Single-Hearted Devotion

The Story of Ruth

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction
1. THE MISTAKES OF NAOMI 1

2. ORPAH GIVES UP 15

3. RUTH'S CONSECRATION 24

4. THE FIELD OF BOAZ 44

5. RUTH FINDS FAVOUR 55

6. NAOMI IS CHANGED! 73

7. A DISPLAY OF EXCEPTIONAL PURITY 87

8. RUTH IS ACCEPTED 95

9. A JOYOUS END 104

INTRODUCTION
THE BOOK OF RUTH IS ONE AMONG THE SMALL BOOKS IN THE BIBLE. NO
ONE KNOWS WHO WROTE THIS BOOK, OR WHERE IT WAS WRITTEN. BASED ON
THE CONTENT AND STYLE, IT CAN BE ASSUMED IT WAS WRITTEN IN OR AROUND
1000 BC. SOME BIBLE SCHOLARS THINK SAMUEL IS THE AUTHOR.
RUTH IS THE STORY OF AN EMBITTERED WOMAN, NAOMI, AND A KIND,
LOVING DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, RUTH. NAOMI HAD MANY GOOD QUALITIES AND
INDEED WE CAN LEARN MANY BEAUTIFUL LESSONS FROM HER LIFE. BUT AS THE
INTENTION OF THIS BOOK IS TO HIGHLIGHT RUTH'S HUMILITY AND SINGLE-
HEARTED DEVOTION TO GOD WHEN ALL ODDS SEEMED AGAINST HER, WE WILL
CONSIDER ONLY HOW NAOMI WAS DETRIMENTAL TO THE SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
OF HER DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW. WE FIND NAOMI BITTER WITH GOD. BUT RUTH,
WITH THE HELP OF BOAZ, IS ABLE TO BRING FULNESS INTO NAOMI’S LIFE. FROM
THE LIFE OF RUTH WE LEARN SO MANY BEAUTIFUL LESSONS; MANY
WONDERFUL TRUTHS ARE EXEMPLIFIED IN HER STORY. BUT JUST AS DANIEL’S
BEAUTIFUL HISTORY HINGED ON HIS PURPOSING IN HIS HEART NOT TO DEFILE
HIMSELF, SO ALSO THE STORY OF THIS MOABITE WIDOW’S JOURNEY INTO THE
LINEAGE OF THE MESSIAH HINGED ON HER DECISION TO FOLLOW NAOMI, AND
HER SINGLE-HEARTED DEVOTION TO THE GOD SHE HAD COME TO KNOW
THROUGH HER. WE CAN SEE THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURE OF HOW A GENTILE
RECEIVED INHERITANCE AMONG THE SAINTS THROUGH A GRACIOUS KINSMAN-
REDEEMER: AND THEREFORE WE DO WELL TO LEARN WHAT WE CAN FROM HER
DECISION, THAT WE MIGHT WIN THE HEART OF OUR kINSMAN-REDEEMER. WE
SEE CHRISTIAN LOVE IN ACTION AND ITS POWERFUL EFFECTS ON PEOPLE.
ALTHOUGH THE WORD ‘LOVE’ IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE BOOK EVEN ONCE, WE
MAY NOT SEE IN ANY OTHER BOOK SUCH UNSELFISH AND HOLY LOVE AS IS SEEN
IN THIS STORY.
THE BOOK BEGINS WITH THREE FUNERALS. IN CHAPTER ONE, VERSE
THREE, ELIMELECH, THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY, DIES. IN VERSE FOUR RUTH IS
MARRIED AND IN VERSE FIVE SHE IS ALREADY A WIDOW. HER BROTHER-IN-LAW
ALSO DIES, LEAVING HER WIDOWED MOTHER-IN-LAW IN A FOREIGN LAND WITH
TWO HUSBANDLESS, CHILDLESS DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW. YET GOD HAD A PURPOSE
IN ALL THIS SORROW…THE BOOK ENDS IN GREAT JOY.
THE BOOK HAS FOUR CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER I - CHAPTER OF wEEPING – NAOMI, RUTH AND ORPAH ARE
CRYING.
CHAPTER II - CHAPTER OF wORKING – THROUGHOUT THIS CHAPTER RUTH IS
SEEN WORKING.
Chapter III - Chapter of Waiting – Ruth is asked to wait to marry Boaz.
Chapter IV - Chapter of Wedding – Ruth gets married to Boaz.

There is no other book in the Bible in which devotion to God is so vividly portrayed. A study of
this book is therefore a great incentive to all Christians who seek a deeper spiritual life, and specially
to those who have dedicated their lives to the service of God. Ruth never went back to Moab; to the
very end she kept her dedication and devotion to God and to the truth. Her life is a classic illustration
to St. Paul’s challenge: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom 8:35,37). It is not surprising therefore that God
honoured her. Being a Gentile woman and that one belonging to a race that was so abominable to
God that they were forbidden to come into the house of God upto the tenth generation, she was
elevated to such an extent that one whole book in the Bible is named after her and devoted to
describing her dedication to the living God.

The book has only 4 chapters comprising only 85 verses in all; but in them is a mine of wealth.
The story reveals how discouragement can be changed into encourage- ment; how bitterness can be
turned to sweetness; how barrenness can be changed to fruitfulness; how poverty can be changed into
prosperity; how loneliness can be changed into friendship and fellowship; how utter despair can be
changed to blessed hope and how mourning can be changed into dancing.

Of the 66 books comprising the Bible, only two are named after women. One is the book of
Esther and the other, the book of Ruth. We see a few contrasts between these two books. In Ruth, a
Gentile woman marries a Jew; in Esther, a Jewish woman marries a Gentile. Ruth begins with a
famine, and Esther, with a feast. Ruth ends with the birth of a baby, and Esther, with the hanging and
death of an enemy.

Nearly three thousand years have elapsed, but Ruth’s story is still a favourite to many, and
many parents still give their daughters the name ‘Ruth’. Had Ruth gone her own way she would not
have been able to enter the inheritance of Israel and the lineage of Christ. By following Naomi, she
was led to the one who would be her husband and with whom she would receive a great inheritance. If
we, like Ruth, make a decision to follow the living God — not for a material blessing or other
temporal benefit, but with the desire to know God more fully — we will soon meet Jesus our Heavenly
Bridegroom and go to the undefiled and unfading inheritance reserved for us in heaven.
§§§§§
CHAPTER 1

THE MISTAKES OF NAOMI

"In the LORD I put my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" (Psa 11:1)

Naomi, her husband Elimelech, and two sons Mahlon and Chilion, left their hometown in
Canaan to seek relief from the famine in the land. The place they chose was the country of Moab, and
there they settled down, and there Naomi got her sons married to heathen girls. The hardship and
privation Naomi faced there give a clear indication of God's utter displeasure over the whole affair.

“Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a
certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two
sons” (Ruth 1:1)

DESPISE NOT CHASTENING

 “In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.” ‘When the judges ruled’
denotes a time when leaders are leading us. Sometimes we have to face spiritual famine and trials.
Famine may be a discipline from God. God may discipline us through our leaders or even through our
juniors. Do not rebel. Adonijah wanted to be king after David. He thought he was the right person;
however, he had one problem — no one could correct him. Even his own father could not correct him.
Whatever he thought of doing, he did—no one could stop him (I Kgs 1:5,6). He rebelled against his
father and finally met with death. If you are not careful, you may become like Adonijah and destroy
yourself. You may have to “mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say,
How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; and have not obeyed the voice of my
teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!” (Prov 5:11-13).
THE PROBLEM OF FOOD

“There was a famine”—For many people, food is a great trial. The first sin that entered into
the world was in connection with food. Jesus’ first trial in the ministry was also related to food. After
40 days of fasting He was hungry. But He overcame the trial triumphantly while Adam and Eve, and
Elimelech and Naomi, failed miserably. Many children of God live a shallow spiritual life because
they are in bondage to their belly and bowl, and are inordinately worried about what to eat and drink
— as though their heavenly Father does not care for them! “Labour not for the meat which perisheth,
but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you” (Jn
6:27).

"And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons. And
Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the woman was left of her two sons
and her husband" (Ruth 1:3,5).

RUNNING AWAY FROM PROBLEMS

Naomi made a mistake in running away to Moab. Sometimes, when there are some trials in the
church, other churches may look better. But the question is, is the Lord telling you to leave the
fellowship in which He has kept you? When Elimelech and Naomi went away from the will of God
they faced death. When you go out of the will of God to escape a famine or ‘church discipline’, you
may face spiritual death. Naomi’s hus- band and both her sons died. ‘Husband’ denotes the Lord and
‘sons’, spiritual children. You will lose your relation- ship with the Lord and the children He has given
you.

God has given us an inheritance just as Elimelech and Naomi had one in Bethlehem. We
should not leave that inheritance and go elsewhere. ‘If God has assigned a portion to His saints, He
is glorified in their being in possession of it, and enjoying it, and bringing forth its fruits.' When we
leave God’s inheritance and go to Moab, maybe looking at miracles and wonders, our end will be
‘death’. Naboth had a vineyard close to the royal palace. King Ahab said, “Give me your vineyard
which is close to my palace. I will turn it into a garden of herbs.” But Naboth refused saying that he
would never give away his father’s inheritance (I Kgs 21:2,3). He had to give his very life for the sake
of his father’s inheritance. We have a vineyard and it is our inheritance. God has given us deep
truths, the revelation about Zion and New Jerusalem, consecration, holiness, separation, etc. The
devil wants to turn our ‘vineyard' into a garden of herbs ie. take us down from a higher spiritual life
to a very low life. Naboth’s spirit should be in us. “This is my father’s inheritance. I will not allow it
to be brought down to the state of a garden of herbs.” ‘When Christians turn to the world and to
earthly things, it is as if they are publicly saying that those things are better than what God gives. The
reason why many fail to enjoy their inheritance is that they have never realised that they are not
enjoying it. They have very little conception that there is a vast wealth of spiritual blessing which they
might be enjoying.'

‘Naomi’ means ‘Pleasant’. ‘Bethlehem’ means ‘House of bread’. ‘Judah’ means ‘Praise’.
‘Elimelech’ means ‘God is my King’. They were Ephrathites. ‘Ephrata’ means ‘Fruitful’. Putting all
these together, we gather that they had enjoyed a pleasant spiritual life back at Bethlehem. God was
their King and they lived a fruitful and complete life, praising God and singing together. So, there was
no better place on earth for them to live in! Yet they left it to escape a famine. But what did they get in
Moab? Moab, which was initially prosperous, finally became a cemetery for them. This is a warning
for all of us. We are not going to profit in any way by running away from problems. On the contrary,
we will only lose even what we have. Never run away from problems, problematic persons or
situations.
Naomi went to Moab to escape the problem of famine, but there she had more problems.
First, her husband died. Despite this chastisement, Naomi made the mistake of getting her sons
married to Moabitish women. So again God used the rod—her son died. But Naomi still did not have
a mind to go back to Canaan. God took up the rod again and the next son also died. Accidents,
deaths, sicknesses and problems can be the chastisement of God—to make us humble ourselves and
examine our lives. The widow of Zarephath took her son’s death as a punishment for her sin(I Kgs
17:18). But here, even after three deaths in the house, Naomi was not humbled. Some people think, the
deaths were natural. But think for a moment, should a child of God die in Moab or in the promised
land of Canaan? Abraham died in Hebron (fellowship with God), but Lot, perhaps somewhere in a
cave of Zoar, far from Hebron.
Naomi must have been a very hard woman indeed! God took away her husband and both her
sons and gave her no grandchildren, but she was not broken. When you run away from problems,
your heart will get hardened like Naomi’s. Naomi could not see that her own heart was the cause of
her problem. Do not be a Naomi! In a sense, Naomi was worse than the prodigal son. The prodigal
son repented and decided to go back to the father’s home when “he came to himself” (Lk 15:17) ie
when he came to his senses (after going through some problems), but Naomi, although she lost her
husband and the children, did not come to her senses or want to return to Bethlehem. And when she
finally did go back, it was not because she repented of her mistake.
Running away from problems is a serious sin. Once you start doing it, you will never change
your habit of running away from problems—even if you are chastised with sicknesses, accidents and
deaths. Also, when we make one mistake, one by one, we will keep on making mistakes. Just one
mistake may have a chain reaction. So the easiest way to destroy your life and ministry is to run away
from a problem instead of running to the Lord.

In the Book of Judges we read of a certain Levite who left Bethlehem-judah and settled down
with an idolator named Micah. He too became an idolator. And what a lot of trouble he caused!
Chapter 18 gives an account of it. ‘Bethlehem’ means ‘house of God’. “They should be abundantly
satisfied with the fatness of God's house,” we read (Psa 36:8). Servants of God who leave the house of
God are bound to be a curse.
Abraham went to Egypt to escape a famine. There he had to tell a lie to save his life. And
though he managed to get away, Lot, his nephew, left his heart there. So later when he saw the
plain of Jordan it looked like Egypt, and he coveted it and separated himself from Abraham. Also, in
all probability, Abraham might have picked up Hagar in Egypt. It was through her that the
Ishmaelites whose hand has been ever against the people of God, came into existence. What a lot of
trouble Abraham could have averted if he had not tried to run away from the famine!
Why do people of God try to run away from problems?
1. Naomi thought there was prosperity in Moab while she saw Bethlehem-judah as a dry place.
This shows living by sight and not by faith. Those who run away from problems are those who live by
sight. We are today facing a great famine for true love, holiness, righteousness, forgiveness and
compassion. Let us not look at the world for a solution as Naomi did, but keep our eyes on our God
Who is the source of true satis- faction and fulfilment. Running away from the place where God has
kept us when trials and troubles arise, is the character of those who are unsteady and dis-trustful.
When Naomi left the place where God had kept her, she was in fact questioning the promises and
faithfulness of God. “Not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spake
con-cerning you,” says Joshua (Josh 23:14). For unsteady souls, ‘the grass is green always on the
other side.' When trials come, beware—they will take you either closer to God or closer to the world.
2. Naomi did not seek the will of God, but did her own will. If you try to run away from
problems, it means you do not like to do the will of God. Naomi was living for herself; she was not
pleasing God but wanted to please herself. When you put your personal interest above God’s interest,
you are living to please yourself. What should Naomi have done at the time of famine? She should
have decided: “It is better to be hungry and remain in the will of God than go out of the will of God
and have bread in abundance.”
Remember, no matter what difficulties you encounter,
The Will of God will never take you
Where the Grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the Arms of God cannot support you,
Where the Riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the Power of God cannot endow you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the Wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the Army of God cannot protect you,
Where the Hands of God cannot mould you,
Where the Love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the Mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the Peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the Authority of God cannot overrule you,
Where the Comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the Omnipresence of God cannot find you.

