Embark on a profound exploration of the heart's deepest desires as we navigate the complexities of love versus lust in our latest podcast episode. Your understanding of these intense emotions will be enriched as we dissect their presence in biblical tales and apply their lessons to our modern lives. Join us as we discuss the soul-stirring narratives of Ruth and Boaz, David and Bathsheba, among others, for a February filled with divine insights and personal reflection.
Feel the gentle warmth of love and grasp its distinction from the searing flames of lust as we sift through the fibers of relationships that span millennia. From Ruth's unwavering filial devotion to Naomi to the spiritual bond she forms with Boaz, our conversation paints a vivid picture of love in its truest form. And as we touch upon Boaz's lineage, the transformation of Rahab, and the broader implications of the kinsman redeemer, we invite you to witness love's ability to transcend time and reshape legacies.
Would you like to support the Cheer UP! Podcast? You can do so by clicking here
Kara's website - click here.
Cheri's website- here.
Email - cheeruppodcast@gmail.com
Instagram - @kararhunt
Leave reviews on - Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google Podcasts,
Embark on a profound exploration of the heart's deepest desires as we navigate the complexities of love versus lust in our latest podcast episode. Your understanding of these intense emotions will be enriched as we dissect their presence in biblical tales and apply their lessons to our modern lives. Join us as we discuss the soul-stirring narratives of Ruth and Boaz, David and Bathsheba, among others, for a February filled with divine insights and personal reflection.
Feel the gentle warmth of love and grasp its distinction from the searing flames of lust as we sift through the fibers of relationships that span millennia. From Ruth's unwavering filial devotion to Naomi to the spiritual bond she forms with Boaz, our conversation paints a vivid picture of love in its truest form. And as we touch upon Boaz's lineage, the transformation of Rahab, and the broader implications of the kinsman redeemer, we invite you to witness love's ability to transcend time and reshape legacies.
Would you like to support the Cheer UP! Podcast? You can do so by clicking here
Kara's website - click here.
Cheri's website- here.
Email - cheeruppodcast@gmail.com
Instagram - @kararhunt
Leave reviews on - Apple, Spotify, iHeart, Google Podcasts,
Hi and welcome to the Cheer Up Podcast. I am your host, kara R Hunt, and with me is the beautiful Sherry Swalwell. How are you doing this morning, sherry?
Speaker 2:I am doing fantastic. I have got to tell you, I have been so excited about this month's topic that I am just like bursting with joy this morning. It's just, it's crazy, but I'm just so excited.
Speaker 1:I know, and because February is the month of love, we're going to be discussing today and all this month, for the whole entire month of February. We're just going to be discussing the topic of love versus lust.
Speaker 2:Right, this is an exciting topic, it really is and it can go so many different ways, can't it?
Speaker 1:Right, I mean, oh my goodness, it can go up down left sideways, it can go everywhere, simply because those two things take you to those places. Right, you know, either one love can make you feel like your world's turning upside down, and so can lust, you know. So, yes, this week this I keep saying this week, this month, it's going to be so exciting, you know, as we delve into this topic and we're going to use biblical figures in a Bible to kind of explore this topic. You know, for example, this week we're going to be talking about Ruth and Boaz, and for the rest of this month we're going to be talking about, like David and Bathsheba, joseph and Mary. And who else? Sherry, who am I forgetting?
Speaker 2:Samson and Delilah.
Speaker 1:How in the world could I forget the most, the most, one of the most interesting stories in the Bible regarding love versus lust? Right, samson and Delilah. So you guys are going to have to tune in a month to just see how we delve into these topics and what the Bible and their Bible, the things they went through in the Bible you know, and how they got to where they got to. But first of all, sherry, is there any news you'd like to share?
Speaker 2:Yes, I'm so glad that you said that, because I'm also excited. So Redemption Full Circle, book number six was published. So it's published and out and available. But in addition to that, I'm hoping I'm finishing up the touches and it should be up on Amazon in the next day or two. But I'm hoping that Seasons of Greenkind, which are seven short stories that correlate with the six full-length novels of the Redemption of Greenkind series, that that should be on sale on Valentine's Day. That's my goal. So it's the Seasons of Greenkind. So it's talking about Labor Day, thanksgiving, christmas, new Year's, valentine's Day, easter and Fourth of July, and so I wanted because it's a Seasons book and it deals with all the different, well, some of the different seasons that we celebrate I wanted it to be published on Valentine's Day. I think I'm on track for that to happen and I am just literally so excited.
Speaker 2:So if you like the series the Greenpind or the Redemption of Greenpind and you want to learn more, you want the backstory, you want a little bit more. If you're the type of person who drinks coffee and you like the flavored coffee every once in a while because you want to get extra special, well, the Seasons of Greenpind is for you. So, like I said, I am so, so excited. And then, in addition to that, I will be in the next month or two uploading bundle box sets. So books one through three and books four through six will be available as a bundle or as a box set so that you can buy them on Amazon that way as an ebook form, which would be a little bit cheaper and a little bit easier to send the normal regular ebooks if you buy them one by one. So lots of great things happening over at Greenpind as I wrap it up. So I'm kind of sad that I'm wrapping up Greenpind, but I'm super excited about the Seasons of Greenpind coming out on Valentine's Day. What about you, kara?
Speaker 1:Oh yes, and, as all of you know, sherry and I are also novelists and we well I'm a full-time novelist, and I say that I mean 99% of the time only write novels. Sherry, however, delves into devotionals and article writing and a lot of that stuff. So, but we're both novelists and so I. For those of you who may not be familiar, my first series, the Habakkuk series, already has four books out. It's book one, the award-winning, multiple multi-award-winning series. Book one has won two awards and that's Paper Dolls by Kara R Hunt, and then books two, three and four, which are already out. It can be found at your local bookstores or on Amazon, and those are Paper Dolls Kite, paper Dolls Priscilla and Paper Dolls Lydia. All three of them are already out. It can be found in your local bookstores. If you go and you look for them and they're not there, order them and in that way they'll be able to put it in your particular store so that whenever you want a new novel by Kara R Hunt, you can just go ahead and grab it.
Speaker 1:But, however, all four of those, the first four books in the seven book series, are available on Kindle and free on Kindle Unlimited. So you guys can just go there now. You can download the novels if you want to, and good news is that book five of the seven book series will be out this spring, and that will be Paper Dolls Eve. So go ahead and you know yay and get excited about that, because her story is finally going to come to light. And then in a fall will be book six in the series, which is Paper Dolls Mary, and so both of those books will be out this year and then the last book in the series will be released in spring of next year. So go ahead and get the books now falling over the characters and the dolls, and that way you'll be all caught up. You know when the last book in the series is getting ready to come out. So I think that's all I wanted to say. Am I forgetting anything, sherry?
Speaker 1:Oh yes, yeah, I just answered the question I asked, sherry, I also forgot. Please go to my website, carerhuntcom, for information on any of those books. And also, if you are a someone who wants to write novels, someone who said you know what I'd like to write a story, I've got a great idea, you know, but how do I get started, who do I need to talk to, or anything like that Then go to my website, carerhuntcom and you'll be able to. There's a little tab there that talks about that, where I can give, where we can talk one-on-one, whether virtual or on a phone, and we can just talk out the whole process, the writing process, from where you are to where you want to go. So that's also available on my website. So now I think I'm officially done, sherry.
Speaker 2:So to piggyback on that, I am a lot slower than Kara is getting things up and running, but I will soon be putting on my website Not so much the fiction novel stuff, but I'm more of like if you need, say you have a website and you just need it edited. Say people have noticed that there's grammar mistakes. Or say you're part of a church maybe you're a secretary in a church or something and you notice that there's mistakes on the slides on Sunday morning. If you need help with that, or if you need help with having bios, like biographies, written or just editing in general of those types of things. Or say you want to do a book proposal and you don't know the first thing about book proposals, then contact me on my website.
Speaker 2:And those are the kind of things that I can help with because, as Kara said, I work in both the nonfiction and the fiction elements and so I'm more of the grammar police, not so much commas and things like that, but more like misspelled words, so things that you just need a different eye, somebody else's eyes, to look at things, because when you read them yourself after you've written them, you read it the way that it's supposed to be and you don't see the mistakes.
Speaker 2:At least I notice it that way for me. So feel free to contact me on my website if you have any interest in that type of service. And I just want to say for the record I have been waiting patiently to read Eve because she, I think, is my favorite favorite paper doll and I cannot wait till she comes out. But I'm also really excited to read about Mary too, because her whole backstory is just so interesting as well. But I think of all the paper dolls, I think I relate the most to Eve and that's why I think I like her the best. So I can't wait to read it. I'm so, so glad that she's at the editor so that we can get her in our hands that much quicker.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because the month would be here before you know it. And so she'll be out and ready, you know, and ready to go into the wild, you know, in just a couple of months. So make sure you mark your calendars for her release. That will be coming, like I said, in the spring of this year, in just a couple of months. Okay then, mary, love versus lust. Bright. Four words, excuse me, two words, and they both have four letters each, and they couldn't even be different, I mean, they couldn't even be more different, I should say, and they even began with the same letter, why, you know, it's like, oh, my word, when you hear that topic, or you hear that, when you hear that, what immediately comes to your mind?
Speaker 2:I think I think about healthy versus unhealthy relationships I think about. When I think of love, I think of commitment and I think of the long haul, I think of dedication, but I also think of fun and I think of safety and I think of comfort. And when I think of lust, I think of To be honest, I mean, I just I think of a flame, and I think that a flame can either be nurtured so that it grows into a cozy fire that will give you warmth and provide protection, but it can also grow into an uncontrolled fire that gets out of control, and then it's controlling you instead of you controlling it, and that's, I think, there we go. There's my analogy between love versus lust. Love is the fire that protects you, gives you warmth, keeps you safe. Lust is the fire that quickly gets out of control and it ends up controlling you instead of you controlling it.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, and isn't that the truth, right, it's. I like your visual of fire, right, when you're talking about lust, but in the same breath, love can be a fire as well. Right, you know, in a good way, in a good way.
Speaker 2:But In a good way. That's why it protects you and it brings you comfort.
Speaker 1:Right? Yes, because it can bring you comfort. So I guess we should just start off with the biblical, one of the biblical definitions of love. Okay, and that can be found in 1 Corinthians 13,. And right now I'm going to just read about what it says about love, and I'm going to read this in the New King James version, and it says Though I speak with the tongues of me and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
Speaker 1:And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but I have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, it is not puffed up, it does not behave rudely, it does not seek its own, it's not provoked Things, no evil, it does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the truth, whereas all things believes, all things hopes, all things endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away, for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.
Speaker 1:And I would just like to hit on, I think, verse 4, chapter 13, in the Corinthians, where it talks about how love is long-suffering, it doesn't envy, it doesn't parade itself, it doesn't act rudely and it thinks no evil and it bears all things. And isn't that, to me, that is one of the most beautiful descriptions of love. I think that could ever be said. What are your thoughts on that, sherry?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, that is such a. I always thought that that was like the epitome of the chapter for like weddings and stuff like that, but really it encompasses all kinds of love. It encompasses the agape love God's love towards us. It encompasses the filios love, which is brotherly love towards friend to friend, person to person, and the marriage love, which I don't really know, which that one is.
Speaker 1:I guess arrow's love right, Isn't that like the marriage love Same part yes, yeah, but actually I think murder, love kind of encompasses all of them in a way.
Speaker 2:I agree with you, yeah.
Speaker 1:You know what I?
Speaker 2:mean yes, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Even the agape love part of it, because a marriage really isn't just between two people. If you're a Christian, biblical marriage is between three people, right, you, your spouse and the Lord. You know so and so I honestly I think it kind of encompasses all of it in one way or another, and I don't have. I just want to read a dictionary definition of lust and it says lust is a longing desire and eagerness to possess or enjoy. It is, it has an evil propensity, it is made of depraved affections and desires. It can be vigorous and it can be active, and it is to desire eagerly, or to long after, to have a carnal desire, to desire eagerly, eagerly, the gratification of a carnal appetite, to have irregular and inordinate desires.
Speaker 1:So in the scriptures for this dictionary definition is Exodus 15, romans 1, 2nd Peter's 2, james 1, psalms 81, deuteronomy 12, proverbs 6, matthew 5, james 4, 1 Corinthians 10. So if some of you would just like to look up those and just see what the Bible says about lust, those are some of the scriptures that you can easily just go to as we do this series. But again, longing desires, eagerness to possess some joy, carnal appetite, an unlawful desire of carnal pleasure, evil propensity, depraved affections and desires to eagerly want, to long after Carnal desires, to desire eagerly the gratification of a carnal appetite, to have irregular and inordinate desires. You know, wow, how different does that sound from the scripture we just read on luck, am I right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, one is all about selfless giving and the other is all about selfish taking.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh that is so right, and you simplified it Because, in reality, that is exactly what it is, and you know, today we're just going to delve into the Bible story Boaz and Ruth and, for those who may not be familiar with this Bible story, it is in the Old Testament and it's in a book of Ruth. So, sherry, what are some of the things you want to share about Boaz and Ruth's story?
