Walking a dog is a lot more complicated than I thought. Especially for certain dog breeds. And especially for a one-year-old dog. Everything is new, fresh, and exciting to the dog and as a result, the dog stays over stimulated. I’m constantly working on Blue to not pull on the leash as we walk. He’s so excited to rush ahead that he ignores everything else and tugs on the leash to get where he wants to go. But what I’ve noticed is that while Blue is out front, so excited to get to the one place he desires, his vision gets very limited. Yet as I’m walking 5 feet behind him, with eyes up, scanning the horizon, I see much more than just the one thing Blue is focused on. I see potential items that could harm him like cars, cyclists, etc, and I steer him well clear of those. But on the flipside, I also see things that he might enjoy and find interesting and I will intentionally steer him in that direction. But the irony is that as Blue is at the end of that leash, being carefully led in the direction that’s best for him, he doesn’t have a clue how he got there. In his mind he is choosing his own path and just happens to avoid some bad and find some good. You know what? We’re not that different than Blue in our walk through this life.
One of the biggest questions I constantly field is, “how do I hear from God?” A person has a very big life decision in front of them and they desperately want to hear God’s direction, counsel, and wisdom on it. But all they are hearing is crickets. Now of course I don’t have the answer. All I have are the many stories of how God has spoken into my life and guided me in the decisions that were far above my pay grade. But I have learned that just as with Blue, God is guiding me into the good and away from the bad. That is, as long as I will obediently walk on that leash, not pull too hard in my own direction, and have faith that His vision for my walk goes much farther than just the one thing I'm focused on.
Our story moves along greatly in chapter 2 of Ruth. Ruth and Naomi are now settling back down in Bethlehem and their daily needs take the forefront. They need food. This brings up an interesting side note to our story, the ancient practice of gleaning. Way back in Leviticus 19:9-10 we see God providing for the poor and the hungry through this provisional law. As the farmers harvested their wheat, they were to leave the corners of the field unharvested. Also, if any sheaf of wheat were dropped, it was to be left. And what happens to all this extra unharvested wheat? The poor, hungry, and foreigners could come gather it. Notice how effective God’s welfare program was. He blessed the farmers with bountiful crops and as a result he instilled generosity in them to share with those in need. But also, it instilled a work ethic in the poor and hungry. If they wanted to eat, they had to get up, put on their sandals, and got get breakfast. There was no free money given out, there was no monthly check mailed to them, there was no additional monies for additional kids. If you wanted to eat, you went to the fields and you gleaned your daily bread.
As Naomi and Ruth’s stomachs started to growl, Ruth got busy. She tells her mother-in-law Naomi that she is going to glean some food for them. Now recall that Ruth is a Moabite now living in Bethlehem. The Moabites were despised in this land and she was a widowed woman on top of that. As a result of being a hated foreigner of the wrong sex, she would be treated very poorly by many. We see later in this chapter that gleaning could be very dangerous business as Naomi tells Ruth to be careful as she could “be assaulted” in the fields. (Ruth 2:22-23) So brave, hardworking, selfless Ruth sets off to gather food for her and her mother-in-law.
As Ruth starts walking, she must have been lost, literally. A foreigner in this land she probably didn’t know east versus west. All she knew was that she needed to find one of the many fields that surrounded Bethlehem in which to glean food. Some fields would definitely be better than others. Some might have more wheat to gather but some could possibly have nefarious characters that could cause her harm. A seemingly simple decision was more complicated than she might have thought. What’s great to mention here is that even amongst these concerns, she went. She didn’t stay home and pray about it for months. She didn’t go buy three self help books on how to successfully navigate life. There was no paralysis by analysis. She had faith in God and just put one foot in front of the other. And as she did, we find this verse:
“And Ruth the Moabite 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.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So, she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.” Ruth 2:2-3, (italics mine)
Did you catch that? She happened to come to Boaz’s field. Out of every field that lay before her, she happened to stray onto Boaz’s. Of every step that she took, they all led to that particular field. She could have gone in a myriad of directions, but she went into this very field, the very field of Boaz, the patriarchal leader of her now passed father-in-law Emilech’s family lineage. A relative of Naomi and what will later be her very redeemer into this society. It gives me goosebumps to think of God guiding Ruth that very day. Just as Blue is on that leash being lovingly and carefully guided in a way that is best for him, God is lovingly and carefully guiding the very steps of those that follow Him in faith and obedience. It's pure beauty to behold.
And it is in that field that, not surprisingly since God led her there, Ruth finds great favor. It’s love at first sight as Boaz beholds this beautiful foreigner gleaning in his field. He informs his foreman to leave extra wheat behind for Ruth. He also instructs him to leave extra sheaves of wheat behind for Ruth. And he then invites Ruth to his personal table for a lunch of roasted grain, wine and bread. And she ate until she was satisfied. And as Ruth is experiencing this unmerited and unwarranted favor from Boaz, she utters these words that shake my soul.
“Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” Ruth 2:10
In case you haven’t noticed it by now, Boaz is a Christ type figure in our story. A picture of Jesus Christ and how He blesses us in ways in which we nary deserve. Folks, we come to the field of Jesus as poor, broken, sinful, foreigners. We are lost beggars in His field, desperately needing nourishment that only He can provide. We have nothing to offer him, not money, not being good enough, not good deeds. All we can offer Him is a simple, humble, obedient heart. And in an act of grace and mercy that should behoove us all, He blesses us with His boundless favor. He feeds hungry souls to satisfaction at His table. And as we look back at the way Jesus died for us on that cross, all we can mutter is “Lord, why have I found favor in your eyes?”
Today if you are a lost soul looking for a field in which to glean, the field of Jesus is open to you. Admit that you have done wrong in your life and as a result this wrong has separated you from a perfect God. You need a way to get to God, you need a way to get to Him in Heaven. You can’t be perfect on you own; you need help. And Jesus Christ is that help. Ask Him to save you from the sin in your life. To come into your life and rescue you from the despair, guilt, shame, and anxiety that accompanies all sin. If you call upon the name of Jesus, He is faithful to respond. He is ready to save. He saves sinners…it’s what He came to do.
Today Jesus is ready to lead you. Submit to his gentle nudges and whispers in great obedience and He will ensure that you arrive into a field that be filled to overflowing with His favor, His goodness, His mercy, and His grace.
Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.
Comments