3. When Naomi returned to Canaan, she came ‘empty' but those who remained in the land in
spite of the famine fared well and they soon experienced the ‘visitation of the Lord'. Naomi had a
close relative, Boaz, who was a mighty man of wealth. Instead of going to Moab she could have gone
to him during the time of famine. Why did she not do so? The only reason we can find is her PRIDE.
Even after she returned to Moab, she could not stoop to approach him for help, or even send Ruth to
his field. Pride is the Number 1 foolishness in human life. Many leave the ministry or the church
because they are too proud to seek the counsel or prayer support of their leaders or other spiritually
matured people when they face problems. Pride goes before destruction, and humility before
exaltation. God allowed the famine, perhaps as a discipline. Many think of running away from the
ministry or the church, because they cannot humble themselves and take correction. If you run to the
world to escape chastisement or punishment, it would be like “jumping from the frying pan into the
fire”—you can expect more troubles.
4. When you try to run away from a problem, you are ignoring the true source of the problem.
The source of your problem is your own heart — not the people or situation around you. The heart of
a problem is the problem of the heart. Even if you run away from the problem, your heart runs along
with you. You cannot run away from your heart; you will still have the same old heart; your heart will
not change. Running away from your problem is like running away from your shadow. The faster you
run away from it, the sooner it will follow you.

So when you face a problem, run to God with your problem and cry to Him saying, “Lord,
help me to be in the centre of Your will.” Don't try to keep away from those who reprimand or
correct you; instead, love them. The ‘safe distance’ you want to maintain, may turn ‘unsafe’. Instead
of trying to see how you can get out of the problem, see what you can get out of the problem that has
been permitted by your heavenly Father.
Elimelech and family might have gone to Moab, thinking they could be there for a short
while and return to Bethlehem. However, they settled down there. Here we can see the trick of the
devil. Sometimes we do something foolish and think we can correct it later and come back to the
right state, but we may never correct it or come back!
Elimelech's parents must have been godly people for they named their son ‘Elimelech’ (God
is my King), during the time of the judges—when there was no king. If ‘God is our King’ we should be
where our King is; we should be where our King has kept us, or our fate cannot be better than that of
Elimelech and his family. However, it was out of mercy that God did not wipe out the whole family,
but opened a way for them to spring up again with greater splendour and glory.

In I John 5:16 we read about sin unto death. In a deep sense, the sin unto death is different
in each individual’s case. Someone said, “If God is going to deal with us as severely as He dealt
with Ananias’s and Sapphira’s sin, most of our churches will be funeral homes!” You may think,
as Ananias and Sapphira did, that a particular sin in your life is a very small one; but you may
never know, in the sight of God, it may be a ‘sin unto death’. So beware of sin that is ‘a small sin'
in your own sight.

“And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house” (Ruth 1:8).
COVERING UP SIN

Why did Naomi want to send her daughters-in-law back to Moab? She, being an old woman
and having no husband or sons, should have appreciated her daughters-in-law for wanting to
accompany her. Instead, we see her trying her best to persuade them to go back to their people.
What could the matter be? Naomi realized that if she took her daughters-in-law back to Canaan, the
people would come to know that she had got heathen women to be wives for her sons and that God’s
judgment had come on her for that. “Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter
shalt thou take unto thy son,” was the Lord’s commandment concerning the heathen (Deut 7:3). She
wanted to cover up this sin of hers. This was her second mistake. Bethlehem was only about 50 miles
away from Moab. Naomi could have easily taken wives for her sons from her people and land.
Abraham was old and his people and kindred were far away and yet he commanded his servant to
take a wife for his son Isaac only from his people (Gen 24:4).
We also can make the mistake of covering up our sins and destroy our life and ministry. “He
that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy” (Prov 28:13). God has given us leaders to help us confess and forsake our mistakes and
walk humbly with God.

"And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly
with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me
Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?" (Ruth
1:20,21).
BECOMING BITTER

Naomi became bitter with God. She says the Lord had been very hard on her. But the Almighty
had brought her back to Bethlehem and was planning to restore her blessings far beyond all her
worthiness and expectation!
 Ruth could have been more bitter than Naomi. She could have said, “God has not given me
any children; He has taken away my husband and my father-in-law; and now my mother-in-law is
not giving me any good advice but only asking me to go back home.” Ruth had more reasons than
Naomi to be bitter with God. But we do not see her giving in to self-pity at any time or blaming God
for her misery. Instead, she puts her trust under the wings of the Almighty!
When we cover up our mistakes, our relationship with God is cut off. We start blaming God.
Have you seen people who often blame God for their problems? Do you know why they do that?
They have some unconfessed sins in their life. They are unwilling and unable to accept the fact that
their own sins are the cause for their tragedies. True saints, like Paul and Silas in prison, can sing
and praise God in the midst of untold problems and sufferings. Your problems will show the state
of your heart. When you cover up your sins, you become bitter not only with God, but also with the
leaders whom God has placed above you.
Naomi says, “The hand of the LORD is gone out against me” (1:13). One reason for this was,
she had tried to cover up her sin. In Psalm 32:4 David says, “For day and night Thy hand was heavy
upon me.” Again in Psalm 38:2 he says, “Thy hand presseth me sore” Why? He had not confessed his
sins (vs 3). Do not keep sin, even a seemingly small one, in your heart—it would be like nurturing a
snake. Even if you get a dream that is sinful or horrible, make a con-fession of it to your elders. Do
not try to show yourself to be better than what you really are. It is better to let our elders have a low
opinion of us, than to be a hypocrite in the house of God or church of God. The best thing Naomi
could have done in her misery, would have been to fall into God’s hands, pleading for His mercy.
When David realized he had sinned and merited the wrath of God, he says, “Let us fall now into the
hand of the LORD; for His mercies are great”
(II Sam 24:14).
“I went out full and the Lord hath brought me home again empty.” Why did she go out then,
if she had everything? The prodigal son also went out full but came home empty.
“The Lord hath testified against me.” How did the Lord testify against Naomi? Through the
testimony of Ruth!—See Ruth 2:11. Ruth was a testimony to God and that was a testimony against
Naomi. Naomi knew God and yet disobeyed Him, but here is this Moabitish girl obeying God! Naomi
acted in disbelief but this heathen girl is full of faith! Naomi dishonoured God but this young widow is
trusting and honouring God! Naomi ran away from problems and from the will of God, desiring to do
her own will, whereas this girl is running after God, willing to make any sacrifice just to run after
Him! O Servant of God, God will give you chances to obey. If you fail to obey, He will raise up
obedient servants of God who will become a testimony against you. When Eli did not obey the voice of
God, God said, “I will raise Me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in Mine
heart and in My mind,” and raised up Samuel whose life testified against Eli (I Sam 2:35).
Some translations render, “The Lord hath testified against me” as “The Lord has humbled
me.” Yes, the purpose of every trial is to humble us: “Thy God led thee these forty years in the
wilderness, to humble thee” (Deut 8:2). But the sad thing is that in spite of all these chastisements,
Naomi did not humble herself to admit her mistakes, but still kept blaming God for all her
problems. Every failure we face in our trials has its root in pride, deep down in our heart. If we
learn to really humble ourselves in the time of our trials, we will not go down spiritually.
If you want to destroy your life and ministry quickly, you may make the following three
mistakes:
1. Run away from problems — When you face a problem, change of character and not change
of place, is the remedy.
2. Cover up your sins — If you are full of self-pity, if you justify yourself or wink at the sins
in your life, your life and ministry will not prosper.
 3. Become bitter with God — It never pays to become bitter with God. If you have become
bitter with God, you have almost destroyed your life and ministry.
Child of God, whatever the trial you are facing, whoever may be the source of the trouble,
run to the Lord. Then your life will be beautiful.

“Are you pressed out of measure, despairing of life?

Are you tempted and tossed on all sides ?
Come to the Saviour, He’ll calm all your strife,
Seek Him, then, truly in prayer.”

CHAPTER 2

ORPAH GIVES UP
"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which
are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13,14).

Naomi heard that there was a visitation of God in her land, that there was bread there,
and decided to go back to Bethlehem. Both Ruth & Orpah were sure to face rejection at Israel. But
both began to go with her; initially resisting Naomi's “hard sermons” to discourage them. Naomi let
them plainly know that following her would not give them anything and told them of her own bitter
experiences from God's own hand. Hearing these hard, unappealing facts, Orpah decided it was
better to back out while the invitation was being offered.

“And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD
deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may
find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their
voice, and wept”; “And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in
law; but Ruth clave unto her” (Ruth 1:8,9,14).

MODEL DAUGHTERS-IN-LAW

“The LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” Although these
girls were heathen, hailing from a very uncivilised tradition and superstition, look at the love and
care they had for their mother-in-law. There are many Spirit-filled Christian daughters-in-law in
modern times, who have known much of God’s love and care. But can their mothers- in-law bless
them saying, “The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with me”? Or will it be the other way
round? — “Let not the LORD deal with you, as you have dealt with me!”
DISCOURAGING WORDS

The daughters-in-law were coming to Canaan to the true and living God, but Naomi stops them
and wants them to go back to Moab to the heathen gods. Backslidden believers do more harm to souls
than sinners do. In chapter 1 Naomi uses the words ‘go’ or ‘return’ 12 times. She who was supposed
to encourage her daughters-in-law, discouraged them instead and Orpah succumbed to it. Dear child
of God, do not expect to be cheered on by others. The world is all out to discourage those who want to
take up a life of privation and suffering, those who want to live a consecrated life. Just when the
Israelites were at the borders of Canaan and eager to step into it, the ten spies discouraged them
('melted' their hearts) with an evil report of the Land. So, when you hear words of discouragement,
which you most certainly will, do not falter; encourage yourself in the Lord. Say like Caleb, “Let us
go up at once, and possess it (the promised land) for we are well able to overcome it... If the Lord
delight in us, then He will bring us into this land” (Num 13:30;14:8). Trials will come, but never give
up; never be discouraged.
 “I'll never be discouraged when dismal clouds surround,
And life is full of toil and pain,
He Who hath let the clouds, sheds forth His rays around,
He makes the bitter sweet to me.”

TIME TO STAND UP!

Discouraged people’s words discourage others — like Naomi’s did. Naomi was responsible for
the back- sliding of Orpah. One man of God wrote like this: “When the ship is sinking, the crew
should do its best to save even the last passenger. If a member of the crew leaves the ship when it is
sinking, he is not a faithful man.” The church is the ship; O servant of God, you are the crew. It is
your responsibility to preserve the church when it is sinking in trials and troubles. That is not the time
for you to give up; it is the time for you to stand up! We can be either a blessing to others or a
problem or a curse to them. We can either draw souls to Christ or drive them away from Christ. If you
cover up your sins, your ministry will not save souls but rather discourage and destroy them. Here
Naomi sends away Orpah back to Moab to worship her heathen gods.

THE SNARE OF FAMILY TIES

The words ‘mother's house’ and ‘husband’ might have attracted Orpah. These are snares for
servants of God. After dedicating yourself to live a consecrated life as a eunuch, thinking of going
home or getting married, is ‘putting your hand to the plough and looking back’. Such are unfit for the
kingdom of God (Lk 9:62). “If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him,” says the
Lord (Heb 10:38). What we have left must be completely forgotten. In olden days when there were no
warplanes, the enemy forces would enter the land using bridges or boats. On entering, the captain
would order the bridges to be broken and boats to be burnt—so that the men may not entertain
thoughts of returning or retreating! “If they had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned” (Heb 11:15).

EASE – THE ENEMY OF GOOD THINGS

Naomi also spoke about 'rest'. Both daughters-in-law realized that following their widowed
mother-in-law to a strange land would entail hardships, privations and reproaches. But Ruth was
not seeking rest for herself. She willingly accepted the life of suffering and was richly blessed.
Orpah, though she did love her mother-in-law, chose a life of comparative ease.

Being at ease is the enemy of all good things; it is the enemy of God’s plan and purpose in
our life. Rebuke in your spirit thoughts that entice you into a life of ease and comfort. Remember,
Jesus has said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
Me” (Matt 16:24).
“Be strong!
We're not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift.
Shun not the struggle; face it;
'Tis God's gift.”

SERVING GOD IS A JOY

It does not matter what work we are engaged in, or where we are doing it; what matters is,
the person for whom we are doing it. It is this that makes serving the Lord a joy, for we are in the
service of the King of kings. Some are serving the Lord, but not with joy. He who serves the Lord
negligently is cursed, we read (Jer 48:10). “Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not
unto men; knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the
Lord Christ” (Col 3:23,24). The joy of serving the Lord should fill our heart.
“There is joy in serving Jesus,
As I journey on my way,
Joy that fills the heart with praises,

Ev'ry hour and ev'ry day.”

