GOD’S WORK COUPLED WITH OUR WORK (RUTH PART TWO)

God is more than willing to do His part and looks to us to do what He calls us do in His field.



God's Work

GOD’S WORK COUPLED WITH OUR WORK (RUTH PART TWO)

“God sets the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:6a). “Thou, O God, has prepared of Thy goodness for the poor” (Psalm 68:10b).

Last week, We left Naomi and Ruth walking back to Israel from Moab. Ruth was glad to leave Moab behind and embrace Naomi’s God as her own. Naomi was rejoicing because Ruth had chosen to come with her.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the people recognized Naomi and welcomed her home. They were surprised and saddened to learn the rest of her family had all died in Moab.

New People, New Fields of Opportunity

Ruth quickly gained the respect of the townspeople. She had left her family and homeland behind. She wanted to help her mother-in-law. Most of all, Ruth wanted Naomi’s God to be hers also.

These ladies came into town destitute but with great potential. They needed food first, and learned the barley harvest had just begun. That there was a harvest to pick was proof the rains had resumed and the famine had ended. The Lord had blessed His people.

New Job

Ruth went out to the field to pick barley. She asked permission to gather what the hired reapers missed or dropped accidentally. By the end of the day she brought home to Naomi about two-thirds of a bushel of barley for the two of them to eat. Not bad for one day’s work!

New LIfe

The success Ruth had that first day had much to do with the owner of the field, Boaz. He came out to his field to see how his harvest was progressing.

Noticing Ruth he inquired about her. Upon learning she had come with Naomi from Moab, he sized up the situation and decided to help. Boaz blessed Ruth by doing things that day to increase her harvest. Most importantly, he gave her permission to pick from his field as an indigent worker until the harvest was complete, about seven weeks.

Hearing Boaz was helping them get much needed food gave Naomi great encouragement. He might be able to help them in another way also.

Old Ways

Back then a woman came under the protection of her husband. With all three men in her family now deceased, Naomi sought to sell their property to the man most closely related to her. Naomi and Ruth would then come under this man’s protection. Naomi was rejoicing because Boaz was closely related to her.

Kinsmen Redeemer

When approached about serving in the capacity of kinsman redeemer, Boaz acknowledged he was a close relative. Before taking on this role he first had to check with another man who was an even closer relative.

The complicating factor was Ruth. Any kinsman redeemer would be marrying Ruth, the wife of Naomi’s deceased son.. If they had a son, the property would revert to the son, negating the kinsman redeemer’s purchase.

When Boaz asked this other man about buying Elimelech’s property from Naomi, the gentleman declined. He already had a family. Boaz, apparently an unmarried man, was next in line.

God had given His goodness to this poor family, Naomi and Ruth, by giving them ample food to eat.

God Places People in Families

Now He was about to set the solitary in a family. Boaz married Ruth, and they had a son named Obed. He was King David’s grandfather. Jesus also came from this family tribe, Judah. God honored Ruth by placing her in the genealogy of King David and the Messiah, Jesus Christ (Ruth 4:17; Matthew 1:1-6).

How has God blessed you today? May we look for God’s hand in our lives and honor Him with our thanksgiving and praise. He is always up to something good in our lives. May He give us eyes to see and the willingness and strength to do what we can for our part. He is more than willing to do His part and looks to us to do what He calls us do in His field.

NIcole C. Mullen My Redeemer Lives

Shirley Logsdon

Additional Stories of Ruth:

Kinsman Redeemer

 

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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