Timely Insights into God's Word from Khandielese Reyes

“And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.  Then Boaz said unto his servant that was set over the reapers, “Whose damsel is this?  And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel  that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.  Then Boaz said unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter?  Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?  And when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.  The she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?  And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.  The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”  (Ruth 2:4-12) 

The story of Ruth is a most powerful and dynamic one as it illustrates the power of commitment, the power of dedication, the power of sacrifice, and the Power and Glory of Almighty God in his rewarding the act of obedience. 

At first glance upon reading the book of Ruth, it would appear to some to be a story of simplicity of a young woman’s kindness towards her mother-in-law, and how the LORD God rewarded such kindness in giving her favor with a man name Boaz.  However, when we truly study the book of Ruth, we can clearly see how God had a divine plan, and how He used this precious Moabite woman to fulfill it. 

Ruth dwelled in the country of Moab, and were of the Moabites who were descendants of Lot (Abraham’s Nephew) through his son, Moab.  The Moabites were a people who once joined the Midianites in cursing Israel and were inevitably excluded from Israel by the Lord God along with the Ammonites as it is written: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.” (Deut 23:3-4)  and it was also women of the “Moabites”, as well as the “Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites that turned King Solomon’s heart at one time, towards their gods and away from The Lord God.  For this reason the Lord commanded Israel not to intermarry with these women for they would surely turn Israel’s heart away from Him, and to serving other gods and worshiping their idols.  And yet, the Lord chose a Moabite woman to carry the seed and bring forth a child that would be named “Obed”. And from Obed would come Jesse, and from Jesse would come King David and so on until the seed would reach a young virgin name Mary, who would bring forth “The Lamb of God”, “The Lion of the tribe of Judah”, “The Root of David”, “The Messiah”, “The Savior”, “The SON of the Living God”, CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!!  

After the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi (Ruth’s Mother-in-law) decided to return back to the land of Judah, and her two daughters-in-law (Ruth and Orpah) desired to go with her.  However Naomi instructed the two to return back to their land of Moab and their people,  for it grieved her that she had no other sons left to marry the two, to carry on the name and provide and heir for her dead sons.  Thus, Orpah returned back to her home, her people and her gods, however Ruth clung to Naomi and begged that she may remain with her and not depart back to the land of Moab.  What would make this dear woman so determined to remain with her mother-in-law?  After all, she was still a young woman who could have returned back to her home and remarried.  She could have continued on with her life back in Moab among her people, and among her “gods” as Orpah chose to do.  What did she think would be awaiting her back in the Land of Judah, seeing as she apparently had no intentions of remarrying as Naomi had no other sons left.  In the natural, all that would be awaiting her would be a life as a widower, eventually growing old, and eventually die in a foreign land.  Surely this isn’t what enticed her to return back with Naomi.  It is evident that it was the Spirit of the Lord that was drawing her back with her mother-in-law and she unselfishly surrendered to that which was in her heart.  Even if it meant she would spend her life as a widower, that she would live in a foreign land knowing no one except her mother-in-law Naomi, she was WILLING to make the sacrifice.  Rather than submit to Naomi’s request to return to her homeland, she instead begged that she may stay declaring: “Entreat me NOT to leave the, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: THY PEOPLE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, and THY GOD MY GOD: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but DATH part the and me.”  The one thing that I believe caught the Lord’s attention the most in Ruth’s plea to Naomi was the fact that she was WILLING and DESIROUS to turn her back on the “gods” that she knew, the “gods” that she and her people had served all their lives, and SURRENDER to The ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB! 

The Lord KNEW the heart of Ruth, but I believe it was her CONFESSION and TOTAL SURRENDER of herself that would cause the Lord to perhaps say “Here’s a woman I could use.  Here’s a woman who’s heart is after me for she is WILLING to forsake the gods that she once served and follow me.  Here’s a woman who’s willing to forsake ALL for what I have planned for her life, she’s willing to take that leap of faith not knowing where it will lead her.  Here’s a woman of great love and compassion….”   Ruth inevitably did remarry to Boaz, a relative of her deceased father-in-law.  And she conceived and bore a son to Boaz, and his name was “Obed”.  Thus the family name did continue on, and an heir was provided for her deceased son.

Yes, “The Faithfulness of Ruth” was demonstrated NOT ONLY by word, but through her ACTIONS!   Oh that we ALL could be as faithful as Ruth, as SELFLESS as Ruth, as WILLING to forsake the things, places, and people we’ve become so familiar, so accustom to, that have become our crutches, that are to us our comfort zones.  Oh, that we would be willing, with a joyous heart to give of ourselves completely, to let go and SURRENDER to the perfect will, and perfect plan the Lord has for each and everyone of our lives.   That we would have HIS heart, that our desires would be HIS desires, that we to would take that leap of faith not knowing where it would lead us but TRUSTING that HE being the guide, would bring us safely to the place HE desires us to be.  What a blessing if we could ALL have the LOVE, COMMITMENT and “THE FAITHFULNESS OF RUTH.”

I love you all so very much. Have a blessed week in the Lord and remember: Whatever we do, do ALL for the GLORY of GOD, who ALONE is worthy of the GLORY and the PRAISE!

May the peace of the Lord be with you today and always…….

Khandielese
Daughter & Servant
   of the Lord God