AT THE GATE

“…I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance.”  Ruth 4:6 (ESV)

I live in a world that offers many counterfeit ways out.  The problem is, they rarely work and I am left with a mess.

Boaz did exactly what he said he would do.  He went to the city gate and found the nearest kinsman redeemer for Naomi and Ruth.  Boaz was not first in line.  This other kinsman had the option of buying and redeeming  the land Elimilech left behind.  But there was a catch.  The nearest kinsman had to marry Ruth, the widow, and allow his firstborn son, by her be counted as the son of her first husband.

Just as I cannot subtract any of God’s words, He made a way so that no family line would end.  Not even after death.  But the kinsman did not want to jeopardize his own inheritance.  He did not want to do something that would cause him any trouble.  It’s easy for me to do the same thing.  I want results, but don’t want the hard work that goes with it.

Whenever someone comes to me and asks me how to hear from God and know His will, I tell them the same thing.  Fast and pray.  (I assume they are already in the Word.) This seldom goes over well.  We as people want quick answers but we must remember this.  God is not a Ouija board.  He is the creator of the universe and He wants a relationship with each of us.

How tragic to want to know His will without knowing Him.  And how can I want His will if I’m not willing to take the time to be with Him and, in the process, deal with my own sin?  God speaks most clearly to me when my heart is right with Him, when no sin stands in the way to tamper with my hearing.