I was blessed with a new bible this morning. Some of you have probably seen them advertised for the last several months, others of you might have been admiring the unique journal bible as readers posted their artistic pages on facebook. I know I had been. Waiting patiently. Longingly. As an author, an artist, and a student of God’s Word I couldn’t wait to discover the details of this journal, and so far, I’m not disappointed.
I know, I know. Who needs coloring pages in their bible to help them study? Not me, but check this out….
Sometimes after reading passages of scripture I’ll find an activity that doesn’t require my too much of my mind to be involved, like dishes, driving, or playing a game on my phone, and then I’ll contemplate what I’ve just read, what God is saying to me, and how it applies to my life. Having these (coloring) pages is fun. They require me to think too much, which gives me the ability to meditate on what I’ve just read. AND, I’m able to use my creative cells, which makes me one happy human.
I try to read Psalms everyday and I had intended on studying the Gospel of John this week, not just reading but Verse Mapping, too. However, when I first opened my bible it fell on the first page of Ruth. By the way, I watched the movie Ruth last night (unexpectedly), so I’m taking the hint given by Holy Spirit. Being thirsty and ravenous for God’s goodness, I decided to read the first chapters of all three and discovered a crimson thread woven between them.
Did you know that Moab was the son of Lot and one of his daughters? Gen 19:30-38
Ruth broke ties with her family, her country, her gods. She broke ties with all she knew, choosing instead to follow her mother-in-law to a foreign land binding herself to a new family, a new country, and, most importantly to God, Elohim (the true God).
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.Psalm 1:1-3
Ruth chose to cling to what is good. She left the worship of Chemosh (destroyer, subduer Judges 11:24), the god of the Moabites and traveled with Naomi to Bethlehem (house of bread).
And you know, because she honored God, because she chose Him, she became the mother of Obed (serving), the grandmother of Jesse (I possess), the great-grandmother of David (beloved). She received one blessing after another and became an ancestor of the Word, ancestor to the One who was before her. She gave life to a man whose blood would give life to the One who would gave life to all of creation. Her bloodline brought light to the darkness. Ruth (friendship) a Moabitess, brought Moab (son of Lot) and Judah (praise, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham) together. Ruth delivered the man who would become the grandfather of the King of Israel (David) and the great grandfather of the (through many generations) King of Kings–Yeshua ha Mashiach.
There are many threads in these passages, many I could pull on, and I’m sure many you can see as well. What threads do you see?