Ruth 2:10

Ruth 2:10 says, Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?  Ruth fell on the ground and asked Boaz why she, a stranger, had found grace in his eyes.  As followers of Christ, this is a question that we could ask God every day, because when we were but a stranger to Him, we found grace in His eyes.  Verse eleven adds, And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.  Boaz said that he knew all that Ruth had done for her mother-in-law, leaving her own people to come to a strange land to help provide for her.  How much are we willing to give up to provide for the spiritual and even physical needs of others today?  Verse twelve continues, The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.  Boaz then gave the credit to God for protecting and providing for Ruth.  He did not claim the honor for himself.  If we help those in need today, as Christians we must make sure that we give God the credit.  Verse thirteen states, Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.  Ruth asked that she might find favor with Boaz, even if she wasn't like the other maidens around him.  We likewise need to treat those that we encounter with kindness out of the love of God, even if they are not like us.  Verse fourteen adds, And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the readers, and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.  Boaz invited Ruth to come and share with him at mealtime.  Sometimes, the first thing we may be able to do is to ensure that others have enough to eat and offer them our hospitality.  Verse fifteen continues, And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:  When Ruth got up to glean again, Boaz told the young men working for him to allow her to glean even among the areas that hadn't been harvested.  He was allowing her to gather more than just the leftovers, and when it comes to helping others today, we should be willing to allow them more than just the leftovers of what God has blessed us with.  Verse sixteen says, And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.  Boaz told his servants to not only allow Ruth to glean, but to also leave a little more behind.  We likewise should be willing to give to others in need more than just the remnants of what God has blessed us with.  Verse seventeen adds, So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.  After gleaning all day, Ruth then separated the barley from the chaff, and she had about four pecks worth.  Verse eighteen continues, And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.  Ruth returned that night to where she and Naomi were staying, not only with the barley, but also with some of the food that she had been given at lunch.  She had not simply eaten the good food herself, but she was concerned with Naomi as well.  Verse nineteen states, And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.  Naomi was curious as to where Ruth had been gleaning, and Ruth told her in the field of a man called Boaz.  Like Naomi, we should be curious as to what our children are doing in the world today.  Verse twenty adds, And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.  Naomi said that Boaz was a near kinsman of theirs, but he was related to Ruth by marriage only.  Still, we are told when a man and a woman are married that they become one flesh, so family of each spouse becomes the family of the other spouse.  I am not sure why Naomi had not gone to Boaz for help, but it may have been that she had been gone so long that she forgot him.  Verse twenty-one continues, And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.  Ruth told Naomi that Boaz had told her to keep close to his young men, to work behind them only and for no other reason.  He was looking out for Ruth in his own way.  People do not necessarily know everything that we are doing to help them out today, but we need to rely on God to direct our help that He might be glorified.  Verse twenty-two says, And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.  Ruth told Naomi to not go to any other field but to continue to glean in Boaz's field and to continue to associate with his maidens.  Verse twenty-three adds, So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.  Ruth continued to work in Boaz's field until the harvest was over.  Then there would be the new problem of what they would do then.  God had provided for them so far, even if they did not recognize it, and He will provide for us today, if we are followers of Christ, whether we always recognize it or not.

