Boaz’s Kindness

Gods Story For Your Life

Boaz’s Kindness
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Read Ruth
2:1-23
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When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered
his young men, “Let her gather
grain right among the sheaves without stopping
her. And pull out some heads of
barley from the bundles and drop them on
purpose for her. Let her pick them
up, and don’t give her a hard
time!”

So Ruth gathered barley there all day, and when she beat out the
grain that
evening, it filled an entire basket. She carried it back into town
and showed
it to her mother-in-law. Ruth also gave her the roasted grain that
was left
over from her meal.

“Where did you gather all this grain
today?” Naomi asked. “Where did you work?
May the LORD bless the one who
helped you!”

So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field
she had worked.
She said, “The man I worked with today is named
Boaz.”

“May the LORD bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is
showing his
kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one
of our closest
relatives, one of our family redeemers.” / (Ruth
2:15-20)

Reflect
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Boaz. Naomi. Ruth. The characters in the
book of Ruth are classic examples of
good people in action. The gleaner’s law
instructed harvesters to leave the
corners of their fields for the poor to
harvest. But Boaz went far beyond the
intent of the law in demonstrating his
kindness and generosity. Not only did
he let Ruth glean in his field, he also
told his workers to let some of the
grain fall in her path. Out of his
abundance, he provided for the needy.

Naomi had experienced bitter
sorrows (Ruth 1:20-21), but her faith in God was
still alive, and she praised
God for Boaz’s kindness to Ruth. In her sorrows,
she still trusted God and
acknowledged his goodness. We may feel bitter about
a situation, but we must
never despair. Today is always a new opportunity for
experiencing God’s
care.

Though Ruth may not have always recognized God’s guidance, he had
been with
her every step of the way. She went to glean and “just happened” to
end up in
the field owned by Boaz who “just happened” to be a close relative.
This was
more than mere coincidence. As you go about your daily tasks, God is
working
in your life in ways you may not even notice. But even so, keep
looking!

Respond
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Perhaps you have a lot to be thankful for
like Boaz. Have you chosen to be
generous with all that God has given you?
How often do you go beyond the
accepted patterns of providing for those less
fortunate? Perhaps life has
dealt you some hard times like Naomi and you’ve
lost people you love. Are you
still looking for God’s hand in your life, or
have you decided that he doesn’t
care about you? Perhaps things just sort of
work out for you like Ruth, and
you don’t worry much about explaining it. How
many “just happened” God moments
can you remember? Will you choose to see it
as luck, coincidence, or
cause-and-effect? Or will you see it as God at work
in the world around you?