Straight Results from Crooked Paths

Scripture: Then the elders and all the people 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 family 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." Ruth 4:11-12

Observation: Boaz has gathered a 'minion' (10 witnesses) and negotiated to be the one who redeems Ruth and Naomi. This is then what the 10 pronounce over him:

-- Ruth will become a mother of the nation, like Leah and Rachel.
-- Boaz himself will become a man of standing in Israel and famous in Bethlehem.
-- The overall redemption of a widow will produce a great line, like it did for Tamar.

In other words ... they nailed it from a prophetic perspective, given that Boaz and Ruth will become the great grandparents of David, and of course then produce the line of Jesus.

Application: The Lord always finds a way to work out his plan. The case-study of Ruth is amazing from that perspective ... a Moabite widow who seduced a man to marry her, which directly produced Israel's great king and the world's savior. It doesn't get much more convoluted than that.

If God can work out his plans in such a manner, he can work out his plan for me through any number of indirect paths, and absolutely without me needing to be part of the planning process. If I could just trust and follow his leading, no amount of indirect, confusing, even painful events would matter. I am improving in this area, and I intend to improve even more, every day.

Prayer: Lord, you are my shepherd, and I am just a sheep who seeks your voice and desires to follow you. Lead me as you will. Amen.