God’s Daily Word

Directions Website

God’s Daily Word Every day we share a devotional to encourage people with the Word of God. | God's Daily Word is part GlobalRize

Unexpected goodnessDuring a break Boaz said to Ruth: ‘Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the w**e. So s...
18/10/2026

Unexpected goodness

During a break Boaz said to Ruth: ‘Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the w**e. So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied’ (Ruth 2:14 ESV).

From the moment Boaz noticed her, he wanted to protect her. Her diligence and dedication touched him. He saw a vulnerable young woman.

Boaz spoke to Ruth: ‘Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn’ (v.8-9 ESV). He made sure that she would be safe.

Ruth was touched by his kindness, bowed to the ground and asked: ‘Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?’ (v.10 ESV). Boaz replied, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before’ (v. 11 ESV).
‘May the Lord repay you for what you have done … the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!’ (v.12 ESV).

Did Ruth realize that she had taken refuge in the LORD?
What does it mean for you to take refuge in Him?

Ruth looks after Naomi ‘And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi: Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain aft...
17/10/2026

Ruth looks after Naomi

‘And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi: Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor’ (Ruth 2:2 ESV).

The young, energetic Ruth was eager to earn a living for Naomi and herself. Outside the walls of Bethlehem, on the hills, lay the terraced fields belonging to various landowners. When ears of grain fell to the ground during harvest, they were left for the poor to glean. (Deuteronomy 24:19–21).
Ruth went out to one of those fields to glean and ended up in Boaz’s field. A man of wealth and standing, Boaz was a relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband.

While Ruth was gathering ears of grain, Boaz came from Bethlehem and greeted the reapers saying: ‘May the LORD be with you!’ And they replied: ‘May the LORD bless you!’ (v.4 ESV).

Boaz asked the servant in charge of the reapers: ‘Whose young woman is this?’ (v. 5 ESV) He replied: ‘She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab’ (v. 6 ESV). She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest’ (v.7 ESV).

What does this story tell you about Ruth?
What impression do you get of Boaz?

Harvest time in Bethlehem ‘And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest’ (Ruth 1:22c ESV).It was a busy...
16/10/2026

Harvest time in Bethlehem

‘And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest’ (Ruth 1:22c ESV).

It was a busy time in Bethlehem; the harvest season had arrived. After years of famine, the Lord had brought joy to His people by granting them a bountiful harvest. The barley harvest was a time of hope. Barley was the first cereal to ripen in the spring.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle, two women entered Bethlehem, their clothing identifying them as widows. The older of the two is visibly marked by grief and the younger woman is clearly not an Israelite.

Within no time the town is abuzz. No doubt they asked ‘Is that Naomi, the lovely one, who had set off for Moab with her husband and sons? And who is with her?’ No one seemed to know.

But Naomi responded: ‘Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty’ (Ruth 1:20-21 ESV).

In her bitterness, Naomi believed that the LORD has punished her by taking her husband and sons away from her. Nevertheless, she would experience the Lord’s provision in her time of sorrow.

Do you recognize any of this in your own life? Have you ever felt like Naomi?

Inseparable ‘For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God ...
15/10/2026

Inseparable

‘For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God’ (Ruth 1:16b ESV).

It was a sad scenario: the three women standing there at the border between Moab and Israel. A separation was imminent and all three sensed it. Together they had shared good times and bad, and parting was painful. Finally, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth had decided to go with Naomi.

See, Naomi said, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law (v. 15 ESV).
But Ruth answered: ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God’ (v. 16 ESV).
‘Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you’ (v.17 ESV).

These words show that Ruth felt a close connection with Naomi and with her people. It was also through her mother-in-law that she had come to know the LORD so of course it was unthinkable for her to return to the idolatrous worship prevalent in Moab.

When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined, she did not press the matter any further and so the two of them arrived in Bethlehem.

Would Naomi have noticed the difference between Orpah and Ruth? Which of these women can you relate to?

Go back!The three of them were on their way to Bethlehem, “but Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each ...
14/10/2026

Go back!

The three of them were on their way to Bethlehem, “but Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each of you to her mother’s house’”. (Ruth 1:8a ESV).

In the distance, the Jordan River which marks the border between Moab and Judah came into view and Naomi looked at her beloved daughters-in-law and wondered what future would await Orpah and Ruth, being Moabite women?

She stood there and said: You two should go back to your mother’s house now. “May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!’ Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept (v.8-9 ESV). They responded saying, we want to return with you to your people.

But Naomi objected: ‘It is better for you to go back. After all, I will have no more sons for you to marry.’

