The past nine weeks, I’ve had the chance to preach through Ruth. Just a short four chapters, it would be easy to overlook this book in view of Isaiah or Daniel. What could Ruth teach me about the Lord that couldn’t easily be picked up in other places across the Word? What I didn’t know at the start was the joy I would find in seeing the Lord in everyday life. Therefore, I wanted to share my top seven reflections from Ruth. More could be given toward the cause, but it would be best for you to run to the pages of Ruth.
God often uses the person offering the prayer to answer said prayer.
It struck me when Boaz offered a prayer over Ruth that the Lord would repay her kindness shown toward Naomi. Little did I know that Boaz would be the instrument to answer that prayer request in redeeming her and caring for Naomi. It is easy to say a prayer for someone and then walk away thinking, “I’ve done my part.” I’m asking more in more in my prayers, “Can I (with the Lord’s help) answer this prayer?”
God cares about and uses ordinary acts of faith.
When I read through Ruth, I was surprised about the ordinary nature of the book. I’ve read it prior, but on deeper study, I thought I would certainly stumble upon radical faith acts. What I found instead is a Moabite that loves her mother-in-law with sacrificial love. I also saw a land-owning man that used his wealth to bless others and care for their needs. These were such ordinary actions that were focused on God. Don’t hear me wrong. We should take steps that cause us to completely rely on God; faith filled steps that cause us to pause and pray. We, too, should faithfully obey in the everyday actions of life.
No spiritual gifts were pointed out in the entire book.
In our time, there is much discussion about “working in your spiritual gifts.” We are often fascinated about learning and exploring our spiritual gifts, almost to a fault when asked about serving in an area that we aren’t great at. What is Ruth’s spiritual gift? What is Naomi’s spiritual gift? What are the spiritual gifts of the group of women that speak throughout the book? Maybe we should just serve, allow God to uncover gifts, and use them to bring him glory. Maybe we should serve in areas that don’t flow through our gifts and learn to trust God.
The hesed (kindness) of people in Ruth is palatable.
The Lord shows hesed, and Ruth is acknowledged as having shown hesed to Naomi. We see Boaz express hesed to Ruth and Naomi. Kindness painted color into the fabric of this book. But the kindness was not holding a door or picking up a dropped dollar for a stranger. This kindness was costly and repeated. I found hesed to be more than a one-time gesture, but rather a lifestyle of caring for those around each person in Ruth. Love must drive kindness to those that are around us each and every day.
Boaz’s imaging of Christ is so strong. I should do a good job of it as well.
Theologian call Boaz a typology of Christ, but we just say he is an image of Christ. Boaz does a great job of helping us see Christ before we get to the New Testament portion of our Bibles. He is generous to the foreigner. Boaz redeems Ruth/Naomi through his work. Boaz secures the future of the family by producing a son to bring about the Messiah. We could go on and on. We, too, are called to image Christ to the world…a pleasing aroma of Christ. I found myself reflecting at the end of the fifty-six days spent in Ruth thinking about how “I imaged Christ today.”
People are watching for consistent actions of faithful living.
Boaz mentioned the faithfulness of Ruth toward Naomi. He spoke of how the entire town of Bethlehem knew that she was a woman of worth. Later, the women at the conclusion of chapter 4 exclaimed that Ruth is better than seven sons. People are really watching the faithfulness of believers each day. If an entire town is watching the faithfulness of a foreign Moabite woman, surely people are looking for faith filled living today.
Don’t trust someone walking around with only one shoe on.
Well, this is kind of serious. When the unnamed man relinquished the chance to redeem Ruth to protect his inheritance, he gave up a shoe. Then Boaz was left with a shoe, and the man surely walked back home to change into a new pair of Nike sandals. People looked on as he plodded down the road with only one shoe on, wondering what happened or knowing that he passed on this right of redemption. My prayer in reflection, “Lord, don’t let me miss the opportunity to be faithful for fear of what I might lose.”
I could go on and on, but I think these things will press into my soul for a long time. What are ways that Ruth spoke into your heart over the last fifty to sixty days?
-Pastor John Richardson
I hope 1 day i too can take scripture and dissect the way you do, thank you for that. Funny how when someone brings it to the table the way you did i see it. But to read it (btw the 1st time ever) i didn't see, hear, or feel that but once you broke it down this way I can see in the scripture so many different angles.