Good morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
In many parts of the world today is a very special day. This day has one purpose for hundreds of millions of people… BE THANKFUL! Gratitude will be expressed today in cards, songs, wonderful meals, smiles, hugs, and so much more. But let’s also be honest… underneath all the wonderful thanksgiving is a profound pile of pain in our world, a great sense of loss, despair and near hopelessness. How is that seen in your life, your family, your city this Thanksgiving Day 2023?
Come with me back again to a harvest field near Bethlehem, Israel in about 1100bc. It’s a hot day and the harvesters have been busy gathering in the grain since early today. Behind them are some women picking up what the harvesters have dropped. Among them is one particular widow named Ruth. She’s not Jewish.
In fact, this is one of her first days in Bethlehem. She came here with mother-in-law Naomi who is also a widow and who many years ago left this town with her husband and sons, as famine had wreaked havoc with their food sources. For more than 10 years Naomi had lived with her husband and sons in unfriendly Moab where at least there was food. Sadly, Naomi’s husband and both sons had died during those years, leaving three widows. One chose to stay with her extended Moabite family when Naomi finally reached a point of desperation and began the long trek back home to Bethlehem.
Ruth had come with her and on this day, Ruth had been picking up loose grain in the field of Boaz after the harvesters had done their work. Yesterday we looked at Boaz’ first words to Ruth, urging her to remain in his fields and assuring her that she’d be safe working with his harvesters. It was a kindness almost overwhelming to Ruth. She expected nothing but humiliation and harshness from Israelites for she was a Moabite and the animosity between their peoples stretched back more than 800 years!
In her amazement, Ruth bowed low to Mr. Boaz and asked: “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?’ Boaz replied, ‘I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband – how you left your father and mother and your homeland and have come to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:10-12)
Once again businessman Boaz is using vocabulary so unlike most businessmen in any culture anywhere in the world. Clearly this man has very deep spiritual roots and he’s proud to be among God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We know nothing more about him, but already he has earned our respect, our admiration for how he is treating Ruth and helping her experience the difference God makes in a man who seeks to honor God with his life.
I’ve always wondered how the behavior of Boaz compared to Ruth’s husband, son of Naomi, who had died back in Moab? It causes me to ask myself and I urge to you ask yourself… what reputation do our lives build for God in our community through how we speak with people, how we do business, how we react to strangers whom we’ve never met?
It’s obvious to me that Ruth had already earned a reputation in Bethlehem even though we can presume she and Naomi had only been back from Moab for a few days. It’s a good reputation too, in fact it reminds me of what the apostle Peter wrote to women about 1200 years later after Jesus had transformed Peter from a harsh, self-confident, brash fisherman to a tender man of God.
In his first letter Peter wrote: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:3,4) That sounds to me like Ruth. Yet Ruth would have known nothing of the God of the Israelites except that which Naomi’s family had told her, and we’ve seen that Naomi’s heart turned very hard, even bitter after the death of her husband and both sons.
Have you ever had the experience of watching a person totally changed by a tragedy? Turned from a kind, gentle person into an angry, bitter, resentful person? How did it happen? The pain of their loss overwhelmed them and attacked their heart and turned it into a pit of despair and anger and bitterness. You can see it in their eyes, the look on their face, even before they spew out their anger in words.
But that’s not Ruth, and on this day as Boaz first meets her, Ruth is probably sweating profusely in the hot sun, her hair is sweat soaked and matted, her face worn by the heat of the day… and yet it’s clear Mr. Boaz treats her kindly because her reputation of gentleness and kindness and love toward hard hearted Naomi has impressed businessman Boaz! Pause a moment and ponder that.
The record next says that Ruth said to Mr. Boaz: “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my Lord, you have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.”
It appears Mr. Boaz went on to meet with his harvester crew and discuss the quality of the harvest, probably in the shade of a tree, protecting them from the harsh sun. Evidently it was lunch time, and Boaz glanced over again at Ruth to see what she was doing while others paused to eat. It appears she had nothing, and Boaz kindly said “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’ When she sat down with the harvesters Boaz offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to continue gleaning in the field, Boaz gave this order to his men: ‘Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don’t embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.’ So, Ruth gleaned in the field until evening.” (Ruth 2:13-17)
What do you see happening here my friends? I see kindness, compassion, generosity… the stuff of Thanksgiving Day! I see a successful businessman coaching his workers as to how to treat a widow, a foreign widow at that! I see a God honoring man protecting a foreign widow woman whom he has heard is showing kindness in serving an older widow.
I see God at work here. God is working in Boaz. God is working in Ruth. We can safely assume Boaz’ workers are thanking God for their boss and that they have the privilege of working for this man who obviously wants his life to honor God.
Let’s pause here this Thanksgiving Day and it shouldn’t be difficult for us to look closely at our own hearts, inviting God to show us what HE sees in our hearts on this day when we should be overflowing with gratitude to God.
Let’s pause here this Thanksgiving Day and it shouldn’t be difficult for us to look closely at our own hearts, inviting God to show us what HE sees in our hearts on this day when we should be overflowing with gratitude to God.
Here’s a special song for this day which I hope will become a special day for you, wherever you are around the world.
Today’s Scripture is Ruth 2:10-17.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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