Category: “Listening to God” Devotional

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ruth+002

 

Ruth Chapter Two (ESV)

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

 

REFLECTION:

1. Ruth’s words and posture (face to the ground) in response to the generosity of Boaz indicate the social distance between the Israelite man and the Moabite woman. Ruth identified herself as a “foreigner”, a person of lesser status than that of the socially disadvantaged like widows, orphans and aliens.  The kindness of Boaz helps us understand the “second great commandment”: loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matt 22:39).
2. The sovereign and purposeful hand of God is behind each of the scenes in the Book of Ruth.  When Ruth sought to glean in the fields after the reapers, she “happened” to come to the portion of the field belonging to Naomi’s kinsman Boaz. Impressed by what he had heard about Ruth’s commitment to her mother-in-law, Boaz promised to protect her.  In addition, Boaz provided for her through his instructions to his men, and it was obvious to Naomi when Ruth returned from the field that someone took notice of her.  When she heard it was her kinsman Boaz, the formerly embittered Naomi blessed the Lord for His kindness.

 

PRAYER:

Lord, this wonderful story reminds me that You are at work in ways I cannot predict or imagine.  When I am tempted to be embittered at my circumstances, let me remember that You are working all things together for my good and that the only safe refuge is under Your wings.

 

HYMN:

God Will Make A Way – www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zo3fJYtS-o

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Ruth+001

 

RUTH

Introduction

The short book of Ruth is a bridge between the two major parts of Israel’s covenant history. The first part (Genesis–Judges) focuses on how Abraham’s descendants became a nation and on the covenant God made with Israel. The second part (Samuel–Kings) tells the story of the nation’s kings and the covenant God made with David as the head of Israel’s royal line. Ruth helps the transition by opening in the days of the judges and ending with the genealogy of David.

The book appears to have been written to defend David’s right to be king. He was the great-grandson of a Moabite named Ruth. Because the people of Moab didn’t help the Israelites when they came out of Egypt, the law didn’t permit any descendant of a Moabite to join Israel, down to the tenth generation. If they couldn’t even join the community, how could one of them serve as king?

The book is set up like a drama or stage play. Each scene features a short introduction and then dialogue between the characters. The book ends with a ten-generation genealogy leading up to David. So the form of the book mirrors its purpose, which is to show that genuine faith was present in a woman from a nation whose descendants were normally excluded for ten generations.

The book also shows how God’s purposes are accomplished in the world. God’s good laws (allowing the poor to collect grain in the fields), his providence over events, and the personal kindness of people all combine to help the story find a redemptive conclusion.
 
www.bible.com/zh-TW/bible/111/RUT.INTRO1.NIV

 
Ruth Chapter One (ESV)

15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

 
REFLECTION:

The backdrop of this story of Ruth is the period of the Hebrew judges, an era marked by apostasy, lawlessness, and savagery.  By contrast, there are no murders and no villains in Ruth.  Rather, the story portrays life in a peaceable village setting among hardworking agrarian peasants.  Neither are there supernatural events in the story.  The Spirit of God descends upon no one and the angel of the Lord visits no one.  Instead, we see God working behind the scenes – a God of “coincidences”, accomplishing His purposes through ordinary people who overcome adversity by means of personal initiative, ingenuity, and acts of selfless devotion.

1. Naomi is formally releasing her daughters-in-law from any future responsibility toward her. She entrusts these women to God’s care through her prayer since she is unable to provide for them.  Despite her own distress, Naomi also recognized the need to look to the welfare of others and through her prayer, she entrusted these women to God’s care (vv8-9).
2. Ruth’s vow of loyalty to Naomi and the Hebrew God is certainly a countercultural decision by this Moabite widow. She willingly exchanges her ethnic and religious heritage for the people, culture and religion of Naomi.  Perhaps Ruth sensed a faith in Naomi that Naomi herself had lost sight of.  At any rate, Ruth made a commitment – to Naomi and to Naomi’s God.  This reflects the process by which men and women today often find their personal relationship with God.  Individuals are drawn to a Christian or to Christians and through them come to know Christ.
3. When we share our lives with others, even when we’re having troubles as Naomi was, something about the reality of our relationship with God shines through and draws others to the Lord.

