For the record, I am joyfully and gratefully married to my wife, Rena of 33 years and counting. If Protestants counted saints, she would be on the list! But in recent months, I’ve fallen in love, even if that’s not quite the right way to put it, with two other women.
Ruth and Esther are their names, and they’re both remarkably well preserved and vigorous for their ages. Ruth, after all, is pushing 3,200 years old and Esther is only about 500 years younger. The Bible of course preserves their lives afresh for us each day, and so they will never actually grow old in our eyes. I look forward to meeting them in heaven. I’ll bet they’ll be even more beautiful in person.
For as long as I’ve been serious about Scripture, I can’t believe I haven’t spent more time with Ruth and Esther. Maybe I thought other books in the Bible were more important or more relevant. Whatever the reason, I’m thankful to be past it now.
Ruth and Esther are the only two books in Scripture bearing the names of women, but in God’s wondrous providence and plan for salvation, we see in them the fullness of His work. It’s not a stretch to say they represent the whole spectrum of believing women—and men.
Do a quick comparison. Ruth was a Gentile girl who married an Israelite, while Esther was an Israelite girl who married a Gentile. Ruth helped build the House of Israel, while Esther helped save the people of Israel. Ruth was instrumental in producing David, the King of Israel, while Esther was married to the King of Persia. Ruth was an impoverished widow living in a rural setting, while Esther was a rich wife living in a royal palace and city.
What does this comparison show us today? They were both outsiders in their respective settings who stayed true to their faith in God and their values regardless of cultural pressures and circumstances. Ruth was a poor young woman who lived through the grace of God by a rubric of love and loyalty. Esther was a rich young woman who maintained her steadfast commitment to what was right and true according to God’s Word. Neither Ruth’s poverty and powerlessness nor Esther’s wealth and influence changed who they were fundamentally as children of God.
So now when I survey our current situation all these years later, I draw deeply upon their testimonies. They encourage me not to be swayed by every changing movement of the moral compass. God alone is the True North. They help me see that wealth in the eyes of God is not counted by the money—or lack of it—in our bank accounts. They give me courage to stand for what is right, not for what is popular or personally expedient.
I love my wife, but there is still a place in my life to love Ruth and Esther, too. I hope you will get to know them soon.
Mark Graham is the Senior Pastor at St, John’s Lutheran Church located at 4608 Brambleton Ave. Visit them on the web at: www.stjohnlutheran.org
