Ruth’s story is powerful for all of us because it is so relatable. It’s the story of an ordinary person making everyday decisions and hoping for a better future. And you will see how God works to make a difference in Ruth’s life and give us some lessons to live by.
The book of Ruth begins in the time of the judges – sometime between 1160 BC and 1100 BC – a violent, tragic, and chaotic time for God’s people. A severe famine came upon the land. And a man by the name of Elimelech chose to leave his home in Bethlehem, take his family, his wife and two sons, and move to a country called Moab. Moab was a wicked country where God’s people did not dwell. But Elimelech left Bethlehem to escape the famine and ultimately death, and yet him and his two sons would find death 10 years later.
We see our first lesson is Elimelech did not ask God what his will was for him and his family. Instead he uprooted his family where ungodly people lived. Once Elimelech went outside of God’s will, he no longer could distinguish between right and wrong. He allowed his two sons to marry Moab women who did not know God. With one bad decision, Elimelech led his family away from God.
It is important that we seek God’s will instead of doing what we think is best. Ultimately God’s plan for us is far better than our own plans.
10 years later Elimelech dies along with his two sons. Which left Naomi, Elimelech’s wife, alone with her two daugther-n-laws. One day Naomi heard that the Lord had blessed his people in Bethlehem by ending the famine and giving them good crops again. So Naomi decided to leave Moab to return to her homeland.
On her way to Bethlehem Naomi tried to convince both her daughter-n-laws to stay in Moab where they can remarry and start over. With much relectance one daughter stayed in Moab and the other, named Ruth, went with Naomi saying, “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live I will live. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God.”(Ruth 1:16)
We see that Naomi must have lived in such a way that Ruth wanted to follow Naomi and her God, the God of Israel, instead of living in the wickedness of her hometown, Moab.
When they both arrived in Bethlehem Naomi had known of a relative of her late husband living there, a man of great wealth, by the name of Boaz. Both women were hungry after such a long journey and we see Ruth going into one of Boaz’s fields to glean after or pick up the grain the harvestors left behind. She follows behind the other women that are doing the same thing. As she is gathering the grain, Boaz sees her and asks his forman about her. He then confronts her and tells her that she can stay in his fields and help herself. Ruth says she doesn’t deserve such kindness because she is a foreigner. But Boaz says I know who you are and have heard how you are taking care of your mother-n-law. Boaz then says a blessing over her.
You see God desires to take care of all of us just like Boaz took care of Ruth. He desires to protect and shelter us. And for us to find rest under his wings.
" He will cover you with feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." (Psalms 91:4)
When Ruth returned home to Naomi that night she returned with more food than she could have imagined. We need to anticipate God providing for us above and beyond what we could hope for or imagine just like he provided for Ruth.
"Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20)
Sometime had passed and we then see Ruth taking a risk to go and spend the night with Boaz on the threshing floor (a flat surface in the barn where farmers loosen the edible part of grain from the straw). Naomi gave Ruth instructions on what to do when she got there and that Boaz would take care of the rest. This risk could have gone badly for them but with faith they chose to be bold.
Like them we often need to take prayerful risks. Stepping out in faith and following God’s lead. Maybe it’s being honest with someone or having an uncomfortable conversation. What ever it is if God has called us to take a step of faith then it’s a risk worth taking.
In the end Boaz and Ruth get married and have a son by the name of Obed. This union in marriage signifies Christ redeeming the church. Boaz had no obligation to marry Ruth. He just extended his grace just like Jesus extends his grace to us.
We deserve nothing but we have been given the rights of an heir. Ruth was a Moabite; a foreigner who had no rights. However through grace and redemption she becomes a part of the genealogy of Christ.
God’s fingerprints were all over Ruth’s story and there was no doubt he was at work the entire time. Life didn’t start out well for Ruth living in a wicked nation, losing her husband, and moving to a foreign land, but her ending ended well.
CONCLUSION
No matter what we go through we must remember God is a work behind the scenes. He is not finished with us, but we are a work in progress.
Know that God loves you dearly and if you find yourself discouraged on your journey with God, remember Ruth’s story and that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him.
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