‘No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me’ (v. 13b ESV).

Three times Naomi urged Orpah and Ruth to go back to their own people.
Why does she think there is no chance of them getting married in Israel?

Return“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of M...
13/10/2026

Return

“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.” (Ruth 1:6 ESV)

Naomi’s life had been marked by grief and loss. First, she lost her husband Elimelech, and then her two sons, Mahlon and Chilion.

How full of hope they had been when they set out from Bethlehem for this fertile land. Prosperity, success and happiness – it had all turned out to be nothing more than a dream.

At times she must have asked herself: What on earth am I still doing here in this heathen land, with all those painful memories?

Her daughters-in-law were kind to her, but that nagging feeling of homesickness lingered.

One day, she heard the news that the famine in Bethlehem had ended because the LORD had blessed His people with a good harvest, so that there was plenty of bread once again.

Then Naomi decided to return to the land of Judah, and she told her daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. These two women loved Naomi dearly, and both decided to accompany Naomi to the unknown land.

Was the daughters-in-law’s decision really a considered response?
Have you ever made a life-changing decision, and how were you able to reach it?

A heavy lossBut Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons (Ruth 1:3 ESV).The first verse...
13/10/2026

A heavy loss

But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons (Ruth 1:3 ESV).

The first verses of the Book of Ruth are characterized by tragic circumstances.
After the family arrived in Moab and settled there, Elimelech died and Naomi was left behind with her two sons.

We can imagine the hardship that Naomi had to endure being a widow in a new country, without Elimelech’s protection and financial support.

Meanwhile, Naomi’s sons Mahlon and Chilion had grown to be adults.

Wasn’t it time for them to return to Israel so that they might look for a wife from among their own people in accordance with the laws of Moses?

Sadly, there’s no talk of them going back. It seems they had become accustomed to living in Moab as Mahlon and Chilion found wives: Orpah and Ruth.

The narrative takes a dramatic turn when we read, “They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died” … (v.4-5 ESV). An unthinkable tragedy.

This left Naomi “without her two sons and her husband”. A world of hurt in half a sentence.

Later we will read what Naomi herself had to say about this great loss.

Naomi had lost all her family… What was the purpose of her life now?

In these lessons, we want to think about the book of Ruth – we find this short narrative in the Bible between the books ...
12/10/2026

In these lessons, we want to think about the book of Ruth – we find this short narrative in the Bible between the books of Judges and 1 Samuel.

This story focuses on a family who lived during the time of the Judges.

Fertile land

In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons (Ruth 1:1 ESV).

After years of prosperity, a new era dawned for the Israelites.

The land of Canaan which flowed with milk and honey according to the LORD’s promise became a land ravaged by famine because year after year, the harvest was destroyed and the livestock was plundered by the Midianites. Even in the town of Bethlehem, which means ‘house of bread’ the people were starving.

Elimelech, a wealthy man, sold his land and possessions and set off with his family for the fertile plains of Moab. This area was situated to the east of the River Jordan, opposite Jericho, and was ideal for farming. He settled there with his wife Naomi and their sons Mahlon and Chilion, most likely intending to stay temporarily.

By leaving his country, Israel, Elimelech also abandoned the worship of the Lord. The land of Moab was known for its cruel idolatry.

It was a huge step!

After Joshua, the leader of the people of Israel died, and all the people of his generation had also died, a new generation arose that did not know the LORD. They had not witnessed the miracles He had performed for Israel (see Judges 2:8-18).

These Israelites worshipped the idols of the surrounding nations. Therefore, the LORD punished them by handing them over to their enemies, who raided them repeatedly. But whenever they were in great distress, the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from their enemies.

It was in those days that Elimelech’s family lived…

God wants what’s good for us“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been ...
10/10/2026

God wants what’s good for us

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)

God’s ways are often beyond our understanding, as we saw on the first day of this series of devotions. Sometimes we find it difficult to accept His will because it goes against our own desires, or because we cannot understand how suffering and adversity can bring about something good.
Yet there is every reason to entrust ourselves to God. He wants what is best for us. He even gave His Son for us—so surely He will also give us everything we need with Him (see Romans 8:32). Our future is safe in His hands.
God holds the world in His hands. He has an overview of everything that happens in the past, present, and future. At times, it may seem as though He is not keeping His promises. How long it takes for His Kingdom to come! People thought the same thing 2,000 years ago. But Peter assures us: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV) His Kingdom is coming!
Do you wholeheartedly agree with the prayer Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:10 (NIV): “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”? If not, what is holding you back?

Address

Tel Aviv

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when God’s Daily Word posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category