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Introduction Warren Wiersbe began his exposition of Ruth chapter 4 with these insightful words: The book of Ruth opens with three funerals, but closes with a wedding. There is a good deal of weeping recorded in the first chapter, but the last chapter records an overflowing of joy. Now, not all of life’s events have a happy ending; but this little book reminds the Christian especially, that it is God who writes the last chapter.[i] And in this particular book, the last chapter could not be more dramatically different than the first chapter. When the curtain rose on this drama, there were three funerals and three widows. It will close with a wedding scene and a baby boy. Now, when we began our study through the book of Ruth, I referred to the fact that most dads have spent quite a bit of time reading fairytales to their little girls. These old fairytales are the best. And if you recall what you read, eventually the prince would have to do something heroic. Whether it was climb a tower, or search throughout his kingdom, or slay the dragon, eventually the prince had to take charge. I can remember frequently sitting with my daughter on my lap before bedtime and she would want me to read her a story from one of her large, colorful books. Tired from my day, I would say, “Tell you what, I’ll make up a fairytale tonight.” She would break into a big smile at the thought of a homemade tale. And I would say, “Once upon a time . . . the end.” I would then lay my head back on the chair as if I was going to sleep. “Daddy, that’s not a real story! You can’t have once upon a time and the end, you gotta have something in the middle.”
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