The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Twenty-One

"The Blessing of Acceptance"



Boaz had done what he had said he would do. He obtained the right to be Ruth's kinsman-redeemer. He did it right in the eyes of God and mankind. Ruth patiently waited for Boaz' return and what a return it was! 


Listen to what the ten elders who were witnesses to this transaction said:
Ruth 4:11-12 (NCV)  So all the people and elders who were at the city gate said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman, who is coming into your home, like Rachel and Leah, who had many children and built up the people of Israel. May you become powerful in the district of Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. As Tamar gave birth to Judah's son Perez, may the Lord give you many children through Ruth. May your family be great like his."


First, they blessed Ruth. She was a Moabitess and they were welcoming her into the family of Israelites. She gained acceptance and received an awesome blessing from them. They equated her with Rachel and Leah who were married to Jacob and helped establish, through their children, the nation of Israel.


Second, they blessed Boaz. The blessing of Ruth was indeed his blessing as well. They prayed a blessing over him that he would be powerful and famous. Little did they know that little Bethlehem would have the greatest blessing born there. (More on that later!)


Today I want to focus on the acceptance that Ruth was granted when she became part of the Chosen Ones ~ Israel. I'm sure she longed to be accepted somewhere. She had given up everything to follow Naomi. More than likely she never saw her family in Moab again. And now here the elders of Bethlehem were accepting her.


We all long for acceptance. The world is a lonely place and its important that we all feel wanted and needed. Do you have a place that you feel at home and loved? Are you feeling lonely even in the midst of many people? How do you fit into your world? God wants you to know that He wants you and loves you!


Ecclesiastes 4:11-12 (MSG) Two in a bed warm each other. Alone, you shiver all night. 
By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.


When we are included into the relationship of believers we are not alone. What makes us strong is that Jesus is the cord that holds us all together and gives us strength. Without acceptance we cannot be included into this strand of three. Without our desire to be included we continue to stand alone.


Do you tend to exclude yourself from the companionship of believers? Do you think that avoiding church or close friendships will keep your from hurting? I know that I tend to do this. I've been hurt by church and I've hurt others in the church. I'm learning that I will be hurt but I cannot stand behind the walls of my house and function as a true believer. I've also learned that I must not intentionally hurt others for my benefit.


1 John 1:6-7 (NIV) If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.


The Greek word for "fellowship" is "koinonia" which means "fellowship, participation." Are you participating in your faith? Do you have time for other Christians? Are you scared that you will be hurt? This is when the third cord comes into play. This cord is Jesus. He unifies believers. He sets records straight. Even though we may hurt one another, He knows the truth and rewards it. He gives us loyal and trustworthy friendships within the body of believers.


Philippians 2:1-4 (NIVRV) Are you cheerful because you belong to Christ? Does his love comfort you? Is the Holy Spirit your companion? Has Christ been gentle and loving toward you? Then make my joy complete by agreeing with each other. Have the same love. Be one in spirit and purpose.
     Don't do anything only to get ahead. Don't do it because you are proud. Instead, be free of pride. Think of others as better than yourselves.
     None of you should look out just for your own good. You should also look out for the good of others.


How do you respond to others? Are you kind and forgiving? Are you accepting? We are called to be unified as believers. We must forgive and move on. This is so important to our faith in Christ.


Look at how faithful Ruth was. She accepted the customs of the Israelites. But most importantly she accepted the God of the Israelites ~ the One True God. She was willing to lay her old life down and take up this new life as a Hebrew. Through her acceptance of and into the Chosen Ones, she was blessed and blessed beyond her wildest imagination.


Ephesians 4:32 (MSG) Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.


There is blessing in acceptance. We are accepted by our Savior. We are accepted into the body of believers. We must be accepting of others in Christ Jesus. I'll leave you with these words from the Apostle Paul: 


Ephesians 4:1-3 (MSG) In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

"Run!—on the road God called you to travel."

