The Heart of A Woman Bible StudyThe Heart of A Woman Bible study, based off of the promises found in Isaiah 54, is for every woman who has a place of barrenness, emptiness, lack of faith, or fear keeping her from experiencing fruitfulness in her life. If this is you, won’t you join us as we journey to a deeper more abundant life of faith together? The Heart of a Woman is all about finding the heart of the Father towards the daughters He lovingly calls His own.

©dawnboyer 2014 Journeys In Grace  www.journeysingrace.com

Originally published on Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood www.solideogloriasisterhood.com.

 

 

 

Welcome to Week 8 of the SDG Summer Bible Study: The Heart of a Woman.  This week we are going to study another amazing lady from scripture who resonates with what we are learning about going from barrenness to fruitfulness.  What I love about this section of the study is how we find the ways God unites our hearts through the study of His Word, specifically, how He testifies of Himself through the confirmation of that study.

The second set of verses in Isaiah 54:5-10 focus on a key word,  Redeemed.  If you remember, this word in Hebrew is ga’al,which means to save and to deliver, buy back with a purpose and an intention to bless.  I want to take a moment to go back to the beginning, our origin of purpose, and with that we go to the book of beginnings: Genesis.   In Genesis we start out with the words, “In the beginning God created…” and “when God saw everything that he made, behold it was very good.” ( Genesis 1:1,31)

Woman of God, I want you to open your heart to receive the most important words I could speak to you:  What God  sees in you, the perfected beauty that You are, is GOOD. 

What God calls into the depth of our hearts is a fullness and blessing that nothing in this world can taint or destroy.   He is redeeming you for the purpose of blessing, both you and others through the abundance of your cultivated heart-garden.  Don’t ever lose sight of that. Don’t forget that the Master Gardener sees beyond your faults and adores the scars that we wear because they show our living … they show our redemption … they show our resurrection.   Remember that even in the beginning, back in Genesis 1, God had a plan of redemption that included you. He has a plan and it is good.

This is a long lesson, ladies, so I pray you will stick with me to the end. It is so good. Are you ready?

He Redeems to bless and multiply for the sake of His Name.

So far we have been talking about how He redeemed us through this marriage relationship of the husband redeemer, the touch of his mercy and loving-kindness through our trials, which are momentary in light of His love, and the covenant of peace which will last beyond the physical immovable mountains in our lives.

We have learned that the meaning of eternal loving-kindness originates in the love of God. Olam hesed  is the phrase used to express this binding covenant of peace and reconciliation.

I want to show you one more exciting truth about this concept of redemption, all before we even come to Isaiah’s promises.  The word for redeemed in Isaiah 54:5 is first used in the book of Genesis 48:15-16 when Jacob is offering a blessing upon Joseph’s sons.

Then Jacob blessed Joseph and said, God [Himself], before Whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac lived and walked habitually, God [Himself], Who has [been my Shepherd and has led and] fed me from the time I came into being unto this day, The redeeming Angel [that is, the Angel the Redeemer – not a created being but the Lord Himself] Who has redeemed me continually from every evil, bless the lads! And let my name be perpetuated in them [may they be worthy of having their names coupled with mine], and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them become a multitude in the midst of the earth.

Like Jacob, we are redeemed continually from the things in our life that make us unfruitful because our husband-redeemer has initiated a covenant-contract that is binding and unbreakable, eternal in nature, established in love and mercy, and filled with everlasting kindness. His compassion for us goes beyond to the point of not just rescuing us but redeeming us for the future purpose of blessing.   Like Jacob who is asking for a blessing of multiplication through His name, remember that you have the marriage rights to God’s name.  It is because of this relationship, where He has rescued us and is showing us how to sing into the barren places and the redemptive beauty of relationship based in love, that we come to the next woman of grace today, Ruth.

Ruth reminds us of God’s Redemption

The story of Ruth is probably easy for you to recollect.  The expansive publication of Sunday School lessons, Sermons, and fictional adaptations of her life have made her almost a ‘Rock Star’ for those of us who love the romantic rescue story that shows our heroine and her Knight in Shining Armor coming in to sweep her off her feet.  However, I want to challenge you to begin looking at the way God weaves life into living by making connections. Then He reveals His heart to us through His Word and by example.

One of my go-to verses, written in my prayer journal, is Romans 8:28. I find myself quoting it  often, reminding myself and God of the promise He has given me in times of trial, doubt, fear, and loss.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

My friends, this is for your heart. Remember this. Write it down and think about it. He is redeeming us continually just like Jacob,  and He will rescue and redeem us just like Ruth.

History Note:  Let’s meet this Moabitess who was called according to His purpose.

The Book of Ruth follows the Book of Judges in the Old Testament and precedes the Book of Samuel.  If you remember from week 4, that I told you that there was something unique about Hannah’s prayers which united the Era of Judges to the Era of Kings in the Old Testament with the birth of her son Samuel. Also, her prayers and faith introduced the promises of the Messiah tying us to the redemption promises beginning in Genesis. Ruth’s story introduces us to King David, who was anointed by Samuel as the Era of the Judges ended, and God taught His people the importance of authority through the leading of a King.  Samuel is, also, the assumed author of this story of two important women of faith, Naomi and Ruth.

There are 2 themes in the book of Ruth and 4 main points that lead us to see the character of God through the redemption experience of Naomi and Ruth. Though the title of the book ascribes its name to the younger woman in the story, Ruth, it starts and ends with Naomi.   The dual theme in Ruth is providence and redemption.  Providence, in the way that God provides for the woman of His heart, and, Redemption, through Christ as God demonstrates the care and tenderness of a husband-redeemer.

God is intently personal, as we have seen in his pursuit of this marriage relationship of our soul. He cares about every detail of our lives. Through the example of these two women of faith, we can see the sovereign grace of God. Drawing on those promises, hopefully, we will become women of faith who claim them as their own.

Ruth’s story reveals the redemption of two women.

Each chapter of Ruth represents a distinct main idea.  It is a short easy-to-read book, but don’t compare the size to the content. There is enough here to keep us studying for a long time. Let’s start with a brief summary of the chapters and then dive into the heart of what I hope you will see about this example of redemption God is revealing through Ruth’s story.

The four Main Ideas represented in Ruth are:

  • The affliction and comfort of Naomi.
  • The conversion and redemption of Ruth.

 

Affliction allows us to see His grace clearly.

In the first chapter of Ruth we meet Naomi in her affliction.  She is introduced to us through the losses she has suffered.  Notice that she is a widow who has lost her husband and her sons all in a foreign land with no family except for two daughters-in-law that are Moabites.

Naomi was certainly storm-tossed and afflicted. (Isaiah 54:11)  She was unable to see truth because of her grief, yet God was all the while working out the good in the midst of the bad. You see God is faithful, when we are faithless. He is constantly working the details out, especially when we can’t see the path in front of us. He is never sleeping on the job, but consistently looking about for ways  to bring us closer to Himself, even if that means allowing affliction into our lives to open our eyes.

We honor God when we choose Him over everything else. We honor Him when we return to Him.

The second chapter takes us on the journey from loss to choices. Ruth, like Naomi has lost a husband and now her mother-figure is leaving.  Ruth was given every opportunity to choose to leave Naomi and the life of affliction which she was proposing.  Naomi seemed determined to sever the ties of obligation that Ruth’s marriage to her son produced.  Ruth willingly put herself in the place of subjugation to Naomi’s journey as she humbled herself in her choice to follow.  This act of humiliation is indicative of the place we find ourselves when we are seeking Christ’s offer of life through acceptance of his sacrifice. Naomi was not willing to make the choice for Ruth, but rather tried to prevent her with as many reasons NOT to follow her as she could rationalize.

{How many times do we do that in life? Do you ever rationalize your decisions because it would be easier not to choose the hard and untraveled path?}

God is showing us the way He brings us into the fold of His arms.  Ruth is being prepared to be grafted in to the life-vine of relationship with Naomi’s God. Ruth is a gentile idol-worshiping Moabitess who is being prepared to come to God through the process of redemption which ultimately changes her identity. God’s providence and favor are clear even in the loss and grief that is evident.

Let’s look at some genealogy with this chapter:

  • Ruth a gentile, eventually marries Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
  • Ruth gives birth to Obed (who is the grandfather of David).

In the beginning of our study I told you that Isaiah was speaking both figuratively and prophetically to the Israelites and the future Church.  Here God gives us more evidence of how beautifully He orchestrates His well laid plans for redemption.

