God caught my attention on these few verses today as I meditated on His Word. I was reminded that no-one is a ‘foreigner’ or ‘stranger’ to God, for He created us all. Boaz treated Ruth as one of his own, because he had heard about her care for her mother-in-law. And just as Boaz rewarded Ruth, he assured her that God would do the same. What might others see of your faithfulness to God and/or your relatives? God knows what we do in secret, and He knows our heart. He will also reward us accordingly.

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-06-30
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

BY: Ed Algreen 

SCRIPTURE FROM: Ruth 2:10-12
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: 10 Then Ruth bowed very low to the ground. She said to Boaz, “I am a foreigner, so I am surprised you even noticed me.”  11 Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given to your mother-in-law Naomi. I know you helped her even after your husband died. And I know that you left your father and mother and your own country and came here to this country. You did not know anyone from this country, but you came here with Naomi. 12 The Lord will reward you for all the good things you have done. The Lord, the God of Israel, will pay you in full. You have come to him for safety, and he will protect you.”

APPLICATION: The book of Ruth is well known for the faithfulness of Ruth towards her mother-in-law, Naomi. This faithfulness developed in spite of Ruth’s husband, who was also Naomi’s son, being deceased. In those days, the  culture dictated that one of Naomi’s other sons would have married Ruth as part of his loyalty to his deceased brother, but there were no other sons. The remaining alternative would be that Ruth would return to her parents’ home until she would possibly date and marry again. But seeing that Naomi had also lost her husband and had no one to care for her, Ruth insisted on staying by her side to help her in every way possible. This included a move by Naomi back to her hometown of Judah. And despite Naomi’s insistence for Ruth to return to her parent’s home, Ruth was even more persistent to accompany Naomi and care for her for as long as she could. Besides the move to a strange land, Ruth was a Moabite by birth, and the Jews despised the Moabites. However, this did not stop Ruth from trying in every way to support her mother-in-law. In trying to seek self-help, Ruth tried being a gleaner in a nearby farm. She was surprised to see how well the farm owner cared about her – a foreigner and a stranger. For you and I, we might approach Jesus, the owner of all land here on earth, as a sinner, or a foreigner. After all, imagine approaching Jesus, the One who was perfect in every way, and whose teachings we may have ignored for years. However, having created us in His own image, and having died on a cruel cross for the forgiveness of our sins, I discern that Jesus sees no ‘foreigners’ or ‘strangers’ but rather a lost child without hope for a perfect Heaven to be with his/her Maker. Boaz was considered a ‘redeemer’ to Naomi and Ruth. Jesus is our ‘Redeemer’ for He is the only means of redeeming the ugliness and bitterness of our sin. Boaz never looked on Ruth for what her background was. In spite of our sin and separation from God, yet all He sees a gold mine in us when we seek Him, find Him, and ask Him to forgive our sin. Love came natural for Boaz, and even more so for Jesus when He looks on us. Dear friend, just as Boaz accepted Ruth and ordered every blessing on her, so will Jesus accept you and redeem you of your sin, for He died and rose again, so that He could be your Savior and Lord, just as He is for me. Ruth sought help for she and her mother-in-law, and she met their savior/redeemer (Boaz). I trust that you will not sit idly by and ignore the perfect Son of God – our Savior and Redeemer (Jesus)!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus knows all about our good works and He also knows our hearts. He will reward us for coming to Him for safety and protection!

PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for watching over Your children and being so accepting of us in spite of our sin. Thank You for forgiveness of our sin. We acknowledge that You are the only One capable of forgiving our sins and loving us in spite of all the mean and hateful things we did prior to accepting Your lordship. Ruth was accepted by Boaz in spite of her background. Praise God that we become new creatures when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Please Lord, soften the hearts of those who will read this devotional today, but still living like the world. May each one find Jesus today – our eternal hope! AMEN!