Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 7:3-10

As Esther pleads her case and intercedes most powerfully for the lives of her people, the king is deeply moved. He is not aware at this time of Haman's plan to annihilate the Jews, presumably because Haman has taken great care to draw up the new law in general rather than specific terms. So he asks: "Who is he? Where is...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 8:1-2

With Haman dead, a new day is about to dawn in the great empire of Persia. Esther, recognizing that this is the right moment to introduce her foster-father, Mordecai, to the king, brings him with her into the king's presence. When the king sees for the first time the man who saved his life, he is filled with delight and...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 8:3-17

Esther';s next task is to try to persuade the king to overrule the edict which called for the annihilation of the Jews. This was not as easy as it sounds, however, for the laws of the Medes and Persians were inviolable. Not even the king himself could revoke them once they had been...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 9:1-22

The substance of the new law, introduced to modify the effects of the original edict to annihilate the Jews, was simply this - all Jews could, by every means possible, take up their own defense. When finally the dreaded execution day arrives, those who set out to execute the Jews find themselves in disarray. A strange...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:2-5

During the time of the winnowing of the grain, it was customary for the workers to sleep on the threshing-floor. Naomi's carefully formulated plan was designed to work precisely at this point. Her first piece of advice to Ruth is: "Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes" (v. 3). I am not sure that I know how...

For Reading and Meditation:     Esther 9:23;10:3

The thrilling story of Esther ends with Mordecai being firmly established as Prime Minister of Persia. Historians tell us that under Mordecai's management, the land grew strong and prosperous. He was the right man in the right place at the right time. As you cast your mind back over our recent studies, does not the...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:8-9

At midnight Ruth moves in quietly to where Boaz is lying, gently uncovers his feet, and proceeds to lie across them. Boaz is somewhat startled by this act and inquires anxiously: "Who are you?" "I am your servant Ruth," she replies, "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" (v. 9). By this...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:10-13

The more we get into the story of Ruth and Boaz, the more it appears that his heart was set on her right from the very start. He seems greatly relieved that she has approached him in this way, and the passage that occupies our attention today is a kind of "moonlight sonata" in which Boaz bears testimony to Ruth's virtue,...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:14-17

Boaz was well aware that Ruth's visit to him at midnight could be misinterpreted. Anxious to preserve her good name, he encourages her to return to her place before the rest of the workers awaken and the general activity of the day begins. Before she leaves, however, he invites her to hold out her shawl, which he fills...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 3:18

We spend another day considering Naomi's advice to Ruth following the latter's midnight vigil with Boaz. Yesterday we focused on the fact that Naomi's advice to Ruth centered on the word "wait." Now we consider the basis on which that advice was given: "– the man will not rest until the matter is settled today." Clearly, Naomi...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 4:1

We have referred to the term "kinsman-redeemer" several times in our meditations and we pause now to make clear what it means. The word "redeem," as you will know, means "to buy back" or "set free." It is the act by which a person's property or liberty is purchased through the payment of a special price. A kinsman- redeemer was...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 4:2-4

Ruth, the Gentile widow from Moab, is to become the bride of the wealthy Boaz of Bethlehem. Before the marriage can take place, however, a special meeting has to be arranged with Naomi's next of kin so that the matter of redemption can be satisfactorily settled. The meeting is held at the gate of the city, the usual place...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 4:5-6

Boaz';s plans to redeem Ruth were temporarily thwarted when the nearest kinsman gave a definite "yes" to his proposal that he should buy the land. But now the love which burned in Boaz's heart gives energy to his thinking and he comes up with a powerful argument that wins the day. In the...

For Reading and Meditation:     Ruth 4:9-10

We said yesterday that Jewish law required the participants in a redemption purchase to have the transaction validated in the presence of witnesses. We said also that in a way this pictures the salvation which our Lord secured for us on the Cross. He too transacted our redemption before the gaze of many. Could He have...