so that Ruth would have plenty to take home.
 When Ruth returned home, Naomi was amazed at all the grain she had gathered. “How were you able to gather so much grain? What field did you work in?” She asked.
 “ I worked in the field of a man named Boaz.” Ruth answered. “He was so kind to me.”
 “Boaz!” Naomi exclaimed. “He is a cousin to my husband. He is our relative! God bless him!”
 Ruth continued to work in Boaz’ field day after day until the harvest was complete.

 Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was the family redeemer, which meant that he was able to buy the land that Naomi would lose if someone didn’t step in. Ruth had fallen in love with Boaz by this time and approached him about redeeming the land and marrying her. It was a package deal. Boaz said that he would redeem the land and marry Ruth, except that there was a closer relative that had first choice.
 So Boaz waited for this certain relative by the city gates. When the relative came by, Boaz called him over to sit with him. Then he called ten leaders over as witnesses.  “So, I’m sure you know that Naomi has returned to Bethlehem. She has to sell the land that her husband had, or she will lose it. You have first dibs on the property if you want it.” Boaz explained.
 “Yes, I do want it.” The relative proclaimed. “When can I purchase it?”
 “Not so fast.” Boaz interjected. “ There are a few things you should know. You also must marry the woman from Moab, Ruth. And you must have a place for Naomi as well.”
 “Whoa, wait a minute! I would risk losing my own estate. I cannot redeem it.You redeem it Boaz.” The man said.
 Boaz then said to all the witnesses. “ You have heard it. I am buying Naomi’s land and I will be marrying Ruth, the Moabite widow so that when she has a son, the land will remain in her family.” And that is what he did. Boaz and Ruth are ancestors to Jesus. What a blessing!

 So what is this whole redeemer thing anyway? When a person is too “poor" to take care of his or her property. It must be sold. The nearest relative has an opportunity to purchase the land if they want. By doing this, the redeemer saves the “poor” land owner from a possible life of slavery. To redeem means to pay a price and free the owner of any obligation. That is what Boaz did for Naomi and Ruth. And that is what Jesus did for us! What a great time of the year to be studying this story! The Easter message is all about Jesus and what He has done for us! Jesus has redeemed us because we are too “poor” to redeem ourselves. His blood payed the price for our sin. (A price we could never pay) He was fully man and fully God, so He is our relative. He has saved us from a life of slavery. He has bought us with a price.
 Have a blessed Easter everyone!!