Speaker 2:Well, it starts out. So we were just talking about that. A good, healthy marriage encompasses agape, eros and filial love. Well, the whole Ruth story starts out with filial love because she, ruth, decides that she's going to. Well, okay. So the story itself starts out that you have this woman, naomi. She was married to a man and a limousine. I can never say their names, I can read them and then when I go to say them I massacrum. So she married the guy and then they ended up moving to Moab and they they're oh, they had two sons, and so then they ended up moving to Moab because of a famine, and so they moved to Moab and then their two sons married Moabite women, orpha and Ruth. Well, naomi's husband died first and then, 10 years later, both of her sons died. So there were no children involved. It was just Naomi, now Orpha and Ruth.
Speaker 2:And custom back then was you know, you needed a man to survive, because it was really difficult for women back then to live and not die and not be stuck in extreme poverty. So Naomi said hold Orpha, go back home to your parents, or, yeah, to your parents, and then you can, you know, find another person because you're young enough, you'll get married, you'll have kids, life will go on. And she said the same thing to Ruth and, of course, both of the women protested and said no, no, no, we're going to stay with you. And and then Naomi told them to go again and Orpha said, okay, I will, I love you, but bye. And then Ruth said, no, I want to be with you, I want to serve your God. Where you go, I go. The God you serve is the God I serve. And so she really showed that, that Celia loves towards Naomi. She didn't want Naomi to be left on her own.
Speaker 2:And think I was like, when I think about that story, kira, and when I think about that, like I forget the human part of it. If she had left Naomi and let Naomi go, naomi would have been traveling those roads by herself as an older woman Back then she could. That was basically a death sentence. I didn't even think about that until just now. So she loved her so much that she was like, okay, I'll die with you if you die, because we're still just two women. But God protected them. God had his hand in the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Well so, but the story itself is just so breathtakingly beautiful. So Naomi changes her name tomorrow, which means bitter, because she's like don't you dare call me Naomi anymore. Look at all the bad things that have happened in my life. And but then she takes Ruth under her wing, because Ruth didn't really know the customs and stuff of of where they went back to, and so she takes Naomi under her. No, sorry, naomi takes Ruth under her wing and this love story like, and then, oh my gosh, like, is Boaz not the ultimate hero? Like I will protect you, I will take care of you, but there's somebody else who gets it first shot at you because of the whole order of of um relative and Kinsman Redeemer thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so he has to have first shot at being able to have you. But if he says no, then I'll take you. And I loved how he met the dude and what he said to him in the marketplace, because it was almost like he set it up in such a way that the guy would say no. I loved it. Like he wanted Ruth, but he was a gentleman about it and he went about it the right way, but he still, like, was swab enough that he knew what words to say, how to say it, make sure it was proper and with the whole tradition thing. But he still got the girl in the end. It was brilliant.
Speaker 2:Like, okay, so fiction writing is amazing, but you got to read the Bible, because God's writing is even better than fiction writing. Like, you can't make this stuff up. It's amazing. So then any up, spoiler alert Boas ends up marrying Ruth. They end up having a baby. That baby becomes Jesse's. No, jesse becomes that. So they have a baby Obed. Obed son is Jesse, jesse son is David. David is the line of Jesus, so they are in the lineage of Jesus. Oh, and get this Boas. He was related to Rahab, who was also in the lineage of Jesus. So I mean amazing. So like there's a story in a nutshell you really seriously have to read it yourself because it's so much better than what I just said but there's just all those elements of love just filtered throughout and interweaved throughout the whole story. So what do you think?
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely. And for those of you that are like oh, read a whole book of the Bible. Ruth is not that big of a book, Right? Nope, it is what? Four chapters maybe. I can't, I can't think of a story.
