365 Devotionals: The Promised Land

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22 AMP

The Seeds of Promise Devotional Series

Naomi & Ruth: A Posterity Preserved

“In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself”. John 1:1 AMP

« Women of The Bible Series Table of Contents
« The Promised Land
« Daily Reading Plan
« Devotions Home

March	Book	Read From	Read To	Devotional
31^st	Ruth	Chapter 2		Naomi & Ruth: A Posterity Preserved

After determining to leave Moab, Ruth urged her daughters-in-Law to return to their people and their gods. Orpah did so. Ruth stayed with Naomi by a great vow which revealed here tenderness of heart for her mother-in-law and her faithfulness.

Devotional Reading: Ruth 2:1-9 AMP

¹Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor. Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter. ³And [Ruth] went and gleaned in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you! And they answered him, The Lord bless you! ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose maiden is this? ⁶And the servant set over the reapers answered, She is the Moabitish girl who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from early morning until now, except when she rested a little in the house. ⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maidens. ⁹Watch which field they reap, and follow them. Have I not charged the young men not to molest you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.

Naomi understandably felt abandoned and grieved by virtue of losing her husband and sons. However, she was not the desolate person that she imagined herself to be. She was still blessed. God still had a plan for her; and because Ruth honored her, she was able to take part in the blessing that flowed through Naomi’s faith. Now, Naomi had a wealthy kinsman; and God setup an arrangement he and Ruth to meet that she would find favor with him and God’s purpose for her could be fulfilled in Boaz – that these should be the parents of “baby Obed, who lives to become the father of Jesse, and Jesse is father of the great King David. And in the genealogical tables of Matthew, the Moabitess who left her people for love of Naomi is duly named as an ancestress of the Messiah Himself” [1].

Devotional Reading: Ruth 2:10-18 AMP

¹⁰Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner? ¹¹And Boaz said to her, I have been made fully aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people unknown to you before. ¹²The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge! ¹³Then she said, Let me find favor in your sight, my lord. For you have comforted me and have spoken to the heart of your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants. ¹⁴And at mealtime Boaz said to her, Come here and eat of the bread and dip your morsel in the sour wine [mixed with oil]. And she sat beside the reapers; and he passed her some parched grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left [for Naomi]. ¹⁵And when she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his young men, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. ¹⁶And let fall some handfuls for her on purpose and let them lie there for her to glean, and do not rebuke her. ¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned. It was about an ephah of barley. ¹⁸And she took it up and went into the town; she showed her mother-in-law what she had gleaned, and she also brought forth and gave her the food she had reserved after she was satisfied.

News traveled fast among the Hebrews. Ruth was commended and given a choice place in exchange for her good treatment of her mother-in-law, who was Boaz’s elder and a widow of his people, which would have made him an instant friend to her. When Ruth returned with provision and a good story to tell indeed, Naomi recognized the favor of God and was instantly given hope, which seems to have made a great difference in her countenance. She also blessed God despite her former (not passed away, but started in the past) grief.

Devotional Reading: Ruth 2:19- AMP

¹⁹And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you. So [Ruth] told [her], The name of him with whom I worked today is Boaz. ²⁰And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord who has not ceased his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is a near relative of ours, one who has the right to redeem us. ²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Stay close to my young men until they have harvested my entire crop. ²²And Naomi said to Ruth, It is good, my daughter, for you to go out with his maidens, lest in any other field you be molested. ²³So she kept close to the maidens of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Not only had God prepared a place of comfort for two women who had suffered extreme sorrow; He also placed them in a path of blessings that would overtake them. He had ordered their steps and brought them to the house of Naomi’s kinsman, which made Ruth part of the family of Boaz, which meant that he could “save her life” – he was qualified to be her kinsman redeemer.

Footnotes

[1] Naomi: The Woman Who Tasted The Cup of Bitterness. All The Women of The Bible. BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/all-women-bible/2011/09/12. Accessed April 8, 2015.

« The Promised Land
« Daily Reading Plan | Devotions Home