Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Redemption of a Moabite

So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today.
Genesis 19:36, 37, NIV

There was a girl in my school named Hannah. She was the daughter of one of my friends. I want to tell you about her appearance. Her eyes were crossed, her short cut hair was very plain and unstylish. She wore wire rimmed glasses that looked like something an old lady of the time would wear.

Hannah was not looked down upon, she was ignored. Her father, who ran a bar, shot himself. She was in a lower grade than I was. Though I had been to her home because I was friends with her brother, I never met Hannah.

A few years after this I went to a little party of my school chums. I saw a girl across the room who stood out from the others by her understated elegance. Her clothing was stylish, yet conservative. Her hair was done in a most attractive way. She was what some of that time would call a "smoothy." I asked who she was and I was told, "That is Hannah."

Rising from a humble or even degrading beginning is a part of the Bible, and is well represented by the story of Ruth. The Word calls her a Moabitess, a member of a cursed race. Yet Naomi knew Ruth as a very loving person. For those of us who become weary of violence and curses, however well earned, the Book of Ruth brings a most welcome relief. I know of no more tender story than this one.

And what is the result of Ruth's love and devotion? She became an ancestor of Jesus. She is listed in the Bible's most wonderful genealogy stated in Ruth chapter four, and in the first chapter of Matthew. How is that for rising from a bad beginning?

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