A Fresh Start

A Fresh Start  

So Naomi goes to Moab with her family because of a famine in Israel.  While there, her husband dies, her sons die, and she returns to Bethlehem alone, a broken, bitter woman.  Only her daughter-in-law Ruth remains.  We saw that

a) suffering and loss are part of living in a fallen world, but

b) God stays faithful despite our circumstances. 

c) The question is not whether heartbreak will come, but when, and the real question is whether we will keep a soft heart toward God and allow Him to work grace in our life when it does?

Ruth, chapter two develops the characters.  The final outcome and the link to God's anointed king (David) are secondary to the development of the characters at this point, because they are such great people.  They’re good role models!  Ruth has class.  She’s got character.  Ruth proves nobility isn’t about bloodlines, money or credentials. 

What we need is a man good enough for her. Enter Boaz.  For one thing, the writer gives attention to developing their characters, especially through the use of dialogue.  Like any good story, their interaction reveals their character.  In addition, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are set in deliberate contrast to Orpah in chapter one and, as we'll see in chapter four, another forgettable So and So.  Orpah’s perfunctory appearance and quick exit challenge us by negative example to be men and women of hesed -- of loyal devotion and steadfast love, not acting out of self interest like most people would. All of this is done through great story telling, in the Word of God, for our personal transformation, the glory of God, and as we’ll see, participation in God’s ultimate redemptive and eternal purposes. 

Get this:  The Lord works intimately in all our affairs, even in dark times, through and on behalf of you and me – his own “noble people.”

First it was Ruth.  Now it will be Boaz who stands out as the class act, the role model, the noble one.   Boaz is a “man of great standing.”  A Big Man on Campus.  He’s from Elimelech’s family.  And Ruth the Moabite is not going to sit around waiting for someone to do something.  She takes initiative (and not just once).  "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after whoever favors me with permission,” she asks Naomi.    

Who does Ruth think she is, traipsing onto someone else’s property?  What is this practice of gleaning the leftover grain?  It’s a provision for the poor, and you can find it in Leviticus 19, 23, and in Deuteronomy 24.  God looks out for the poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit. 

In fact, there is explicit provision in the Law of Moses for the poor and disadvantaged, as there should be in all cultures, including our own.  But the underlying rationale is important, too. It’s not just good deeds for good deeds’ sake, or even for the poor’s sake.  When the Lord commands Israel to leave grain in their fields for the poor to follow and glean, he states the reason in this way:

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt.  That is why I command you to do this. 

On one of the first Outward Bound courses I instructed, we were in downtown Philadelphia with a group of Philly high school students.  I was struck by the great diversity, and I commented on it to the lead instructor, himself a big black dude with dreadlocks.  He commented on how much they were all the same.  I loved it. 

It is Israel's own identity that is invoked, as a people who have been there -- who themselves have been slaves in Egypt, knowing from where the Lord has brought them.  So whether we’re thinking about the poor or people of a different faith or ethnicity, we have a whole lot more in common with folks than we are different.   The image of God levels the playing field.  Each one is sacred.  There’s no one better than anybody else. Charity isn't patronizing and it isn't driven by a tax deduction.  Our point of contact is the image of God: Imago Dei.  Let a sense of one-ness and humility drive our compassion, as we listen to that which is noble within us.    

And Naomi says to Ruth, "Go, my daughter." 

So off she goes, to gather leftover grain in the fields after the harvesters. 

And she just so happens to come to the field of Boaz, the relative of Elimelech.