From Rags to Riches
Devotions for Growing Christians
From Rags to Riches
Ruth 1:16 - But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."
Read the whole book of Ruth.
A Cinderella story is always interesting and intriguing. The story is even more fascinating if we know that it's true. Most exciting of all is when the story comes right out of the Bible! Here the story is not only true, but it’s told to us by God Himself. The book of Ruth is an exciting rags-to-riches story. As we look at this narrative, let’s visualize ourselves as God's children sitting at the feet of our Heavenly Father and listening to Him tell the story to us.
The story of Ruth takes place during the period of the judges in Israel's history. Spiritually and morally, the nation had deteriorated since the days of the great leadership of Moses and Joshua, and periodically God had to raise up a judge to stem the downward spiral. During the days of the judges, "everyone did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6 and 21:25). Against this dark background, the beautiful story of Ruth stands out in marked contrast - especially the main characters, Boaz and Ruth.
Ruth’s Decision
The focus of chapter 1 is Ruth’s life-changing decision. Ruth was from Moab, a pagan country to the east of Israel. Ruth was a Gentile, and an outsider to God's covenant blessings upon Israel. She married into a poor Hebrew family that had migrated to Moab in a time of famine, but her husband had died before they had children. Ruth found herself in the worst situation for a woman in that time and culture - poor, bereaved and childless. When Naomi, her widowed mother-in-law, decided to return to Israel, Ruth was confronted with a major decision. Should she stay in her own country, with her own people - or burn her bridges behind her and go with Naomi to Israel? Ruth decided whole-heartedly to go to Israel!
Naturally speaking, it was far more logical for Ruth to stay in Moab. Opportunities for remarriage and family security were much greater there. For a poor Moabite (Gentile) widow to go to Judah with a poor and elderly widow was a “rags-to-rags” prospect. It would have been much easier for Ruth to make the same choice as her sister-in-law, Orpah (1:4-5). Orpah started in the right direction (1:6-7). She was emotionally moved about the decision (1:9, 14), and said she was going to Israel (1:10). But she didn't! She turned back to her people and the pagan gods of Moab (1:15). How sad - and how true of many would-be followers of Christ today.
But Ruth was determined to go to Israel - against all the odds (1:18)! Why? Because Ruth had put her trust in the God of Israel!
Ruth's inspiring statement of commitment to Naomi at the time of her decision is found in Ruth 1:16 - “Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God." Ruth loved Naomi! She must have loved her own people as well, but it was Naomi’s God who made the difference (1:16)! Ruth was confident that the Lord, in whom she had come to trust, would take care of her future.
The Lord calls us to make significant and crisis decisions, too. The choice to follow Jesus Christ is the most important decision of our lives. This decision may have been quite costly for some of us. To be estranged from family and ostracized by friends for the sake of Christ is not exactly the greatest feeling in the world.
The Lord also calls growing Christians to make Ruth-like decisions. Choosing a life of service for Him may result in very little earthly wealth or security. Saying "yes" to God's call to missions may involve leaving family and friends. As in the case of Ruth, only the Lord Himself can give us the confidence, the courage, and the faith we’ll need for making this kind of life-changing decision.
Ruth’s Dedication
Chapter 2 describes Ruth’s dedication to the decision she made to "seek refuge under the wings of the Lord, the God of Israel" (2:12). As soon as Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, she went out to the fields and gleaned stalks of grain to feed herself and Naomi. The God of Israel had graciously incorporated the "gleaning clause" into His Law as a means of provision for poor people. Any person in need could always go into any field and harvest the leftovers. (See Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19-21.)
Gleaning meant long and arduous toil, but Ruth never complained or wavered in the commitment she had made. Would we have been so dedicated? Many Christians have looked and sounded very dedicated at altar calls for Christian service, but the difficult "labor in the fields" determines those who are truly committed.
To fully appreciate the spiritual lessons to be found in Ruth's dedication, we need to understand the place of Boaz in the story. Boaz was not only the wealthy landowner and “prince of this Cinderella story” - he was a "kinsman-redeemer." This unique position will be explained later on, but realize this: Boaz is a beautiful picture or illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ, our “Kinsman-Redeemer.” Thus the fields of Boaz where Ruth labored can represent the "field of the Lord" in this picture God has painted for us.