Our brokenness leads others to God.

lets look at a Psalm of Repentance, Psalm 51. This prayer-psalm is a reminder of how our gracious God comes near to the broken-hearted in times of loss and affliction.  Take time to really read Psalm 51 this week and reflect on how deeply God’s heart longs to meet us in our pain, sorrow, and loss. He does not leave us forsaken or alone.

Make me to hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; let the bones which you have broken rejoice… Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, preserving, and steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted and return to You … For you do not delight in sacrifice, or else would I give it; You find no pleasure in burnt offering.  My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

In this chapter Naomi is humbled because of the choices which were made by her husband when they left the land of Caanan.  She feels God has abandoned her and judges the reason for her loss is a result of that break in their covenant relationship.  She has decided to return to God and is now taking, and converting, Ruth with her.  Ruth in her brokenness sees the seed-of-hope in Naomi’s journey; as she chooses to cast off the idols of her past she begins to embrace the God of her future.

The Kinsman-Redeemer recognizes our need and makes a plan to meet them.

Ruth meets Boaz in Chapter 3.  I have to admit, I am a hopeless romantic and all I want to see is the happy ending, every single time.  I get excited when Ruth finally meets her destiny. Yet, this is not a simple love story. The irony of every detail is easily lost when we, as ladies sometimes do, miss  it because we want the good guy to save the damsel in distress. Right? Let’s look at a few things that are key in this chapter,they may just be revelational to you.

In this chapter Ruth presents herself to Boaz, rather boldly, as instructed by her Mother-in-Law because Naomi knows what the role of the Kinsman-Redeemer is.  She knows that Boaz has the inherited to that role and proceeds to act somewhat sneaky in her attempt to alert him of his right to redeem what belonged in his family.

Did you ever think that when you read this chapter? Really, did you ever wonder why God allowed the story of Ruth’s brazen offering to Boaz be described as it was. It was a bold move to lay at the feet of a man she hardly knew, prone to injury and abuse with no rights or protection.  Yet, as Boaz is a type and figure of Christ’s role of redeemer, He acted in complete concern for Ruth’s safety, care, and protection, which is visible in his reaction to her throughout  the story.

Interestingly, in Jewish Law, the kinsman-redeemer (ga’al)was already considered Ruth’s husband before God.  Naomi, knowing God’s commands, directed her daughter-in-law to act the part and step out in faith by receiving the call of the redeemer.  In her wisdom, Naomi  initiated the expected redemption by reception.

We need to lay at the feet of our redeemer just like Ruth laid at the feet of Boaz.

This act of laying down at the feet of our redeemer is prophetic.  Though it was intimate, in the Jewish culture, it was also a sign of respect and service. Ruth was laying at the feet of Boaz in anticipation of receiving grace, just like we should come to the Throne of Mercy to obtain grace.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and well-timed help and grace in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Relationship which begins with redemption will always produce seeds of hope.

The last chapter of Ruth provides a glimpse of the purpose of affliction and the production of hope.  The union of Boaz and Ruth led to the birth of a man after God’s own heart, King David. Consider as you study the lists of descendants of Christ just who they were in the eyes of men compared to their worth in the eyes of God. Many who are deemed unworthy, hopeless, failures, lost, foreign, gentile, etc.. are the ones which God saw fit to include in the parentage of the future King and the lineage of the Savior of the world.

Chapter 4 culminates with a happy ending and beautifully ties Ruth’s experience into a nice little package:

Redeemed Ruth

  • Ruth was predestined for greatness but she had to go through the barren losses cultivating her heart.
  • She had to go through the trials of loss and sorrow, tending and weeding the  garden of her heart.
  • She had to plant seeds of hope by humbling serving sowing and reaping in order to fulfill the redemption that was a part of her destiny.

Restored Naomi

  • Naomi’s barrenness led her back to God, bringing Ruth with her.
  • The story began with Naomi’s loss, her redemption came through the faithfulness of Ruth and God’s favor extended to both of them.

Ruth was led by God to glean, to work, to submit, and to humble herself. 

God rewarded her by providing the relief and peace that comes from covenant. She found favor and kindness in her kinsman-redeemer, who made sure she had her needs met in abundance. Take a look at how Boaz took care of Ruth’s needs, and then I want you to correlate that with how God is doing the same in your life. I challenge you to make a list this week of the ways you see God’s hand of providence and provision displayed.

