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At
this point in the story Ruth is instructed by Naomi
to do something daring, but God blesses Ruth and her
life takes a turn for the better. Here’s how it
happened…
Ruth’s
Daring Obedience:
In chapter 2 we saw how Jehovah rewarded Ruth’s
faith by leading her to the fields of a good man named
Boaz. It was obvious that he was a God-fearing man by
the way he treated his workers and how he harvested
his crops (see part 2 in this study on Ruth). Ruth discovered
that Boaz was respectful, kind, generous…and was
also a close relative of Naomi’s late husband.
Naomi understood the significance of these things, and,
according to the Law, Boaz was considered a “kinsman
redeemer”. We will look at the meaning of this
title in part 4 of our study, but for now it is important
to know that Boaz had certain legal obligations toward
Naomi and Ruth and so their actions were not inappropriate
in their context.
Naomi
wants Ruth to get re-married so that they will both
have someone to protect and provide for them. And so,
since they know that Boaz is legally obligated toward
them, she advises Ruth to take a bath, wear some perfume
and put on her best clothes. She wanted Ruth to make
an impression! Then Naomi advised her to secretly visit
the place where Boaz was working, wait until he had
finished eating his evening meal and then, once he had
fallen asleep, to quietly go and lie at his feet. Ruth
carefully obeyed these instructions.
Imagine
Boaz’s surprise when he awoke in the middle of
the night to find a beautiful woman lying at his feet!
When he asked who she was, Ruth explained that she was
one of his servants and that he was a close relative
of theirs (i.e. a redeemer). Boaz would have understood
his legal obligations and privileges immediately, and
was quick to say that he would follow through on his
responsibilities the very next day.
It
is important to note here that Ruth has put herself
in a very vulnerable position. A man of less integrity
might have taken advantage of Ruth that night, and so
in that sense it was quite a risk on her part to trust
Naomi’s plan. However, because they saw that Boaz
was a good man, they trusted him to continue to honor
God’s laws and to respect Ruth. Unfortunately,
women put themselves in risky situations all the time,
where they make themselves as attractive as possible
and try to entice a man into falling in love with them.
The sad part is that unless God is the center of their
relationship, they will often seek sexual fulfillment
from each other rather than honor God’s laws and
wait until they have entered into the covenant of marriage.
Ruth’s
actions do not justify that type of behavior. In fact,
Boaz praises Ruth’s character and declares that
she is “a woman of excellence.” (Ruth 3:11)
Becoming
a Woman of Excellence:
Boaz has known Ruth only a short time, and yet her character
is obvious. The whole town could see that Ruth was someone
whose life was “God-centered” instead of
“self-centered”. Very briefly, let’s
look at five situations in Ruth’s life and some
of the lessons we can learn from her responses.
1.
In loss and grief.
If you have ever suffered the loss of a loved one,
or a personal dream of health and happiness then you
will understand the temptation to become self-centered
in grief. It is tempting to indulge in bitterness
and question God’s goodness, concluding that
it’s our right to be happy and prosperous at
all times.
However,
when Ruth faces the loss of her father-in-law, her
husband, her brother-in-law, her family and her culture
to move back to Israel with Naomi, she quietly accepts
the sovereignty of God (chapter 1). Ruth might have
shed many tears in her grief, but she did not allow
bitterness to take root in her heart.
2.
Overcoming idolatry.
We often think that idolatry is something that only
happens in other cultures where people bow down to
man-made statues. The truth of the matter is that
any time we place our trust and security in something
or someone other than Jehovah we are committing idolatry.
Very often we idolize ourselves and either become
perfectionists, chronic worriers and workaholics,
or we go to the other extreme and become gluttonous
or lazy.
When Ruth decided to leave her culture with all its
pagan religious practices, she firmly renounced its
false gods and embraced Jehovah. (Chapter 1:15-17)
She made no sentimental excuses to justify her idol
worship, rather she left it all behind and chose to
put her faith in God.
3.
Dealing with poverty.
We in North America are considered very rich by world
standards, and yet even here it is possible to experience
poverty. People live with massive debts, or lose their
jobs, or lose their health and it can become difficult
to pay the bills and buy groceries. In this case,
it might be tempting to get completely discouraged
and give up hope, but Ruth shows us a better way.
Although
she also had no way to earn money, Ruth was not too
proud to show up in Boaz’s field and work for
free (chapter 2:2). Today the government sends out
checks to those people who need social assistance,
and although it’s not necessary to work to receive
that help, still every single person has something
they can do to help others. Whether it’s a volunteer
job in the community or with a local church congregation,
God has an important place for you to be. He will
take care of you just like He took care of Ruth.
4.
Receiving charity.
We’re often too proud to receive help from another
person, even when it’s obvious that we can’t
meet our needs on our own. We’d rather struggle
independently, than admit we need help!
Ruth
was willing to receive the generous kindness of Boaz
(chapter 2:8-16) because she recognized that not only
would she be satisfied but Naomi could be satisfied
as well.
5.
Being responsible for others.
Once again, our prideful independence often makes
us think of ourselves and our needs above all else.
If a previous commitment becomes an inconvenience
to us we find it easy to back out and let someone
else take up the responsibility that we had agreed
to in the first place.
Ruth
left her home and her culture to follow Naomi back to
Israel with the intention of taking care of her as she
aged. Ruth was willing to work all day in the hot sun
while Naomi sat and waited for her to come back with
their food for the day. Talk about a backbreaking inconvenience,
and yet Ruth followed through on the commitment she
had made.
The
most important step you can take today in becoming a
woman of excellence is to truly surrender your life
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps you’ve had a
relationship with Christ for years but have never really
allowed Him the freedom to work in your life –
the time is now. Perhaps you’ve heard a lot about
Jesus Christ but have never entered into a personal
relationship with Him – the time is now. There
are choices to be made. Will you follow Ruth’s
example of daring obedience to the Law of God? We’ll
soon see the blessings that God has in store for Ruth…and
for us!
“Finally…we request and exhort you in the
Lord Jesus, that…you excel still more.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:1)
Written
by Christine Wichert
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