Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."
So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?"
Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
"May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."
At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
Ruth 2:5-18
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
At the start of Chapter 2, we see Ruth heading out to the fields to glean some grain for her and Naomi. She ends up gleaning in a field owned by Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech. As we saw in yesterday’s devotional, the Lord had a plan for Ruth and Boaz and it was by no coincidence or luck that she was where she was. As always, God had everything just the way He wanted it.
As Ruth gleaned, she caught the eye of Boaz who had come to the field and greeted his harvesters in the name of the Lord. Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters about Ruth and was told she was “the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi” and had asked if she could “glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters”. He further told Boaz about how hard Ruth had labored having “worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."
Well, this information piqued Boaz’s interest and we read where he went to Ruth and told her, “My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." To this, Ruth “bowed down with her face to the ground” and asked Boaz, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?" Boaz explained that he had been told all about what Ruth had done for her mother-in-law since the death of her husband. He knew about the depth of her sacrifice…about how she left her father and mother and homeland to come and live with people she “did not know before”. And so he wished blessings upon her saying, “May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." Humbly, Ruth replied, “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord…You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."
And so the stage was set for Ruth. Her loving devotion and kindness to Naomi had resulted in her being treated likewise. For Boaz ensured Ruth was taken care of. At mealtime, he allowed her to sit with his harvesters and she “ate all she wanted” with “some left over”. And when she got up to continue gleaning, we see where Boaz gave his men orders to allow her to gather “among the sheaves” and to “pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up”. In other words, Boaz made arrangements for Ruth to get more than just scraps as she “gleaned in the field until evening” before she “threshed the barley she had gathered (about an ephah) and “carried it back to town” to Naomi. She also gave her mother-in-law “what she had left over after she had eaten enough.” Again, we see the kind of person Ruth was…loving, kind, sharing, unselfish…the kind of person that God would love for all of us to be.
In Ruth, we see how God honors those who embody the principles of selflessness and love…the same principles that would be central to His Son Jesus who He would send to teach, heal, love and ultimately save all of mankind…surrendering His life so others might live…losing earthly life to gain victory over death so that we too might have the same one day. As Ruth sought to watch over her mother-in-law, Naomi, leaving everything behind in the process, we see God send Boaz to her…a man who would bless her now and later. And just as Ruth had watched over Naomi…now Boaz watched over her.
Yes…we all would be best suited to try and be more like Ruth and Jesus in everything that we do…seeking to bless others first and foremost each and every day we’re given. For when we live a life that places others first before ourselves, what we find is that we don’t have to worry about what we have for God will more than take care of that. He truly does bless us as we bless others and there isn’t a better life to live than this. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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