Exodus 1-4

Joseph and all his brothers died, but their descendants were numerous, and it made the Egyptians nervous. They thought, "This is not good, if our enemies come to fight us, the Israelites will join with them and overpower us!" So they made the whole nation slaves to them. Sounds like it would be difficult to do, them being... a whole nation and all. But to slow down the population, the midwives were told to kill every baby boy. These gals are in my book of overlooked Bible heroes. It said that they feared God, and did not obey the Pharaoh's orders. BUT he saw that little boys were still running around left and right, so he questioned the midwives as to why they weren't obeying. They said, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."
Then it says, "So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own." God rewarded them for their fear of him! Those midwives were responsible for the population of Israel growing to what it was. But when Pharaoh figured that the midwife idea wasn't working, he ordered his own people to take care of things and throw the boys in the river.

Of course, Moses was saved in that basket and we all know that part, so let's skip ahead until he's grown up. Moses was walking around one day where the Israelites were working, and he saw an Egyptian beating an Israelite up. The Bible says Moses looked both ways and saw nobody around, so he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. I thought it was kinda interesting... if you're mad enough to kill somebody, I wouldn't guess you'd have the presence of mind to see if anybody's around to see you do it. But apparently he didn't notice that there was a little kid that was out looking for his lost kitty, and that kid went out and told everybody about it. The Pharaoh wanted to kill Moses, so Moses ran away to Midian - where he got married and thought he was gonna live happily ever after... until a burning bush popped up and told him that God had other plans.

Outreach Musings

Our church has been working on many outreach projects lately, but I am quite confused. I guess I just don't get the concept. What I don't understand is this: why is it that when we plan an outreach or some form of church event... we do not expect anything to happen?

Our church has 40 people in attendance on a Sunday service on a good day... and getting smaller by the week. We hire more ministry staff, we send a missionary out, we plan Harvest Festivals, Movie Nights, and other fun stuff hoping to... draw more people into church I guess. But nobody expects anything to happen. There is always a problem with the performance, there is always something that won't go right, nobody's probably gonna be there, etc.

Maybe all that's true. But the way I see it is this:

If God is leading us as a church family to start a weekly movie night or a youth ministry, isn't his job to make sure somebody shows up if he wants somebody to show up? And isn't God capable of getting anything he wants to get done done? When you think about it, (or I guess when I think about it) we don't even have a right to estimate how many people will come! It's whatever God wants to happen. I think we should just prepare to let the fire fall and prepare every seat for however many people God wants to stuff into AHBC!!!

Why do we think nothing will happen if this was God's idea to begin with?

Jesus and the Boogie Man!!!!

Jesus and his disciples were just going innocently across the lake... and landed in a graveyard. James did not get out of the boat. "James? What are you doing?"

"I ain't getting out here!"

John rolled his eyes. "Not that boogie man story again!"

Peter raised a brow. "What boogie man story?"

"Oh, you know. That one they tell little kids to scare them about that guy who's crazy, and nobody can chain him up, and he cuts himself with stones and screams all the time."

James clutched the sides of the boat. "It's true I tell you!!! I've seen him!!!"

John laughed. "Yeah, and you've seen Bigfoot too!"

Peter was squinting off into the distance. "Hey guys, what's that?" They heard a great scream.

"It's HIM!!!!!! It's the BOOGIE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Jesus was the only one who wasn't freaking out. The disciples jumped into the boat. "Come on Jesus! RUN!!!!!!"

But Jesus didn't move. The Boogie Man ran right up to Jesus and fell to his knees. The disciples, shaking and shivering in the boat heard him beg not to be sent away. "Pssst! James! You seem to know about this guy, what's he talking about?"

But Jesus was asking the Boogie Man what his name was. "My name is Legion!" He said. "For we are many!"

James kicked John. "You SEE!!!!! He IS demon possessed!!!!!"

Before anyone knew what was happening, Jesus said, "Come out!" and hundreds of pigs were making a run for the lake! The pig herders ran off toward the city to tell everybody.