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Twenty

"Legally Speaking"


There is a right way and a wrong way of going about things. As a believer in "Jeshua" our Jesus, it means that the right way is God's perfect way. Just as Ruth waited to hear the outcome of Boaz speaking with the first in line to be her kinsman-redeemer, we too must wait for God's will. We cannot force or manipulate the situation we are in because God cannot be forced. When we interrupt the process of God we prolong the time it takes for the outcome.


The legal process that Boaz took in order to marry Ruth took its course and ended well. The first in line to be her kinsman-redeemer gave over his right to Boaz. Let's see what happened next.


Ruth 4:9-10 (NLT) Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”


Boaz made sure that he had witnesses to this legal transaction. Again we see the foreshadowing of Christ. I've really never thought that the arrest, crucifixion and resurrection was a "legal" transaction. It is a supernatural transaction that pays the way for humans to have a way to approach God.


Romans 3:22 (MSG) Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.


Jesus paid the price to become our kinsman-redeemer. God made sure there were witnesses to this transaction. "Transaction" sounds so clinical, but that is exactly what it is. In exchange for our hearts He gave His life. We who know and love Him are witnesses to this heavenly interchange.


Acts 2:32-33 (NLT) “God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.


Many saw and experienced the physical resurrection of Jesus 2000 years ago. Their testimony has continued on in believers throughout these many years. We are now witnesses to the heavenly transaction Christ Jesus made for us. 


Christ Jesus Himself spoke of you and I as He prayed the most beautiful prayer in the Bible. This prayer is found in John 17:1-26. Let's focus on the part of the prayer where He prays for all believers.


John 17:20-23 (NLT) I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
     “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.


I love the fact that Jesus thought of me so long ago and His prayer for me and other believers is recorded in the Bible. His heart wanted me to be with Him and He wanted the world to know about Him. He still wants the world to know about Him and His love.


John 17:25-25 (NLT) “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”


Jesus was and is the first witness of God. You see He is the Only One able to approach the Throne of the Eternal One. God in Christ came to earth to walk among His beloved creation to be a witness to the wonderful and amazing love God has for us.


Being a witness of this holy legal transaction between God and mankind is an awesome responsibility. It is one that we should not take lightly. In fact, it is a matter of life and death. Are we willing? Are we willing to go to our death to attest to the fact that Jesus is who He says He is? It's a big responsibility but one with great benefits.


Romans 1:16-17 (MSG) It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God's way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: "The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives."


When we love, trust and tell others about His extraordinary love, we really live. It's a dangerous life but one worth living. Are you willing to live it? 

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Nineteen

"Right Way ~ Wrong Way"


Now that Ruth had let Boaz know that she wanted him to marry her and be her kinsman-redeemer things were beginning to happen. Ruth trusted Boaz to take care of the legal process of becoming her kinsman-redeemer. She had gone home with the gift of grain and told Naomi what had happened. All she could do now was wait to hear from Boaz again.


Waiting is a hard thing to do. Some are better at it than others. Trusting is even harder. What is the hardest thing you've ever waited for? How did you trust that what you would hear would be good? Sometimes the result of our waiting is good and exciting. Sometimes waiting's result is hard and unwanted. How do we deal with the anxiety that results in our waiting time?


Lamentations 3:21-26 (NLT) Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.


The Bible says it is good to wait quietly. This means that we don't try to manipulate the outcome of our waiting. We can't speed up God's time table but we can prolong it. It is fully trusting that God will handle the situation His way. No amount of hand-wringing and fuss will change the waiting period to be shorter. God will do what He has to do and in the time He has chosen to do it.


Ruth and Naomi waited and trusted. Boaz went to work on the problem. Let's read what happened next. Put on your Old Testament glasses and read from the perspective of the ancient customs of the time.


Ruth 4:1-8 (NLT) Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
     The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
     Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
     “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
     Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”


Boaz knew the ancient process of the kinsman-redeemer. He knew there was a right way and a wrong way to go about becoming Ruth's kinsman-redeemer and he followed that process correctly.


First he went to the first person in line to redeem Ruth and the property her late husband had left her. He made sure that there were reliable people as witnesses to the discussion. Next he told the truth about the property and then he told them about Ruth and his obligation to her. When the man gave up his right to be the kinsman-redeemer the men sealed the deal with a sandal exchange. (Strange but short. Can you imagine the paperwork and court dates today?)


