THREE DESPERATE DAUGHTERS

There she stood on the road, torn between the bitterness of the past and fear of the future. She looked desperately at her sister in law's tear stained face and then back into the eyes of the old woman - those warm, kind eyes that had so often been the source of wisdom for Ruth in the years since she had married Mahlon. It had been an apprehensive step into the unknown when she, a Moabite woman, had married into this Jewish family from Bethlehem many years before. They had come seeking refuge in her country from the famine in their land. Many of her people said she would be unhappy, that the Jews were uncompromising in their devotion to their God, Yahweh, and would not tolerate Ruth's traditional allegiance to the Moabite god, Chemosh.

However, as months turned into years, their dire predictions had been disproved. Her husband's father, Elimalech, had long since died, and Ruth had found in her mother-in-law, Naomi, a friend and confidante, a refreshing shelter from the drabness and hardship of everyday life in Moab. But now Mahlon and his brother, Kilion had also died, leaving their wives childless. Not only that, but word had reached Naomi from Judah that the famine in Bethlehem was over, and she had decided to return to her own people and live out her remaining days among them. It had seemed an easy decision to make at first, to set out with Naomi to this new town in a foreign land. After all, the future amongst her own people was not promising.

Now here stood Naomi,in the road, begging her and Orpah not to go any further with her, but to return to their own families where they stood a much better chance of being provided for and sheltered. Suddenly the extremity of her situation confronted Ruth - she was homeless and with no man to provide for her, condemned to a life of desperate poverty and possible starvation. Naomi's future was no more certain - it was many years since she had been amongst her people. She had no way of knowing who among her relatives was still living in Bethlehem. Who would provide for them, who would take them in? Even if Naomi were to find refuge, as a Moabite woman, Ruth may be rejected and spurned by the Jews.

As Ruth tearfully watched Orpah, her sister-in-law, turn back, Naomi's pleas grew stronger. "Look, your sister in law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her!" Ruth knew then that her entire future hinged on the decision she made at this moment. Behind her was the possibility of remarriage and motherhood amongst her own people, and Chemosh, the god of her childhood. Before her, amongst the Jews, lay nothing but uncertainty, possible rejection, poverty and death - and Yahweh, the god of Naomi. With all the courage she could find, she made her decision.

"Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. …May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." And with that momentous statement, Ruth the Moabite, foreigner and childless widow, sealed her fate.

And Yahweh smiled, set her apart and sealed her future place in the lineage of the coming Messiah

The words still resounded in her ears, flooding her mind, consuming her thoughts. "Jesus the Prophet is having a meal at Simon the Pharisee's house!" Gossip and news spread fast in her town, especially amongst those of her social standing. Could it be true - was He really that near?

Since the day she had heard Him teaching , she had been unable to think of anything or anyone else. Never had a man spoken as this Man did! His words had filled her with both soaring hope and unfamiliar shame. She was well aware of where she came in the well-established order of things in her town. Well did she know the snickering stares and whispers of the women as she passed them in the streets. How well she knew the disdainful and self-righteous glances of the scribes and Pharisees. Some would even change their direction or cross to the other side of the street when they saw her coming. How differently they acted in the crowded daylight of the streets to how they did in the secretive camouflage of the evening shadows!

Even now as she walked and contemplated, the taunts and name-calling of the children followed her. But today, they did not bother her. Today she hardly noticed them. She was consumed with one thought only - she must get near Him, she must touch Him, she must hear His Voice again, she must …… Suddenly, she knew what she must do. Rushing home, she uncovered the treasured vase from it's hiding place. Stopping only momentarily to take one last look at it, she ran back out into the street.

The conversation turned to whispers as she entered the house where He was reclining. Would she be able to get close enough to Him to do what she had come to do? She didn't care what they did to her later. They would say it was unlawful for a woman like her to be seen even in the same house as them, much less approach a renowned Teacher like Jesus. They could drag her before the Elders, banish her from the town, even stoning was a possibility.

Refusing to give in to her fears, she moved quickly. She knew which one He was, how could anyone ever forget those eyes and that face? What would He do? Would He recoil in horror at her actions, demand her removal? But no - there were those eyes again, smiling at her, loving her, as if He knew exactly what she had come for. Silently she broke the jar and poured the spikenard over His feet. And as she did so, the tears began flowing from her eyes, mingling with the perfumed oil. Years of sin, shame and hopelessness weighed down on her as she was confronted with who and what she was in His Presence. She dare not look up into His eyes - she would humble herself by wiping His feet with her hair. She would beg for mercy.

Now the voices of the other men in the room were growing louder - harsh, rebuking voices, shaming her once again. But then He spoke and they grew silent. And then He turned to her and suddenly she knew why she had come, as He spoke the words no man had ever spoken to her. "Your sins are forgiven, go in peace." In a moment of eternity, a broken heart was healed, an outcast was unconditionally accepted, and a prostitute became a disciple.

 THE UNCLEAN: Mark 5:25-34

It had taken every ounce of strength she had left to get this close. Pulling her cloak tightly around her face she inched further into the crowd. Having come this far, she did not want to risk being recognised by any one of her neighbours. There were so many people, all jostling to get nearer, all pushing and shouting. She hadn't realised how hard it would be, but she would not turn back now. There was nothing else left but this last desperate act.

Often she had asked why God had burdened her with this unspeakable affliction. But no-one could answer. The rabbis and scribes said she must have sinned, and the physicians had gladly taken all her savings, leaving her with no cure and no hope. But the worst and most painful thing to bear was the shunning. The law said she was unclean. For twelve long years no-one, not even her closest relatives, had been allowed to come into physical contact with her.

And now here she was, being pushed and shoved along with this unruly crowd. If they knew who they were touching what would they do to her? In her weakened state, she felt that the shame of being exposed in this crowd would in itself be enough to kill her. She knew she wasn't far from death in any case. Daily her body grew weaker, and the prospect of living the rest of her days amongst "the unclean" had robbed her of her will to live any longer.

Many times she had seen Him moving along the streets and in the Temple. She'd heard the stories of the miracles and healings. And slowly she had come to realise that in Him lay her only hope. If she was to go on living, it would be because of Him, and no-one else. But how would she get to Him? She was unclean and would be forbidden to approach Him. They would send her away before she could even ask Him to pray for her. But get to Him she must.

And so she watched, and she waited. For days she followed His movements, hiding at the back of the crowd, waiting for her moment. She would risk all for that moment. No-one need ever know, she would not be noticed amongst this large crowd. All she need do is touch His garment and she knew she would be made whole. And then she would slip away without being recognised.

And now He had stopped - a man she recognised as one of the synagogue rulers was kneeling before Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his daughter. Now was the moment - she must take it now or never! Silently she moved to the front of the crowd, bent low, and touched His robe. Instantly she felt life-giving power flow through her body. How long it had been since she had felt such energy, such vibrance - she knew she had been healed! Now she must just slip quietly away.

But as she turned to go, she heard His voice. "Who touched My clothes?" Turning back, she saw His searching eyes scan the crowd – and come to rest upon her. Oh, surely He understood the position she was in! They had said He was a man of mercy, surely He would not ask her to expose her shame in this crowd? But with one furtive glance into those penetrating eyes she knew she could do nothing but speak the truth. She had nothing to lose anymore, she would live or die on His judgment. Trembling, she fell at His feet and told Him her story.

And Jesus Christ, Messiah and Healer, gazed deeply into her weary eyes and spoke the precious words of release "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."

God is looking and longing for hearts that are desperate, because these are the hearts that break through. How long has it been since you or I have been so hungry for more of God that we will forsake everything, and risk anything, like these three women did? He has promised that it's when we seek Him with all that we are we will find Him. Don't stop where you are, press in for more of Him - it's our only hope. Are we desperate enough yet?