LIFE ON THE ALTAR

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint

Chapter 7

And her mother in law said unto her, “where hast thou gleaned today?
Where have you worked? Blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee!”
And she showed her mother in law with whom she had worked, and said,
“The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
Ruth 2: 19

So, chapter one sees Ruth walking right on in the plan of redemption. In the eyes of the New Testament believer, she is beginning as it were, the Christian Race. Chapter two finds her working for surely there is an element of work in each Christian life, for do we not labour in the Gospel and do we not take hold of the Word of God and set ourselves to meditate upon it?   

Two Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15 comes to mind here. Let’s read it from the English Standard Version. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.” In a sense, Ruth was ‘working out her salvation’ in her daily conduct, in her allegiance to her newly found faith. She was faithful in what she knew, she put the effort in, she was of a morally good character. She was proving to all she came into contact with that her faith was real. Is it not true that people can often pay lip service without having any real conviction on the matter? It is living the life that is all important.

Naomi, sensing she had been ‘dealt with by the Lord,’ undoubtedly, assuredly for her good for there is always hope is there not in the Lord’s dealings, even during these times of chastening. This time of ‘chastening’ if we may call it that, has its desired effect because it brought her home again. 

I have noted in my Companion Bible, which to be honest I very rarely read, the date they have suggested for the return to Bethlehem was the year prior to the second Jubilee, thus, the year of their return could well have been a treble year! If this was the case then God’s timing was perfect. If you recall, they also returned at the time of the year when the Passover Sacrifice had already taken place, the blood had already been shed and in a spiritual sense the door of their future was open before them. 

As already stated, in verse one of chapter two, the writer of this passage of Scripture introduces a new character into the mix and Boaz is revealed to us. He will, as we know, prove to have much importance in this narrative which will be revealed soon enough.  Immediately it comes back to memory how I once knew someone who remarked that in the original, when Boaz is first introduced to us, he is not introduced as ‘Goel’ which means kinsman, but rather is introduced to us more as a friend or acquaintance. This association, this friendship, this link, came not by way of Naomi but Naomi’s husband. Boaz, it would seem, had some connection, however slim, to the family of Elimelech.

Most of us in this world know people who we would describe as mere acquaintances. We know of their existence, as they do of ours, but we are only on ‘nodding terms’ with them.  Upon meeting them there is usually no more than a friendly hello, a shake of the hand, a cheery greeting. The meeting, however short is friendly but the time spent with them is brief for they are only acquaintances. This is not to say that the relationship cannot deepen as time moves on, but until then the above will suffice. Time will tell its own story as it did of course in the lives of these two women.

Naomi knows of him, but it is God alone who is the worker behind the scenes, when all is said and done Boaz is not her relative but is a relative of Elimelech. Perhaps at this particular juncture in time anything more than the faintest or remotest connection with Boaz would have seemed perhaps impossible, for was he not a mighty man of wealth, of position, of standing within the community, whereas they were seen as two women clad only in the apparel of the poor? Also, was there not another difference in that Boaz had remained faithful to the Lord in the Land of Bethlehem-Judah, quietly resting in the promises of God even during the most difficult of circumstances, whereas Elimelech and his family had fled and gone down to Moab? Yet, God is the God of the seemingly impossible, and very soon both the lives of Ruth and Naomi would become more intertwined with that of the wealthy landowner Boaz.

In leaving their homeland, it would seem that Naomi had also forfeited that piece of land which had been previously passed down the family line to her now deceased husband.  Some think that at the time of the famine and before going down to Moab, Elimelech may have been placed in such a dire position that he may well have been forced to sell not the ownership of his plot of land, but the tenancy of his land. You see, here it must be remembered that the whole of Canaan’s Land always belonged to God Himself; He was ever the sole Landlord, and the Israelites were only ever tenants of that land.

In Leviticus chapter 25 and verse 23, God said: “The land shall not be sold permanently: for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me.” Therefore, obviously Elimelech was selling the use of the land for a certain number of years rather than the parcel of land itself. Normally, after the death of a father, what would happen was that the sons of the deceased person would inherit, but in Naomi’s case her sons had no power to redeem the land for they themselves had gone too.

Thank God that there was a law in Israel which gave opportunity for this land to be again re-possessed. From the Scriptures we also know that no Israelite could permanently lose his inheritance, and any land which had been sold would go back to its original owner at the Year of the Jubilee, but other than this, if, as sometimes would happen, the original tenant found himself in a position to redeem that piece of land back again, he could do so before the Year of Jubilee. However, if he himself was not in such a position to do so we will see later on in this story that his nearest relative could do this for him.

It is wonderful that God made a way in that one could redeem for another, and when this action took place, the law dictated that the owner into whose hands the property had fallen must by obligation be willing to sell. Again, we are reminded that in going down to Moab much had indeed been lost, but yet, Praise God, there is yet hope for redemption.