“Gleaning in the field of the Lord” means being involved with God’s interests, and being separated from the "fields of the world." Just as Boaz told Ruth not to glean in another field (2:8), our Lord tells us not to be drawn away by the earthly values and snares of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Timothy 2:4; 1 John 2:15). As Boaz promised Ruth provision and protection in his field (2:9), so our Lord promises to provide for us and protect us if we stay in His field (Hebrews 13:5-6). As Boaz served Ruth food from his field to satisfy her hunger (2:14), so our Lord provides His Word for us. God’s Word is the only food that can fully satisfy the spiritual hunger of our hearts and souls (Jeremiah 15:16). As Boaz rewarded Ruth's labor in his field (2:15-16), so our Lord richly rewards our involvement in God’s interests (Matthew 6:33, 11:28-29; Luke 6:38). Let’s learn and appreciate these lessons of the field! Let’s be dedicated gleaners, and experience all these blessings from the Lord of the harvest.
Ruth’s Devoton
In the last two chapters of the book our attention is drawn more and more to Ruth’s relationship with Boaz. By the end of chapter 2, it doesn't take much reading between the lines to realize that Ruth and Boaz were falling in love, and that Ruth’s devotion to Boaz is a response to the love and kindness Boaz had showered on Ruth!
Although Ruth’s and Naomi’s activities in chapter 3 may appear at first to be a little strange (and even questionable), some background knowledge of the role of the kinsman-redeemer should clear up any misunderstanding. Certain stipulations of God's Law were designed to care for extended family and kin. According to Leviticus 25:25, when an individual became so poor that he had to sell or forfeit his property, a prosperous relative was responsible to redeem or buy back the property for the poor family member to keep the land in the family. The Hebrew word that is used for this close relative is goel. Goel is translated either as "redeem" or "relative" in the old Testament. Thus a goal is person is a relative who redeems - a "kinsman-redeemer."
Another responsibility of a close relative is found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. If a husband died before having a male heir, then an unmarried brother of the deceased man was to marry the widow, and produce a first-born son in his brother's name. If no eligible brothers were available, then the duty passed on to the closest eligible male relative. In Ruth's case there were no brothers available, and thus Boaz, as a close relative, had a responsibility towards Ruth.
Boaz was responsible to redeem the family property that Naomi was forced to sell, and he was responsible to marry the young widow to produce an heir in her dead husband’s name. So Ruth's behavior in chapter 3 was not an indiscreet escapade! Rather, it was her legally proper initiative to inform Boaz that she was willing for him to take his responsibilities as kinsman-redeemer (3:9).
Naomi knew that after the harvest festivities, Boaz and his servants would spend the night at the threshing floor to guard the winnowed grain. (Judges 6:11.) Her plan was a sensible and logical (and romantic!) way for Ruth to communicate her wishes to Boaz!
Boaz’s honorable behavior in response to Ruth’s devotion, and his noble actions towards the other close relative (chapter 4) demonstrate his excellent character, and remind us again of our own Kinsman-Redeemer. Wealthy Boaz willingly bought back the lost property and married Ruth, the poor Gentile foreigner, and in His love Jesus has taken us poor "foreigners" to be His bride. He has restored all the “property” we had “lost” in our sin and estrangement from God. (See Ephesians 2:12-13; 5:31-32.)
Jesus Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer
Three prerequisites were necessary for the kinsman-redeemer: he had to be a close relative, he had to be wealthy, and he had to be willing to redeem. As our Kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus perfectly fulfills all three prerequisites. Is He a close relative? Hebrews 2:5-16 makes clear that the eternal Son of God took on humanity precisely to become our Kinsman, so He could redeem us. Is He a wealthy close relative? 1 Peter 1:18-19 emphasizes that only Jesus Christ had the means to pay the infinite price of redemption - a perfect life. Is the Lord Jesus a close relative who is wealthy and willing? Mark 10:45 tells us that the Son of Man gave His life as a sacrifice in order to redeem us! What is our response?
Like all Cinderella stories, the Book of Ruth has a happy ending. The rags-to-riches end of the story is emphasized in chapter 4, where we learn that Ruth became a joyful mother, the great-grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ! Thus the poor Gentile woman from the despised country of Moab was brought into the Messianic line (Matthew 1:5)! When we think of this transformation, we are amazed at the riches of God's grace - grace that is still available to lift lost sinners from rags to riches!
- Dave Reid