Ruth

Today I read the book of Ruth. I enjoy reading about the virtuous women in Scripture. Ruth is one of those godly role models for young ladies. Ruth chose to go to the land of Israel with Naomi and to follow the Lord. She made the Lord her God and left her ways of idolatry in the past. She gave her whole life to service of the Lord and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Her faithfulness, submission and obedience to Naomi are treasured virtues. Ruth 2:12 is a beautiful prayer for those who chose to follow the One True God "May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." The fact that Ruth, along with Esther, are the only books in our Bible that are named after women should tell us that these women were highly valued in the sight of the Lord. She is even in the ancestry of David and Jesus Christ! Another interesting point to note (though not mentioned in the book of Ruth) is that Boaz's mother was Rahab, the prostitute from the town of Jericho who saved the spies and turned to the Lord and joined the Israelites. God showed great mercy to Ruth by allowing her to join His covenant people. Since she was a Moabite she "should" not have been allowed to join God's people, yet by God's grace she was accepted in to the family of God. (see Deut. 23:3-6)
In summary, we learn that God's ways our not our ways, He is a merciful and gracious God, and He values godly, faithful, submissive women who serve the Lord out of pure hearts.