Overview:
Naomi's husband Elimelech and her sons Mahlon and Chilion have died. Her daughter in law Orpah left to go back to her people and her other daughter in law Ruth has decided to go with her back to Bethlehem, Judah. Naomi is bitter as she thinks that God is punishing her and they have arrived in Naomi's hometown.
Chapter 2
Verses 1-2
Introduced to Boaz a relative of Naomi's husband. We are told that Ruth wants to go and glean in the fields.
>>>>What is gleaning? It means to pick up or gather what is left behind. When the reapers would gather the harvest they would intentionally leave some behind for the widows and the orphaned based on God's commandement to the children of Israel in the book of Leviticus 23:22
"22 " 'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' "
>>>>Anything that God commands is important and has a purpose. If we look again at the customs of this time period, a widow had it extremely hard because she had no men to take care of her. If she was not or could not be married again she was forced to fend for herself in a culture that looked down on women. Leaving something for the orphan or the poor is easy to understand as well. However, it seems as if we have lost sight of this as we have taken on an every man for himself mentality or we take on the mentality that we are only going to take care of 'our own'. If we are all God's children and we were all bought with a price by the blood of Jesus then we are all members of the same body. It should not be a second thought to help one another, for the bible tells us that if someone is hungry we should feed them and if they are cold we should clothe them. (Matthew 25:31-46) Now I am not saying to give yourself to scammers, but when God tells you to give, whether they have asked for it or not---give it.
Take note of Ruth's continued respect and loyalty to Naomi. She took the time and asked Naomi if she could go and glean in the fields. Now, we know that they both had to be wondering and maybe even talked about how they were going to take care of themselves because Naomi was too old to marry and they did not know if anyone would take Ruth in because she was from Moab. So for Ruth to ask permission, despite her hunger, her worries, or her thoughts says alot about her. If Naomi had said, "No", Ruth would not have gone. That is the type of loyalty she had. How many of us have asked God for something and really wanted and possibly even needed it. But God said, "No" and we did it anyway or we had to think about it for a long time and literally convince ourselves or talk ourselves out of it because we really wanted it. God wants us to have a loyalty of love for him that when He speaks, we trust Him enough to obey.
God's word teaches us the importance of obedience. He tells us in the book of Samuel that ''obedience is better than sacrifice".
>>>>>So lets pause right here, because if we say that we trust God then why is it that we find it so hard to obey Him? The reason is, we only trust Him in certain situations. Now this is not everybody, so don't start talking to the computer saying ''she don't know me, I trust God....." If you are at the point now that you trust God through whatever then that is awesome!! Then what I need for you to do is go back to the time when you didn't, because we didn't come out of the womb speaking in tongues and shouting. It was and is a process for all of us. Think about the times when you immediatley did what He said, the times you had to convince yourself to do what He said, the times you did part of what He said, and then the times you tried to convince yourself that that was the devil because God wouldn't tell you to give up your most prize possession or give up something you worked so hard to get. But if we think about it.....He would as He gave up His only begotten Son for all of us knowing that He would be rejected, knowing that He would suffer, knowing that there would be some that would put out books and movies and blogs and email forwardings and pass laws that go against Him.
>>>>Now there are different levels of trust. You have people that you trust no matter what they tell you to do because you know that they have your best interest in mind. Then you have people that you trust depending on the situation. Then you have people that you trust to do what is right for them. The people in the first category are the ones that we obey regardless of what is going on. The second group, it depends on the situation and the possible outcome. The third group, they might as well be talking to a wall. Which group is God in, because if we say we trust Him, then we should obey Him? If He is not in group one, then I want you to stop and pray this prayer:
Father God, in the name of Jesus, I come before you God as humble as I know how. I ask your forgiveness for not trusting you the way that I should. I know God that if anyone has my best interest at heart it is you. I know God that I don't always understand why you do what you do or the timing of the things you do. But God, despite my worries, my concerns, my hangups, my faults, I am going to do as you have commanded me to do. You were there for Noah, you were there for David, and God I know you will be there for me. I put my hand in your hand and ask that you lead me and help me to understand as we go along the way. I can't see all things, but you can. I trust you God and I love you for loving me. I come against the spirit of fear that is trying to grow in my heart and my mind. Everything I am is because of you, so use me Lord as you see fit and I will be mindful to give you the praise and the glory. In Jesus name I do pray---Amen.
Now He will begin to tell you to do things that you don't usually do. If you are unsure as to whether or not it is Him, just ask Him in your prayer time to let you know and He will.
Verses 3-9
Boaz notices Ruth. He notices that she is not an Israelite and he inquires about her and finds out that she asked permission to come into the fields which told Boaz that she had respect for the customs of a people that he was not a part of and that she had been working extremely hard. This told Boaz that she was not a lazy person and was not looking for handouts.
He then decides to protect her by telling her to glean only in his fields, stay close to his servants, told the young men not to harass or harm her, and told her where to get water when she is thirsty.
>>>>>>When we are obedient and follow God's plan we see that He has already made provisions for us. We just have to be there to receive it. Obedience lead us to blessings. We don't have to search for blessings. We just have to work at being obedient and God will take care of the rest. He tells us in Matthew 6: 33" Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His rightousness and all these things shall be added to thee" Now I am not saying go and be lazy! But there are people who are of the mindset that if they work hard enough, they will get blessed when the word of God clearly says that it is not by works, but by faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) We can't work our way into Heaven, but if we are obedient to God's word we will have our place with Him.
Verses 10-12
Ruth asks a very normal question (paraphrasing)--"Why are you doing all of this and I am not one of you". She wanted to know what his intentions were and why he would decide to help someone whom the Israelites look down upon. Don't we do the same thing? When someone goes out of the way for us, we wonder what they want from us, what are their intentions, are they doing it so that we become indebted to them and every opportunity they get ,they throw it in our faces and tell everyone what they did for us?
Boaz lets Ruth know that he has been watching and inquiring about her because of her loyalty and obedience to Naomi. He had become intrigued by her.
>>>>>But we can not assume that he was the only one that had heard about Ruth or had seen her. So what was different about Boaz? What is different about us? You have some who are talkers, some who ignore what is going on, and those who take action and do something. Now we can't do everything for everyone, but if we have a servants heart then we will hear God when he tells us to move. We have to believe that God had been speaking to Boaz to help Ruth and because of his servants heart, he heard God, and because he trusted God, Boaz obeyed.
Boaz blessed Ruth in verse 12. That blessing was a sign to Ruth of what God had in store for her regardless of whether she was an Israelite or not. When we step out in faith and submit ourselves to God, our past does not matter, our handicaps do not matter, because God can use anyone who wants to be used. He says in His word that when we are weak, He is made stronger. The more we think we are, the less we think we need God. But when we come to the understanding that it is only through God that move, breathe, and have our very existence then we become someone that God can use. Take the time to read Psalm 46 before proceeding. Although this Psalm was written years after this occurrence, you see that we serve a God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever because David spoke of the same thing that Boaz spoke to Ruth.
Verse 13-19
Ruth not only thanks Boaz, but there is a feeling of acceptance as she does no call herself a foreigner, but she refers to herself as his maidservant.
Now through these passages we see that steps are being taken for Ruth to no longer get leftovers. Ruth's loyalty and obedience was being rewarded. We know she got tired and the work was not easy, but she continued to work for herself and for Naomi without complaining.
>>>>How often have we asked for something, God provided it, and sometime after that we start complaining about it? But then we wonder why things are the way they are. Or how often have we asked God to make a way, He does it, and we don't take it? Then we wonder why these opportunities are not coming as often. Ruth had a loyalty love for Naomi and God wants us to have the same from us, not the "I love you when things are okay or when they have that new smell to them" kind of love. I believe that Naomi and Ruth had been asking God to make a way for them and He did and they took it. They did not let anything or anyone stand in the way of their blessing. Do you actually think that the other women wanted Ruth there knowing that she was not one of them? Of course not!! But when we have the mindset of "what God has for me is for me" we don't worry about others. They are not a threat for us. Churches should not be in competition with one another. There are enough souls for everyone. How often have people tried to make you feel bad for what God has blessed you with or have you been one to talk about another person and ridicule their blessing? What they have does not take anything away from what God has in store for you. And if you are one that God has abundantly blessed, don't let people cause you to be ashamed of what you have. You just have to be mindful to give God the praise for what you have and when they ask how did you get that, you simply reply---''nobody but God"!
Verse 20-23
Naomi sees all that Ruth is bringing back and she knows that someone is looking out for Ruth. When Naomi finds out that it is Boaz, she encourages Ruth to do exactly as he says and Ruth does.
This lesson is all about loyalty love and obedience. Please provide your thoughts, questions, and testimonies concerning this lesson or anything else going on in your life. Be blessed!!!
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