RUTH 2

I really saw a picture of God in this chapter, coming through in the tenderhearted nature of Boaz. From the text, it’s clear that Boaz was a man of the Lord—and at a time when the majority of Israel was heading down the wrong path. When Boaz arrives at his fields, he greets all of the harvesters with a blessing from the Lord. (vs 4) Later, he praises Ruth for her commitment to Naomi and calls upon God to bless her because of it. (vs 12)

But it’s what Boaz did later that really made me think about God and how He treats us: "At mealtime Boaz said to her, 'Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.' When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, 'Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.'" (vs 14-16)

How precious this is: to see a man in this culture treating a woman in this manner—especially a foreign woman! He gave her as much as she wanted to eat and even sent her home with leftovers. He asked his workers to make it easy for her to gather more grain and made sure that they treated her kindly.

Doesn’t this just sound like God? He is so tenderhearted, compassionate, and caring. He gives us everything we need—even more than we need! And He does everything He can to make it easy for us. He continually comes to us, reassuring us and helping us along in our walk with Him. He doesn’t get impatient or frustrated with us. Instead, He makes it easy for us to return to His fields day after day after day. We won’t find abuse or neglect there. No, with God, we will find peace, rest, and security.