 

PRAYER:

Lord, I thank You for the love of Ruth for Naomi and for her willingness to abandon her old life so that she may receive the new life from You.  May I too abandon myself completely to You and Your loving purposes. May my life reveals the loving relationship You and I share so that others may be drawn to You.
 

HYMN:

Take My Life and Let It Be – youtu.be/y3gWwGDGgVA

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+021

 

Judges Chapter 21（ESV）

16 Then the elders of the congregation said, “What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?” 17 And they said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel. 18 Yet we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the people of Israel had sworn, “Cursed be he who gives a wife to Benjamin.” 19 So they said, “Behold, there is the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel, on the east of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.” 20 And they commanded the people of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in ambush in the vineyards 21 and watch. If the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards and snatch each man his wife from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin. 22 And when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we did not take for each man of them his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, else you would now be guilty.’” 23 And the people of Benjamin did so and took their wives, according to their number, from the dancers whom they carried off. Then they went and returned to their inheritance and rebuilt the towns and lived in them. 24 And the people of Israel departed from there at that time, every man to his tribe and family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

 

REFLECTION

1. The people’s compassion for the few surviving Benjaminites seems to be a good sign, but rather than admit the foolishness of their own oath (v1), the Israelites attempt to solve the problem by adding even more violence to the excessive violence already perpetrated. The entire population of Jabesh-Gilead is murdered, except for four hundred virgins, who are kidnapped as wives for the Benjaminites (vv8-12).  And to top it off, the people then sanction the abduction of innocent young women in order to avoid taking personal responsibility for their own foolishness (vv15-24).  All in all, things could hardly be more ludicrous, aptly demonstrating the concluding assessment that everyone was doing “what was right in their own eyes” (v25).
2. Judges encourages us to practice the spiritual disciplines of worshiping and obeying God alone. Such disciplines are grounded in the amazing grace and unfailing love of a God who simply will not abandon His people just as the Israelites in Judges.

 

PRAYER

O Lord, Your love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give You back the life I owe, That in Your ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.

 

HYMN

Lord Of My Life – youtu.be/D7x1CXQbaWQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+020

 

Judges Chapter 20（ESV）

18 The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.”

19 Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah. 20 And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah. 21 The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. 22 But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day. 23 And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they inquired of the Lord, “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.”

24 So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day. 25 And Benjamin went against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who drew the sword.

 

REFLECTION

1. This Levite made the crime committed by the men of Gibeah into a communal matter (vv1-7). His motives however are suspected.  His testimony (vv4-7) omitted any mention of his own complicity in his concubine’s death, and he showed no compassion for her at all.  The dismemberment of her body is excessively brutal.  Therefore, it seems the Levite is more upset about being personally insulted than he is about the death of his concubine.
2. The community’s response is equally preposterous. Although the law permits retribution, it suggested that the punishment should fit the crime, i.e. No more than an eye for an eye.  But here, the punishment is all out of proportion.  Not only is Gibeah destroyed, but also the whole tribe of Benjamin is nearly wiped out.
3. Although “God defeated Benjamin before Israel” (v35), the excessively violent chaos is further evidence that everyone was doing “what was right in their own eyes”.

 

PRAYER

Lord, help me to “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”(James 1:19-20)

 

HYMN

I Need Thee Every Hour – youtu.be/tM49tKMcrak

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+019

 

Judges Chapter 19（ESV）

17 And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city. And the old man said, “Where are you going? And where do you come from?” 18 And he said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote parts of the hill country of Ephraim, from which I come. I went to Bethlehem in Judah, and I am going to the house of the Lord, but no one has taken me into his house. 19 We have straw and feed for our donkeys, with bread and wine for me and your female servant and the young man with your servants. There is no lack of anything.” 20 And the old man said, “Peace be to you; I will care for all your wants. Only, do not spend the night in the square.” 21 So he brought him into his house and gave the donkeys feed. And they washed their feet, and ate and drank.