Ruth 2:1

Ruth 2:1 says, And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.  Naomi was back with her people, the nation of Israel.  There was a man that she was kin to named Boaz, and he was a wealthy man.  Verse two adds, And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.  Ruth proposed that she go glean for food, which was a common practice then.  Ruth was taking responsibility for providing for both of them.  Verse three continues, And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.  Ruth was gleaning after the reapers, and was in Boaz's field.  We might say that she was lucky that this happened, but I believe that God was blessing her by placing her there.  God is always at work in the world, even when we may not realize it or give Him credit.  Verse four states, And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.  Boaz came to the field where the workers were, and greeted them by asking that the LORD bless them, and they returned the greeting.  We need to ask God's blessing on those that we encounter each day, and we need to sincerely mean it if we do.  Verse five adds, Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?  Boaz saw Ruth gleaning in the field and asked the one over the servants who she was.  If we are to help others, we must first notice them and then find out who they are.  We may see people in need every day, but if we don't care enough to find out about them, then we are no help to them at all.  Verse six continues, And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:  The servant firsts identified her as a Moabite damsel, not even an Israelite, and then said she came back with Naomi.  When we first meet someone in need, do we first identify them by some physical characteristic, or do we simply identify them as a fellow human being of great value in God's eyes?  Verse seven says, And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.  The servant said Ruth asked permission to glean, and she had been doing so most of the day.  Ruth was dedicated to providing for Naomi and herself.  People should be willing to whatever they can that is honest to meet their needs.  Verse eight adds, Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:  Boaz told Ruth to not go anywhere else to glean, but to continue to do so in his field.  He also invited her to abide with his maidens.  We need to do as much as we can to help make life easier for those in need, especially if God has blessed us with more than enough.  I believe God will let us know what we should do if we only ask Him.  Verse nine continues, Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.  Boaz told her she would be safe and that if she was thirsty, there was water to drink.  If we put our faith in Christ, we are forever spiritually safe, and there is always Living Water to satisfy our thirst.

ruth 1:10

Ruth 1:10 says, And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.  Naomi's daughters-in-law said that surely they would return with her to her people.  Having married into her family, they may have felt that their best opportunity for survival was with her.  Verse eleven adds, And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?  Naomi called them her daughters, and told them to return to their people and asked why they would want to go with her.  She said she had no more sons who could become their husbands, which was the custom in that day.  Verse twelve continues, Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons;  Naomi said that she was old, and even if she could find a husband she could have no more sons.  She was looking out for them the best way she knew how.  We may find that the way things are customarily done may not always be possible to be continued, and when this happens, we need to look for the best solution for all concerned, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit if we are followers of Christ.  Verse thirteen states, Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me.  Naomi then asked if she were to have more sons, would they stay with her until the sons were grown so they could have husbands.  This was really not much of an option, even if it were possible.  Of course, then Naomi blamed God for her problems, if not by His directly causing them then at least by allowing them to happen.  We cannot blame God for causing our problems, either directly or indirectly, if we are Christians.  Verse fourteen adds, And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.  The three women again cried, and Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye, but Ruth hung on to her.  Both were presented with the same facts, but they reacted differently to them, just as people will do today when confronted with the same facts.  Verse fifteen continues, And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister-in-law.  Naomi told Ruth that her sister-in-law had returned to her people and her gods, and that Ruth should go as well.  We should never attempt to send people back to other gods, no matter how hopeless our situation may seem.  Verse sixteen declares, And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:  Ruth told Naomi not to ask her to leave.  Then, she made a statement that is used many times to declare the love of a man and a woman, but it was made between a woman and her mother-in-law.  Ruth said that she would go where Naomi went, that her people would be Ruth's people and that her God would be Ruth's God.  Ruth made a committed decision to go with Naomi.  If we are followers of Christ, we should pray that we could lead others to accept our God, the only real God, to be their God.  Verse seventeen adds, Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.  Ruth said that only death could part Naomi and her, and she said this as a vow to God.  This may not have even looked like the best opportunity for Ruth, but she was bound by love to Naomi.  Verse eighteen continues, When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her.  When Naomi saw that Ruth was steadfast in her decision, she quit asking her to leave.  When we know that someone has made a decision based on a commitment under God' guidance, we should never ask them to change it.  Verse nineteen states, So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?  The two of them went to Bethlehem, and the people there gathered around them and recognized Naomi.  She was back with her people.  If we have been away from God' people, who as Christians are also our people, and we return, we should hope that they would still recognize us.  Verse twenty adds, And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.  Naomi told them to no longer call her Naomi but to call her Mara.  She said this was because the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her.  She was still blaming God for her situation, and we as followers of Christ can never afford to do that.  Verse twenty-one continues, I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?  Naomi said that she left Bethlehem full, or with many blessings, but had returned with nothing, because God had afflicted her.  We should never blame our problems on God.  Verse twenty-two concludes, So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.  Naomi and Ruth, her daughter-in-law but also a woman of Moab, returned to Jerusalem at the time of the barley harvest.  They were back with Naomi's people, God's people, but their situation had not changed very much.  Just because we return to God's people if we have been away doesn't mean that our situation is necessarily going to change immediately.  Naomi had not necessarily been away from God spiritually, but her attitude seems to indicate that she was not close to Him at this time.

