Spread Your Covering

""May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."" (Ruth 2:12 NAS95S)

"He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative."" (Ruth 3:9 NAS95S)

Observation: Ruth sought the shelter of the Lord before she sought the shelter of a man.  Her invitation to Boaz, "spread your covering over me,"  can also be translated "spread your wings over me."  In a marriage the man is to be the protector and provide.   Ruth teaches us that before a young woman seeks protection and provision from any man, she must seek protection and provision from the Lord.

Application:  As a Father, I have been called to model the shelter of the Lord to my daughter.  It is my responsibility to point her to Jesus as her ultimate protector and provider.  As I show love and respect to my wife, as I treat her with tenderness and compassion, as I guard her trust through marital faithfulness, I'm showing my daughter what it means for her maker to be her husband (Isaiah 54:5).  I'm giving my daughter a tangible picture of an intangible reality.  

I also demonstrate this providing and protecting love in the way I relate to my little girl.  Yesterday, I got her all flustered because I gave the little bit of orange juice that was left in the pitcher to her brother.  I told her I was giving it to him because she still had a lot of juice left in her cup.  She wanted me to save it and give her the extra juice cause I had already given JayJay a second serving.  I said no and she burst into tears.  

Eventually I went up to her room and laid beside her.  She had been very tired from a long day on Sabbath.  I put my arms around her and held her tight.  Covering her in my wings you might say.  And I could literally feel her little body relax in my protective embrace.

Mmm... isn't this a beautiful picture of our Father who comes close to us, who wraps us in His arms, who covers us in the shadow of His wings?  

Prayer:  Lord Jesus I lift up my little girl to You this morning; be a husband to her.  Teach her to seek refuge in You long before she ever seeks it in a spouse.  Lord fill my life with Your Holy Spirit that I may help her along this journey of finding in You a forever friend.  Help me disciple her in what it means to take refuge in Your wings.  Guide me as I seek to disciple her in prayer and the ways of Your loving will.  I thank You God for my little girl and pray that You will help me to bless her life with Your grace.  Fill me and fill her with Your Holy Spirit.  Amen!

Afterglow: 

"Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings"  (Psalms 17:8 NAS95S)

"How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings."  (Psalms 36:7 NAS95S)

"Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, For my soul takes refuge in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge Until destruction passes by."  (Psalms 57:1 NAS95S)

"Let me dwell in Your tent forever; Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah."  (Psalms 61:4 NAS95S)

"For You have been my help, And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy."  (Psalms 63:7 NAS95S)

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!" For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper And from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, And under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark."  (Psalms 91:1-4 NAS95S)

""The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, 'Destroy!'"  (Deuteronomy 33:27 NAS95S)