Ruth – the Next Chapter (part 2)

Sorry to leave everyone hanging there for a few days. Great comments so far on chapter 2. I’d just like to add one or two things today to some of those comments that have already been made. So in case you haven’t popped in here in a while, go back and read the last post (which was just the second chapter of Ruth) and the comments others posted to it.

The comments gave great reminders of how the Lord is compassionate and provides for Ruth as she is faithful and stays alongside her mother in law. Its such an important remind about who God is that needs to be kept in minds all the time. Being faithful is often scary business in the sense it could mean real sacrifice, it could mean hardship or ridicule. We fear the other side of faithfulness – what will happen to me if I am faithful to God here? This is why we have to remember what God has shown us about Himself time and time again, all throughout the story of the Bible – that He is all the more faithful and committed to us as we give ourselves in faith to Him.

But let me add one thing to the discussion here: Notice that God’s provision for Ruth comes through the faithfulness of Boaz. What do I mean by that? Well, to be a child of God in the Old Testament meant a lot of things. You were part of a chosen people. You enjoyed intimate fellowship with God. You received blessing and promises from God. But it also meant you were to be someone who looked after the cause of the oppressed and afflicted. The basic identity of an Israelite was an oppressed and insignificant slave of Egypt turned beloved child of God’s mercy and blessing. And as someone who’d experienced that deep mercy of God in their own time of suffering, they were called to show that same mercy and compassion to others who were struggling, who were poor and weak or without much hope. Do a search sometime of how many verses in the Old Testament contain the words fatherless and widow.

Here’s just one example from Deuteronomy: (Deuteronomy 24:19-22) When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.

All that to say, we see in Boaz the example of a model Israelite. Ruth is a both a widow and an orphan in that her husband has died and she has no father in the land to look after her. She is exactly the type of person the Israelites were to be concerned to look after. Boaz acts as a faithful child of God in providing for Ruth, guaranteeing her protection, and even welcoming her into the family and community.

And…the thing is that this responsibility to search out the poor and needy and show compassion and mercy was not just something for the Israelites in the Old Testament. It was part of Jesus’ ministry. Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, . It was an important responsibility of the early church (read Acts 6). And James tells us, looking after the widows and orphans is really the essence of true religion (James 1:27).

To be a child of God is (1) to be someone who has received immeasurable mercy from a loving Father. And (2) it is a call to be like that Father in searching out those in need of compassion and love and being faithful to step in and be that vessel of God’s blessing in their lives.