Did you know that our Northside Writers’ Group writes devotions for Table Groups? What’s a Table Group, you ask? Head back over to the Northside Women main page and click the link at the bottom of the page to find out! (You’ll be glad you did.) This year, all of our devotions will be exploring God’s faithfulness to women in the Old Testament. The following is adapted from our July devotion:

God’s Faithfulness to Naomi & Ruth “Lovingkindness”

By: Meg Glenn

I have a new favorite word: chesed (sometimes hesed). It’s big and beautiful, rich and deep, woven through Scripture to reveal God’s character. It is His steadfast lovingkindness that assures us He is with us, no matter what. Let’s dig a little deeper to see chesed (pronounced cheh-said or kheh-said) in action.

The book of Ruth starts with Naomi and her family handling enormous challenges. They faced famine at home in Bethlehem. We know from the book of Judges the Israelites had periods of peace, but they also strayed from the Lord and dealt with severe consequences. The struggle was real, but not new, and likely exhausting. Elimelech and Naomi moved their family to Moab to live. Can you imagine the fear and desperation they must have felt? The stress of the travel, worrying about safety on the journey and what to do when they got there? Living in a new and strange place without support?

As if they weren’t struggling enough, Elimelech died while in Moab, leaving Naomi with two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. They later married, taking Moabite wives. Mahlon married Ruth, and Killion married Orpah, but their “happily ever after” was short-lived. Within ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion died, leaving Naomi, Ruth and Orpah devastated, alone,and with no way to provide for themselves. Naomi was a woman of strong faith and likely shared it openly with her daughters-in-law. But even a woman of faith has a breaking point, right? Penniless AGAIN, with no one to care for them, their outlook was bleak. Really bleak.

Naomi made plans to return home, having heard the Lord was providing for the Israelites yet again. Knowing her situation was still iffy, she told her precious daughters-in-law to walk away and return home to their families. It was their best chance. Orpah reluctantly went back to her family, but Ruth stayed with Naomi. Scripture says she CLUNG to her. Ruth held tight to Naomi with everything in her.

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go, and where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!’” – Ruth 1:16-17 (NLT)

Today we call them “besties” or our “ride or die”— those who are there for the long haul, come what may. They are the hands and feet of Jesus to us – the ones who sit silently with us in our hurt, bring a meal (or ice cream!) when we need it, walk and talk through stormy seasons doing the hard things with us. God feels our needs deeply, and His lovingkindness is never more fully on display than when we are at our most helpless.

The Hebrew word for this steadfast love, this covenant loyalty is chesed. This word is so rich that there isn’t a single English word to fully capture its depth. Don’t you love that? Our God loves us, and He provides for us so big that we can’t even accurately describe it.

It’s an active, generous, and unearned love, showing faithful action and mercy that goes far beyond what we deserve. One definition called it RADICAL HOSPITALITY, and that resonated in my soul. Chesed is reliable and enduring, and it points us forward to Jesus and the cross.

We need that in our lives, and we need to BE that for others too. This isn’t a “girls night” friendship. It’s deep relationship and loyalty that is there, always.

We all know women who are dealing with loneliness, marriage or family struggles, infertility, raising babies, taking care of parents. We see those with rebellious teenagers, career changes, special needs, children moving out of the nest, losing loved ones, emptiness – the list is long for us today, just like it was for Naomi and Ruth.

Chesed met them there. God knew Naomi and Ruth. He knew they needed it from each other and from those they encountered.

Ruth went to glean the fields, gathering food for herself and Naomi. But not just any field. She was walking behind the harvesters in the fields of Boaz right as he arrived back from Bethlehem and greeted his workers. He was a man of standing but likely understood feeling like an outsider. Boaz was the son of Rahab – yes, that Rahab – the prostitute, who had herself faced desperate circumstances and had to depend on the chesed loyalty of others to save herself and her family. Coincidence? Or God providing chesed and carrying out all of His will?

Boaz knew of Ruth and what she did to care for Naomi. As he spoke to her the first time, he said, “May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” (Ruth 2:12 NLT)

Boaz stepped up as their kinsman redeemer, a family member legally obligated to protect and rescue them. In caring for and ultimately redeeming Ruth and Naomi, he safeguarded them from starvation and poverty. He bought back their property, paying the price to restore everything they lost. Sound familiar?

The lovingkindness of God’s redemptive love shines in Jesus, the ultimate fulfillment. He is merciful, loving us even through our most difficult times. He stays. His love shows up, even at a great cost. In fact, the ultimate cost.

Studying through the Old Testament, we see chesed so beautifully in key relationships, like these:

• ·Joseph with his brothers – He forgave them, showing mercy when they were reunited. (Genesis 45, Genesis 50:19-21) 50:20: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (Wow.)
• The midwives in Egypt – Shiphrah and Puah defied Pharaoh’s orders to kill Hebrew babies, at great personal risk. Courageous compassion at work. (Exodus 1: 15-21)
• Moses crying out on behalf of Israel – After the golden calf debacle, Moses pleaded for God to show mercy, putting anger aside. (Exodus 32)
• Jonathan and David – Jonathan honored his covenant friendship with David, over personal gain and danger. (1 Samuel 18:3-4; 19:4-7; 20:1-42)
• David and Mephibosheth – David searched out Jonathan’s disabled son and honored his long-ago promise, showing mercy to the vulnerable. (2 Samuel 9)

It’s a rhythm. It’s God’s heart for his people, playing out repeatedly through his people, exquisitely modeled for us to live out toward others. He provides for us in dark, wobbly moments when our faith wavers – relationships that stay and hold us, even when we fail or the wounds are deep. It’s the faithfulness of God, up to and including the ultimate chesed in the sacrificial, agape love of Jesus.

Focus verse: “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)” (Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT)