A Woman God Can Use - Part 4

Today we are going to take a look at Ruth.  She was a Moabite (Gentile) woman that married an Israelite (Jewish) man who was living in Moab.  After her husband died, she stayed with her mother-in-law Naomi.  Naomi had lost her husband and both of her sons.   In Ruth 1:16-17, Ruth declares her loyalty to Naomi and even stated that Naomi’s God would be her God.  The two of them set out for Bethlehem, Naomi’s home.    

I am sure the last thing that Ruth wanted to do was leave her own family to go with her mother-in-law, but she knew it was the right thing to do.  Naomi was all alone and elderly.  When Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem, they were so poor that Ruth had to glean in the fields.  Gleaning was basically an early form of welfare.  The farmers would leave the corners of their fields unharvested, and they would not harvest any left-overs that had been forgotten when they had harvested the majority of a field.  This was left for the poor.   Naomi was too old to work, so Ruth was responsible for both of them.

While she was gleaning in the fields, she caught the eye of Boaz, the wealthy property owner.  He showed her favor and told the harvesters to leave a little extra for her to pick up.  He even offered her lunch and a place to “glean” for the rest of the harvest.  (He knew who she was because her reputation had preceded her.  Her kindness and loyalty to Naomi was very impressive.)    When she told Naomi about his kindness, Naomi knew who he was.  He was family!  She sent Ruth to the threshing floor to show Boaz that she wanted to be his.

At the end of their story, Ruth marries Boaz and has a son named Obed.  Obed was the grandfather of King David!  Even though she lost her husband, moved from her home to live with strangers, and was so poor that she had to beg for food, God worked everything together for her good.   Romans 8:28 NLT “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”