The point of the whole story is this. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle things. When we try to finagle the process that God has set and we go against Him, the time is extended until we get in line with His will.


Think about a time when you've had to wait for the Lord. What did you struggle with the most? Did you try to "fix" things so it would go your way? I know "manipulation" could be my middle name. However, God wants us to let go of the steering wheel and allow Him to have complete control.



Romans 11:32-34 (NLT) Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?

We can never know better than God's design for our lives. His process of doing things is always correct. It's hard to wait but with waiting comes resolution the way God meant it to be.

1 Peter 1:13-15 (NLT) So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.

The old way we would handle things before we became under submission to Jesus was to try to fix what was happening to us. Now we are to lay the control to our lives in His very capable hands. There is a right was and a wrong way to wait. We must allow His ways to trump our old ways.

Isaiah 40:31 (NLT) But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Eighteen

"Gifts On Your Back"


Ruth 3:14-18 (NLT) So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.”  Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he returned to the town.
     When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
     Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
     Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”


Ruth risked everything to give her life over to Boaz. She wasn't sure what would happen.
When she lay down she gave up her old life in hope of getting up with a new life. 


When we lay down at the feet of our Master, there comes a time when He requires us to get up and live. Our hearts and minds remain at His feet but He wants us to get up and live our lives as He expects of us. 


Galatians 2:20-21 (NLT) My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.


What is required of us when we give up our old lives for our new life in Christ? How do we live? How do we trust? What are our new lives supposed to look like?


If you look closely in today's verses you will see that Boaz gave Ruth instructions as to what she was supposed to do next. Not only that, he provided her with grain. This grain was a gift and was meant to show His good faith towards her. The Lord Himself does the same for us. He gives us gifts that help us survive this earthly life and to bless others we encounter. 


Look at what Ruth did. She went home with her back happily laden with the gift of grain. When she got home she shared her gift with Naomi. It provided both of them with sustenance. Our lives and the requirement of godly living is much like what Ruth did for Naomi in response to Boaz' gift.


Romans 12:6-8 (NLT) In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.


We, who love God, are all given gifts. Each gift is different and is meant to be used. What does your gift look like? Do you even know what it is? Are you willing to use it to your benefit and to the benefit of others? Do you think that you don't have a gift or maybe just an insignificant one? God's gift to us are never anything less that what is perfect for our lives. And God requires that we use them. Jesus said so in His words to His disciples.


Matthew 25:14-30 (MSG) "It's also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.
     "After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
     "The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment. His master commended him: 'Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.'
     "The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'
     "The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.
     "'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.'


When we are given gifts and entrusted with them, Jesus expects that we will invest them wisely. It angers Him when we don't use them. We don't ever like to think that Jesus gets angry but He does. This doesn't stop His love for us. We should be motivated to use our gifts from Him wisely. I don't want to disappoint Him.


'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? Jesus requires our best and sometimes we give the least of what we can do. It's a shame to think that we don't even use the gifts He has given us. 


"'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.' What we have been given will be given away if we refuse to use it. The darkness we are thrown into is the depression we feel when we give up our gifts. Our salvation isn't gone but life with meaning and excitement is. We'll get bored. We won't want to get up and move. Life will lose its color. 


What life are you leading now? Is it a life lived safe or extravagantly? Jesus, our Master, has placed gifts on our backs like Boaz did for Ruth. Are we even going to acknowledge that the gifts are there? Don't throw His investment in your life away. Live your life as He always meant for you to live it. His gifts to you are not insignificant. They are amazing. Get up and live your life as He designed it to be ~ exciting, full and giving.

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Seventeen

"Greatest Love"


The situation between Ruth and Boaz is strange to the eyes of the 21st century population, but for the time and traditions of the ancient Hebrews it wasn't. When Ruth lay down at the feet of Boaz and asked him to spread his cloak over her, he knew what she had meant. It wasn't sexual by any means. Rather, she was asking him to take her as his wife and protect her as her "Kinsman-Redeemer." (Leviticus 25:25)


What a different kind of love story we read about between Ruth and Boaz. What kind of love story have you experienced or wish that you've experienced? 