  1. Ruth had companionship when she was gleaning. (Ruth 2:8)
  2. Ruth was protected when she was in the field by the overseers that Boaz set over her. (Ruth 2:9,15)
  3. Ruth was given refreshment as she ate with those whose station was far above her. (Ruth 2:14)
  4. Ruth was included in the harvest, though she did not originally have the job of reaping.(Ruth 2:15,23, 3:15)

 

Naomi and Ruth reveal how we are to relate both to Christ and each other.

We have a beautiful reminder of how we are to relate first of all with Christ, in this story, but also with one another.  We are to be women of faith who lift one another up guiding, leading, loving and blessing.  I love how Charles Spurgeon says it:

Make a point of speaking to the young with goodly, comfortable words, whereby they may be cheered and strengthened. Likewise, to the young, revere, elevate and respect those who have been providentially put in your life to bless and invest.

Ruth’s humility and blessing opened Naomi’s eyes to truth.  Naomi was barren only for a time, but God never left her, even though it felt that way.  Naomi was positioned for blessing, but she had to travel through the valley of darkness to find it.

God’s Word Confirms His Promises

As with each lesson, I want to draw you to some connecting points in the Word.  Hebrews 13:8 is a confirmation of the consistency of God.   And so I want you to see the parallel of the words in Ruth that line up with Isaiah 54:5-10.

  • The word for loving-kindness and favor in Isaiah 54:8 and 10 is hesed, which is the same word used in the first 3 chapters of Ruth when God’s lasting covenant of love and peace are mentioned.
  • The word for redeemer, avenger, and deliverer, used in Isaiah 54:5 is ga’al which is the same word used in Ruth chapter 4 to describe Boaz as the kinsman-redeemer.

God Redeems our Hearts to Himself.

By looking at the role of the covenant redeemer in Isaiah 54:5-10, be encouraged by the courage and redemption of Ruth and Naomi because it should remind us of  God’s nearness and  his tender-hearted kindness.  He is our redeemer as He stands in the gap to meet our needs.  As a husband tenderly cares for us as a wife; our ga’al  is filled with hesed love for us.

Sometimes, God’s quiet response feels like he has forgotten, or even forsaken us. He is fully at work in our lives in all our moments and, just as quickly as the rain comes, His mercy is the flood which delivers  us out of our desperate situations.

For a time we may endure hardships, but in the scope of eternity, it is really a momentary experience. His kindness (hesed) endures and lasts; through our trials faith grows.

2 Corinthians 12:9 – My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

James 1:2-4 – My brethren count it all joy when you fall in to divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.

We are made to need Him and find comfort in God’s arms of grace.

Woman of God you need to hear this. As he intimately knows your heart, because He made it and was able to weave it together with a purpose in mind, know He is able to meet all your needs.  He can adequately meet our emotional needs in ways no one else can, because quite frankly no one else is equipped.  He made us to need Him. He made relationships to be a support not to supplant our dependence upon Him.

He is our comfort, but because He is a jealous God, He alone provides the sustenance our hearts need. This is a truth that every single woman needs to hear, every married woman can’t forget, and every widowed woman needs to embrace.

 

Praying for you to find some beauty in the story of Ruth this week and lay at the feet of your Kinsman-Redeemer who longs to provide, protect, and position you for greatness.

 

*Because this lesson was so long this week I am including a few key points on tending the garden of your heart in the worksheet along with a great activity called, Prayer Cards, that I use for everything.  I hope you will begin to see that The Heart of a Woman is bound also to the prayer-life  of a woman and this is a tool to help you plant seeds of faith in your heart and the lives of those God brings your way.

 

Blessings to you!

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Dawn bio photo

 

 

Author, writer and speaker, Dawn is passionate about many things:  God, Family, Prayer, Food, and the Word. You can find her writing about those hard questions, reasoning and rejoicing in God’s grace and mercy for those who are walking this journey to grace on her website, Journeys In Grace.(www.journeysingrace.com)

 

 

 

Download this week’s worksheet here:

Week 8 Worksheet Redeemed to Preserve Ruth and Naomi

Section 2 Questions Isaiah 54 5-10 The Heart of a Woman Bible Study

 

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