Speaker 2:So it's not even like it's not boring at all. Like, once you know it's not boring. No, it's a story. It's literally like like you're reading a fiction story, but it's true, like it's beautiful. The way it's written is written in story form, so it's not complicated to read, it's not hard to read, it's seriously like everyday language and beautiful. You might not be able to pronounce Naomi's husband's name either, but that's okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad their names are simple, like Naomi, and I keep wanting to say Naomi, naomi and Ruth, right, I mean, you can't get any simpler names than that. And, just like Sherry was saying, I mean in a very beginning, I mean it starts off, you know, just like I got to finish reading this, like what's going on here, right, you know it's a very, it's a book of the Bible, any Old Testament, the book of Ruth, but it is a very quick read and you're not going to be bored while you're reading it. And you know, and like Sherry mentioned, you know, there's that filial love that's evident in the beginning, right Before Ruth even meets Boaz, right, right, right, there's a love between the three women because Naomi was the, was the most beautiful woman in law, and Orpah and Ruth were their daughter-in-law and, like Sherry said, they find themselves in a very desperate situation when all three of the men are not have died and they're in a land that they're not really familiar with. And, of course, naomi was like you guys, don't have an application to me, you know, go back to your, to your people, because both of her daughter-in-law were not of the same fate and they didn't serve the same God as Naomi did, and she's like hey, go back to your hometown, you can go back to your people. And of course, like Sherry said so. So you know, funnily, it's like Orpah was like, yeah, I love you and I'm always going to love you, but bye, and Orpah did love her, you know. But she's like I'd rather go back to my own people, who I know, to a culture I recognize. Right, I'd have taken on something new and of course, you know her culture served a whole bunch of different gods. But Ruth was like, no, your God is my God, I go where you go. So then there's not just that familial and that filial love, there's Ruth's love for the God of Israel. And she's like, and see, and this starts at all, because she's just like, hey, your God is my God, okay, naomi, I go where you go. And for her to be even be able to say that tells me that Naomi's character and or the things that she said must have seriously impacted Ruth, right, um, and everything else. And she's like I'm going and she just accepts, um, her, she just puts her faith in God. And of course, you know they go back to um, you know their, their hometown and you know and everything else. And then they're like, you know, in a bunny part I can't even say funny, but like as they make their way back to their hometown. You know the, the, the.
Speaker 1:The story talks about how the people in the town were like is that Naomi? You know, because they're like she must. They must have looked pretty ragged coming back, right, or at least Naomi was coming back, and so they must have looked pretty ragged. And so they found themselves in the same desperate situation. However, naomi was back in her hometown and she knew how things worked Right, and so she said Ruth, can you go and glean from the field? Because back then, those who were, you know, had um, um, what's the word? I'm looking for Bull, bullfields, or you know, of grain or corn, or you know, or something like that. They would always leave some, I think, in the back in the corner for those who didn't have much. And so she was saying hey, you know, we need to eat. Um, ruth, can you go?
Speaker 1:Ruth was the daughter-in-law. She said can you go and, you know, glean from these fields? And she's like, yeah, I, she goes, yeah, absolutely. But as soon as she gets there, you know, um, boas comes, you know comes and he's like who's that lady, you know, cleaning in the fields? And from that moment on, like it was just, it's just amazing, because he took a liking to her, right, he just took a liking to her. He doesn't say he liked her or he um, or anything like that. He just when they told him, oh, she's the daughter-in-law of Naomi, they just came here, they're cleaning from the fields, you know, and everything else, he said, oh well, make sure she gets like the best of the best, am I right, sherry? Yep, yep, or something, or like give her extra, or something.
Speaker 1:Right, Right Um and everything else, I'll pick it up, right On purpose. Let her, yes, and you know, let her pick it up. And um so Ruth does that. Oh, he even he even let her sit down and eat with his workers Right.
Speaker 2:And get drinks anytime she's thirsty.
Speaker 1:She can, yeah and get drinks, yeah, and get drinks and everything. And so she's just like I can't believe this. But remember, before she even left the town they were in. I guess, at the top of my mind I can't think of it, um, and I think I know what it is, but I don't want to say the wrong one. But before she even left with Naomi, she had already said she was going to follow God, the God of Israel.
Speaker 1:So now, all of a sudden, she has favor and she takes these, um, these, uh, sheaves or whatever, to back to Naomi and Naomi's like hey, where'd you get all this stuff from, like you know? And she's like oh, I went to this field, yada, yada, yada, the guy's name was Boaz and he let me. She's like Boaz, he's a relative of my, you know. And then so Naomi just kind of gets her some advice you know of about hey, you know, when you're there, go do this, go do this. And then I had to have a party. And then I always like hey, will you go to this party? This is our culture and this is what you need to do. And so she tells Ruth what to do and everything else. Now there's some who believe that Ruth, uh, initiated the romance between her and Boaz because she did when Naomi told her and I think she had to cover his feet or something. Right, sherry?
