Wednesday, 1 May 2019

Ruth and Boaz

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I wrote about Ruth chapter 1 yesterday. That stirred passion in me because I am thankful to God for every Ruth I and Ruth II person in my life. What a blessing all of you are to me. A blessing that cannot be measured.

Now I want to write something about Ruth chapter 2 that I couldn't get in yesterday. I cried over it yesterday, and just now, I cried again when read it. This chapter is a picture of a greater reality. All the non-Jews are being granted access and favor by God into His kingdom. Read this as if Boaz is playing the part of God and Ruth is playing the part of people from non-Jewish backgrounds. Naomi is playing the part of the Jewish people.

Ruth 2:8-9 "Then Boaz said to Ruth, 'Listen to me, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field or even pass on from here, but stay close to my female workers. Don't glean in another field means do not go looking for food anywhere else, but only in the kingdom of God. Keep your eyes on the field that they are harvesting, and follow after them. I strongly ordered the young men not to touch you. When you are thirsty, you can go to the jars and drink from the water the young men have drawn.'"

God's has ordered protection for those who come to Him for food. Water is significant on many levels. Yeshua said to the woman at the well (not a Jewish woman), John 4:14 "But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty. The water that I give him will become a fountain of water within him, springing up to eternal life!"

And what is the appropriate response from non-Jewish people who find themselves included in God’s blessings? Worship, of course. Ruth 2:10 "Then she fell upon her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your eyes that you have noticed me, even though I am a foreigner?'"

Naomi represents Jewish people. God said it to Abraham ... Genesis 12:3a "My desire is to bless those who bless you".

Ruth 2:11-12 "Boaz replied and said to her, 'All that you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband's death has been fully reported to me—how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people you did not know before. May Adonai repay you for what you have done, and may you be fully rewarded by Adonai, God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.'"

There is more to this story. I love the way Boaz pours out blessings to Ruth.