Gibeah’s Crime

22 As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” 23 And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. 24 Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” 25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. 26 And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.

27 And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. 28 He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home.

 

REFLECTION

1. It’s obvious that the men of Gibeah are not hospitable but the behaviour of the Levite is no better. He put his concubine out to be raped (v25); and the next morning, he showed no concern for her whatsoever (vv27-28).  In fact, everybody looks bad here, and everything is desperately wrong, illustrating again that violence and chaos are the inevitable results of idolatrous self-assertion and disobedience.
2. This story calls God’s people in all times and places to pure worship and to obedient pursuit of God’s justice, righteousness and peace.

 

PRAYER

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. (Luke 1:46-47, 78-79)

 

HYMN

Take My Life – youtu.be/4zsMI9NMaro

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+018

 

Judges Chapter 18（ESV）

18 And when these went into Micah’s house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” 19 And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” 20 And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people.

21 So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. 22 When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. 23 And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” 24 And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’” 25 And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” 26 Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.

27 But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.

 

REFLECTION

1. The ridiculous behavior seen in ch 17 continues here. Although the Danites appear to have divine sanction for their quest (v6), the blessing comes from a bogus priest, who later reveals his true character by abandoning Micah when he receives a better offer (vv18-20).  The Danites proceed to steal Micah’s idol, using it to perpetuate the idolatrous worship that Micah had started.  They installed the descendants of Moses to preside over the worship of an idolatrous shrine (vv30-31)
2. Furthermore, the utterly repulsive behavior of the Danites includes the slaughter of the people of Laish, who are identified as “quiet” (vv7, 27). It is another powerful lesson in the tragically destructive consequences of idolatry and disobedience.

 

PRAYER

(With a prayerful heart, listen to what God speaks to me and all those belong to Him)

Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—if you would only listen to me, Israel!  But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me.  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.  If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! (Ps 81:8, 11-14)

 

HYMN

Give Us Clean Hands – youtu.be/cAzOXErjxHQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+017

 

Judges Chapter 17（ESV）

1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah. 2 And he said to his mother, “The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it.” And his mother said, “Blessed be my son by the Lord.” 3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, “I dedicate the silver to the Lord from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you.” 4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah. 5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.

 

REFLECTION

1. This notice “All the people did what was right in their own eyes” (v6) is repeated in 21:25, the final verse of the book, suggesting that everything that takes place in the final chapters of the book is evidence of idolatrous self-assertion. These chapters are full of disobedience—and a lack of God—which resulted in the violent, chaotic consequences.
2. For starters, Micah steals from his mother. Although he returns the silver, it is used to make an idol, which apparently becomes the focal point of Micah’s private shrine (v4).  Micah also presumes to appoint his son as priest until he hired a wandering Levite (v13).  In view of the legal material found in the books of the Law, the whole situation is simply ludicrous.  But this is precisely the point.  The final chapters of Judges intend to point out that prolonged unfaithfulness and disobedience lead to absurd behavior.

 

PRAYER

• Is there a believer that I know that had “prolonged unfaithfulness and disobedience to the Lord”, and had been leading a sinful and absurd life?  Get in touch with my own feelings about this person, sorrow, anger, regret, grief?
• Invite Jesus to sit with me and to think of this person.  Tell Jesus my emotions and try to feel Jesus’ emotions.