Ruth 1:1

Ruth 1:1 says, Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.  During the rule of the judges, there was a famine in Israel.  Just because Israel was the people of God and He raised up judges to rule over them did not mean that everything was perfect in the land.  A certain man of Israel went with his to sons to the land of Moab to escape the famine.  Verse two adds, And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehemjudah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.  Though the first verse didn't say so, the man's wife, Naomi came with her husband and sons to the land of Moab.  Verse three continues, And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.  Elimelech, Naomi's husband died, so she was left to rely on her two sons.  Naomi was a widow in a foreign land, so she really had to depend on her sons.  Verse four states, And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.  Naomi's two sons took a wife from the people of Moab, who were named Orpah and Ruth and they lived in Moab for about ten years.  I am not sure if the famine was over by this time or not, but evidently her sons were content to live where they were.  No matter what reason we may have for moving away from fellowship with God's people, we should never be content to remain there.  If we are a follower of Christ, then we need to identify with His people.  Verse five adds, And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons and her husband.  Then, Naomi's two sons died, leaving her with no one to provide for her and with two daughter's-in-law who were in the same situation.  Naomi had no other family there to turn to.  If we find ourselves in what looks like a hopeless situation, hopefully we will be able to look to God and His people for help.  Verse six continues, Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the LORD had visited his people in giving them bread.  Naomi decided to return ot her people in Israel, because she heard that the famine was over.  She was taking her two daughters-in-law with her.  Verse seven says, Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her; and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.  The three women left where they were and started on the trip to the land of Judah.  Verse eight adds, And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.  Ruth told her two daughters-in-law to return to their own families and asked that the LORD deal kindly with them, as they had with their husbands.  Verse nine continues, The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.  Naomi then asked that God would give them rest with their husband's families, and they wept.  Verse nine concludes, And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.  The two women then asked  Naomi if they would not surely return with her to her people.  There was a lot of loyalty between the three women.

We will look at a few more lessons from the book of Judges.  We see that sometimes, that some one who should be one of God's people only wants power for themselves and is willing to sacrifice or even kill others to attain it.  If a person begins to see what should be a role of service to God as a means of self service instead, then that person is a child of God in name only, at least at that point in time.  We cannot follow God and glorify our self at the same time, and if we are only following God for self glory, then we will ultimately fail.  I believe that we also cannot take our relationship for granted, as we learned from Samson.  He was dedicated to God from birth, and as long as he remained faithful to that dedication, he was unbeatable.  Then, he began to play games with his relationship with God, and was completely defeated.  If we begin to treat our relationship to God as if it is not important, then we set ourselves up for failure.  We also learn from Samson that if we return to God, though we may be suffering physically from our departure from him, then we can be restored to a right relationship to Him.  In Samson's case, that restoration to power cost him his life, and in our case if we stray from Christ and return, it may cost us everything that we have gained while we are not in a right relationship with Him, but it is worth it.  It is better to die following God's guidance than to live under the bondage of sin.   Finally, I believe that we learned that just because people are called a part of the people of God does not make them so, as we saw with the tribe of Benjamin.  When a fellow man of Israel came to them for safety and security, they only wanted to abuse him.  We cannot be the same way today, but if anyone comes to us for help, we need to do our best to help them under the leadership and power of God.  We should never treat those in need with anything less than the love of God.  Of course, if someone who calls himself or herself a Christian or group of people who do commit a sin, no matter how great it may be, we should not want them to be annihilated, but should look to God for a way to restore them.  We will next look at the book of Ruth.      