NO TURNING BACK

There were many good things about Orpah. She had wanted to go to Canaan. She even went
half-way through. She wanted to stand for the truth. But she did not have the strength of character
to survive pressure. Both Orpah and Ruth were of the same land and from the same religious
background; both married into the same house; both lost their father-in-law; both had no children
and both loved their mother- in-law. Both had heard about the God of Naomi, from their husband
and from Naomi herself and both had subconsciously made a decision to follow Naomi's God when
they decided to follow her. Both were discouraged by Naomi. However, Ruth stood fast in her trials
whereas Orpah gave up. ‘Ruth’s affections went out fully to what was of God. 'There is often desire at
the bottom of the heart, but no definite purpose to go in for what is desired, and when this is the case,
there is danger of being diverted by all kinds of things.' Today, choose whom you will serve (Josh
24:15) Your future will depend on your decision. If Orpah had stuck on like Ruth, we might have had
a book named after her too— who knows!
“Keep me true, LordJesus,Keep me true.
There's a race that I must run;
There are victories to be won:
Give me pow'r every hour to be true.”

"And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou
after thy sister in law" (Ruth 1:15).

THE LORD MY GOD

After having lived with Naomi and known the true Jehovah God for over ten years, when a
trial came, she went back to her gods. Some people are like Orpah—they have other gods for
themselves. Anything we love more than God, any undue time we spend on anything, becomes our
god. Our Heavenly Husband is very jealous. “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me!” He wants
us to love Him with all our heart, with all our mind and with all our strength. The Lord is even more
particular in the case of servants of God. He wants them to ‘hate' all carnal relationships so as to be
able to give Him wholehearted and undivided attention and service.
“O, Love that bindeth strong as death

And keeps me sealed upon Thy heart,

I'm not ashamed of pilgrim life,

E'en though my life depart.”

Despite the bad examples set by Orpah and Naomi, Ruth stood for the truth. If, when you
have no one as a good example around you and there is none to encourage you, you stand for the
truth, that will be esteemed of high value.
YOUR REACTION TO PROBLEMS

Orpah, Naomi and Ruth typify three kinds of character. When we face problems or
sufferings, we may react like Naomi, Orpah or Ruth. Naomi covered up her sin, Orpah gave up and
Ruth stood up for the truth. When you face a problem, you either cover up, give up or stand up. When
winds blow, some trees send their roots deeper and become stronger. But many trees yield and fall
with a ‘thud’! Let anyone, everyone discourage us; let anyone leave the ministry, the church or the
living God. Let us stand firm like Ruth.
“When things go wrong, as things sometimes will,
When the road you are treading seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must but DON'T QUIT!”
Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England during World War II, had a chance to
speak to the students of a University during the War. After speaking about various problems Churchill
finally said, ‘Never, never, never give up!’ Never give up the truth, your convictions, your good
conscience, your hope in Jesus, your consecration and your dedication! Your spirit should be like that
of a lion. The Bible says that the lion is the strongest among beasts and that it turns not away for any
(Prov 30:30). The elephant may look double or triple the size of the lion but the lion can spring on the
elephant and subdue it.
Do not give up! Stand up for Jesus!

You say: It is impossible.

God says: All things are possible (Matt 10:27).
You say: I am too tired.
God says: I will give rest (Matt 11:28-30).
You say: Nobody really loves me.
God says: I love you (Jn 3:16; 13:34).
You say: I cannot go on.
God says: My grace is sufficient (II Cor 12:9).
You say: I cannot figure things out.
God says: I will direct your steps (Pro 3:5,6).
You say: I cannot do it.
God says: You can do all things (Phil 4:13).
You say: I am not able.
God says: I am able (II Cor 9:8).
You say: I am not worth it.
God says: It will be worth it (Rom 8:28).
You say: I cannot forgive myself.
God says: I forgive you (I Jn 1:9).
You say: I cannot manage.
God says: I will supply all your needs (Phil 4:19).
You say: I am afraid.
God says: I have not given you the spirit of fear
(II Tim 1:7).
You say: I am worried and frustrated.
God says: Cast all your cares on Me (I Pet 5:7).
You say: I do not have enough faith.
God says: I have given everyone a measure of faith (Rom 12:3).
You say: I am not smart enough.
God says: I am your wisdom (I Cor 1:30).
You say: I feel all alone.
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb 13:5).

§§§§§
CHAPTER 3

RUTH’S CONSECRATION
“Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy
father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty” (Psa 45:10,11).

W e do not see Ruth receiving any special calling from God but she realized that all she
had learned of this great God, she learned from Naomi, and that there was nowhere else to go. “To
whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life” (Jn 6:68).

“Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go;
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou
diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death
part thee and me” (Ruth 1:16,17).

Look at the background and the circumstances in which Ruth made this consecration. She
has a home where her parents will be more than willing to accept her back, nourish her and find
another husband for her to settle down with in life. In Canaan nothing was guaranteed—no house,
property, job, money, friends, relatives and no bright future. Her mother-in-law is repeatedly
discouraging her—six times Naomi spoke discouraging words (vs. 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15). She could
expect nothing good from such a mother-in-law. And there was the bad example of Orpah who
returned to her land. In spite of all this, forgetting the things which were behind, Ruth decided to
reach out to the things before her. From these, it is clear, Ruth was not following Naomi, but Naomi’s
God. “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel,
under Whose wings thou art come to trust,” Boaz was able to say (Ruth 2:12). To make a proper
consecration, we need a proper revelation of our God. Without this revelation, we, like Orpah, will
reach a point where we will no longer follow.
Making a consecration is ‘covenant-making’ with our God. Like a bride and bridegroom
who make a covenant at marriage, a true child of God enters into a covenant with God. The couple
says, ‘...till death do us part’; as for us, even death does not part us from our Lord. On the contrary,
death brings us into an eternal relationship with our Bridegroom.

The consecrations made by Ruth are in particular the ones required from one who wants to
serve God in a full-time ministry.

“Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord

By the power of grace divine.
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope
And my will be lost in Thine.”

1. “Whither thou goest, I will go”

 When Rebecca was going to be the bride of Isaac, her parents asked her, “Will you go with
this man?” “I will go,” she replied (Gen 24:58). This should be our decision. Isaac is a type of
Jesus, Rebecca, of the Church, and Eliezer, of the Holy Spirit. We should willingly surrender
ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit till we become the Bride of Christ, (ie.) till we attain the
perfection of Christ. Rebecca knew that a rich bridegroom (Isaac) was waiting for her, but as for
Ruth, being a widow, she had nothing to expect from her poor mother-in-law whom she was
following.

Once we get started we should keep going. A man of God once said, “Our ministry is like a
flying aircraft; if we stop, we drop.” We should always have a ‘go’ in our spirit, an urge to go
forward.
“I am determined and made up my mind,
I'll serve the Lord;
I'll leave the world and its pleasures behind,
I'll serve the Lord;
I'll follow wherever He leadeth,
I'll pasture wherever He feedeth,
I am determined and made up my mind,
I'll serve the Lord."

Jesus told His disciples, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matt 28:19). Of those on
Mount Zion we read, “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth” (Rev 14:4).
Ruth did not have any particular place in her mind to which she could go. Ruth's willingness, or
rather eagerness, to go with Naomi is unique. She had never been to Canaan. She did not know what
the place would be like, what she could expect there, and whether the Jews would accept her or reject
her, she being a Moabitish woman.
Abraham obeyed and went, not knowing where he was going, we read (Heb 11:8). But,
Ruth’s willingness and dedication are more prominent than Abraham’s. Abraham was an elderly man
when he left his homeland and went to Canaan. But Ruth was a young woman; she could have gone to
Moab and got married to someone there. Abraham left his land and country and went out because
God directly told him to do so. Ruth received no such direction; she must have got to know a little
about God from her mother-in-law and she willingly surrendered herself to go with her. Abraham had
his wife and nephew to go with him to Canaan; Ruth had no one but her mother-in-law. Abraham did
not go to Canaan immediately; he wasted some time in Haran. We do not see Ruth delaying—she did
not say, “I'll go and consult my parents; you carry on.” Abraham made the mistake of going to Egypt
after going to Canaan. Ruth never went away from Canaan; she kept her dedication and devotion to
God and to the truth to the very end.
2. “Where thou lodgest, I will lodge”
Naomi was going back to her hometown after many years, without a husband. Would there
be a home for the young Ruth to live in? Ruth's decision revealed her understanding that it did not
matter where she was; so long as she was with Naomi, she knew she would be preserved. The basic
purpose of a home is to shelter us, and Ruth realized that she would be best protected by being under
the covering of Naomi.
This shows abiding in God’s will, living in the presence of God. This is a beautiful life. Many
have a wrong understanding of the consecrated ministry. It is difficult to run in the wilderness. But
consecrated ministry is the experience of having the Lord carry us through the wilderness. “My
presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. And he said unto Him; if Thy presence go not
with me, carry us not up hence” (Exo 33:14,15). Living in the presence of God makes all the
difference. If the presence of God goes with us, then God will carry us. In doing God’s will we do not
have to walk or run. “When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst whither thou
wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy own hands, and another shall gird
thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not” (John 21:18). ‘Stretching forth (our) hands’ shows
surrendering our own will. To do God’s will, you will be carried. But when you do your own will you
cannot abide in His rest. ‘Young’ shows being spiritually immature. When we are young, if we want to
do something, we do it with our own strength. But when we are old or, ‘spiritually mature', someone
else girds us and carries us. Whether we are sleeping, walking or talking, the presence of God should
cover us. This is rest, and we get it in the wilderness.

Jesus, speaking of His place of stay, says, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air
have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head” (Matt 8:20). The Creator God Who
created all things, had no place to rest His head. What a consecration! Love to live in the presence of
God. Then, no matter what the problem or difficulty you are facing, you can be restful.
"ZION, I LOVE YOU!"

Zion is the name given to the Lord’s dwelling place. “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; He
hath desired it for His habitation. This is My rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it”
(Psa 132:13,14). Servants of God are chosen to stand on Mount Zion with Jesus. “Where I am,
there shall also My servant be,” said Jesus (Jn 12:26). We are called to dwell where our God
dwells. We should therefore have this desire—“Lord, You dwell in Zion. I also want to dwell in Zion.
Where You are, I want to be.” If you are driving a car, you should have a destination in mind;
otherwise though you may drive all day, you will end up nowhere. We should love Zion.
Why should we love Zion?

Only those who love Zion can be humble. Zion, the highest place in Eternity, is meant for those
who take the lowest and humblest place on earth. Before Jesus ascended far above all heavens, He
descended to the lower parts of the earth (Eph 4:9,10). ‘Far above all heavens’ is Zion. Dear servant
of God, do you want to be found with Jesus in Zion? Then take the last, lowest and humblest place on
earth. Always think you joined the ministry only yesterday. Why do we sometimes get hurt, offended or
wounded in heart? It is because of pride. If you are proud, you will be offended when you are
admonished and rebuked; but if you are humble, you will be happy.
If you love Zion, a special glory will shine on your face. When we love Zion, our whole
character will change. Only those who love Zion can keep their lives pure. “Out of Zion, the
perfection of beauty, God hath shined” (Psa 50:2). The beauty of Zion is the beauty of holiness.
“Greatly to be praised...in the mountain of His holiness” (Psa 48:1). Now we praise God for healing,
health, food, etc, but in Zion, we are going to praise God for His holiness. Holiness should therefore
be like a mountain in our life.
Those who love Zion are married to Christ. “I am married unto you,” says the Lord (Jer
3:14,15). What a beautiful experience! Suppose you are an ugly, crippled and illiterate girl living in
one of the dirtiest slums, and a prince spots you and wants to marry you. Would you not be excited?
Would you not go about telling everyone the good news? Christ is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily
of the valley. He is the Fairest of ten thousand; He is the Bright and Morning Star. He is altogether
lovely! If such a Prince is getting married to you, how excited you should be! When an odious
woman is married, the earth is disquieted, we read (Prov 30:21-23). No one can bear it for she is so
loathsome. We were like that odious woman. We were so bad—there was no one to love us or care
for us, but the Prince decided to marry us. O, what a wonder!
If we truly love Zion, we will always be excited in our spiritual life. Position, place, honour,
appreciation, praise, title, etc. will appear as dung to us. Many children of God desire high
positions in the church. We have vain desires because we do not truly love Zion. There is no
greatness in becoming a great preacher or singer, for that does not guarantee you Zion. Sometimes,
children of God are like babes. If you show a 1000-rupee note and a big colourful balloon to a
child, the child will certainly grab the balloon. Position, place, honour, appreciation, praise, title,
etc. are just a balloon. Everything that is highly esteemed on earth is vanity. They shall soon pass
away. When you love Zion, your whole mind will be transformed—you will no more love that
balloon (things of this earth), but will love the eternal weight of glory.

The last revival will be the revival of Zion. The set time to favour Zion has come (Psa
102:13). That is the time when people start loving Zion. All the glories of Eternity are in Zion. Those
who love Zion will never backslide. On the other hand, those who hate Zion will be confounded and
backslide. Read Psalm 129:5,6. If we love Zion, we shall never be put to shame; but if we hate Zion,
we shall be like the grass growing on the housetop. This is the state of the spiritual life of some
children of God. When there is rain, the grass comes up, but when a little sunlight falls on it, it dries
up. During a convention there is a revival in their life, but when they face a little trial, they dry up.
Zion must be in our hearts. Only then can we go from strength to strength and be found in Zion.

Uncreated Zion (the Zion that has always been existing), is the unity of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit. We will be one with that Zion and lost in it in Eternity. There are thousands of
great preachers, but they do not preach about Zion. Their ministry comes to an end on this earth. One
man of God has said thus: “Zion is a great university. We begin studying in it while on earth and
continue studying in it in Eternity. Only if we complete our course of study on earth can we go for
higher studies in Eternity.” Why should we study Zion? Without Zion, the corner stone, the Church
cannot be built. Servants of God build the Church, on Zion. We should know our calling and
destination. We should preach about Zion more and more so that people may have a revelation about
Zion and come out to serve God. The final anointing for David was in Zion, but Saul was anointed
only once. When we have new trials we have a new anointing.

Zion gives joy to the whole earth. It will be a blessing to the whole of Eternity. If we are going
to give joy to the whole of Eternity, how much joy we should possess then! Ours is truly a great and
high calling. All the fulness of glory is in Zion. There is so much wealth and treasure, wisdom and
knowledge in Zion. So love Zion!

