I cherish the treasure The treasure of you Lifelong companion I give myself to you God has enabled me To walk with you faithfully And cherish the treasure The treasure of you
As I obey the Spirit's voice And seek to do His will I then can see the wisdom of His plan For as He works His will in me I then can love you selflessly And by His grace, can pledge my love To you
This sacred vow I make to you Does not contain an "if" Though I'm aware that trials lie ahead I will love you and pray with you And through it all, I will stay with you Our home will be a refuge of Unconditional love
This sacred vow I make to you Does not contain an "if" Though I'm aware that trials lie ahead I will love you and pray with you And through it all, I will stay with you Our home will be a refuge of Unconditional love
During the time of the Judges when there was a famine in the
land, an Israelite family from Bethlehem—Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their
sons Mahlon and Chilion emigrate to the nearby country of Moab. Elimelech dies,
and the sons marry two Moabite women: Mahlon marries Ruth and Chilion marries
Orpah. They dwelt there for about 10 years.
The two sons of Naomi then die
themselves. Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem. She tells her
daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers, and remarry. She said to them
both, "I am too old to remarry and have no more sons for you to marry. May
the Lord be kind to you as you were to the departed and to me." Orpah
reluctantly leaves; however, Ruth says, "Do not ask me to abandon or
forsake you!. For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will
lodge; Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I
will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if
anything but death parts you and me." Naomi then ceased to urge her to
leave as she saw Ruth was determined to go with her.
The two women return to
Bethlehem. It is the time of the barley harvest, and in order to support her
mother-in-law and herself, Ruth goes to the fields to glean ears of grain. The
field she goes to belongs to a man named Boaz, who is kind to her because he
has heard of her loyalty to her mother-in-law. asks Ruth to only glean in
his fields as he wishes her to be well cared for and safe from any harm.
Casting herself prostate upon the ground, she said to him,"Why should I, a
foreigner, be favored with your notice?" Boaz answered her, " I have
had a complete account of how you left your own father and mother and the land
of your birth to care for your mother-in-law." Ruth tells her
mother-in-law of Boaz's kindness, and she gleans only in his field through the
remainder of the harvest season. Boaz is a close relative of Naomi's husband's
family.Naomi says to Ruth.."My daughter I must seek a home for you that
will please you, go and bathe and anoint yourself and then put on your best
attire". She then sends Ruth to the threshing floor at night and tells her
to "uncover the feet" of the sleeping Boaz. Ruth does so and In the
dark of the night, Boaz awakes and asks,"Who are you?" Ruth
identifies herself, then asks Boaz to spread his cloak over her. The phrase
"spread your cloak" was a woman's way of asking for marriage. Boaz
claimed Ruth as his wife. When they came together as husband and wife, the Lord
enabled her to conceive and she bore a son. Then the neighbor women said to
Naomi, "Blessed is the Lord who has not failed to provide you today with
an heir! May he become famous in Israel! He will be your comfort and support in
your old age, for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you. She is worth
more to you than seven sons!" Naomi took the child and placed him on her
lap, and became his nurse. The women named him Obed. He was the father of
Jesse, the father of David. The same line of people from which Jesus was later
born.
