We left our story with Ruth
bringing her barley gleanings to Naomi. The amount of gatherings was
quite shocking to Naomi as it far exceeded what was normal for a
day's work. Although Naomi had changed her name to Marah which means
bitter because of her circumstances, even she could see a glimmer of
hope within this gracious gain her daughter-in-law made. We look
further into Naomi's reaction in chapter two and verse nineteen where
we read:
And her mother in law
said unto her, Where have you gleaned to day? and where did you work?
blessed be he that did take knowledge of you. And she shewed her
mother in law with whom she had worked, and said, The man's name with
whom I worked to day [is] Boaz.
Imagine
for a moment the expression upon Naomi's face as she sees this
abundance of barley. As with any great gift given to someone we know,
we like to inquire of the source of the treasure. Naomi said, “Where
have you gleaned today? And where did you work?” By implication
we understand that Naomi knew the supply Ruth gained was far beyond
what was normal. She had a passion to know from where this grain
came, and as she inquired, Naomi was beginning to reveal her wisdom
in knowing how to address Ruth's future. What Naomi didn't know was
the inner workings of Boaz and even more so the inner workings of
God.
Naomi
continued, “blessed be he that did take knowledge of you.”
Naomi speaks a blessing over whoever it was that attended to Ruth in
such a manner. She didn't even know this stranger yet, and still she
knows within her that this person had an impact upon Ruth that day.
We might say, “Lord, bless him or her” for a person who showed us
great favor. Naomi knew there was special attention provided for
Ruth, and there had to be someone who extended this blessing.
Finally
Ruth showed Naomi who this person was, “The man's name with whom
I worked today is Boaz.” The revelation of this great
philanthropist was “Boaz” or as we shared earlier, “fleetness.”
The one who was so attentive was like a rescuer to the lives of both
Ruth and Naomi. Ruth knew the direct benefits, and Naomi shared
indirectly. Boaz made efforts long before Ruth and Naomi traveled
back to Bethlehem as he was overseeing the planting of his field.
Long before there was a desire to extend or receive this blessing,
Boaz was attending to the barley by which he would bless Ruth, and
before Ruth, Naomi or Boaz knew the story of which they would be
involved, God was at work behind the scenes.
If we
think about it long enough, we will realize that the many blessings
we share are ones in which we should take knowledge. We often forget
to examine the huge amount of blessings that our kinsman redeemer
Jesus has poured out upon us. Our lives have opportunity to reveal
our abundance to others in such a manner that people will inquire of
us from where we have been working, and they will desire to bless the
one who gave such bounty to us. When we demonstrate the Lord's
graciousness in an open fashion, others will want to know who it was
that has blessed us so. In other words, our lives become a witness to
the one we serve, and when we are asked from whom our abundance of
life has come, we will answer “Jesus”.
Next
time we will see Naomi's reaction to the revelation of this
benefactor being Boaz, so read ahead, and we shall join together
then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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