“O to love and serve Him

With devotion true!

Then in Zion I'II continue

To serve Him evermore.”

3. “Thy people shall be my people”

Ruth was ready to forget her father's house, her gentile ancestry, to take on the identity of
the Jews.

If wherever God sends us, the people there are to become our people, we should have
consecrated our own people first. When we forget our own people, God’s people and God’s holy
home will fill our hearts and minds. If we do not dedicate our own flesh and blood, we cannot see
all people as our own people. Dear servant of God, examine yourself to see if you have any special
attachment to any particular language, people or place. Remember, you have been called to be a
father of all nations. Jesus (our Boaz) must give a testimony about you saying, “It hath been fully
shown to Me how you have left your father and mother” (Ruth 2:11).
How can one forsake one’s father and mother? Forsaking something is giving it entirely into
the hands of God. This is possible only through the power of the Word of God, which makes us
strong. “Upholding all things by the word of His power,” we read (Heb 1:3). When this powerful
Word comes into our spirit, consecrating our father and mother, forgetting our home and country,
etc is very, very easy. We will not be worried about our family members or keep thinking about
them. We will not have a longing to see them. If we do not forsake and forget our people
completely, we are like the scaffolding of a building which is useful for the work of construction,
but which can never be part of the building. We may labour and minister but we can never be part
of Zion. We will be 'Ichabod', which means ‘glory has departed'. Living in the house of God, then,
will be a veritable hell. We will only be a burden to others. This is indeed a glorious ministry, but it
is glorious only to those who are really consecrated.
Consecration is a mystery. When the love of Calvary fills your heart you will be able to see
everyone as your mother, father etc. The attachment towards those at home is human love, but
when we are filled with Calvary’s divine love, our life and our ministry will be a heaven.
In Ephesians 1:15 and Colossians 1:4 we read of “love unto all the saints”. We can love
some saints, but can we love all saints? Can we love the irritable, rebellious and unloving? There is
a great blessing in loving all saints. How can we love all saints? Naturally it is not possible, but
there is an easy way shown in the Bible. God rests in His love, we read (Zeph 3:17). Hatred brings
restlessness; but love itself is a rest. This rest starts when we live in the presence of God—close to
the heart of God. “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest” (Exo 33:14). When we
enter the presence of God we are entering into rest—we rest in His love. Then we find grace to love
‘all saints’. We get the heart of a father. We have more love and compassion for the unlovable. Is
there anyone from whom you have withdrawn your love? That means you have no rest. If a father has
ten children and one of them is handicapped, would he not have a special love for that child? Some
saints are spiritually handicapped. They cannot pray; they cannot speak good things or do good. They
may not be physically violent, but may have a violent mouth. If you really have a father's or mother's
heart, you will have more love, more care for such ‘hard-to-get-along-with’ sort of people and pray
more for them. They need it more than spiritual people. Of the three delights we should have in life,
one is ‘delight in the saints’! (Psa 37:4; 1:2; 16:3).
“Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; so shall the King greatly desire thy
beauty: for He is thy Lord; and worship thou Him.” (Psa 45:10,11). Consecration makes us
beautiful. God wants us to have the beauty of consecration in our life. There is also a strength that
we get from consecration. “If any man come to Me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Lk
14:26). Here we see how servants of God have to consecrate seven relationships viz. father, mother,
wife, children, brother, sister and one’s own life. These seven can be compared to the seven locks of
Samson’s hair (Judg 16:19). After the razor came on Samson’s head, he was no more a man of
power. If we lose these seven locks of consecration, we will lose our spiritual strength and become
like any other ordinary man.
When Peter asked Jesus, “Lord we have left all...What shall we have?” Jesus said, “Ye also
shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt 19:27,28). One important
nature a judge should have is impartiality. Of the Levites who executed God’s judgement on the
people impartially, not regarding their father or mother, it is said, “They shall teach Jacob Thy
judgements and Israel Thy law.” (Deut 33:9,10). Suppose you are a judge and your father is caught
doing something wrong, you will search for some loophole in the law to free him. So, to be a judge in
the Millennium and in Eternity, we, as servants of God, should have dedicated our father, mother, etc.
Remember, we have to judge angels too. Abraham went to Canaan only after his father's death. If we
do not consecrate our kith and kin they may become a hindrance to our doing God’s will to our going
to our heavenly Canaan. If anyone or anything is the cause for our delay in obeying the Word of God,
then God in His mercy will take him or it away from us.
4. “Thy God my God”
Ruth did not say ‘our God’ but ‘my God’. She had an exclusive revelation of God which even
Naomi did not have. It must have been Naomi who told Ruth about God, but Ruth seems to have a
more personal knowledge of Him than Naomi. A person may be in the faith for many years and still
not know much about God's love, purity or grace. In the parable of the prodigal son, it is the
prodigal son who seems to have a better understanding of the father's heart than the elder son. He
knew the father to be forgiving and gracious. The elder son had been living with the father all
along but his thought was, “How can my father forgive such a wicked boy!”

One man of God says, “When you think of God, what comes to your mind first? That is what
God is to you!” When you think of God, if you feel He is a terror, a dictator, if you feel He is going
to punish you, put you into hell or forsake you, then something must be wrong in your life and in
your relationship with God. Your impression about God is the reflection of your life. To Moses, the
man of God, God appeared as a gracious, tender, longsuffering, merciful and forgiving God. But
for the Israelites who were not sanctified within, God descending on Mt.Sinai was a terrible sight.
They fled the scene; they did not want to hear Him speak!

‘Almighty God’ (Elshadai) means ‘mother-like God’. How can this mother-like God deal
bitterly with His child? To Naomi, God must have been worse than a mother-in-law! “The
Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me,” she said. Both Ruth and Naomi followed the same God
but look at the difference in their revelation! And because of the revelation Ruth had of her God,
she was able to love Naomi, her mother-in-law, more than her own mother! She had a heart which
Naomi did not have. It is not how long we serve God, but with what kind of heart we do it that
matters.
How can ‘God’ become ‘my God’, a personal God? For this, one thing has to be done. “I
delight to do Thy will, O my God,” says the psalmist (Psa 40:8). When we delight to do God’s will,
God becomes ‘my God’. St. Paul had a personal revelation of God. In many places he says, ‘my God',
‘my gospel' etc. God does not become ‘my God’ when I merely do the will of God, but when I delight
in doing it. Do you know, if one angel is ordered to clean all the gutters on the earth and another, to
be the President of America, both will do it with equal delight? You might be engaged in some menial
job in the house of God all the days of your life; if you do it with delight, the whole of Eternity will be
fragrant with your life.
5. “Where thou diest, I will die”
There are those who are faithful to the Lord while the saints who helped them are alive.
When those saints die, these who were once on the right path then go astray. Often the children of
Israel would do well so long as there was a righteous judge or king, but when the leader died, they
would fall away. King Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord so long as Jehoiada the
priest was alive; when the priest died, Joash backslid so far as to have Jehoiada's son killed. Here
Ruth steadfastly decided to follow the trail Naomi blazed, even after Naomi left this world. She was
effectively ruling out all possibilities of backsliding.
 St.Paul says, “I die daily.” This shows daily dying to our own will, ideas, desires and
ambitions. Philippians 2:8 says, Jesus was “obedient unto death” and not “obedient until death”. A
slave may obey his master until his death, but he may not like doing it. We must be obedient unto
death ie, we must bring about a death to our anger, irritation and lack of delight in doing God’s will.
Our Lord's death on the cross was 'obedience unto death'. We should die on the same cross Jesus died
on ie, we should die in the centre of God’s will. Some are faithful to the Lord for many years, but
towards the end of their life, they lose their trust in the Lord, faith in divine healing etc. “Where thou
diest, I will die” means “Till the last moment of my life I will be in the centre of God’s will.”

“If any man wants to serve Me let him take up his cross and follow Me,” said Jesus. If a
person is to be crucified, the cross alone will not do; a hammer and nails are also needed. Jesus
did not carry the hammer and nails. And He did not say, “Take up your cross and hammer and
nails and follow Me.” He just said, “Take up your cross and follow Me”; He will be faithful to
appoint someone with the hammer and nails! There might be a Bro.Hammer and Sis.Nail even in
the church and they will help you to ‘die with Him’. They are there to hammer, prick and pierce
you so that your old nature may die. So instead of hating them, thank God for them. A slave may be
odedient until death but that will not change his character. We must obey unto death.

6. “There will I be buried”

Normally, people want to be buried in their homeland. In the Old Testament times the people
of God were buried in Canaan, their homeland, and nowhere else. Jacob was buried in Canaan,
although he died in Egypt. Joseph's bones too were carried out of Egypt and buried in Canaan. For
the New Testament servants of God, it is not the burial that matters, but the dedication to accept the
place where we are as our home country. When you make this dedication, God will honour you. He
will give you the grace to learn the language, and make the climatic conditions, the food and the
customs there, all ideal for you.
Ruth never went back to Moab. She was determined to live, die and be buried in Canaan.
Whichever place we go to, to serve the Lord, is our homeland. For a true servant of God, there is no
place to return to. Every land is our land and every home, our home. This is a beautiful life indeed.
But only consecrated servants of God can enjoy it.
7. She was stedfastly minded to go with her (Ruth 1:18).
Ruth was determined. Nothing could stop her. All the other six consecrations were
pronounced by Ruth, but this seventh one, is not what she said. It was in her spirit. When we have
the first six consecrations, the seventh will follow. “None of these things move me, neither count I
my life dear unto myself” (Acts 20:24). This must be our dedication — to go all the way till the end.
Nothing should distract us. We should have such an unmoveable spirit. In a way, servants of God
should be very hard. “Set your face like a flint,” we read (Isa 50:7). Here ‘face’ stands for the
heart. Flint is a very hard rock. In olden days, flint was used to make fire. Zion is for the steadfastly
minded. “They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth
for ever” (Psa 125:1).

How can you become steadfast and single- minded? How can we get rid of double-
mindedness? There is a secret behind this. “Purify your hearts, ye double minded” (Jas 4:8). If you
take time to purify your heart, you will not be double-minded. In a purified heart, there is no room for
double-mindedness. Be steadfast in the thought, “He Who has called me is faithful and He will keep
me till that Day.”
“Intreat me not to leave thee.” These words silenced Naomi. Elijah discouraged Elisha from
following him but Elisha firmly said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave
thee.“ Till the end he kept repeating this (II Kgs 2:2,4,6). The Shunamite whose son died also
showed a similar steadfastness of mind. She would let nothing deter her from meeting Elisha. And
she was not satisfied when Elisha sent his servant. “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will
not leave thee” (II Kgs 4:30). Child of God, how firm is your devotion to your God? Like David,
can you say, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God”;
“My soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee” (Psa 42:1; 63:1)? Let God alone be the
centre of your thoughts and desires. Let every fibre of your being cry out, “Lord, I will never leave
you. Bind me to Yourself.”

CHOOSE THE VERY BEST

The best person on earth is the consecrated servant of God.

(Psa16:3;84:4)
The best person among the saints in heaven is a servant of God.
(Rev22:3,4) The best place to live in is the house of God. (Psa84:1,10)
The best place to die in is the house of God. (Psa84:1,3)
The best people to live with are the servants of God. (Psa133:1-3)
The best life is a life spent in the service of God. (Jn12:26)
The best time to serve God is when you are young.
(Ecc 12:1;Lam 3:27)
The best satisfaction is for a servant of God. (Psa65:4)
The best of happiness is for a servant of God. (Isa65:13)
The best of God's care is for the servants of God.
(Isa49:14-16;54:17)
The best of God's plans are for the servants of God. (Psa102:16)
The best of God's promises are for the servants of God.
(Isa56:4,5)
The best of revelations are reserved for the servants of God.
(Matt13:11)
The best future is for a servant of God. (Psa102:13)
The best anointing is for a servant of God. (Psa:45:7;Isa42:1)
The best relationship with Jesus is for a servant of God.
(Amos3:7;Jn15:15)
The best of God’s love is for a servant of God. (Jn17:23)
The best of peace is for the servants of God. (Jn14:27)
The best of grace is for the servants of God. (ICor15:10)
The best calling is to be a servant of God. (Matt19:21;Heb5:4)
The best health is promised for a servant of God.
(Ex23:25;Psa35:27;92:13,14)
The best faith is kept for a servant of God. (Lk22:35;Gal2:20)
The best consecration is to live as a eunuch for the Kingdom of God.
(Isa56:3-7)
The best of purity,humility and divine character is for a servant of God. (ITim4:12;Acts20:19)
The best of heavenly wisdom and knowledge is for the servants of God.
(Eph3:4,5;ICor2:16)
The best of spiritual riches is for the servants of God. (Eph3:8)
The best death is the death of a servant of God. (Psa116:15,16)
The best welcome in heaven is for a servant of God. (Matt25:21)
The best place in heaven (Zion) is for the servants of God.
(Rev14:1)
The best honour in heaven is for a servant of God. (Jn12:26)
The best glory in heaven is for a servant of God.
(Jn17:22;IICor4:17;IPet5:4)
The best reward in heaven is for a servant of God.
(Matt24:46,47;Lk22:28,29)
The best musicians in heaven are the servants of God. (Rev14:2)
The best singers in heaven are the servants of God. (Rev14:3)
The best of all the blessings in heaven and on earth are for the servants of God.
(Lk15:31)

There is nothing better, sweeter, greater and higher than serving the King of kings, Lord of lords and
God of gods not only on this earth, but throughout all eternity.

“I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, HERE
AM I: SEND ME” (Isa 6:8).
  