Speaker 2:when he was asleep or something. He put her head on his feet and then asked him to cover her with a blanket.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, cover her with a blanket and, before everybody goes, what? This was the culture back then, this is what they were supposed to do, you know, and Boaz immediately knew what she was doing. So she was not being forward, it was very proper and she was following the Jewish traditions. And you know, and Boaz knew exactly what she was doing. And then he's like okay, we can do this thing, let's do this thing, you know, let's go marry, but I am your kinsman, redeemer, and that's something completely different that we don't want to go into right now. But basically it's when um, someone, your spouse, dies, or something like that in the Old Testament, then it was like, uh, for women, if your husband dies, uh, the next male available male in the family was supposed to to keep the name going, to keep the legacy going, I should say to keep the legacy going of the man who died, um, the next of kin pretty much to that man, like brother, nephew, cousin, whatever, was to take on the surviving widow and take over the land, everything else. So then, when I had children, the legacy and the name of the, the, the family's name, will continue, and so he was related to um uh male uh well, roots husband too, Cause it was
Speaker 1:her son yeah, right, she was. He was related, related to roots husband, and so Boas was like one of the was the kinsman, was one of the kinsman redeemers, but he wasn't the first one in line because they had a particular order of how it was supposed to go. He wasn't the first one in line. And then that goes back to a Sherry was talking about. You know how he goes to the market. He's like hey, did you know that? Ruth available? Yada, yada, yada. You're the next kinsman redeemer. But, like you said, and you guys have got to read the story because the way he did it was just so cool, right, because he did it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, he starts out with the here's some property, if you want it, it's available, oh. And then when the guy's like, oh, yeah, that's awesome, thanks. He's like, oh, but by the way, it comes with a wife. Um, no, thank you. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cause he was already married. Um, and then he would have to take on the land and two women, right, right, I'm not mistaken so, which would have been Naomi and Ruth. And he's like, oh wait, okay, not a one do that. And boys is like are you sure, because you know, then me and Ruth can. And he's like, yeah, yeah, go ahead and do whatever. And it ended up being a. It ends up being a beautiful love story, not lust.
Speaker 1:No, we're in there, do you see, where Ruth lusted after Boaz, and while she was in a field gleaning food for her and Naomi, and you know, she looked at him and she saw he had six pack abs and he was six feet tall, you know, and her piercing blue eyes. There was none of that and there was also none of him, you know, looking at her like, wow, who is this? Where does she come from? You know, she has a nice smile, she has it. It was none of that. It just all started genuinely and kindly, and the love developed, as you know, and then, like she said, their son ended up being excuse me, I guess I will make it his grandson, or boys is going to son, a great grandson that ended up being King David, right, you know, and talk about a blessed union. And and Sherry's also right. He was in the line.
Speaker 1:Boaz was in the line of Rahab, who was a prostitute For those of you who are familiar with the Old Testament, you know who also, you know, gave her life to God. Am I right, sherry? Yep, yep and yeah, and you see how God ended up blessing that line. So no one can ever say I'm too bad for God to use me. You know, I have nothing to give God because throughout that whole, entire line, he blessed that line and he blessed Ruth and Boaz's relationship and you know, and three generations down the line, they, they're the great, great, great grandparents of a of King David, of all people you know, and it's just one of the purest love stories.
Speaker 1:I think that there is um in the Bible because, you remember, boaz was kind, he was very kind to Ruth. He could have kicked her off you've taken too much. He could have been mean, he could have been boastful like I got all this and you don't have any of that. He could have done all those things that the scriptures in Corinthians that we were just reading said you're not supposed to do. But he didn't do that. He was very kind, he was very humble, and it just ends up making for a very, very sweet love story. What would you like to add to that, sherry?
Speaker 2:Well, listening to you talk about it, there's three things that kind of came to my mind. The first one, well, the first two have to do with Boaz and Ruth. Then the third one has to circle back around to Naomi, with Orpha and Ruth. So you're right, with Boaz, he was so kind and so gentle.