It is the same story today with any who go astray from their roots in Christ. Straying far from the blessed holy communion we once had with our Lord and Saviour, is it not true that we also suffer loss? Of course, our losses may not be as these two women of antiquity of whom we are speaking about today, yet, when fellowship is broken and for a time we leave Him who is the very Bread of Heaven to our souls, what we once had, what we once enjoyed is surely removed from us. With the passing of time that wonderful peace found only in the Lord Jesus begins to abate and the joy we once had in Him begins to diminish. Where is now the rest for our spirit? These things do not necessarily take effect all at once but slowly and surely each loss is inevitably felt, for the things of this world can never compensate for what we have in Christ. 

I wonder, how many times during those long years in Moab when Naomi found herself on the backsliding trail, did she recall by way of remembrance, those old-time ways of worshipping the Lord? For Naomi, Bethlehem-Judah was not only her physical home, but it was her spiritual home too. Thank God, even though Moab was some distance away from home, it was neither too late nor too far away for the return journey home. Thank God this side of heaven it is never too late.   

In much the same way, even though we too may have ventured far from His Presence, we too have to retrace our steps, placing the soles of our feet on those same familiar cobble stones as the ones we left behind; Beginning to read the Word of God again although at the present time it may be dry, beginning to sing when as of yet there is no song, beginning to pray when the heaven’s seem like brass, beginning to quote the promises even though in our despondency we may feel they are not now for us, beginning to reach out when we feel God is not there, beginning to dig those spiritual wells again, beginning to drink again from the springs of living water.

Praise God He is the River of Life! He alone is the answer to all things. He is the answer to every need. Just like Naomi, it is time for us to return and if we fulfil the criteria we will find doors will open up for us again, things will begin to unfold, and the picture will eventually begin to take shape. Our God is always in the business of making a turnaround of even the most desperate of situations and the most trying of circumstances, and for all those who will return, it is absolutely true that in the return we regain what we have lost!

Now turning to Ruth, we find throughout the narrative her conduct seems to be exemplary.  Throughout it all she portrays a woman of love, faith and works. She is not returning to the Land called the House of Bread in the same manner as is her counterpart Naomi, for Ruth was never brought up in the ways of the Lord, yet, upon meeting her mother in law and hearing of the One True God it seems her heart opened up as a flower to the sun and she was encouraged to know more, and is it not also true that “all we like sheep have gone astray” whether we be Jew or Gentile?

It is to be observed that she expected to work, it is also to be recognised that she expected results to follow. The spiritual darkness of Moab was now far behind her. Her faith and trust was now beginning to become more rooted in the God of Israel. With some certainty she says to Naomi “Let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace.” The bible goes on to tell us that “she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers and her hap was to light upon a part of the field belonging to Boaz.”

Not only there for her own sake but that of Naomi’s, “she gleaned and gathered after the reapers among the sheaves and continued there from the morning until the evening.” Dear Ones, learn to sit beside the reapers. Remember there are others in the field with the same intent as you. Therefore, a question must be asked of us all here. In what part of the Work of God or what part of the Word of God must we glean today? Be led of God, be led of the Spirit of God in these areas. 

Now in verse 4 of chapter 2, the reader is further introduced to the wealthy landowner himself. It seems some time has elapsed and the day dawns whereupon Boaz leaves his home in Bethlehem and joins himself with those hard at work during the barley harvesting.  He opens his speech by declaring a blessing over both his servants and his handmaidens to which they reciprocate.

“The Lord be with you,” he says. They in turn replied, “The Lord bless thee.” What a delightful setting! Oh, that every employer and every employee were like this! Boaz casts his eye over the busy scene and sees a new face amongst the workers and asks: “Whose damsel is this?” The young man tells how that it is Ruth, the young damsel who had accompanied Naomi on the return journey from Moab.

Just to mention here…a precious little word pops up in verse 14 where upon, being introduced to Boaz, speaks of him reaching out to Ruth at the mealtime table offering her some nutritious parched corn which she gladly ate and was sufficed. This food more than served the purpose, it fulfilled her needs and satisfied the demands, so much so that she was able to take some home to Naomi later that day. Is it not true that if we are not where God wants us to be we will not be filled, we will not be sufficed? We must be daily filled with some nutritious portion of the Word of God otherwise we will suffer from some kind of spiritual starvation.

Let us glean carefully and not hurriedly, and let there be nothing casual or haphazard in our search. Remember to hold something within your hands which you can pass on to another. It is the church and not the world which gleans and finds sustenance in the pages of Sacred Writ. Yes, there are times when as a body of believers, we come together and are fed as it were from the pulpit where the Word of God is broken down fine for us, but we must never be content only with the gleanings of others, rather we have to learn to hear God speak to us personally.

Notice in verse 8 that Boaz insists Ruth not glean elsewhere, in other words, she is forbidden to glean in the field belonging to another. What is the spiritual reasoning behind this? Because there is nothing elsewhere for the one who would seek after the things of God. The daily opening and reading of the Scriptures bring the Presence of God to us time and time again. There is Salvation in no other name than Christ’s.

Joyously, walking on in faith believing, a stranger yet now accepted, she continues to have her hunger satisfied and continues to glean in the field of Boaz. 

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint