Book of Ruth # 9
Last week: Ruth 2: 8-13 Boaz introduces himself to Ruth
This week: Ruth 2: 14-18 Boaz invites Ruth to lunch
Ruth 2: 14
At mid-day, Boaz calls to Ruth to come join his laborers for a lunch of sour wine, bread and roasted grain.
Ruth enjoyed the lunch and saved some of it to take home to Naomi (18)
Now, at this point, remember that Ruth was a non-Jewish foreigner, an outsider, and by inviting Ruth to lunch, Boaz was showing that he treats all people the same way
Boaz did not treat her with prejudice or discrimination because she was a foreigner – he treated her with impartial grace and favor
Please also remember that Boaz is a ‘type’/picture of a Savior
Boaz represents Jesus Christ to us
1 Timothy 1: 15 ‘Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners’!
Our World is made up of all kinds of sinners; Jewish sinners, non-Jewish sinners, rich sinners, poor sinners, slaves and free (Galatians 3: 28)
God’s offer of salvation in Christ is given to all sinners equally, without prejudice or discrimination
Sometimes this can be a hard lesson to learn:
We feel comfortable with people who are the same as us – people that look like us, talk the same language, and share the same culture
Illustrate: God had to deal with the Apostle Peter about this issue because he treated non-Jewish people with prejudice and discrimination
God had to speak to peter before he would enter the home of a non-Jewish family (Acts 10: 9-16)
Acts 10: 28 ‘Peter told them (a household of non-Jewish people), you know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean’.
Acts 10: 34-35 ‘I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right’
But Peter could not let his prejudice go completely
Many years later the great Apostle Paul had to confront Peter about his prejudice towards non-Jewish people
Galatians 2: 11-14
Dear friends, the truth of the Gospel Message is that God shows impartial grace and favor to all people – and so should we!
Ruth 2: 15-16
After lunch Boaz instructs his laborers to leave some of the harvested barley on the ground, between the bundled sheaves, for Ruth to gather up
And, he said ‘don’t give her a hard time’
Boaz is now showing great generosity towards Ruth that went beyond his legal requirement to help her
Deuteronomy 24: 19 ‘When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do’.
Generosity is giving more than is required of you and more than someone deserves to receive
I am reminded that God is generous towards us!
We have done nothing to deserve His Grace (Romans 3: 9 – 18)
Romans 3: 23-24 ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His Grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins’
Ruth 2: 17-18
17 Ruth gathered barley all day and when she beat out the grain from the stalks she filled up an ‘entire basket’
An ‘entire basket’ = 13 kg barley grain/enough to live on for 2 weeks
18 Ruth carried the basket of grain back home to Naomi and gave her the left over roasted barley grain from lunch time
Final thoughts:
Look again at the blessing that Boaz spoke over Ruth’s Life
Ruth 2: 12
How was God going to reward Ruth?
God would reward Ruth through Boaz!
God uses us as channels for His blessings
Next time you say to someone “God bless you”; think, “How am I going to be a blessing to that person”?
James 2: 15-16 ‘Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — Unless you help him, your words are worth nothing’
revdotdavid 