Speaker 2:Number one he encouraged her to only glean from his field because he knew that if she went to the other people's fields that she had the opportunity or she had the likelihood that she would be treated badly. She would be either abused or maybe raped or something could happen to her, and he didn't want that.
Speaker 2:So he and I can't remember if it was Naomi that told her that or how exactly he let it be known to her. But don't go to other people's fields, stay in mind. So I don't remember if he used one of his foremen or one of the. It talks a lot about how there was women gathering stuff. So he might have said it through the women, but he was very gentlemanly, very kind and very protective, even before he knew or thought about the fact maybe he was thinking about it, but before we find out about it in the Bible that he was thinking about being their kinsman, the Redeemer Right. So that was number one. Number two when she laid at his feet and put her head on his feet and asked him to cover her with the blanket, he encouraged her to stay the night, but then he tells her to get up and to read before anybody else would find her there. So he keeps and he preserves her dignity. So not only does he not do anything to her and we're going to be talking this month about people who do things to people. So it's not like there, that was not done back then, it's not like the Bible's TG and everybody or G, I should say, and everybody was. You know, here's a handshake and here's a wink and that's all they do. No, they did horrible, terrible things back then, but he was very, very protective and very honoring and honorable to her name, which I think is another awesome thing. So I love those two things about it.
Speaker 2:But then the third thing is when you were talking about Orpha in Naomi and how Naomi encouraged Orpha and Ruth to leave, the compassionate part of me said but wait a minute, why is Naomi encouraging her to go back to Moab, to her people who, as you talked about earlier, worship other gods? Why would she do that? Why would she encourage her to go back and live a life away from the God? But then it made me think that is the ultimate example of a God they love, because that is exactly how Jesus and God handle us. They don't force us to love them, they don't force us to worship them, they don't force us to surrender our lives to them. They give us the choice, and we have the choice to choose to stay with them, to come to them, to accept Jesus into our hearts, or we have the choice to reject them.
Speaker 2:And I thought, oh, my goodness, so even in this book that many, many scholars talk about that. God is not really mentioned by name in it, but his handprints and his fingerprints are all over the story of Ruth. And there's just one more example at the very beginning of the story, that it is our choice and he does not force us into a relationship with him. And I thought I have never seen that before until I heard you talking and I was like, oh my gosh. So those are the three tidbits or things that I gleaned from the story that I wanted to share.
Speaker 1:Right, because God is so good. I'm so glad you pointed that out because they both had a choice. Orper said no, I'm going to go back and continue the life that I hear you know, back to my people. I'm just going to continue to live and serve other gods and do whatever it is that the Moabites were doing. And Ruth was like yeah, no, I'm going with you, I don't want nothing, I don't have anything to do with that. You know anymore. You know I've seen what the God of Israel can do and I'm going with you. Your God is now my God. Where you go, I go.
Speaker 1:And not only was that she was honoring her mother-in-law by doing that, she was protecting her mother-in-law by doing that, but most of all, she had made the choice. You know, like you say, god always gives us a choice. He can, he doesn't. We're not robots. He can't make us do anything. And Naomi couldn't make Orper follow her. She was just like you know, you go. It was Ruth who who pretty much said yeah, I'm going where you go. And so we have to remember that.
Speaker 1:And, like Sherry also mentioned the the um, before everyone thinks, you know, oh, the scripture's just full of everybody, everybody, just so good and handy and it's so full of love, love, love. Yeah, wait until next week's episode where we talk about David and Bathsheba, you know, and everything that happened as a result of that. So, yeah, she's right. I mean, you know what? There's several, um, oh, my gosh, just wow, there's just so many. I can't even say several stories in a Bible about where, um, let me just say, if it was made into a movie, um, it would probably be a best. They would be best sellers. Uh, excuse me, I'll break. They would break the box off, as I should say.
Speaker 1:Um, because it includes all the stuff that they tried to include in today's movies and shows. You know all of this stuff, I mean, you got betrayal, you've got heartache, you've got, um, lust and and everything that goes along with it, you know? And so, if you guys think that all these Hollywood filmmakers and stuff, um, just make that stuff up, no, it happened. It all happened and started thousands of years ago, thousands of years ago. All they're doing is just trying to recreate the story and they're doing it such a delicious way that it's not even entertaining. But, boy, if you really want to hear the nitty gritty of how things can go wrong really, really quick. When you lust after someone, then pick up the Bible. You don't need to turn on Netflix, just pick up the Bible. That's all I want to say, sherry.