The disciples stole a look back at the Boogie Man. "Hey! Peter! He's in his right mind!"

At this moment, tons of people from the city came to see what the commotion was about. They saw the Boogie Man sitting nicely listening to Jesus! They begged Jesus to leave.

"They're asking us to LEAVE? After what Jesus just did for the Boogie Man? The nerve!"

John shrugged. "Maybe they're mad because the bacon supply just got a whole lot lower."

Jesus was coming back into the boat. The not-so-Boogie Man asked if he could come too, but Jesus said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."

So the Not-So-Boogie Man went all about the countryside, telling amazed people about everything that had happened to him. And he lived happily ever after. The End.

The start of the book of Jeremiah

This is definitely not my favorite book of the Bible - it's quite depressing most of the way. God's pretty much breaking up with his people and you know in the end they're going to get carried away to captivity. Oh well. It's once a week.

I found in today's passage another verse sorta like the one in Isaiah about lighting our own torches instead of looking to God as our light. This one said,

"My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

It's like if you're served up a nice enchilada dinner and you wave it off for a piece of stale bread! Why do we do it? Why do we not embrace what God has for us? Why do we think our way is better?

Why Should God Listen To Me?

Lately I've been thinking about what I do for God - it ain't a lot. I've been thinking, "Why should God ever do anything for me? What have I done? Why should he listen to my prayers? Sometimes I don't even see what he wants for me!"

Then I read these two chapters of Psalms. I will write here the highlights, if you will.

"Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the great deep.

O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find refuge in the shadow of your wings."

"Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart."

"But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy great peace."

"for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous."

"The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

seeking their very lives;
but the LORD will not leave them in their power

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
Wait for the LORD

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will see it."

That first "Third Day" verse really jumped out. His love reaches to the heavens - even when we don't see it, or realize it, or when we sometimes don't even care.

1 Samuel 11-15

Saul has just become king, but there were alot of troublemakers that opposed him, but he did nothing about it.

DU-du-du-dun-da-da, dun-da-da (That was the Darth Vader theme)!!! The evil Ammonite king has come to place Jabesh Gilead under siege!!!! Oh no! Well, the people of the city said, "make a treaty with us and we will be subject to you!"

But the bad guys said, "Neva!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Wait, well - ok. But only if we can put out the right eye of all your men."

The Israelites whispered but this was eventually seen as a bad deal, so they said, "If nobody comes to rescue us in a week, it's a deal!"

When Saul heard of this he was furious (what a hero!!!). He gathered impressed men and stormed the Ammonites and saved the city!!!! Huzzah!!!! Everybody was happy, and they said, "Hey, get those guys that said Saul was no good!!! Let's have us an execution!!!!"

But Saul said, "No, that's alright. God saved us today, so nobody shall be killed."

Samuel threw an arm around Saul and said, "Come, let's go reaffirm the kingship!"

So all Israel partied and was very happy. Saul was a cool guy for like a whole two chapters!!!!!

Genesis 48-50

Well, now Joseph's family is with him in Egypt, and everybody's happy. But now Jacob is about to die, and he is blessing all his sons and grandsons. In chapter 49 he is blessing and kinda telling the future of his sons one by one. I really was interested in Judah's blessing:

"Judah, your brothers will praise you;

your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;

your father's sons will bow down to you.
You are a lion's cub, O Judah;

you return from the prey, my son.

Like a lion he crouches and lies down,

like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,

nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,

until he comes to whom it belongs

and the obedience of the nations is his.
He will tether his donkey to a vine,

his colt to the choicest branch;

he will wash his garments in wine,

his robes in the blood of grapes."

This sounds to me like a prophecy of Jesus - a descendant of Judah! Imagine... in the earliest times of the Bible there are still clues and hints about the Savior! God knew exactly when he would come, which line he would descend of, and what he would do!!!