 

HYMN

Lord Have Mercy (For What We Have Done) – youtu.be/cNE2jiVFG9c

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+016

 

Judges Chapter 16（ESV）

16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

 

REFLECTION

1. Samson allowed his sensual appetites to control his actions again and again. He did not possess the inner strength to accompany his outer strength.  Samson’s story offers a sobering reminder of the limitations of God given talents and gifts.  The temptation to rely on these gifts and ignore a commitment to personal growth in holiness can make us fall short of all God intends us to be.
2. For Samson, his greatest gift was his strength. Great strength masked great weakness.  Without personal discipline his bodily power was not enough to equip him to serve well.  I also face similar challenges.  It could be a gift of teaching might mask hypocrisy, a gift of speaking might mask an inability to relate intimately to others, a gift of the ability to create or build might mask a hollow family life, a gift of beautifying the appearance might mask inattention to the beautifying of the spirit, a gift of compassion might mask cynicism…..
3. As I recognize my own forms of strength and weakness, may I not get discouraged. The God who has created me stands with me, ready to keep forming me in response to my obedience.

 

PRAYER

• Sit quietly with God for a while.  In pondering Samson’s story, ask God for insight and help as I seek the discipline needed to live out in fullness all God has created me to be.
• In the end, God left Samson without his knowledge.  When in my life did I feel the Lord’s presence had left me?  Did His presence leave me or did my attitude leave Him?
• Continue to ponder throughout the day.  Wait to listen and to converse with God.

 

HYMN

Psalm 139 (Far Too Wonderful) – youtu.be/uQYnIM80PtQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+015

 

Judges Chapter 15（ESV）

1 After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. 2 And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” 3 And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” 4 So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards….

14 When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. 15 And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. 16 And Samson said,

“With the jawbone of a donkey,

heaps upon heaps,

with the jawbone of a donkey

have I struck down a thousand men.”

 

REFLECTION

1. When Samson learned that his bride has been given to someone else, he took revenge and said: “This time I have a right to get even with the Philistines”. Escalation followed each time with the same kind of thinking that Samson uttered above.  It seems that Samson gave no thought to the oppression experienced by the people he led.  His vendetta with the Philistines was personal.  He hated the Philistines not for what they had done to his people but for what they had done to him personally.
2. God used Samson’s selfishness to “begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines” (13:5). But Samson himself is revealed to be a shallow person, without the spiritual depth or concern for the special calling from God of the deliverance of his suffering people.

 

PRAYER

Lord, You fulfill Your plans through varied and unexpected means and people, even selfish Samson.  “Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.”(Ps 72:18)

 

HYMN

Your Will Be Done – youtu.be/FVfn1LEUYAQ

 

Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Judges+014

 

Judges Chapter 14（ESV）

1 Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. 2 Then he came up and told his father and mother, “I saw one of the daughters of the Philistines at Timnah. Now get her for me as my wife.” 3 But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.”

4 His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.

5 Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done….

19 And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon and struck down thirty men of the town and took their spoil and gave the garments to those who had told the riddle. In hot anger he went back to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

 

REFLECTION

1. As Samson’s parents suggest, it is a problem that Samson wants a Philistine wife (v3). His desire probably violated his Nazirite status, which obligated him to keep separate from uncleanness and clearly violated God’s stated intent that the Israelites not collaborate with the peoples of the land.  Samson’s rationale is “she is the right one for me”, this self-assertion actually is the preface of the condition of the people in chapters 17-21.
2. Apparently, God sees Samson’s desire as an “opportunity” (v4) to oppose oppression; but Samson proves ineffective in this regard. His gifts, represented by God’s Spirit are squandered on impressive deeds that have nothing to do with deliverance.

 

PRAYER

Lord, You are able to accomplish Your purposes in spite of human shortcomings.  Though Samson was physically powerful, he was frail in character, and it was only in the power of Your Spirit that he prevailed. I too have many weaknesses.  Holy Spirit, please illuminate my deepest darkness, forgive my sins.  Help me to ride with Your wave to accomplish Your will.

 

HYMN

Refiner’s Fire – youtu.be/VG3NaUZSnFI