The Book of Ruth ~ Devotion Fourteen

"Someone Else's Field"


We learned that Boaz is a foreshadowing of the Savior of the world who would appear many, many years later. Jesus is our Protector, Defender and Friend. He deliberately places blessings on our path just as Boaz had his servants place blessings on ground for Ruth. Boaz provided a meal for Ruth and asked her to eat with him. Jesus invites us to dine with Him daily and enjoys our company. Jesus is our Kinsman-Redeemer. (There's more coming on that subject later.)


Revelation 3:20-21 (NLT) “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.


Do you spend time just enjoying the company of King Jesus? Do you realize Who you are sitting with? I know that sometimes I allow my time with Him to become something I just check off my list of "to-do's". If I stop and think about it, I see and understand that I am dining with the King and Creator of the Universe who conquered sin and death. The shear magnitude of this invitation should take our breath away.


Today portion of Ruth focuses on staying within the protection of the Master's field. Look at Ruth 2 with me now:


Ruth 2:21-23 (NLT) Then Ruth said, “What’s more, Boaz even told me to come back and stay with his harvesters until the entire harvest is completed.”
     “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
     So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.


Naomi was excited at the results of Ruth's day in the fields. Not only did Ruth bring home a full basket of grain, she was invited in to dine with the master of the field. She discovered that the field belonged to her close relative Boaz and knew the Hebrew law concerning the role of the Kinsman - Redeemer. (Leviticus 25:25) (Yes, more about this later.) 


Naomi gave Ruth the instruction to stay with the workers and specifically the girls. She knew that in Boaz's field Ruth would be safe. She also knew that she should remain with the females to keep her even safer. Working with the men would be a disgrace to her and Naomi. It would be asking for trouble.


When have you gone somewhere and hung out with people you knew were "not safe?" By this, I am saying places and people who cause you to look in the opposite direction of Jesus and the safety of his will. It could be a person who draws you into behavior that isn't good. It could be a place that lures you into old bad behavior.


Isaiah 53:6a (NLT)  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.


Why do we wander away from what we know to be true about our lives we have given over to Christ? What is so attractive somewhere else that we stray away? How can we forget what Jesus has done and what He provides? If we are Believers in Jesus, then why do give up on the best? What's so attractive in another's field?


Ephesians 4:21-24 (NLT)  But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.  Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.


When we came to know God the Son, in the person of Jesus the Messiah, we were totally accepted into His Kingdom. His fields flourish with goodness and mercy. He protects and shields us from our enemy ~ Satan (who wants nothing less than our death).  Why, then, would we want to leave His side and wander off into another field?


The Master, the Good Shepherd, bids us to stay within the goodness of His grace-filled love and protection. Let's make the decision to stay within the safety of His kindness. Why would we want to go anywhere else?


Ezekiel 34:11-12 (NLT) “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep. I will be like a shepherd looking for his scattered flock. I will find my sheep and rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.
   
John 10:11 (NLT) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.


Jesus is our Good Shepherd and He alone can provide and protect those He loves and loves Him back. His provision is more than enough. His fields are green and good. Seek and stay within His grace. Don't wander to another's field. He's the Only One who would lay down His life for us. We are safe with Him.