Well, when we come to Jesus and lay down at His feet, we enter into the greatest love story ever told. No, it isn't romantic by nature rather, it is a redeeming love. It is a real forever-love.


Today we read more about the first steps this relationship took. 


Ruth 3:10-13 (NLT) “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”


Boaz accepted Ruth's offer and set out to marry her. He was a proper gentleman and he knew someone else had a right to marry her before he did. There was someone else who was her closest kinsman-redeemer. Boaz wanted to protect Ruth's virtue and he did just that.


Our "Kinsman-Redeemer" is the closest one for you and me. In fact, there is no other Redeemer available. In fact, our Redeemer lay His life down for us.


John 15:12-14 (NLT) This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.


There is no greater love than laying one's life down for a friend. This is what Jesus did and he calls us to do the same thing. How is this even possible? We are commanded by Jesus Himself to love as He loves and that means to lay our lives down for them. What does this mean?


Laying your life down means to let go off selfishness. We must let go of wanting things for our benefit and not the benefit of those we encounter. This kind of love doesn't care what other's opinion is of us. It loves as Jesus loves. It loves for the best of others. It doesn't, however, love for the selfishness of others. By this I mean, we aren't supposed to love someone a certain way to gain their approval. We love them according to God's best for them.


For example, if we are being abused and we are made to perform a certain way in order for that person to accept us, then we are not loving as Jesus loves. Jesus kept His dignity and willingly lay down His life in spite of those who murdered Him. They had no idea that He would use the death they sentenced Him to for their own good and those to come afterwards.


Can you think of someone that you desperately want to love you? Are you loving them with the kind of love that Jesus loves them with? Do you stand for their violence, pettiness or control? 


The kind of love Jesus gives is only dependent on the response of the other person. (Though, His love remains constant in spite of our response.) We can reject His love. And when we reject His love, we don't receive the benefits of it. He doesn't stop His love. Our rejection stops His love from enveloping us. We refuse His blessings. We rebuff His attention and therefore we turn-down the greatest love ever known.


God's love through Christ involves having our hearts changed. He molds and shapes our minds and thus the way we should behave as we submit to Him. He doesn't hold back. He loves as He must love and this may entail discipline. We must trust that His love knows what is best for us.


Proverbs 3:11-13 (MSG) Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best.Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over. But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction. It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this.


Just like Boaz' and Ruth's love story is unusual and perhaps strange to us, so is the love God has shown through His Son. Who would have thought that such a perfect love would require death, the death of the One who loves us most. It also requires our death ~ death to ourselves so that we can live. This make no sense in this world. But, our lives, when we lay our old lives down, is not set in this world, it is set in the eternal.


Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Live and love in the eternal goodness, 
grace and promise

 of the One who knows you best 
and loves you most.

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Sixteen

"Covering of Acceptance"

Ruth 3:7-9 (NLT) After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! “Who are you?” he asked.

     “I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.”

Ruth had done what her mother-in-law had told her to do. She laid down at the feet of Boaz. By doing this she was asking to come under his authority and protection. It was a risky move because she could have been rejected or have even lost her life. In essence, Ruth laid her life down at the feet of Boaz.

We too lay our lives down at the feet of Jesus. This is a risky move as well. When we come to Him, do we really know how He will respond? He is holy and has every right to refuse us. He has the power of life and death and yet all He gives is new life. Complete restoration is ours as we lay our lives down before Him. 

Matthew 10:28-32 (NLT) “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

      “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

Our "Kinsman-Redeemer/Family-Redeemer" is powerful. He isn't just a guy who rose from death to life. He's God who conquered death and gives eternal life. That is the One who I lay down before.

"Kinsman-Redeemer" is "goel" in Hebrew as we learned earlier. It refers to the person who has the "right to redeem." (NIV Compact Bible Dictionary) Boaz was one of these people who had this right. He was a relative of Ruth's late husband. Let's look at Leviticus 25 to understand the Hebrew perspective of "Kinsman-Redeemer."

Leviticus 25:25 (NLT) If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him.

Boaz was a Kinsman-Redeemer. He could help restore Ruth. Ruth, by laying her life down at his feet, wanted to be restored. She asked Boaz to cover her and take her on as his responsibility. She was asking for his help.

Covering someone was a sign off acceptance and protection. Jesus covers us with His cloak when we come to Him. He accepts us as we lay our lives down. We are accepted into His arms and He loves us like none other.

Boaz was startled by Ruth in the middle of the night. He probably thought that someone was trying to steal his grain from the threshing floor. But when he turned, he discovered a woman at his feet. (Now that would be a shocker!) Little did Boaz know that Ruth was coming to him for his protection and was willing to give her life over to him. 

Jesus isn't startled by our presence. In fact, He wants us to come to Him. There is nothing that you or I have done that would surprise Him in the least. He wants to restore us. He will restore us when we ask Him to throw His cloak over us.

2 Corinthians 4:15-16 (NLT) All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

     That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.

So don't give up. Lay down. Allow Him to restore you for only He is willing and most importantly able.

The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Fifteen

"Laying It All Down"


We have learned from our study so far that God has provided for Naomi and Ruth. These two women had nothing left for them. They were at starvation's door and needed help. Naomi thought that God had given up on her and her joy had turned to bitterness. If it weren't for Ruth, I think Naomi would have already laid down and died.


When have you ever felt like giving up? What were the reasons? What do you believe is God role in your circumstances? Was there someone in your life that encouraged you to go on?


In Naomi's case, it was Ruth that was her encourager. Ruth loved Naomi so much that she went to a stranger's field and harvested grain. Now as we begin the third chapter of Ruth we see how far Ruth is willing to believe Naomi.


Ruth 3:1-6 (NLT) One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.”
     “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law.


When I read this portion of Ruth I do get a little uncomfortable because it sounds pretty intimate. The reason I do, is because I don't understand the customs and history of the Hebrews of this time. I'm looking at it through 21st century glasses. So to understand this chapter of Ruth we need to learn about Hebrew law and the customs of that time. (We'll learn more about this in the next devotional.) And, we must by faith, ask God to show us what it is He wants us to learn.


There are times in my life when I interpret what is going on around me from the wrong perspective. My limited vision cannot see what God sees. I base what I see on what I know. To learn and grow spiritually I must use my spiritual sight. I must depend on the all-seeing eyes of God. He not only sees what we see, He sees the very atoms that make up the situation. 


2 Corinthians 5:7 (MSG)  It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. 


Even when we don't see what God sees we must trust Him to see for us. And in Ruth's case she was trusting Naomi whom she loved and admired. Naomi wanted Ruth to be happy and she saw a way to find a home for Ruth. Naomi had a plan and little did she know that God had a plan too.


The actions that Ruth took was  enormous. In fact, it was dangerous. Boaz could have taken her life or had her thrown out in the streets. Even with all the risk, she was willing to lay her life down for the life she could have with Boaz. By laying down at his feet she was asking him to take her as his wife and to care for her. She was willing to give up singleness to come under his authority and protection. 


When Ruth laid down at Boaz's feet she was in a sense laying down her old life and hoping for a new one. This is so much like us when we decide to take the humble position of laying our lives down at the feet of our Master ~ Jesus.


2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NLT) So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!


How do you evaluate life? Is it through what has happened to you in the past? Or is it what you fear will happen in the future? The Bible tells us that we must lay down our fears and by faith trust in God's vision.


Taking the step of laying down our wills for His perfect will is scary. We don't know what the future holds. Laying down at the feet of our Master Jesus is a huge act of faith. When we do, we are saying, "I trust you Lord and I want Your plan and not mine." Some call this "blind faith." I call it "taking on the perfect vision of God."


It's ok it we don't know how our story ends. All that matters is that Jesus is in control and there is no one with a better plan or larger love for us. So by faith let's lay our fears aside and put ourselves in His wonderful nail-scarred hands.