CHAPTER 4

THE FIELD OF BOAZ

“Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.”
(Jn 4:35)

Naomi and Ruth moved together from the fields of Moab and came to Bethlehem. But
we must not forget that what started the movement was neither in Naomi nor in Ruth, but in Jehovah.
“Jehovah has visited His people to give them bread” (Ruth 1:6). And in these last days God has,
indeed, visited His people to give them bread. It is a time of extraordinary contrasts. On one side there
is lack of spirituality, worldliness, self-seeking, every man doing what is right in his own eyes. But on
another side wonderful and blessed divine movements. There is more bread available for the people of
God to-day than there has been at any time since the days of the apostles. The question for each one of
us now is, Are we interested? Is the divinely given bread, attractive enough to draw us out of Moab,
and to bring us to Bethlehem?

“So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the
country of Moab: and they came to Beth—lehem in the beginning of barley harvest” (Ruth 1:22).

It was the beginning of barley harvest when Naomi returned to Bethlehem. Every return to God
is a beginning of barley harvest for us—the beginning of prosperity, plenty and blessings! So was it
when the prodigal son returned to his father's house—he was not going to be hungry or poor any more.
He ‘richly gives us all things to enjoy'. He gives us what is ‘precious and nourishing'. “The young
lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing” Psa
34:10).

“And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and
his name was Boaz” (Ruth 2:1).
OUR ‘BOAZ’

‘Boaz’ means ‘strong’. In the original tongue, it does not indicate that Boaz had material
riches, but that he was a man of standing, one with strength of character.

Boaz is a type of Jesus. Both are from Bethlehem; both became redeemers; both are mighty
men of wealth; both are gracious and kind. Boaz went to the city gate to redeem his bride; our Lord
went ‘without the gate' to redeem us.
 Like Boaz, our Jesus is also “a mighty man of wealth.” He has ALL wealth—riches of grace,
riches of wisdom and knowledge, riches of goodness, riches of glory etc. Only the poor can be blessed
by a wealthy man. Ruth was very poor; so Boaz was of great help to her. The poorer we are, the more
we can be blessed or benefited by our “mighty man of wealth”. How can we become poor? Through
‘consecration'. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” we read. What is meant by being ‘poor in spirit’? We
may have many facilities around us, but in our spirit we should not possess them, ie. we should not get
attached to them. It is then that our mighty Man of Wealth, Boaz, will be a source of riches to us.
Boaz was a near kinsman to Naomi. Jesus is our blood relative. How did Jesus become our
blood relative? In a deep sense, when we were sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ washed our sins with
His blood and now His blood is in us. So He is our blood relative.

“And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him
in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter” (Ruth 2:2).
“HERE AM I; SEND ME!”

Ruth wanted to go and glean in somebody’s field. No one asked her to go and glean—she
willingly chose the job. Some say that Ruth was King Eglon’s daughter. We do not have any Biblical
evidence to prove this. Anyway, it is downright humility for a young widow from a foreign country to
go to someone’s field and do the most humiliating work of gleaning. Only the poor and strangers go
and glean in fields. Practically, it was a substitute for begging. Ruth could have thought, “I am from a
decent family. Gleaning is the dirty job of the very poor. Moreover, if I go to glean, all day I have to
bear the rebukes and scoldings of the reapers and owners of the field.” Here we see the humility of
Ruth. Before honour is humility. The very field she went to glean became her own, and the owner of
the field, became her husband. She went to glean—a humiliating job, much inferior to that of the
reapers, but, finally the reapers became her servants. What a reward for humility! We should begin
our ministry in all humility. And, as days go by, we should become humbler and humbler.
“Let me now go to the field,” Ruth said. She did not wait to learn the language of the country,
or get acquainted with the people and their customs. ‘Field' denotes the field of the gospel. We should
have a zeal and vision about the gospel field. St. Paul says, “The love of Christ constraineth us.” We
are responsible for the soul of everyone who comes into contact with us. No one comes into our life
accidentally. Every soul is a potential saint. Make use of every opportunity to speak of Jesus to others.
God can do a great work through your small work for Him.
We are living in a needy world. The earth is full of hurting and wounded poeple. People are
in need of real love and peace. They are waiting for someone to give them the Word of God. Let us
say like Ruth, “Let me now go.” Then the Lord will put the right words in our mouth; we will find
grace to help those in need. If we do not have a zeal for the gospel field, if we do not have a burden
for souls, we will be attracted to other fields such as the field of sin, field of carnality, etc.
“In whose eyes I shall find grace,” says Ruth. Naomi did not mention the word ‘grace’. But
when Ruth was willing to go to the field, she was able to speak of grace. If we have the willingness
and desire to go to the mission field, we will find grace in the sight of the Lord to serve Him. Ruth
wanted to go to someone who will show her grace. So she found Boaz, the man of grace.

“And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a
part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech” (Ruth 2:3).
WHEN THE LORD LEADS...

Ruth did not know where to go. How uncaring Naomi was! Ruth loved her and cared so
much for her and yet she did not even tell her where to go. When Ruth asked, “Shall I go to one of
the fields and glean?” Naomi could have said, “Go to Boaz’s field; he is our relative.” But if she had
done so, her pride would have been hurt. If Naomi had been walking with God, she would have not
only taken Ruth to Boaz’s field, but would have also introduced her to Boaz. But look at the kindness
of God towards Ruth. There might have been many hundreds of fields there, but the Lord led her to
the right field. Ruth did not go to Boaz’s field by accident but by divine appointment. “The meek will
He guide” (Psa 25:9). “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye
in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isa 30:21). If we are right with
God and are humble and obedient to our leaders, the Lord will lead us aright; the place to which God
leads us will be the right place. Things may happen the other way around also—if we are not right
with God, if we are not obedient, even if those above us send us to the right place, we may land up in
the wrong place!
There are so many fields in this world—the field of lust, flesh, fame, wealth etc. but we have
been brought to Boaz's field. This is not ‘luck’ but the blessing and privilege God has graciously
given us. Are we thankful to God for bringing us to ‘Boaz's field’? We could have been in any
other field! The grace of God has brought us to the best place—the field of Jesus—‘the gospel
field’, ‘the church of God’, ‘the house of God’! God has given us the pure doctrine—the truth
about Zion, New Jerusalem and about a holy life! God has also given us saints who have lived a
holy life and set a good example for us. What a privilege!

“And, behold, Boaz came from Beth—lehem, and said unto the reapers, the Lord be with you. And
they answered him, The Lord bless thee” (Ruth 2:4).
BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

Just as Boaz came from Bethlehem, Jesus too came from Bethlehem. Servants of God are
the reapers. When Boaz came from Bethlehem, he said, “The Lord be with you.” We need the
immediate presence of God— the experience of God being with us. Whatever we do, wherever we
are, we should be able to sense the presence of God. And it should be the prayer and desire of every
servant of God that the believers should have the Lord in their lives. To see God in the lives of the
believers, first, servants of God should have God in their lives. To see God being with the believers,
first, God should be with the servants of God.

The reapers replied, “The Lord bless thee.” Servants of God should be a blessing to others;
they should be found blessing others.

They greeted each other in the name of the Lord. This reflects the good relationship there
should be between employer and employee, among servants of God, between servants of God and
believers, and between senior workers and junior workers.

It was Boaz who greeted the workers first. First, the servants of God are blessed; then they
become a blessing to the believers. Believers should see that the servants of God who are kept over
them are being blessed by the Lord. If they cannot see God's blessing in the life and ministry of a
servant of God, that servant of God cannot be a blessing to them. This is applicable between older
and younger workers too.

“Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?” (Ruth 2:5).
GOD'S EYES ARE ON THE HUMBLE

When the landlord comes to his field during harvest, his eyes generally fall on the reapers to
see if they are doing their work properly. No landlord will set his eyes on the gleaners because the
gleaners, who are virtually beggars, are in no way a benefit to the landlord. They are rather a
nuisance, always trying to grab something from the harvest field. But here as soon as Boaz comes, his
eyes fall on Ruth. ‘Christ observes every humble gleaner in His field. How good to be moving in such
a way that we attract the attention of Christ!'

“But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me”(Psa 40:17). Ruth was poor and
needy and Boaz was mindful of her. If we are poor and needy, the Lord will keep thinking of us
and caring for us all the time. That is why it is said, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of
God,” before it is said, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (I Pet 5:6,7). If we
humble ourselves, God’s mighty hands will be above us to cover us, protect us and care for us.
Humble children of God need never get worried, for they can cast all their cares upon the Lord.

Why does the Bible say, “Be clothed with humility”? (I Pet 5:5). When we put on a dress,
we cannot keep wearing the same dress all the days of our life. We will have to keep changing every
day. Similarly, if we are clothed with humility only today, it will not do. Tomorrow, again, we must be
clothed with humility. When we are clothed with humility God’s mighty hand will do mighty things for
us.

“And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that
came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather
after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until
now, that she tarried a little in the house” (Ruth 2:6,7).
A GOOD REPORT

The servant that was set over the reapers is a type of a servant of God who is entrusted with
the responsibility of looking after the church. He must know the state of the church so that when
the Lord of the harvest comes, he can give account of every member. This is exactly what the
servant was able to do when Boaz came and enquired about the new gleaning girl. “Be thou diligent
to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds” (Prov 27:23).
We read of the servant giving a good testimony about Ruth. What testimony has your leader,
boss, pastor to give of you? Of a certain disciple, Demetrius, the apostle John says he has a “good
report of all men, and of the truth itself” (III Jn 12). “Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a
conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men,” says St. Paul (Acts 24:16).
Gleaning is a mean job—one has to pick up one by one, the corn that falls on the muddy or
miry ground. To do this mean work, Ruth had humbly asked for permission—“I pray you, let me
glean,” she had asked. What humility! What meekness! Let us ever have the realization that we are
not in the least worthy to do even the lowliest work in the house of God.
The supervisor had his eyes on this young widow to see how she was gleaning. If we are
seeking grace like Ruth, there will be grace in everything we do, and others will notice that grace
and be blessed.
“Hath continued from morning until now.” ‘The book of Ruth is largely a history, typically,
of movements of affection on our side, and of diligence in the pursuit of what is spiritual. Ruth was not
only a gleaner, but a diligent gleaner.' She started in the morning. Every morning His grace is new,
His mercies are new. And she continued ‘until now’. Barley fields have no trees for shade, and in that
very hot weather, gleaning was a very difficult task. But without stopping, Ruth kept herself at work.
(Moffat's translation renders ‘she tarried a little at the house’ as ‘without stopping for a moment’.)
This is the sign of a virtuous woman. “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her
hands". "She...eateth not the bread of idleness” (Prov 31:13,27). An idle mind is the devil’s work-
shop. God has no use for easy going people. Elisha was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen when
Elijah called him. Moses was feeding the sheep when he was called to lead God’s people out of Egypt.
Gideon was threshing wheat in the night when the angel appeared to him with a mission. The
disciples were fishing and cleaning their nets when Jesus called them to be ‘fishers of men’. When
Jesus called Mathew, he was at work in the tax office. God does not want lazy people. It is the devil
who wants lazy people. Our desire should be to work for God with zeal and love till the last moment
of our life.

We should not seek rest. If we seek rest, the ministry will suffer, but when we willingly serve
the Lord, the Holy Spirit will seek rest for us (see Ruth 3:1). “Until now”—she had been gleaning
until Boaz came. Until Jesus comes we should be labouring.

Mother Teresa was a devoted woman. She had a spirit of sacrifice. Once, to a newspaperman
who was interviewing her, she said that she did not want to die lying down, but while serving the
poor. Accordingly, till she died at the age of 89, she kept serving others. We must never relax in our
spirit. We do not get rest here on this earth. We must love to suffer in the world for Christ’s sake.
That is a beautiful spirit. Our love and zeal to suffer for the Lord should increase as the days go by.

“The work is solemn — do not trifle

The task is difficult — do not relax
The opportunity is brief — do not delay
The path is narrow — do not wander
The prize is glorious — do not fain.”

“Lord, help me to realize my unworthiness rather than my worthiness. Lord, You brought me
to the field of Boaz; help me to labour without rest until You come. Give me Ruth's humble
obedience.”
§§§§§

CHAPTER 5

RUTH FINDS FAVOUR

“When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord
will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them” (Isa 41:17).

Ruth gets every encouragement from Boaz and his servants. Boaz speaks directly to her
for personal comfort.

“Then said Boaz unto Ruth, hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither
go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap,
and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when
thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn” (Ruth
2:8,9).

THE BEAUTIFUL FAMILY OF GOD

“Hear, my daughter.” These are the first words spoken to Ruth by Boaz. We have come to
our Boaz’s (gospel) field. We must also hear our Master’s voice. “I will hear what God the Lord will
speak: for He will speak peace to His people and to His saints” (Psa 85:8). Yes, what peace and
comfort Ruth must have expe- rienced when she heard the very owner of the field call her “my
daughter”! Normally a gleaner could expect only scoldings from the field owners. Although Ruth
could not hear any comforting words from her mother-in-law, God richly rewarded her for her
unselfish love and devotion.

Ruth has left her father and mother and has come to a strange land. Here, Boaz, a great rich
man, calls her ‘my daughter'. Our Jesus is richer and greater than Boaz. When one consecrates his
father and mother, Boaz (Jesus) will be his father and mother. We see Boaz protecting Ruth, showing
her compassion and taking care of her.

Two people call Ruth ‘my daughter', viz, Naomi (2:2) and now, Boaz. Ruth left her father,
mother, home, country, etc,. and followed Naomi. Now God has given her a man and a woman to call
her 'my daughter'. If we have truly consecrated our father and mother, wherever we go God will give
us fathers and mothers to love us and care for us more than our own father or mother would. This is a
beautiful family. And this relationship is going to be eternal. If, after coming into this family, you love
carnal fleshly attachments, woe to you! You cannot follow on to the very end. If you pour oil on water,
the oil will not mix with the water. It will keep floating. Unconsecrated servants of God are like that.
They cannot join with the others.

