Biblical Best Seller

- A Must Read

I have often said to people about the Bible, when they have trouble reading it.

I tell them to read it as a novel.

The reason I say that is, many times people find it difficult to read,

Or hard to understand, etc.

Also, many people, sadly, only pick it up when they find themselves going through something, and pray they find the answers in the book.

But they quickly get discouraged when the answers they are so desperately looking for don’t pop, or jump right out at them.

So, they lay the Bible down in discouragement.

Then every time they see a Bible, something inside them reminds them of their failure to retrieve some needed comfort or help etc.

As if miraculously, when they open the Bible to some random page, it will read something like this,

“To get out of this pickle your in, Do This, and then you’ll feel better.”

Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it?

Thats because it is.

The Word of God is powerful enough to get you out of life’s dilemmas,

But the Words without practice are just words.

Just as Faith without works is dead,

James 2:14–17 (CSB)

14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?

15 If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed,” but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way faith, if it does not have works, is dead by itself.

So are the Words to fall on deaf ears if you aren’t willing to put into practice what the words say.

The Word of God is ALIVE and WELL, but you must search it.

Hebrews 4:12–13 (CSB)

12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.

When you approach the Bible sincerely, to read, understand and search for God’s Word for you and your life,

It will expose all things as if you were naked before the Lord.

It will speak to you, it does have that supernatural ability to down through the joints and marrow of your soul.

But only if you read it.

Not just when you need a little inspirational nugget when life has you down, but everyday if you can.

Whenever you can.

It is 2024, there is no excuse. Every version of the Bible available in the world today is accessible to you in some form or fashion.

It is even available in every reading grade from kindergarten up to graduate level.

- Read it like a Novel

So, I usually recommend if you can’t understand the Bible, start at page one, and begin to read it like a Novel.

Quickly you’ll see the Bible is full of every element you find in the entertainment industry.

As a matter of fact, many of the fictional stories that make up the entertainment industry, get their inspiration from events detailed for us in the Bible.

If you like violence, action and warfare, Guess what, The Bible has a lot of that.

If you like intrigue, sabotage, and clandestine espionage or spy activity, The Bible has a lot of that.

If you prefer government, political maneuvering, It has a lot of that too.

If even has a tough of what is called Adult only entertainment, found in the Songs of Solomon.

It is full of stories of incredible victories, National Triumphs, Political downfalls, stories of Redemption,

And even Love Stories.

Yes, even love stories, as we find in the precious little book of Ruth.

- Plot Line

Like any other novel, one of the basic key ingredient to any good story is the plot line.

Now what is a plot line?

According to Dictionary.com it is defined as:

(the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.)

(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/plot)

From Genesis to Judges then, we can follow the major plot moving across these first seven books.

God made man, with the serpents or devil’s help -Man fell,

God promised destruction to the serpent through Eve’s children,

God made a new nation for Himself to accomplish the promise to the serpent,

The serpent tries very hard to stop God’s plan for his destruction by filling the their land with terrifying giants,

Then once they clear the land of Giant’s the people turn their backs on God,

so he removes His protection from them until they repent, and every-time they repent, He sends them someone to save the day.

- Plot Twist

But then, like any other great novel, there is a plot twist, or a side route that breaks the pace of the story for a bit.

This is what happens here at this point in the Bible.

We find Israel in the promised land, but without a leader.

They fall into moral debauchery influenced by the peoples around them.

Everyone seems to do what they feel is best for them.

Then we come to the story of Ruth.

This four chapter story detailing the providence of God working through His people is a beautiful love story.

In this book we find Naomi is a widow from Bethlehem, who followed her husband to the land of Moab due to a famine.

Ruth 1:1–5 (CSB)

1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the fields of Moab and settled there. 3 Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4 Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about ten years, 5 both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was left without her two children and without her husband.

We are told this happened in the time of the Judges and there was a famine in the land.

Most scholars believe this happened during the time of Gideon, who was a Judge.

They went to the land of Moab.

Moab was a land where human sacrifices were prevalent to the worship of pagan gods.

The predominant god was Chemosh.

So, it was a land most likely hostile to Elimelech and his wife Naomi who were hebrews from the land of Judah.

But, Elimelech dies along with his their two sons leaving poor Naomi a widow, and childless and advanced in years.

She was left alone with only her two faithful, and loving daughters-in-law.

- Enter - Ruth

One being Orpah and the other Ruth.

Just a fun fact.

I heard in an interview with the popular TV host known as Oprah, that she is named after this daughter-in-law of Ruth Orpah, but people always mis pronounced it Oprah and it stuck.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oprah_Winfrey#:~:text=Orpah%20Gail%20Winfrey%20was%20born,regularly%20and%20%22Oprah%22%20stuck.)

Orpah was convinced by Naomi to return to her family and her people,

While Ruth on the other hand would not be persuaded from following Naomi.

Ruth 1:16–17 (CSB)

16 But Ruth replied: Don’t plead with me to abandon you or to return and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.

Notice here at the end of verse 16, she said your people will be my people, and your God my God.

Now, my mother-in-law has been to me a good M.I.L., but to forsake all of my family, every thing I’ve known, and even changing religions for her,

Is another matter all together.

But yet, thats what we have here Ruth.

She loved her M.I.L. so much, that she was willing to become like Naomi, a Hebrew worshipper of the One True God

Yahweh.

Now, if we consider Ruth’s up bringing, in light of being a Moabitess, we could conclude that the decision to follow a

Hebrew woman, who was bound to behave and treat people according to the ten commandments, behaving like Godly people, and respectful treatment of women, etc.

Then I’m sure the decision was easy for Ruth.

Let’s see, I can go back to being someones property, where I may be forced to place my baby if I ever had one, on the fires of Chemosh, or Molek?

Or are my chances better following this Godly woman back to her land and starting over.

Nor does the scripture allude to her struggling with the decision to leave her own people.

So, Ruth follows Naomi back to Bethlehem, Judah.

The Name, Naomi means = Pleasant

But when she arrived home in Bethlehem, people were excited to see her, and it became talk of the town

But, all she had gone through, she had become understandably bitter.

Ruth 1:19–21 (CSB)

19 The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”

20 “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has opposed me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Notice, whenever God changes your name, it means a promotion or so,

When we change our own name, its doesn’t go so well.

But, Naomi’s and Ruth’s story was about to change,

It turned out that her husband Elimelech had some property to be claimed by Naomi and her children.

Since Ruth survived her late husband, that property could be claimed.

Naomi instructs Ruth on how things are supposed to work, and what she should do,

- Kinsman Redeemer

Ruth does it, and end up meeting, and eventually becoming the wife of a Kinsman redeemer, and restores all Naomi and Ruth had coming.

According to the laws and customs, A Kinsman Redeemer, ( a family member), was needed to claim the rights for the heir.

Thats Bible speak for, Kin-folk

What is a Kinsman Redeemer?

If any one from poverty was unable to redeem his inheritance, it was the duty of the kinsman to redeem it

(Faithlife, LLC. “Kinsman.” Logos Bible Study, Computer software. Logos Bible Study Factbook. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, LLC, June 5, 2024. https://ref.ly/logos4/Factbook?id=ref%3abk.%25kinsman.)

Sound familiar?

We too need a Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. AMEN

From our sinful poverty we can’t redeem ourselves, we need Jesus.

- Who is Boaz?

Now, to whom was Ruth married too?

Well none other than Boaz, son of Salmon.

Do you know who Salmon’s wife was?

It was Rahab the prostitute the book of Joshua. She was the one that help the two spies escape

She was absorbed by the Hebrews for her willingness and faith,

Then she later married Salmon, and gave birth to Ruth’s husband Boaz.

You may ask,

“Why is all of this important to the over arching story of the Bible as a novel?”

The answer is this,

If we remember that God promised to destroy the serpent/devil through Eve’s seed.

We also rememeber that back in the in the time of Jacob, that the story took a turn.

We found that two Judah’s sons died, leaving his daughter in law, Tamar without a husband.

She disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with her father in law Judah, forcing him to comply with the laws and traditions to which her didn’t.

She got pregnant through the encounter and had twins, Zerah and Perez.

Well, Perez, the son of Judah and his daughter in law Tamar is the 4th great grandfather of Salmon who married Rahab,

who became the mother of Boaz.

Boaz, is direct descendant of Jacob’s son Judah.

- Plot Line

So, we have a line stretching now from Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez, Salmon of Rahab, to Boaz.

We will learn that Boaz, eventually becomes the great grandfather of King David.

- The Bible Could Be a Hollywood Blockbuster

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like it would make an awfully good movie or book?

Well guess what, It already is.

Its called the Bible, and it keeps going on from there.

I wonder how many more of today’s people would be more interested if Brad Pitt, played Boaz, and Angelina Jolie played Ruth?

On October 5, 1956, The movie star of that day was Charlton Heston, and he played Moses, in the Story of the Ten Commandments

It was a huge hit.

I imagine if Hollywood would turn to God and use its talents for the glory of the Lord,

They would be tremendously effective at bringing people to Christ by using their arts to bring the Bible to the big screen.

If you read the Bible, even as a novel, with sincerity of heart, Im sure the Words would come alive to you as well,

Then you too could be just as effective in spreading the Word of God as they jump out to you and become real for you too.

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