Village Schools of the Bible

THE ROMANCE OF REDEMPTION
A Devotional Study of Ruth
by Max Frazier, Jr.

A WILLING HEART
Ruth 2:1-3

Naomi and Ruth have now arrived back home in Bethlehem. There are not a lot of pieces remaining for them to pick up, but they do begin. Of course Ruth knows no one there. In fact, I am sure that she is probably looked upon with some suspicion by the towns people because she is an outsider, yes, she is an outcast being a Moabite. Now I don't know how you might have responded had you been in her situation, but I think I probably would have gone into the house and closed the door behind me and said I needed some time to get settled in before going out among the people.

But not Ruth. She realized that she had a responsibility to provide for the needs of her mother-in-law. The pantry of the former Elimelech-cottage was bare. A debt hung over the property, so any kind of a loan for provisions was out of the question. There was only one thing for her to do. She must go out and work in the fields to secure whatever she could find to satisfy the physical hungers which she and Naomi had.

The Bible always commends honest labor and always condemns laziness. I am reminded of the admonition of the Apostle Paul to the believers living in Thessalonica. He wrote these words to them: For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10). With a heart that was willing to work, Ruth ties on her bonnet and puts on her apron and sets out to find provisions for her family.

But, where should she go? She had no idea of where to go to glean. She had no friends to protect her from the rowdiness which always seemed to be present in the fields. She was new in the community. Who would give her a helping hand? Friends, when I think of Ruth's situation, I am drawn back to her statement in verse 17 of chapter one where she expresses her confidence and her trust in the Lord God. I believe that, as she headed out to the fields that day, she prayed to God asking that He might guide her footsteps to the right fields where she might glean grain to provide for her needs. Oh to simply follow Jesus, even as Ruth did.

Now there is an interesting statement in verse 3. The King James Version expresses it this way, and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz. We might say that this was quite a coincidence. But I believe it happened in answer to Ruth's confidence in God's leading. God directed her to the field of a man who would not only have compassion on her need for food, but also compassion on her need for a redeemer. Isn't that just like God! As He is providing for our immediate need, He is often orchestrating to meet our greater need.

Father, I rejoice in the strong confidence which Ruth had in You. Lord, she was just a new believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Yet, with a childlike faith, she was confident that You would provide for her needs and that You would direct her footsteps. Lord, I can only pray that You would strengthen my faith so that I can commit more confidence to You. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A GREETING
Ruth 2:4

Abraham Lincoln said, Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well, look well and be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away. The word "kindness" has its roots in an Old Germanic word which meant "of noble birth." As it was adapted into the Old English, it took on the sense of "compassionate."

Let me read for you verse 4: Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The Lord be with you!" "The Lord bless you!" they called back. Notice the words with which Boaz greets his servants, "The Lord be with you!" We can tell a lot about a person from his manner of greeting. We soon discover if he is friendly or not; if he is sympathetic or critical; if he is proud or boisterous. The tone of our voice and the manner in which we speak communicates much about our present disposition.

In the Bible, greetings were the sincere expressions from the inner man. In Psalm 129, the writer relates that those who hate Zion were to be like withered grass which evaporated before the reapers. They were not to hear the words, "The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord." Remember the greeting with which the angel greeted Gideon in Judges 6:12, The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior. Remember also the greeting of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1:28, Hail, favored one, the Lord is with you. Think of our Lord's words of greeting to His disciples as they cowered with fear in the upper room the evening following His resurrection, Peace be with you. One of the marvelous greetings recorded for us in the Bible is that used by the early Christians as they met one another. It was a simple one word statement, Maranatha, but oh the hope it contained as they encouraged one another with the thought that "the Lord is coming."

This greeting of Boaz to his servants has caused me to reflect upon how I greet others. Do I glibly say, "Hi, how are you?", not caring at all how they feel, not interested at all in what is going on in their lives? Can I dare greet them with the blessings of God, as Boaz did with his reapers? Do I want God to bless their life? When I extend my hand to them, does my handshake or my embrace communicate that I honestly care about that person, or am I just going through the motions of courtesy. Sadly, I must admit that too often my words of greetings are merely perfunctory as I have been too involved in my own life. This passage has rebuked me more than once as God has reminded me of the importance of greeting one another with the proper attitude.

So, friends, today I do want to greet you warmly in the name of the Lord and wish upon you the blessings of God.

Father, how seldom do we consider the importance of our greetings. Yet, what an encouragement those words from Boaz must have been to those working in those hot fields. Lord, thank You for reminding us that our greetings can be used to bring encouragement to others. May those words, "Hi, how are you?" come from deep within our hearts. And may we, through our greetings, communicate the blessings of God upon another. We give You thanks, in Christ's name. Amen.