“Go not to glean in another field.” God has brought us to the right field. We must not go to
other fields like the field of sin, worldliness, popularity, prosperity, comfort, etc. “No man, having
put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:62). We must be
abundantly satisfied with the fatness of the house of God. Are we really satisfied with the glorious
ministry God has given us? “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may
dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire
in His temple” (Psa 27:4). “For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a
doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness,” avows David (Psa
84:10). One day in the house of God is better than a thousand days outside it. If we stay one day
elsewhere we have lost a thousand days in the house of God. Servants of God must have this
revelation. After making the consecration said in Luke 14:26, if one has a desire to go home and see
his mother, father, etc, he is turning back after putting his hand on the plough. Such thoughts do not
come from God; they have to be consecrated. If one lives in the house of God with carnal affections
and attachments, he cannot be happy.

“Abide fast by my maidens” ie. ‘stay close to my maidens'. We should be united with other
children of God. This is where God’s glory is manifested. Jesus, in His prayer, said, “The glory
which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one as We are one” (Jn 17:22). If we
cannot have fellowship with the people of God, we cannot have fellowship with God; if we cannot be
reconciled to others, we cannot be reconciled to God. How can we be united with others? For this,
humility is needed.
SET YOUR EYES ON YOUR WORK

“Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap” ie. on the harvest field. The ministry of
consecrated servants of God is one of harvesting. “One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to
reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour,” Jesus told His disciples who had left their all and
followed Him (Jn 4:37,38). ‘Sowing’ is sowing the seed of the gospel of salvation. ‘Harvesting’ is
‘perfecting of the saints’. “And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the
edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11,12). “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching
every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Col 1:28).
Servants of God are planted in the house of the Lord and asked to keep their eyes on the harvest
field. Their heart and eyes should ever be on the work of God, on the souls entrusted to them — to
present them ‘perfect in Christ’. “Take heed...to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath
made you overseers, to feed the church of God” (Acts 20:28). “Feed the flock of God which is among
you, taking the oversight thereof”(IPet 5:2).

“Go thou after them.” St. Paul says, “Be ye followers of me” (I Cor 11:1). We must follow
the example set by the reapers who have gone ahead of us — the lives they lived and the way they
ended their lives in faith should be before us.
UNDER GOD'S SPECIAL PROTECTION

“Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?” Our Boaz (Jesus) has
commanded that no one should harm us. “Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no
harm” (Psa 105:14,15). A certain man who was an agent of the devil when he was in the devil's
service, says that the devils identify blood-washed Spirit-filled children of God, by the ring of light
they have about them. Demonic spirits know, it seems, that they cannot touch such children of God.
They know that if they did, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and all the angels would fight for them,
and they would be tormented. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is
begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (I Jn 5:18). There is one
thing to note here. The wicked cannot touch you only as long as you keep yourself. If you do not keep
yourself, sin will touch you.

Also, it is only in the field of Boaz that such protection is afforded. The Lord has set a fence
around the church, His vineyard (Isa 5:1,2). There is also a protection in being in the centre of
God's will. If we stray away from the place where we are kept by the Lord, we lose the special
protection of God. “As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his
place” (Prov 27:8).
PURITY OF TOUCH

Touching anyone with an evil intention is a great sin. “It is good for a man not to touch a
woman,” says St.Paul (I Cor 7:1). No one should touch us with a wrong intention; we too should
not touch anyone with a wrong intention. We should not touch even our own body with a wrong
intention. Our body is the holy temple of God. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy,” says the Lord (I Cor 3:17).We should be zealous for holiness. Even in our thought, there
should not be a touch of uncleanness. Once our holiness is gone, the backbone of our Christian life is
broken.

“Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, why have I found grace
in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?”(Ruth 2:10).
THE LOWLY ARE EXALTED TO GLORY!

Look at Ruth’s humility. She felt so unworthy that she bowed herself down to the ground
and fell on her face. In the Bible we read of many who did this becoming great. Abigail did it
before David. “And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before
David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground”(I Sam 25:23). Ruth became the wife of Boaz
and Abigail, the wife of David. This is a type of our becoming the Bride of Christ. Bowing to the
ground and falling on the face shows extreme humility—humbling ourself to the dust. God made us
out of dust. Even now God does that work—those who are willing to become dust, He makes a perfect
man! Everyday we should lie at the feet of Jesus and learn humility. Study Christlike humility. “Take
My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls” (Matt 11:29).
Ruth must have thought she would have to keep gleaning all her lifetime, for a livelihood.
Abigail revealed a similar thought: “Let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the
servants of my lord” (I Sam 25:41). The heart's desire of a servant of God must always be:
“Lord, let me do the meanest job in Thy house all my lifetime.”
Mary, the mother of Jesus, confesses, “He hath regarded the low estate of His handmaiden:
for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed” (Lk 1:48). Jesus was born in her
because she realized her ‘low estate’. When we come to the humblest, lowest level, that is when
Jesus will be born in us, or revealed through us. Mary became a source of great blessing to all
generations. What a blessed life God has brought us into! “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit
the throne of glory,” sang Hannah (I Sam 2:8). We should always remember how God lifted us up
from the horrible pit, the miry clay and the dark prison.
“Why have I found grace in thine eyes?” Ruth found grace in the eyes of Boaz. Noah found
grace in the eyes of the Lord, we read (Gen 6:8). That means, Noah looked not at the people around
whose thoughts and imaginations were continually evil, but at the Lord. We often get offended at
people because we are looking at them. If we keep looking unto the eyes of the Lord we can never get
offended. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,”let us run this race (Heb 12:2).
As long as Peter kept looking at Jesus, while walking on the water he did not fall. Faith life is like
walking on water. Living a holy life is like walking on water. As long as we keep looking at Jesus we
can walk on water.
“Seeing I am a stranger.” We too were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel. We were
not Jews, but strangers. “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,...
that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph
2:11,12).
Ruth had so many good qualities but she did not speak of them. She could have spoken of
how she had left her father, mother, country, etc, and come to take care of Naomi. Instead, she only
confessed her unworthi- ness. “I am not worthy of the least of all (Thy) mercies,” confesses Jacob
(Gen 32:10). We read of David too acknowledging his unworthiness, in many places. To Saul he says,
“Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the
king?” (I Sam 18:18), when he could have said, “Surely I am worthy. Was it not I who killed
Goliath?” “Who am I?” He realized he was nothing. It is when we think we are something that we get
hurt, offended and angry. At another time, sitting before the Lord, David says, “Who am I, O Lord
God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” (II Sam 7:18). This confession
should be in our spirit. We have so many unsanctified natures in us, but the Lord has graciously
brought us thus far. “It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions
fail not” (Lam 3:22). “And what is my life or my father's family.” Nehemiah mentioned all the good
things he had done and said, ‘Lord, remember me’ (Neh 13:14,22,31). He cursed the people, smote
them, plucked off their hair, threatened to lay hands on them, chased them, etc. (Neh 13:25,28). But
he says, “Lord remember me for the good things I have done.” He says this repeatedly, but we do not
find the Lord appreciating him. What did Ezra do when he faced a similar problem? He plucked his
own hair and rent his own garment (Ezra 9:3). When Nehemiah got angry and did things in haste and
with force there was no revival, but when Ezra humbled himself and did things calmly and peacefully,
there was a great revival in his time.
It is when we realize our own unworthiness that we can say, “Worthy is the Lamb!” This is
God-consciousness. Self consciousness is thinking about or being conscious of our own greatness. We
may have many things to boast of, but we must speak of only our unworthiness. Then the Lord will
honour us with greater honour. “Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is
humility” (Prov 18:12).
 “Who am I that thou shouldest take knowledge of me?” When we humble ourselves and
confess our unworthiness, the Lord Himself will take knowledge of us. “What is man, that Thou
takest knowledge of him!” (Psa 144:3). The more we realize our unworthiness, the more the Lord
will care for us. “What is man, that Thou shouldest magnify him? and that Thou shouldest set
thine heart upon him? And that Thou shouldest visit him every morning ?” (Job 7:17,18).
“Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. They
shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing” (Psa 92:13,14). We are the
planting of the Lord. The Lord has planted us in His house. Our gracious Lord waters us every
moment.“I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and
day”(Isa 27:3). Every moment the Lord pours His grace upon us so that we may be fat and
flourishing and bring forth fruit. Who are we that the Almighty God, the Lord of all creation, the King
of kings and Lord of lords should take care of us and watch over us day and night like a bodyguard!

“And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto
thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy
mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore”
(Ruth 2:11).
UNSELFISH LOVE

What is the difference between the good which a daughter-in-law does for her mother-in-law
while her husband is alive, and the good she does to her after the death of her husband? Whatever
the daughter-in-law does for her mother-in-law while her husband is alive, is to please her
husband. She may also do it fearing that her husband might scold her if she did not do so. But
when the daughter-in-law looks after her mother-in-law after the death of her husband, she does it
out of pure, unselfish love. If Ruth had at least had children, she could have expected some help
from the mother-in-law to look after them. But now there was no need for that. Naomi could only
be a burden to Ruth. In such a state Ruth showing love and care is indeed divine. Let this be an
example to daughters-in-law who do not love or care for their mothers-in-law EVEN WHILE THEIR
HUSBANDS ARE ALIVE. Prejudice could have easily come into Ruth for, Naomi had given her wrong
counsel in asking her to go back to her gods. But Ruth cared for her mother-in-law. How many such
godly Ruths can we find among the children of God in this modern world? Naomi can be compared to
our leaders or elders. We should love our elders unselfishly.
“...How thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity.” Ruth’s father
and mother must have been alive; Naomi had thought they would arrange something for her
future. That is why she said, “Go, return...to (your) mother's house... The LORD grant you that (you)
may find rest...in the house of (your) husband.” But Ruth did not want that. Her dedication is unique.
Here we see Boaz commending her for that. When we dedicate our family and home, our Boaz is
highly pleased with us. “Forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house; So shall the King
greatly desire thy beauty” (Psa 45:10,11).

“The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under
Whose wings thou art come to trust” (Ruth 2:12).
THE FULL REWARD FOR THE FULL TRUST

Boaz realized that he could not give Ruth a full reward for all her dedication and
consecration. He rewarded Ruth on earth; God would reward her in Eternity. When we are
consecrated and dedicated, God will reward us both here and in Eternity. Our full reward is Zion or
Christ. Only consecrated servants of God will get the full reward. St Paul says, “I have suffered the
loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Phil 3:8).

“Under Whose wings thou art come to trust.” To trust the Lord and come under His wings,
all our trust in our father, mother, country, etc should go. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Our family
members are like the corn of wheat. A death and a burial of our own people must take place in our
mind. We should not rely on any help we can get from them. It is then that we will receive a
hundredfold fathers and mothers. Then we will be able to trust God properly. Only consecrated
servants of God can fully trust the Lord. If we do not consecrate our people properly, that most holy
faith may never come. There is a price to pay, to get the most holy faith.

There is healing under His wings, we read (Mal 4:2). So divine healing and consecration are
inter-related. Sometimes sickness comes to servants of God because of lack of consecration. ‘Wing’ is
also translated as ‘skirt’ or ‘covering’. How encouraging to see that God answered the prayer of
Boaz through Boaz himself! See Ruth 3:9.

“Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for
that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine
handmaidens” (Ruth 2:13).
In spite of all the appreciation, Ruth further humbles herself. Ruth was extremely grateful to
Boaz although, according to the law, the poor who came to the field had to be allowed to glean.
RIGHT REVELATION AND RIGHT RELATIONSHIP

Ruth calls Boaz, ‘my lord’, though no servant of Boaz had called him so. Judas Iscariot
never called Jesus ‘Lord’; he only called him ‘Master’. When Jesus performed a miracle in Peter’s
boat, Peter called Jesus, ‘Lord’ though he did not know the Lord at that time. When we properly
consecrate all that has to be consecrated, we will not only be able to trust the Lord in the right way,
but also get the right revelation and relationship with the Lord. We may never get the right revelation
and relationship with the Lord till we do it. Only consecrated people get the right revelation.
TENDERLY HE SPEAKS

“Thou hast spoken friendly.”In the Hebrew trans- lation it is, “You have spoken to my
heart.” “Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably (to the heart) to
Jerusalem” (Isa 40:1,2). When God speaks to us, He speaks to our heart. His words fall softly on our
heart like dew (Deut 32:2). To speak to us so tenderly, the Lord sometimes calls us apart—away from
noise and distraction, to a quiet and lonely spot. “ I will...bring her into the wilderness, and speak
comfortably unto her(speak to her heart)” (Hos 2:14).
MORE HUMILITY

“I am not like one of thy handmaidens.” Mary, the mother of Jesus, says, “Behold the
handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38), but Ruth humbles herself even more saying, “I am less than
thine handmaidens.” She acknowledges that she does not stand on a level with even the servants.
The prodigal son realized he was in a worse state than his father's hired servants. St. Paul says, “I
am less than the least of all saints.” True humility is realizing our unworthiness in the presence of
God. We may say we are small, but in our hearts we may think we are big. We must realize our
unworthi- ness and must esteem others better than ourselves. If we think we are wiser or better than
others, that marks the end of our ministry. For the plan of God to be fulfilled in us the basic quality
we need is humility. Ruth, being a Gentile, became an ancestress of Jesus. If we learn to humble
ourselves we will be honoured. We will never know how much God is going to bless us when we learn
to humble ourselves.
“And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in
the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and
was sufficed, and left” (Ruth 2:14).
REVELATIONS DIRECTLY FROM THE LORD

Look at the special attention given by Boaz to Ruth. He gave her plenty of parched corn.
Parched corn is the food of Canaan (Josh 5:11). It shows strong meat, which stands for ‘deep
revelations’. All through the 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites received manna, but when they
reached the land of Canaan, they ate parched corn. God gives us deeper revelations which bring us
satisfaction and fulfilment. The master of the (gospel) field not only personally invited Ruth to the
field, but also gave her food himself. Receiving parched corn from Boaz signifies receiving deep
revelations directly from the Lord. There is a special blessing and grace in receiving bread from the
Master. Very often we get bread that has passed through many hands, which may not really satisfy us.
Only Jesus (our Boaz) can satisfy us. Boaz did not throw the parched corn to Ruth or pass it through
his servants, but gave it to her directly. To receive bread directly from our Master, we must be very
close to Him. Normally, deep revelations are given directly by the Lord; if it comes passing through
many hands, the sweetness and freshness will be almost lost. Sit close to Jesus as Mary did—so close
that He can reach out the parched corn to you. Sit at Jesus’ feet in all humility. God has so many deep
things to reveal to us, but He cannot reveal it to the proud and haughty, for that will only make them
more proud and lead to their destruction. Ruth ate her fill and had some left over. When the Lord
Himself feeds us with blessings and revelations, we will have enough and to spare.

