biblical character sketches


R


uth is a woman oft held up as an example of great faith, as well she ought. Having the


courage to leave her family in Moab and travel to the land of Israel where her in-laws were from is nothing to sneeze at. She not only went, but she truly trusted in Yahweh.


The frequently quoted passage from Ruth 1:16-17 demonstrates just how broad and sincere her faith was:


“‘Don’t press me to leave you and stop following you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die; and there I will be buried. May ADONAI bring terrible curses on me, and worse ones as well, if anything but death separates you and me.’” (Complete Jewish Bible)


But, if you dig a little deeper into her life, you can’t help noticing and admiring other areas of her life where she portrayed other Biblical character traits. One of the many character traits in Ruth’s life is self- discipline.


written by Zachary Bruno & Sonja Langford


Turning one last time, I glanced over my shoulder. Tracing the jagged lines in the horizon, my eyes etched the scene in my mind forever. I would never see this sight again. Thankful, hopeful, and a little nervous, I wondered what would lie before me in the upcoming months. Change and I were no longer strangers but, rather, constant traveling companions.


The past years had brought me from being a free-spirited girl in my parents’ house, to a shy married woman in my in- laws house, to a young grieving widow, and now on my way to a new land without any of the people I called family so many years ago.


I have a new family now, a new mission, purpose and vision. Change doesn’t scare me like it used to —I embrace it now. I embrace the strength that comes from growing and stretching, the faith and reliance on someone far greater than even me, this God of the Hebrews —my God—Yahweh. He will watch over me, care for me, and protect me and my new family.


This quiet trust, this inner peace, and stable faith are so different from the religion of my parents. It feels like an old and familiar blanket wrapped tight around my shoulders during the cold evenings; it feels right.


Ruth worked endlessly to help provide for her aging and widowed mother-in-law. Day in and day out, “she gleaned in the field until evening.” (Ruth 2:17)


Ruth gained favor in the eyes of Boaz, in whose field she was gleaning; He told her that he knew “‘the whole story, everything you’ve done for your mother-in-law since your husband died, including how you left your father and mother and the land you were born in to come to a people about whom you knew nothing beforehand…’” (Ruth 2:11)


Ruth’s selflessness could not have come about without self-discipline. It allowed her to put others first, and it was then that she was able to bless others with her actions.


When she learned how to die to her flesh, she was able to be used by the Father in amazing ways— Ruth was King David’s grandmother and one of five women listed in the genealogy of our Savior, Yeshua.•


volume 1 issue 1 | page 31


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36