Choices Matter, part 2

Naomi and Ruth lived in Bethlehem after the famine ended. It would have been a time for Ruth to care for her aging mother-in-law, and to learn from her about the God of Israel.
Ruth meets and marries Boaz; they have a son Obed. Naomi accepts Obed as her grandchild, who becomes the father of Jesse the father of David.

Coincidence? No, I believe that it was part of God's plan. BUT Ruth, like us, had a freewill; she had the choice to follow Naomi's God or to return to the gods of Moab. God could have accomplished the line of Jesse another way, but, indeed, history would have changed.

As we approach Advent and the birthday of Jesus, let's remember that Jesus' birth was planned ahead- for generations. And that an ancestor of Jesus was a gentile, a Moabitess. Didn't Jesus come for the whole world?

I close with Isaiah's words:

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His government and its peace
will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the
throne of his ancestor David
for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the
Lord of Heaven’s Armies
will make this happen!
(Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT)

Selah-

Shalom, Connie