“And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even
among the sheaves, and reproach her not: and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her,
and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not” (Ruth 2:15,16).
WE ARE SPECIAL TO GOD

Gleaning among the sheaves was not allowed. Only after the sheaves are bound will gleaners
be allowed to enter the field and pick up fallen ears of corn. So when Boaz gave this instruction, he
was telling the reapers not to reproach Ruth, considering her to be a widow, a poor girl, a gleaning
woman, or a stranger. When we come to Jesus, our Boaz, we are accepted in the Beloved. He takes
away our shame and reproach and gives us glory and honour. Ruth, being a stranger, least
expected such gracious acceptance and welcome from such a mighty man of wealth.

Boaz also asks the reapers to drop some handfuls purposely so that Ruth may pick them up.
What Boaz did for Ruth, was much more than what the law required. That is how special we are to
God. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us”(Eph 3:20). Boaz had done for Ruth much more than
what she expected or thought or deserved. When Ruth went to glean in the field, she, being a
heathen, was equivalent to a dog. Dogs get only the leftover crumbs from the table. But Boaz gives
her handfuls and invites her to sit with the other servants. Thus we see her relationship with Boaz
growing.Our relationship with the Lord should keep growing day by day. Only then can His character
traits come into us.

Dropping “handfuls on purpose”—was a special favour. Jesus does us many a favour. There
are many sweet expressions of the Lord's favour which are not general. And the Lord speaks of a
‘white stone' and on it a ‘new name written, which no one knows but he that receives it' (Rev 2:17).
The Lord loves to give us personal marks of favour. We should covet to receive marks of the love and
favour of Christ, so that the sense of His personal regard is in our hearts.

Each day is a day specially made just for you. If you realize this you will not dread the
morrow and what it may bring you. Living for Jesus, serving Jesus will be truly exciting. God wants
to do something special for you and through you today. If you believe, you will see the glory of God.
Jesus has joy unspeakable and glory for you each day. He has special favours for you today. Do not
miss them. One special favour is, when He comes He will take us to Himself, even to Zion and
Jerusalem! The more we humble ourselves in our Boaz’s field, the more we will be rewarded and
honoured. How many dear ones have not been able to continue in this glorious gospel field, because
of pride! May the dear Lord keep us humble in this harvest field.

As you work in your Boaz’s field, you will get to know more and more of Him— ‘He is a
mighty man of wealth; He is gracious and kind; He knows all about me; He cares for me more than
anyone else in the world does; He reaches out to me parched corn and satisfies me; He commands
His servants to care for me and protects me; He allows me to glean even among the reapers; He is my
kinsman; He knows my needs; He acknowledges me and praises me before the reapers; He assures
me that I need not go to any field of sin at any time for satisfaction and fulfilment.'
At least today, will you turn away from all other fields and come to Boaz’s field ? Come
before it is too late! Your Boaz is waiting to welcome you into His vast and rich gospel field.

“When you count every gain as loss for Christ,

Willing to serve Him in love,
He will grant you His glory, honour and might,
You'll serve Him in Zion evermore.”
§§§§§

CHAPTER 6

NAOMI IS CHANGED!
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due
season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men”
(Gal.6:9,10).

When Ruth returned after a hard day's work she brought with her what she had gleaned
and also the share of parched corn she had saved for her mother-in-law. Naomi must have been
pleasantly surprised to see such a large quantity of barley and the parched corn. Naomi would not
have even expected Ruth to volunteer to do such a humbling job as gleaning. So it must have been
certainly moving to see her bring home so much. We see a change taking place in Naomi after this.
Ruth's love, devotion and faithfulness have started yielding results.

“So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah
of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had
gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed” (Ruth
2:17,18).
‘FULL GRAIN' REVELATIONS

Ruth beat out that which she gleaned. Only after beating out the stalks will you know how
much grain you have. Ruth took home only the full grain. Many are satisfied with ‘straw’. How
often, after church meetings, children of God go home with only ‘straw’ and ‘chaff’! All they have
to talk about is the drawbacks of the preacher, the singers, the believers, etc. Very often, some
portion of the sermon is only straw and chaff. But let us beat them out and carry home only the full
grain.

Ruth also took parched corn home. It is very encouraging to observe that Boaz gave Ruth only
parched corn and full grain—he never gave her straw or chaff. Later we see Boaz giving Ruth six
measures of barley—there was no straw or chaff. When we directly receive blessings, revelations or
deeper truths from the Lord, there will be no straw or chaff in them. Servants of God must directly get
revelations from the Lord so that they can give them to the church without straw and chaff.

Ruth went home with a basket of full grain—no chaff, no straw, but full barley. St. Paul says,
“I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” (Rom 15:29). Dear child of God,
in the evening of your life, when you return to your heavenly home, will you be carrying an empty
basket? Will you be carrying chaff and straw, some empty boastings and vain glories?

And her mother-in-law said unto her, where hast thou gleaned today? And where wroughtest thou?
Blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee” (Ruth 2:19).
DO NOT DWELL ON THE PAST

The Holy Spirit asks this very important question to all of us at the end of each day and at
the end of our life also. Where did you work today? In whose field did you work today? Was it in
the field of the flesh or in the field of Christ? Was it in the field of name and fame or in the field of
holiness and lowliness?
The question is, Where did you work today? Not yesterday, but today. Did you read the Bible
today? How much did you get out of your Bible meditation today? Yes, the Lord is asking, “Bring of
the fish which you have NOW caught” (Jn 21:10). Some people always have testimonies of their past
glory, but nothing of today. Bring the fish you caught today. Yesterday’s fish is no good today. True,
you prayed yesterday, but did you pray today? Did you spend quality time in the holy presence of
God today? Ruth’s basketful of barley showed where she worked today—it was indeed in the field of
Boaz, the mighty man of wealth. Your empty basket, or basket- ful of blessings will show where you
worked today.
CHANGING OTHERS

“Blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee.” Now, for the first time, we see Naomi using
the word ‘blessed’. Till now she had been complaining and saying, “The Almighty has afflicted me,
testified against me, made me empty, made me bitter etc.” She could not bring herself to pronounce
the word ‘blessed’. But now there is a great change in her character. The world is full of Naomis.
People are full of anger and bitterness towards God. We need Ruths to change such people.
If we have Christ's character in us, even the worst people, even the hardest of people around
us, will change. There is an Indian proverb which says that, if a jasmine flower falls on a rock, the
rock too will become fragrant. Ruth loved Naomi more than a daughter could, and that love
changed her. When you see faults in people, do not correct them immediately. Love them and let
them see your love. Then you will be able to correct them in the proper way. Be filled with the love
of God and be clothed with the humility of God.
One man of God used to say, “If the Lord is working in you, He will be working through
you.” If God is not working in you, how can He work through you? So God must work out purity,
humility, grace, love, meekness, etc in our life. All our tension, irritability, resentment, bitterness,
etc is due to pride. “The smaller you become, the more room God will have to work through you,”
said one saint. This is true indeed. Ruth is a beautiful example for this.
 Ruth did not give any doctrinal teaching to Naomi when she complained about God dealing
bitterly with her. It was her love and dedication that changed Naomi. Do not try to advise your
elders; show it in your life.

“And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until
they have ended all my harvest” (Ruth 2:21).
HIDE YOURSELF

We see Ruth's humility again. Although she gives a detailed report about what happened in
Boaz’s field, she does not mention how much Boaz praised and appreciated her.
Saul had this humility initially. When he returned home after being blessed and anointed as
king by Samuel, he said nothing about it to his uncle. And when the time came for him to be
presented to the people, he literally hid himself!

A real man of God never speaks of himself but of his Saviour and Lord. The dying words of
Frances Havergal, the composer of Take my Life and many other beautiful hymns, were “Oh! I want
you all to speak bright, bright words for Jesus! Oh, do, do!” D.L.Moody, the famous evangelist, said
before he died, “When I am gone, do not speak about Moody; speak about Moody's Saviour.”
"Not I, but Christ" be honoured, loved, exalted;
"Not I, but Christ" be seen, be known, be heard;
"Not I, but Christ" in every look and action;
"Not I, but Christ" in every thought and word.

“Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it
may be well with thee?” (Ruth 3:1).
REST FOR US

Naomi says, “Shall I not seek rest for thee my daughter?” Strictly speaking, Naomi is a type
of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who has to seek rest for us. If we seek rest or comfort on our
own, we will not find any. Rest and comfort are like a shadow --- if you follow it, it will flee, but if
you flee from it, it will follow you. It is the Lord we have to seek. “We have sought Him, and He hath
given us rest on every side” (II Chron 14:7). When we seek the Lord, we have rest. “They had sworn
with all their heart, and sought Him with their whole desire; and He was found of them: and the Lord
gave them rest round about” (II Chron 15:15). Jesus says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). When we really seek the Lord He will find rest for
us.
Ruth is a type of the Bride of Christ while Boaz is a type of Christ. Marrying Christ brings a
rest to our souls. When we are united to Christ, our Heavenly Bridegroom, that relationship gives
us rest.
“So that it may be well with thee.” When we have an intimate relationship with Jesus, it will
be well with us. Naomi has now become unselfish. She did not think, “Let this girl stay to look after
me in my old age. If she gets married who will care for me?” Servants of God need to be sacrificial;
they should not be burdened about their present needs. “To present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus”—this is the vision and ministry given to them.

“And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley
to night in the threshing floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon
thee, and get thee down to the floor:... thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and
he will tell thee what thou shalt do” (Ruth 3:2-4).
LOVE RECIPROCATED

What good advice Naomi gives now! Earlier we saw how Naomi did not show any love or
kindness to Ruth. She did not even advise her to go to Boaz’s field. But Ruth looked after Naomi and
cared for her and now we see Naomi doing the same for her. Ruth obeyed the golden rule laid down
by Jesus: “What you want others to do to you, do to others.” Ruth is a type of a truly dedicated child
of God. Perhaps you are in a place where there is no one with the love of God, where there is no one
to care for you. If you take special efforts to love and care for those with you, God will change them
and make them loving and caring. When we honour others they will honour us. “Put on therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against
any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col 3:12,13).
Ruth could have thought, ‘Why should I work so hard? Why should I take care of my mother-
in-law?’ When we willingly and joyfully work and take care of even those who appear to be bad, we
will certainly be rewarded. God not only changed Naomi, but also makes her a blessing to Ruth. All
the good we do to those who are hard and unloving, will not go in vain. One day they will become a
blessing to us. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the
work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Cor 15:58). “Be
not weary in well doing” (II Thess 3:13). Here we see Naomi advising Ruth in a very loving way. Her
counsel is truly beautiful.
If servants of God are really dedicated and conse- crated, even the hardest people will
change. “We preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to His
working, which worketh in me mightily” (Col 1:28,29).

If Ruth had gone back to Moab leaving Naomi, the book of Ruth would not have been
written at all. If you are living with a person like Naomi, do not try to run away. Naomi ran away
from her problem and landed in more problems. But now, after going through many problems, she
has changed and has started to care for Ruth.

“Boaz of our kindred...winnoweth.” Naomi takes pains to know all that is going to happen
that night in Boaz’s field and she lets Ruth know about it. Formerly she had not even bothered to
advise Ruth.
“Whose fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the
garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12). A day is coming when the
Lord will separate the chaff and gather the wheat into the garner. He will collect only full grain in His
barn. Let us not be chaff (hypocrites), but full grown grain (perfect in Christ).
DEVELOPING AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD

“Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down
to the floor.” We see here how we can have a close relationship with Jesus. Ruth had earlier met
Boaz in the barley field but she did not do any of these things. She just met him, spoke to him,
received favour and kindness from him, and went back home. Ruth is now to prepare herself to
have a lasting relationship with Boaz. To have a lasting relationship with Jesus we should be at the
feet of Jesus. To be at the feet of Jesus we need to do a few things in preparation.
“Wash thyself.” The first thing we have to do is to wash ourselves. Although God washes us,
we also have to cleanse ourselves (II Cor 7:1). Washing should be a constant experience in our life.
We should be washed by the blood of the Lamb. There are two ways in which we can be cleansed by
the blood of Jesus. “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin”; “If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn 1:7,9). In vs.
7 we read about cleansing from the nature of sin and in vs. 9 we read about cleansing from the
works of sin. We get cleansed from sinful deeds when we confess our sins but, to be cleansed from the
nature of sin we should walk in the light of His presence; then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all
sin ie. nature of sin, not sins or deeds of sin.
Whether sleeping or walking, if we have a deep sanctification, we will always preserve our
fellowship with God. Our spirit will be in touch with God. There is the (i) conscious presence of
God, (ii) unconscious presence of God and (iii) immediate presence of God or manifest presence of
God.
If you are in the immediate presence of God, your spirit will always be in fellowship with
God and you will always be praying or praising God. You can feel the presence of God in seven
ways:

1. God with you. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for
Thou art with me” (Psa 23:4). There is no death, but only shadow of death in the life of those who
walk with God. Death is a blessing. The shadow indicates the presence of light. Jesus is the light.

2. God before you. “I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces
the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: and I will give thee the treasures of darkness,
and hidden riches of secret places” (Isa 45:2,3). He will make crooked places straight. He will
remove all the hindrances in your way. If God is going before us there is no closed door. There will be
times when you have to go through darkness, but if God is going before you there is no need to be
afraid of the darkness. God has some treasures in the darkness. If you do not go through the darkness
you will not get those treasures.

