Overview: Boaz lets Ruth know that he has been inquiring of her and that he wants her to
1. Go in the fields where his servants go
2. Only go and get water where he has directed
3. Know that he told the young men not to harm her
Ruth no longer sees herself as a foreigner. Naomi finds out that Boaz is helping Ruth and she is very excited to hear that
Verses 1-5
Naomi poses the question to Ruth as to whether or not she trusts her enough to help her find a mate. One might ask the question..well why would Naomi do that seeeing as how Ruth has done absolutely everything that Naomi has required and asked without hesitation. Well this is an entirely different level of trust. It's like someone telling you that they have someone for you to meet and you ask how they look and the only answser you get is that they have a nice personality. Oh my goodness...all kinds of red flags and sirens start going off in your head and trust goes out of the door. But Ruth, had a different mindset. She was not caught up in the superficial.....she was caught up in wanting the best and she knew that her mother in law had not failed her yet so why not trust her in this. Now lets pause right here (you know what I am going to say). God wants the same thing out of us. It is so amazing how God has to keep proving himself daily to us as if what He did yesterday does not matter today. What?! How would you feel going to a job and working your butt off day in and day out and no matter what you did the day before, it didn't matter. Everyday you had to go in and prove yourself just like it was the first day of employment. You would be miserable and wonder when you were going to be appreciated. Do you not think that God feels the same way?
Or you keep telling God that you can't trust Him because of the trust issues that you have had with other people. People have let you down and let you down and now God is having to pay for that. His word says that He is not a man that will or can lie. Whatever flows out of His mouth has no choice but to come to pass. He is the same amazing, wonderful, joyous, faithful, and forgiving God yesterday, today, and forever. If you trust Him for the little things, then you must trust Him for everything.....everything!!! He is a God that CANNOT fail...remember that!
Naomi told Ruth that if you do exactly what I tell you to do (which means don't add to, take away from, or argue with me) then your life will be better because Boaz isn't doing all of things just to be doing them. He is interested and is being obedient to the voice of God and the plan of God.
>>>>>Remember that God always has a plan and a setup for us to get blessed beyond what we could know. Read Malachi 3 to see what the promises of God are if we just try Him and obey what He has asked us to do then He will:
1. Stop Satan in his tracks as the word of God tells us that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This doesn't mean that we will not have hardships or problems. But know that as bad as it may seem, it is not as bad as the enemy wanted it to be. The enemy not only wants to destroy you, but also your seed. Know that Christ is interceding on your behalf and telling the enemy that while he is allowed to ruffle a little feathers, there is a line that he can not and will not cross. God is the ultimate power and authority and there is no one that can over rule or over take Him. Trust and obey Him and He will never fail you or lead you in the wrong direction.
2. Open up the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that we will not have room enough to receive. Do you know why God said that He will open up the windows instead of the doors? Think about it, a house usually only has the front door and the back door. However, there are windows galore which means there is more for you to receive and to receive quickly. This means that it is always God's plan for us to have abundance...more than enough. Don't let your situation or circumstance tell you anything different. Walk by faith and God can only move as fast as your faith is strong.
3. Nations will call you blessed. God did not say that all the people that like you will be the only ones that speak praises of you. He said that nations, that means everyone (good, bad, and indifferent), will see the blessings that God has given you and all they will be able to say is.."it must have been God!"
If we just follow the plan, these are the things that are in store for us! How amazing and encouraging is that?!
Naomi provided Ruth with detailed steps which are as follows:
1 Go and wash yourself
---we have to be willing to go through a cleansing in order to remove the excess baggage from our past (last year, last week, 5 minutes ago)
2. Anoint Yourself
---fresh anointing of God's spirit. Without it we have no power.
3. Put on your best garment
---Your heart has to be right and you must be fully covered in God's spirit
4. Go down to the threshing floor
---the threshing floor was where the reapers and the owners of land took their grain so that the animals could walk on them and break the husks open in order to get the grain. The grain was then thrown up in the air so that the wind could separate the grain from the chaff. You only went to the threshing floor if you reaped your harvest, which technically makes it 'invitation only'. So the fact that God had instructed Naomi to tell Ruth to go to the threshing floor, that was God's way of telling Ruth that you are about to receive your abundance and reap your harvest. Getting your abundance is a process and it is work. You have to get the ground ready to receive the seed (washing), you have to plant the seed and then tend to it to make sure that it is not overcome by weeds (allow the holy spirit to enter in and being obedient to God's word) and then reaping the harvest. Once the harvest is reaped you have to take it to the threshing floor so that what you have worked for can be unlocked and the blessing received. When the animals walk on the husks they are literally unlocking what is inside so that you can have it which means that God puts people in our lives to help us unlock our abundance and we have to step back and let them do what they do. When we receive the harvest we have to give God praise for all of it.
5. --Do not make yourself known until after. This lets us know that God does everything in decency and in order.
6. --Pay attention to where he lies down, uncover his feet, and lie down. This is God's way of telling us that we need to humble ourselves and keep ourselves humble.
Now Ruth did not argue with Naomi at all. She didn't offer suggestions or changes, she just did exactly what she was asked to do. Ruth told Naomi that she would do everything that she was instructed. We often times question who we know God has placed in our path by seeking consultation from others when God told it plainly through the person He sent. Then we get angry when we mess up and wonder why God continues to allow these things to happen. Are we serious? Are we paying attention? We have to understand that when God answers our prayers He is answering it for today and tomorrow. He is not just passifying the moment, but He is building up our future. We have to accept the fact that even though we may daydream about how we want it to be or end up, God is perfect in all things and whatever or whomever He sends our way is exactly what we need.
Verses 6-13
Ruth does everything to the letter. She does not change anything that Naomi said to her. When Boaz wakes up, he notices a woman (Ruth) and asks who it is. When she makes herself known to him by saying who she is, he blesses her and is excited by her presence. He agrees to do all that she has asked him to do.
>>>This is what obedience to God brings. This blessing didn't come immediately. Ruth had to work, she had to go out by herself among strange people, follow strange customs, but God blessed. God worked through Naomi and Boaz and Ruth's obedience to the both of them opened up the doors to her abundance. Let me encourage you right now. We don't always know the paths that we will go down and the mistakes that we will make. Know that God is for you and not against you. He has you set up for greatness, just follow the plan!!!!
Verses 14-18
Ruth had a teachable spirit. What does that mean? It means she did not think too highly of herself. She was willing to learn and to be taught. She listened and listened well. Persons with teachable spirits know that without God they can do nothing and are nothing. They don't always have the talents to do what God is asking (or so they think), but they follow His instructions to the letter. God uses these people to work miracles. Think about the Noah's and Moses', Mother Theresa's and Ghandi's. Ordinary people being used by God to do extraordinary things. What He did through them, He will do through you if you allow it. It is not what you can do, but what He can do through you.
Now we see that Boaz sent Ruth back home to Naomi with a little something. How wonderful is God! Now some of you probably read those verses and thought nothing of it. However, look at it this way. God is giving her something to tie herself over until she gets her abundance. She knows that there is something special coming her way, although she doesn't know exactly what it is. God allowed her to have this in order to hold her over until she got her abundance. There are times when we are weary from being obedient and we need a little something to hold us over until the blessing comes in order to energize us. God is great and greatly to be praised!!
I pray that you have enjoyed this week's lesson and that it has encouraged your spirit. When you visit this site, please let me know that you were here and let me know how this ministry has blessed you or if there is something you want to see on this site, please let me know. I pray that each of you have a BLESSED THANKSGIVING!!
Blessings and love,
Pastor N. Smith
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