We will review some of the things that we learned from the book of Judges.  First, it wasn't long after the death of Joshua before the people of Israel strayed away from God, as they had always tended to do.  This is a tendency that still exists today.  People follow God as long as they can see what He is doing in their lives, maybe connected to a particular church leader, but then when they no longer see a physical evidence of God's presence, they turn away from Him.  The people of Israel were God's people in name only when this happened, just as some people are God's people in name only in the world today.  Next, we see that when the people of Israel turned away from God, He no longer offered them His protection, and they were defeated by other nations.  As followers of Christ today, if we turn away from God, we should not be surprised if we lose His protection.  Of course, we will never cease to be one of God's children if we have put our faith in Him, but we may lose our victory over the power of the world.  If we are acting by our own understanding instead of by the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit, then we may question why God is allowing certain things to happen in our lives and may go hunting for answers somewhere other than from God.  Then, we learned that the people would call out to God again, and He would raise up a judge to deliver them from bondage.  Today, we have a Savior to deliver us from the bondage of sin if we will only call out to him in repentance and faith.  Once we have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord of our life, we no longer have to call out to Him for salvation, but if we stray away from doing His will, we may still find ourselves in need of deliverance from a situation that we have gotten ourselves in.  Our faith can waver between total trust in God and complete questioning of Him if we aren't careful.  Often, this occurs in times of prosperity more than in times of need.  In these cycles of faith on the part of the people of Israel, it was only when they were in great need that they called out to God again.        

Judges 21:12 says, And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.  There were four hundred young women from Jabeshgilead who were brought to th camp of the people of Israel at Shiloh.  Verse thirteen states,  And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.  The people of Israel then sent some representatives to speak to the remnants of the tribe of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon.  They went to them in peace.  After a battle with the people of this world, even if we are successful, we need to reach out to them with the love of God and offer them the peace that can only be found in Him.  Verse fourteen declares, And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.  The men of Benjamin returned with them and were given wives from the women of Jabashgilead who had been left alive for this purpose.  Verse fifteen adds, And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.  The people repented for what had had to happen to the people of Benjamin.  They took no joy in their defeat, but said that the LORD was behind it.  We should likewise be heartbroken when anyone dies who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Verse sixteen says, Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?  The question is now raised about how to provide wives for the remainder of the men of Benjamin since all the women of Benjamin were killed.  Verse seventeen adds, And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.  We are again told that the rest of the people of Israel were concerned with preserving the tribe of Benjamin.  This was a retelling of some of the things that had already been discussed.  We should also be concerned with preserving the everlasting salvation of those who may have been born into a Christian family and yet have not accepted the salvation of Christ.  Verse eighteen says, Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.  They had sworn not to give the men of Benjamin wives from any of the rest of the tribes of Israel, which had already been stated.  Verse nineteen adds, Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah. Then, they brought up the fact that there was a feast at Shiloh.  Verse twenty continues,Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;  The men of Benjamin were told to go and wait in the vineyards.  Verse twenty-one declares, And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.  Then the men of Benjamin were told if a woman of Shiloh came out to the vineyards that they were to each take one for a bride and return to the land of Benjamin.  This is not what we usually think of as the way courtship should work, but it was a way to remain true to the vow to not allow any of the women of Israel to marry a man from Benjamin and still preserve the tribe of Benjamin.  Of course, the men of Benjamin would be marrying outside the people who were called God's people, but we know that being a part of the family of God is not really determined by physical birth.  Verse twenty-two adds, And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.  The leaders of Israel said that if any of the fathers came complaining that they would handle the situation.  Of course, since all the men who could have been their fathers had been killed, this was not going to happen.  Verse twenty-three states, And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.  The men of Benjamin each claimed a wife and returned to their land and began to rebuild it.  If someone today has strayed away from their relationship with  God. all he or she can do is return to Him in repentance and begin to repair the relationship.  Verse twenty-four declares,  And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.  The rest of the people of Israel returned to their own land.  They had gathered to deal with the problem created by the men of Benjamin and had successfully done so, even coming up with a way to preserve what was left of the tribe of Benjamin.  Now it was time to return home.  We may gather today to resolve problems or to worship God, but eventually we must return home to our own lives.  Verse twenty-five concludes, In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  In those days, there was no king, or ruler over Israel, so everyone did what they thought was right for them.  If we are a follower of Christ, we have a King in God, and we must do what is right in His eyes.