“She said, ‘My lord, I hope I continue pleasing you. You have comforted and encouraged me, even though I’m not one of your servants.'”-Ruth 2:13
After Boaz blesses Ruth for being so dedicated to Naomi and the people and God of Israel, Ruth responds with a prayer every gentile should say in gratitude to the Jewish Messiah:
“My lord I hope I continue pleasing you.
You have comforted and encouraged me,
even though I am not one of your servants”
Or to put it more plainly:
“You are a wealthy Hebrew man,
and although I’m a gentile woman who
can offer you nothing,
you have comforted
and lifted up my spirits greatly”
This reminds me of what the Canaanite woman said to Yeshua when she sought healing for her daughter:
“Yes, Lord; but please help,
for even the dogs feed
on the crumbs that fall
from their masters’ table. ”
-Matthew 15:27
However, the big difference between the Canaanite woman and Ruth was that Ruth was a person who had risked everything to dedicate herself to the God and people of Israel (both of which are inseparable).
Yeshua in his mercy and grace healed the Canaanite woman’s daughter but there’s no record of her wholeheartedly coming to faith in Israel’s God after her encounter with Yeshua…
I could be wrong but I’m assuming she returned home to her own gods and her own people (like Orpah did).
Ruth on the other hand continued to receive more and more blessings from Boaz (there’s a lesson here folks!).
In verse 14, we’re told Boaz invited Ruth to dine at his table with her.
He was demonstrating what in Hebrew is called CHESED or חֶסֶד.
This is one of the most valued qualities in the Hebrew religion.
Boaz was going out of his way to be both generous and kind to a gleaner, a member of a lower class who were usually left to fend for themselves.
So the fact that Ruth was invited to sit at the master’s dining table even though she was a gleaner and a gentile was amazing grace!
During the meal, she was invited to dip her bread in a special mixture call CHOMETZ or חמץ which was a bittersweet sauce used to flavor bread.
And she was now sitting among the reapers!
These were high status workers who received their wages directly from Boaz.
Ruth had three things against her that made her a person of low status.
She was a woman, a gentile and a gleaner.
Yet every one of those qualities was nullified because of her undying faith in both the God and people of Israel.
Isn’t it amazing the grace and blessings God bestows upon us when we come to Him and His People?
Ruth was invited to eat as much of the high quality roasted grain as she wanted with everyone else.
And that’s not all!
To top things off Boaz’s generosity was demonstrated in another amazing way.
Remember when I did a deep dive on verse 7 when Ruth said to the field supervisor…
“Please, let me glean and gather
what falls from the sheaves
behind the reapers.”
Recall I told you that was a mistaken translation.
The reason is because the Hebrew word for “sheaves” could actually be read as either MARYM (meaning “sheaves”) or MIRYM (meaning “stalks”)?
I concluded that based on the context that MRYM (remember there are no vowels in ancient Hebrew) absolutely had to be read as MIRYM with an “I” which means “stalks”.
Why?
Because there’s no way in heck Ruth would have thought it appropriate for someone of her status to glean among the MARYM or the “sheaves”.
Well, Boaz is about to turn that situation around for Ruth.
Take a look at verse 15:
“When she got up to glean,
Bo‘az ordered his young men,
‘Let her glean even among
the sheaves themselves,
without making her feel ashamed.'”
Boaz in his generosity is telling the men to let Ruth glean even among the MARYM (sheaves)…
As opposed to her gleaning among the MIRYM (stalks) which is what she had been doing up until now.
And let me make it clear when I say MARYM, I’m talking about the actual bundled up sheaves.
But it gets even better.
Boaz goes on to say in verse 16…
“In fact, pull some ears of grain out
from the sheaves on purpose.
Leave them for her to glean,
and don’t rebuke her.”
WOW!!!
This was incredible grace being shown!
And by the way, the phrase “pull some ears of grain out from…” is evidence we’re talking about bundled up sheaves here.
You can read my previous article about this by clicking right HERE.
Alrighty, I went a bit long today but I couldn’t help myself!
Because this is some exciting stuff!
So let’s transition over to the takeaway!
When a person humbles him or herself and fully surrenders to the God of Israel, that person’s status is instantly rendered irrelevant.
You could be a gentile!
You could be a tax collector during the Roman occupation of Israel…
Or even a prostitute…
Bottomline, you could be from the lowest and most despised part of society (Yeshua said even the prostitutes will enter the Kingdom of Heaven)…
And none of that would matter.
Because as demonstrated in the story of Ruth, your faith will give you access to dine at the master’s table…
And not just eat the bread crumbs that fall from his table as was the metaphorical case of the Canaanite woman.
Alrighty, that does it for today.
Leave a Reply