Speaker 2:Amen and amen. That's so true and it talks about reiterating what you just said in Ecclesiastes, that there's nothing new under the sun. And it's so true. Like we know, as fiction writers, you and I can both be given the same topic Um, write a story about a purple panda dancing on a roof, and they will come out completely different because we are different people, but it's the same thing as there's nothing new under the sun.
Speaker 2:So all the stuff that you see on TV, in books, et cetera, et cetera, it, it happened in real life and it was recorded in the Bible Like there's nothing new under the sun, like nothing surprises God and I'm going to segue from that into nothing surprises God, like Kara said, and I guess I just really want everyone to touch that today. But Kara said there's nothing, nothing that we can do that can separate us from the love of God, nothing that is so horrendous that we have done in our lives that God brushes us off, writes his hands of us, turns his back on us and says, nope, not you, I don't want to deal with you. Even King David, who we're going to talk about next week, which I'm so excited to talk about, he was described as the man after God's own heart, and yet he blew it so badly, but yet God still loved him and still described to this day as being a man after God's own heart. So, having said all that, we've talked about the fact that we are the ones that get to choose. If we surrender our lives to God, if we accept Jesus into our hearts, we're the ones that get to choose who we serve. Are we going to serve ourselves, are we going to have more of that selfish mentality, or are we going to serve the God of the universe and have that unconditional love, unselfish love mentality?
Speaker 2:If you are listening today and you want to know what it means to be a Christ follower, to be a believer, to surrender your life to God and accept Jesus into your heart, then I would encourage you to pray this prayer with us and accept Jesus into your heart today. Oh Heavenly Father, I come to you in Jesus' name. I believe you died on the cross and that you rose again and you're seated on the throne. Jesus, forgive me for all that I've done wrong and I choose to forgive all others. Come into my life today and forever. I am yours in Jesus' name, amen. If you just prayed that prayer. We would love it if you would email us at tearuppodcastcom and let us know we want to say welcome to the family and then we want to help you in your walk with God.
Speaker 2:I have a membership that I created Well, god encouraged me to create called Jesus in the Everyday, and it's basically it was started to help people who want to grow their relationship with God on an everyday basis. They don't know where to start. They don't know how to do it. If you've just prayed that prayer today and you email us at cheeruppodcastgmailcom, I would love to gift you a membership. I would love to let you come alongside other believers and build that community and just grow your relationship with God. Learn what it means to read the Bible, learn what it is that God wants to speak into your heart, help you, encourage you to get into a Bible-breathing church, encourage you to have a community of other Christ-following friends. That would be my gift to you if you prayed that prayer and you would want to take that next step. That's what we would love For those of you who just want to take that next step, head over to my website, wwwcherry-followscom and check out the Jesus in the Everyday Membership.
Speaker 2:It's very affordable. It's kept it that way on purpose and it's just something that will help you grow your relationship on a daily basis. Every month we have new topics. Every month we have a Well. Every day we have a phrase and a prayer. Check it out on the website. I don't want to take time now to go into all the details, but it's just my way of helping others grow your relationship and get excited about Jesus every day, seeing him in the Everyday, seeing him all around us and how his fingerprints are all over our lives.
Speaker 2:Also, head over to Kara's website, karaahuntcom. You can check out the four books that she has on sale already. You can check out her service and the part of her website where she will help you. If you're someone who has a book inside of you that you want to get out and you don't know where to start, and then we would love it if you would join our Facebook group, the Cheer Up Podcast Facebook group, so you can head over to Facebook, type into your podcast and join us over there. You don't have to answer any questions to get in. It's really quick and easy and it just is a way to build the community and to just have fun together.
Speaker 2:So if you enjoyed today's episode on Ruth and Boaz again, we would highly recommend that you go and read it yourself. It's four short chapters. It reads like a story. I think you'll be really blessed. If you do that, you'll pick up more stuff than we were able to talk about today, and then next week come back and we're going to talk about David and Bathsheba. And I'm telling you, david, the great great grandson of Boaz and Ruth, could have learned some things from his great great grandparents. That's all I'm going to say. Next week we'll talk about it some more. So have a great rest of your week. Thanks for being here with us and we will talk to you next week. Bye-bye.