MOTIVATED BY KINDNESS
Ruth 2:5-13

If someone were to pay you ten cents for every kind word you spoke and collected five cents from you for you unkind word, would you be rich or poor? Sobering question, isn't it?

In our last study, we noticed the importance of the words with which Boaz greeted those who worked for him. I would like to continue with a few more thoughts from verse 4 for this study. The ones to whom Boaz spoke were the reapers, the hired hands, if you will. It was hard work in the heat of the day to be gathering the sheaves. I suppose it would be easy to get hot, tired, and irritable. Maybe these reapers were thinking that here they were working in the hot sun and what was Boaz doing? He was probably at home sipping lemonade like all the rich people do. The text does not tell us the temperament of the workers, but I can imagine that they would not be much different from people today. In the heat I am sure that tempers flared very easily.

It was into this scene that Boaz gave his greeting. Its purpose was to cheer and to inspire his workers. His desire was to make them feel like their task was very important. He was their cheerleader, if you will. And, by their response to him, these reapers considered themselves fortunate to be working for such a caring man.

I am reminded of the story I read a few years ago in the OUR DAILY BREAD devotional. It seems that a farmer and an elderly gentleman were painting a farmhouse on a hot summer day. They had just refreshed themselves with a cold drink of water and were returning to their ladders when a small boy with only one arm came riding toward them on his bike. He stopped and said, "I live down the road aways. Ma sent me to see if you needed some drinking water. If you do, I can go back and fetch it in a glass canning jar." The farmer was about to decline the offer, but his older companion said, "You sure came in the nick of time, Sonny. A good drink of water would do wonders for both of us." The youngster grinned and called out, "I'll be right back. I bet you think you're lucky that I came along!" The elderly man replied, "You can say that again! Now our worries are over. We've got another man on the job." Words of greeting had been turned into words which gave encouragement.

Kindness does pay rich dividends. I believe that Boaz and his attitude toward his workers, aptly illustrate the truth which flowed from the pen of an unknown author: When we treat a person as though he were the kind of person he ought to be, we give him a giant boost toward what he is capable of being. Oh that God might use each one of us in a similar fashion.

Father, I am so thankful for the portrait which You have shared with us about Boaz and his relationships with his workers. Lord, he was an encouragement to them. May our lives today bring encouragement to someone else, even if it is simply through our words of greeting to them. I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

MORE ACTS OF KINDNESS
Ruth 2:4-13

Before we leave our study of these verses from chapter 2, I would like to have us consider three more pictures of kindness which are depicted here. In verse 11, I observe the kindness of Ruth toward her mother-in-law. In fact, it was a kindness which everyone living in Bethlehem was cognizant of. The naturalist, W.H. Hudson, tells in one of his books, about a thrush and a blackbird that always came together, visiting the place where food was put for birds. The blackbird would pick up the crumbs and put them in the thrush's mouth. Then it was noticed that some trap had cut off the thrush's beak close to its head, so that it could not pick up food, and the blackbird was coming to the rescue.

Doesn't that remind you of Ruth. Naomi was an elderly widow. She had no one to provide for her needs. She was a lot like that thrush. Ruth gave up everything that she knew to travel with Naomi to a land she did not know to take care of a woman that she loved dearly.

A second picture of kindness is found in verses 8 and 9, and then again in verses 14 through 16. It is the kindness of Boaz to Ruth. He instructs her to stay in his fields. They were large and she would not need to go elsewhere to supply her wants and desires. He offers her protection from the other workers. And she was free to drink of the water already drawn so she would not have to take time to draw for her own needs.

I am reminded of another story which I think illustrates this heart of kindness of Boaz. At one end of a truck terminal was a coal company with a high fence around it. Nearby was a railroad, and each day several freight trains passed by. The owner of the yard, who was a Christian, threw chunks of coal over the fence at various places along the track. One day he was asked why he did this. With compassion in his voice, he replied "A poor elderly woman lives across the street, and I know that her old-age pension is inadequate to buy enough coal. After the trains go by, she walks along and picks up the pieces she thinks have fallen from the coal car behind the engine. He eyesight is failing, and she doesn't realize that diesels have replaced steam locomotives. I don't want to disappoint her, so I just throw some pieces over the fence to help her. Friends, that is just what Boaz did, and isn't that just what Jesus Christ has done for us?

The final picture is found in verse 12 where Boaz encourages Ruth in her faith in God. The imagery which Boaz used would be familiar to those within the agricultural community. It is of a tiny bird snuggling under the wings of its mother when a time of trouble and crisis is imminent. This provides a picture of trust and security. God asks us to take refuge in the shadow of His wings. And, friends, I can think of no greater place to be, can you?

Our kind heavenly Father, We praise You for Your kindness which was modeled through the life of Boaz. Father, use our lives that in kindness we might touch others with Your kindness. Yes, Father, You are so good, so very good to us. Amen.

Ruth 1 Return to Introduction Ruth 3