August 26 2023

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.’

From Ruth 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17, NRSV

In today’s reading we hear one of the great love stories of the Bible. Ruth went to the fields to exercise the right of the poor to glean in the field behind the reapers. Her hope would have been that they left enough behind them for her to glean to feed herself and her mother-in-law. Ruth came to a field owned by Boaz who was a relative of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Boaz instructed Ruth to remain in his field where she would be treated respectfully and where the reapers would intentionally leave her plenty of wheat to glean. Ruth asked why she, a foreigner, was being shown such kindness and Boaz revealed that he had heard of her kindness to Naomi. Ruth eventually became the wife of Boaz and their child Obed was to become the grandfather of King David. Ruth was blessed in ways that she could never have imagined during her time as a refugee.

• • What hopes do you suppose Ruth may have had as she came to gather wheat?
  • Has your life ever been blessed in ways you had not expected?

Look for opportunities to give (and receive) kindness to others today.

Image – Ruth and Boaz – Barent Fabritius