AND I imagine if he knew that in Genesis, than he knows exactly when he's coming back for all of us. Not to mention he's probably looking forward to coming for us more than he was looking forward to sending his son to die:)

Sanctity

I first looked up "sanctify" in the dictionary. The meaning is, "to make pure or free from sin or guilt; to make holy, set apart as sacred, consecrate; to make productive of or conducive to spiritual blessing." The last one seems to make sense in relation to the last post. To make conducive to spiritual blessing? But I found that in most cases where the word is used in the Bible, sanctity is given directly by God. So I don't suppose anyone could be freed from sin from anybody but God, but I can see that an unbeliever could be made conducive to spiritual blessing through a believer. Though it still seems like a strange choice of words to me...

1 Corinthians 7-8

Today Paul talked a lot about marriage. Not my area of expertise, but ya know...:P Paul seemed to be a pretty proud single. But this verse REALLY threw me off:

"And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband."

Wha? Salvation is only through Christ, and no other man... I must be missing something. Any thoughts?

Mark 3-4

When I read these chapters, I was mostly thinking from the disciples' point of view.

Chapter 3 started in the temple on the Sabbath, where a man with a shriveled hand was there. The leaders watched him closely, to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath. But Jesus said, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" and he healed the man. That's when the Pharisees started plotting.

After that, the healing began if full swing. Everyone wanted to touch him and be healed. And get this in verse 11: Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." He always rebuked them and told them not to tell who he was, but did you notice the part I noticed? It said they all bowed down. Even though they are evil, they know who's in charge. Satan knows it and he bows down. And guess what? Jesus is still in charge of all of them.

By the time Jesus calmed a storm, all these things that had been happening caused the disciples to say, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

Job 23:10

"But he knows the way that I take;

when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold."

Some pastor... I think it was a guest pastor at Shady Grove ages ago... that talked about the hardships we go through in this way. He likened it to a smith making a wrench. He had to put it in the fire and hammer it, over and over again. But when he was done, he could see his reflection in the wrench.

It is the same when God puts us through hardships. He hammers us and refines us until we reflect our maker. If you're in the middle of a rough time - know at the end that you will reflect God more than ever.

Psalm 33

I woke up this morning thinking about this list of things I had to do today that I didn't want to do. I was also a little dehydrated and woozy - didn't drink my usual water quota yesterday:) I was kinda feeling mopey, then this chapter in Psalms that was quite chipper!

Psalm 33

Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;

it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the LORD with the harp;

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song; (Don't just do the same thing all the time... be different and excited! Like you are when you hear or buy a new song!)

play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;

he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of his unfailing love.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,

their starry host by the breath of his mouth. (Watch the BETHLEHEM STAR documentary - this becomes even more amazing!)
He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;

he puts the deep into storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD;

let all the people of the world revere him. (ALL of them.)
For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.
The LORD foils the plans of the nations;

he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,

the purposes of his heart through all generations. (Wouldn't it be nice if our plans stuck forever? If they're the same as God's plans - they should!)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,

the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down

and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches

all who live on earth-
he who forms the hearts of all,

who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;

no warrior escapes by his great strength. (God is looking upon every battle - every one goes according to his plan!!! Every bomb that explodes in Iraq, every little brother that's pitching a fit, and every Superbowl!)
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save. (Maybe to our battles, not a horse, but something else we look to. Like food, or drugs, or people. They cannot save.)
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death

and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,

even as we put our hope in you.

This Psalm just reminded me that whatever we think is annoying and unbeatable - it's not, because everything that happens is God's plan!!!

1 Samuel 6-10

When I start a novelized story of David, this is where it will begin I think.

Saul is just a normal Benjamite, looking for his father's donkeys with a servant. After three days of futile searching, they decided to go ask the prophet Samuel. I wouldn't have thought to ask him... after all, they're... donkeys:P But they went to his house and Samuel was ready for them, having heard from the LORD that this man was to be Israel's king. Before Saul could say anything, Samuel invited him to dine with him, and told him that his donkeys had been found. To top it all off, he said, "To whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

"Wha..." Saul must have been shocked. He said, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

No time for talking - Samuel took them into the hall, and even gave the servant a place of honor! When it was time for the two to leave, Samuel in private anointed Saul's head with oil and told him that he would be the king of Israel. Saul went home, probably in a daze, but didn't tell his family what Samuel had said.

When the time came for the new king to be chosen, Samuel called Saul! Thunderous applause... but no Saul to come into the spotlight on the stage!!! Whispers flitted across the place. "Where is he?" "WHO is he?" Samuel asked God where Saul was and God blew his cover. "He's hiding in the baggage. The people went and got him ("Wait-how'd you find me so fast?") and yelled "LONG LIVE THE KING!!!!!!"

A Sunday Morning

I dreamed it was a morning,

on a chilly Sunday day.

Our small church doors were open

and nothing stood in the way.

There were throngs of joyful people,

and instead of empty pews

there were rows and rows of brothers,

all eager to hear the Good News.

I stood behind the keyboard

for the worship team, amazed

to see that every seat was filled,

and no one stayed away.

We started to make music

our style and songs the same.

Everyone got to their feet

and praised God's holy name.

They raised their hands, they sang aloud.

All stood straight and tall and proud.

Our performance wasn't perfect,

and the drums did not keep time.

The keyboard chords were not in key

and some songs did not rhyme.

But on this special Sunday,

nobody seemed to mind.

They all just sang their hearts to God,

and to our mistakes were blind.

When I woke up I praised the LORD,

then after remembered the day.

It is just a Tuesday morning

after an empty-pewed Sunday.

Must I go back to church next week

to see more plastic people,

all dressed up with judging eyes

under a plastic steeple?

LORD, save our church and let there be

a crowded place that all can see.

Make us excited, light the fire!

For You can see - our need is dire.

1 Corinthians 5-6

Paul is writing to the Corinthians, who are pretty messed up. Paul is not too happy with them. They are sexually immoral and the church is divided. And here he addresses something I hadn't thought about previously - lawsuits among believers. He says...

"If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers."

The Christians are suing each other!!! And taking the case before just any old judge. Now I haven't sued anybody before, but everybody gets in fights with their brothers - even literal ones!!!:P The part that grabbed me was, "The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers." Why not rather be wronged than sin by wronging somebody else? Completely defeated? I never thought about it that way before. Really, we have no right to wrong others - we should be willing to be wronged rather than sin against others. Easier said than done!!!!

Isaiah 56-61

"I will make peace your governor

and righteousness your ruler.

No longer will violence be heard in your land,

nor ruin or destruction within your borders,

but you will call your walls Salvation

and your gates Praise.

The sun will no more be your light by day,

nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,

for the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again,

and your moon will wane no more;

the LORD will be your everlasting light,

and your days of sorrow will end.

Then will all your people be righteous

and they will possess the land forever.

They are the shoot I have planted,

the work of my hands,

for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand,

the smallest a mighty nation.

I am the LORD;

in its time I will do this swiftly."

Lately I've been thinking about why everything is all bad. I posted a post about it here. Why is nothing just right in this world? But here the LORD says that he will deliver his people from... well, the BAD! I like the part that says, "They are the shoot I have planted,
the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor." We're doing a series in church about God's glory, so I have my eye out for those kinds of things. But WHEN will he get rid of the bad? When it is time for it. Man, I hope that's SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!

How Come

How come the only jeans that can fit your waist hug your butt? How come there are no shirts in 4 isles of 367 shirts per row that I would ever be allowed to wear? How come things work so wrong?

Hannah

It is a popular name, but what else? She was one of the two wives of Elkanah - and had no children. The other wife did, and was proud of it. She teased Hannah all the time - not a nice atmosphere for Elkanah I guess, two wives fighting all the time. But Hannah wanted children very bad, and once at the temple, she got teased by the other wife so much she started crying and did not eat any dinner, even though Elkanah gave her a double portion of food because he loved her better.

She went to pray to the LORD, and said, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head." (Spoiler alert:P - we don't often think of Samuel as a shaggy character huh?:P)

She was praying silently, but her lips were moving. Eli the priest sitting nearby, thought she was drunk and said, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

"Huh? Wha-" Hannah must have looked behind her a couple times before she realized he was talking to her. "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."

Eli replied, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him." Now Hannah felt better, and she went to eat.

A guess what? God gave her a son that she named Samuel. And as soon as he was weaned, she kept her promise and took him to the temple. I would have said, "Well, heheh. I'm sure God wouldn't really mind if I kept him until he's, like, 19. Then he can go to the temple." But she was faithful to her word. And as a reward, God gave her more children. This is a good lesson about keeping promises - not just asking the LORD for what you want.

Genesis 40-43

Joseph is now in prison for no reason:( He meets a cupbearer and a baker that both had dreams, and he could interpret them - the cupbearer gets his job back, and the baker gets hung. Of course they came true, and Joseph told the cupbearer to tell the Pharaoh about him and get him out of the prison, but the cupbearer forgot about him. UNTIL Pharaoh had nightmares and no one could interpret them. Then Joseph was brought to Pharaoh and told thus:

"In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, fat and sleek, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows came up—scrawny and very ugly and lean. I had never seen such ugly cows in all the land of Egypt. The lean, ugly cows ate up the seven fat cows that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell that they had done so; they looked just as ugly as before. Then I woke up. In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good, growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted—withered and thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it to me."
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine."

Oh no! What to do? Joseph recommended to the king that he should find a wise man to oversee storing food during the good years, and guess what? He got the job. Things went great for the seven years of plenty, and during the bad years people came to buy food. So lah-dee-dah, business is good, then guess who shows up - Joseph's brothers. They don't recognize him, so he decides to have a little fun. "Where do you come from?"

"From the land of Canaan," they replied, "to buy food."
Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
"No, my lord," they answered. "Your servants have come to buy food. We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies."
"No!" he said to them. "You have come to see where our land is unprotected."
But they replied, "Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."
Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!"

But it turns out he just kept one in custody, and the rest went home for Benjamin. Jacob had a hard time letting Benny go to Egypt, but they needed the food. This time Joseph welcomed them, and held a feast - but Benjamin got 5 times as much food as everybody else.

1 Corinthians 3-4

"Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the LORD comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." ~ 1 Cor 4:5

I found this verse a while back and I've loved it ever since. I wrote an article about this subject before I ever found the verse, and have been working on not judging anybody about anything since. Whenever I am tempted to, I try to shove it out of my mind. I was surprised how I felt NOT judging people - it is freeing!!! I didn't have to worry about looking down on folks! I can just enjoy and have a good time with everybody!

And notice that last part - it says, "each will receive his praise from God." I expected, "and each will be judged by God and told what they did wrong" I guess. God is ready to praise us!

"One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." ~ Romans 14:2-4

Job 19-20

Job is in the middle of his sufferings, and his friends are telling him all the things he's probably done wrong. Job says,

"Have pity on me, my friends, have pity,

for the hand of God has struck me.

Why do you pursue me as God does?

Will you never get enough of my flesh?

I know that my Redeemer lives,

and that in the end he will stand upon the earth."

I love that last verse!!!! In the end, he will stand upon the earth... could he mean Jesus? This is arguably the oldest book in the Bible... could they have known this already?

I've kept singing this song since I read this...

Ruth part 2

Ruth has been living with Naomi, gleaning from Boaz's fields, and learning to live without a man around. But one day Naomi said to Ruth, "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours?" Well, yes. Ruth agreed to do whatever her mother-in-law asked. She submitted without a fuss, even though it might have been tough - being recently widowed and all. This part interests me...

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
"Who are you?" he asked."I am your servant Ruth," she said. "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer."
"The LORD bless you, my daughter," he replied. "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning."

I think a kinsman redeemer is someone who will take care of your family when disaster strikes. And here's why -

Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."

"I will redeem it," he said.
Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."
At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it."
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"
Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

And guess what? They had a son named Obed who was the grandfather of KING DAVID!!! And who was he the forefather of? Yep! Jesus himself!!! Isn't amazing how God didn't just use Israelites in the family line of his son? Think about Rahab - she was from Jericho! Ruth was from Moab, I mean WOW!!!