Ruth 2:17-20 - 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. Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did
you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose
place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is
Boaz," she said. "The LORD
bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law.
"He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and
the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative;
he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.".
It was a great day for Ruth….and Naomi…and Boaz. God drew Naomi to move back to her hometown
of Bethlehem…then he drew Ruth to glean in the field of Boaz…and Boaz took
notice of this foreigner. God brought together
these three souls ...by allowing Naomi’s need for family urge her home…Ruth’s
love and kindness to drive her to try and find the two widowed women food….and
Boaz’s wealth and authority to provide for the poor widow’s needs.
It was no coincidence…their love of God…and the need to
please him….drove their actions of kindness….each providing a piece of a triad
puzzle God was welding together from above.
Boaz goes way beyond the gleaner’s law put in place by Moses in
Leviticus 19:9 and Deuteronomy 24:19. Ruth’s consistent actions of love and
kindness build for her a reputation that becomes a public report card of her
new love of God. And Naomi’s faith is strengthened and renewed as she sees how
God is still providing for her needs…despite the tragedy he has allowed in her
life.
I can see quickly why God picked these three to begin to
build a family history that would produce another humble girl named Mary a few
years later. A sweet girl …who had the faith of Naomi…the kind humble heart of
Ruth…and the confidence of Boaz…to bear his only son into the world. Because
these three listened to their heart and followed Yahweh’s leading…the world
received a grand present through their ancestor Mary…and Jesus was able to walk
this earth and save us all.
Father…I thank you for the way you weld our lives into great
plans that bring about your purpose and will in our lives. Help me this morning to always remember to
search deeper than the surface of what I see.
Help me to cling to your love and listen to the soft urges of your
spirit so I too can be a part of a great plan to help others come to know you.
Take the tragedies of my life and give them meaning and purpose…drive me to
where you need me to be just as you did Naomi …..fill my hand and feet with
errands of love and service to help others like Ruth…and teach me how to use
the position in life you have placed me to provide for other’s needs. Amen.
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