3. God behind you. “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ”
(I Cor 10:4). None of the Israelites who drank of the Rock that followed them were feeble. “There was
not one feeble person among their tribes” (Psa 105:37). If the Lord is behind us, we will be strong.

4. God around you. “I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about” (Zech 2:5). Those
who are standing outside the wall will see only the fire. No one can come near us. If they do they will
be going near the fire. Read Psalm 125:2. As mountains were round about Jerusalem, nobody could
come and attack it. God is around us as a wall of protection, as a mountain.

5. God upon you. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God” (I Pet 5:6). God's
mighty hand is upon us. When we humble ourselves, God will be mighty for us.

6. God underneath you. “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and
He shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them” (Deut 33:27). If God's
hands are underneath us, what will happen? He will thrust out the enemy from before us and say,
‘Destroy them!’ The Lord does not destroy the enemy. He gives us the power to destroy the enemy.
We are more than conquerors through Him.

7. God in you. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27). This is the climax of spiritual life —
Christ in us. This is the hope of glory.

Psalm 139 speaks of the immediate presence of God. “You know my thoughts afar off, even
if I make my bed in hell You are there.” “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me”— the
knowledge of being in the immediate presence of God.
How can we make out God is doing a deep work of cleansing in our life? We will feel very
light, as though someone is carrying us. But if the cleansing is gone, we feel disturbed, burdened,
worried. So we should always desire a deep cleansing in our life.
“Anoint thee.” Washing and anointing go together. The more we are cleansed and washed,
the more we receive fresh anointings. In the tabernacle, the vessels were anointed only after they were
sprinkled with the blood. Every washing in our lives, will be followed by a fresh anointing. A real
anointing comes deep into our spirit when we wash ourselves. So every day we must seek a new
washing and cleansing. Then a new anointing will be upon us. When we lose our cleansing, we lose
our anointing too. So, to preserve our anointing, we should preserve our cleansing. And the more we
are anointed, the more we are cleansed. At the time of death, only a sanctified spirit can be entrusted
into the hands of God. Jesus gave His spirit into the hands of the Father and then died. “Father, into
Thy hands I commend My spirit.” (Lk 23:46). If our spirit is not in a sanctified state we will not have
the boldness to pray like this. We cannot entrust our unsanctified spirit into the hands of the holy God.
Stephen too prayed a similar prayer. See Acts 7:59. We are to give our spirit into God’s hands. We
should therefore be careful to see that no wrong spirit enters into us.
“Putonthyraiment.” “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints” (Rev 19:7,8).
Fine linen, clean and white, is bridal garment. In the world the whole body of the bride is covered and
decked. This is very true about the heavenly Bride too. Her whole body is covered. The bridal garment
is a ‘defilement-proof garment’. When one wears a waterproof garment and dives into deep water, the
water on the outside does not get in nor does water from inside go out. In the same way, when we put
on the bridal garment, nothing from outside will defile us nor will anything in us defile others. This is
the standard of holiness we should have, if we want to have a close relationship with Jesus. Whatever
others do or say should not defile us, and whatever we do or say and our appearance too should not
defile others. Sometimes we keep ourselves from getting defiled by others, but our speech, action, our
way of dressing, etc might defile others or vice versa.
“Gettheedowntothefloor.” This shows humility. If we wash and cleanse ourselves, receive an anointing
and are clothed with the purity of God, we will definitely be able to humble ourselves. The more we
cleanse ourselves, the more we will be able to humble ourselves. We may walk and talk softly and
appear humble, but if we do not have the three experiences of washing, anointing and putting on the
bridal garment, we do not have real humility within.
“He will tell thee what thou shalt do.” Ruth did not know what had to be done, but Boaz
knew. If God has to tell us what kind of life we have to live and what ministry we have to do, we
have to lie or sit at the feet of Jesus. Many of us do not have the prayer life of being at the feet of
Jesus. That is why Jesus is not able to talk to us. Lying at the feet of Jesus is something more than
mere praying. It shows humbling ourselves and praying. To get revelations from the Word of God one
thing is very important—‘humility of mind’. Pride is such a subtle thing—it comes into us in a subtle
manner. We may not be able to see it in us. Never desire to be great in the world. When pride comes
in, the plan of God stops getting fulfilled in us. The Lord cannot reveal to us His plan concerning our
life and our ministry.

§§§§§

CHAPTER 7

A DISPLAY OF EXCEPTIONAL PURITY

“But as He Which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.”
(I Pet 1:15)

‘W hen Ruth learned that the one who had been so gracious to her was a kinsman with the
right of redemption, she was encouraged to put herself in the place of one who needed him, and who
desired to be under his wing.'

“And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a
woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid:
spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman” (Ruth 3:8,9).

EMOTIONAL PURITY

In the whole Bible we do not read of a situation as tempting as this. Here we see emotional
purity displayed. Boaz faced this temptation one whole night. It was at an unguarded time that the
temptation came to him. He was not fasting or praying, but sleeping after feasting. This is the worst
state in which to face a temptation. Moreover, he was all alone. Ruth was waiting and expecting a
relationship with Boaz, and yet he kept himself. Twice he addresses her as ‘daughter’ (vs 10,11).
What emotional purity! His feelings, emotions and thoughts were undefiled. Joseph too faced a
similar situation, but it lasted only for a moment and he was able to run away. But Ruth lay at the feet
of Boaz till the morning. Boaz revealed true Christlike purity in that most tempting situation. Of all
the characters in the Bible (excepting Jesus), Boaz would have had the most number of excuses if he
had yielded to the temptation. He could have said, “I didn’t force the girl”, “ I didn’t go to her; she
came to me”, “I didn’t call her; she came on her own”, etc. When we face such a situation, we might
not sin in action, but we could defile our feelings and emotions. To be pure when everybody and
everything around us is pure, is not a great thing. When we happen to see someone dressed
immodestly or some obscene picture, God notes how our emotions and feelings are.

David was called a man after the heart of God. He composed many hymns and psalms and
he loved God. And yet, in the temptation with the lust of flesh, he miserably failed. But here is a
man who triumphed in it. Boaz's words clearly show what was in his heart. His immediate reaction
to the situation was to say, “Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter.” Speaking of the Lord and
His blessings and calling the woman ‘daughter’ at such a moment of temptation shows his
unparalleled purity. This should be the purity of the saints in Zion. In Zion, all are fathers. If one is
a father to everyone, he will be able to see all the women in the whole world as ‘daughters’. In
Revelation 14:1 we read of the Father’s name written on the foreheads of those standing on Mount
Zion. ‘Forehead’ shows ‘thoughts’. Our thoughts of others should be those of a father. Whether young
or old, we should have the Father’s name written on our forehead. Then we will be pure in our
emotions and thoughts even in the most tempting situations.
Boaz came out of the temptation in flying colours. There are three areas of purity which
have to be preserved: (i) physical purity — in actions (ii) emotional purity — in feelings and (iii)
mental purity — in thoughts. In all these areas Boaz kept his purity intact. We should refuse to let
our thoughts, feelings and intentions get defiled. In these last days, all the demons are against Zion
with one intention— “Let Zion be defiled!” (Mic 4:11). The devil is not afraid of our consecration
or prayer. Once the mind is defiled, our consecration, prayers, etc become nothing. All the demons in
hell have one slogan—“Let Zion be defiled!” We should have a contradictory slogan: “I will keep my
emotions and thoughts pure!” Look at the example set by Boaz. Let us make a deep decision and say,
‘Henceforth my thoughts, words, imaginations, feelings, ambitions—every fibre of mine shall be holy.’

Why do we need emotional purity? “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure
heart fervently” (I Pet 1:22). Only when we have a pure heart can we love a person fervently;
otherwise we will only be pretending to love him. If our emotions are wrong we will not have purity.
All spiritual fruits are connected with emotional purity. So, once our feelings get defiled we cease to
grow in our spiritual life. If we do not have emotional purity, another most important blessing we will
lose is the fruit of the Spirit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance” (Gal 5:22,23). All these are connected with our emotions. So
if our emotional purity is lost, we lose all these. All these are, in a word, called the ‘character of
Christ’. Only if we preserve our emotional purity can we grow in the character of Christ.

We need to believe that by the grace of God we can live a life of emotional purity. Boaz had
not received the Holy Spirit like we have; he was not in the Grace Period; he did not know the
deeper truths; he did not have a Bible to read or a church to go to. If he could have lived such a
life, how much more easy it is for us to live a life of absolute purity in this Grace Period! We need
to consecrate ourselves to live an undefiled life.

HANDMAID OF THE LORD

“I am Ruth thine handmaid.” Ruth does not say, ‘I am Ruth the Moabitess’, or ‘I am Ruth the
stranger’, or ‘I am Ruth the widow’, but—“I am thine handmaid” ie. she had wholly surrendered
herself to her lord and master. Mary, the mother of Jesus, too surrended herself to do the will of the
Lord saying, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word” (Lk 1:38).
“Have Thine own way, Lord!
Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay;
Mould me and make me;
After Thy will,
While I am waiting
Yielded and still.”
PURITY OF THOUGHT

Ruth's reply to Boaz shows her purity—purity in thought and purity in intention—in
approaching Boaz; she was pure to the core.
A true hero in the sight of God is one who has brought into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ. St.Paul lived that life. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty
through God to the pulling down of strongholds; (as Samson pulled down the gates of the city);
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ,” he says (II Cor 10:4,5). Indeed, St.
Paul was a spiritual giant—he was so mighty through God that he shook the gates of hell and shattered
the powers of darkness. What was the secret of St. Paul's power? He refused to let sin enter his
thoughts.

When our mind is weak, we are weak. Our spiritual strength is proportionate to the strength
of our mind. When our mind is corrupt, we are corrupt. If sin is allowed to enter our thoughts, then
we are spiritually (sometimes physically also) very weak and vulnerable to the attack of the devil.
The mind is the capital of the body and of the human life. Satan is well aware of this. Hence St.
Paul says, “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your
minds should be corrupted...” (II Cor 11:3).
A man's spiritual strength does not depend on his gifts, talents or usefulness. You may be a
mighty preacher or an anointed man of God. Your ministry may be wonderful and many may be
getting saved, healed, encouraged and strengthened. You may be a mighty prayer warrior. You may
preach soul-stirring sermons, and wherever you go there may be revivals. However, if your
thoughts are fallen, you are a fallen man. Your gifts and talents can act as a mask and hide your
fallen thoughts. But one day you will shock the whole world with your fall. Do not be deceived—
your true spiritual strength is the strength of your mind. If your thoughts are rotten, you are rotten.
Even the greatest spiritual giant is but a fallen man when sin enters his thoughts. Are you a fallen
man? If your thoughts are fallen, admit the truth and repent before it is too late.
Purity is, in one sense, the true power of the Christian life. It is the power that triumphs over
the gates of hell, the power that overcomes sin, sickness, Satan and every evil power on this earth.
When a child of God possesses the power of purity, he will be bolder than a lion, gentler than a
lamb and sweeter and purer than the angels in heaven. Without purity, life is a failure, ministry is a
failure; everything is bound to be a failure.
Our God is holy. His name is holy; His throne is holy; His crown is holy; His garments are
holy; His heaven is holy; His angels are holy; His promises are holy; His presence is holy; His
workers are holy; His words are holy; His walk is holy; His worship is holy; His Spirit is holy; His
calling is holy; His love is holy; His Church is holy; His faith is most holy; His temple is most
holy; His vessels are holy; His city is holy; His hill and His mountain are holy. He is holy, holy,
holy! He is most holy! Without holiness no man can see God.
A Christian without a proper hunger and thirst for purity is like a man without a backbone.
He cannot stand, let alone walk or run. If you call yourself a born-again Christian and do not love
purity of life above all things, then you are a “wheelchair Christian”. Someone has to push you
forward; you are more a burden than a blessing to others.
If a blind man is placed in the most beautiful garden in the world with all the lovely flowers
in full bloom, he will not be able to enjoy its beauty. Christian life is indeed beautiful—more
beautiful than the most beautiful garden on earth. How sad it is that, so many ‘Christians’ have
never enjoyed the beauty of purity, a foretaste of heaven!
“Called unto holiness,” children of light,
Walking with Jesus in garments of white; Raiment unsullied, nor tarnished with
sin,
God’s Holy Spirit abiding within.”
UNDER HIS WINGS

“Spread thy skirt.” The word ‘skirt’ in the original translation is ‘wing’—a wing of
protection (Ruth 2:12). In the Jewish custom, when marriages were solemnized, the man had to throw
a garment called talith over the bride and cover her head with it as a symbol of taking her under his
protection. ‘Garment’ shows ‘character’. The character of Christ should cover us. Under the ‘wings
of the Lord’ we have great protection. “He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings
shalt thou trust” (Psa.91:4). “In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these
calamities be overpast,” cries David (Psa 57:1). “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the
shadow of Thy wings” (Psa 17:8).
§§§§§

CHAPTER 8

RUTH IS ACCEPTED
“...Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good
pleasure of His will” (Eph 1:3,5).

R uth moved diligently to acquire for herself all that was available, and was graciously
accepted. Spiritual things are available today; Christ is available, the Holy Spirit is available, the
inheritance is available. Do we have a heart that goes wholeheartedly for all that is availabe? Christ
would say to us, “I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find Me. Riches and
honour are with Me; yea durable riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine
gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths
of judgment: that I may cause those that love Me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures”
(Prov 8:17-21).

“And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the
latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich”
(Ruth 3:10).
LOVE NOT THE WORLD

“Thou followedst not young men whether poor or rich.” There certainly would have been some
young men who appealed to Ruth. But she did not go after them. If she had, she could not have come
to Boaz's feet. ‘Young men’ shows things connected with lust, sin, the world, pride, etc. If we follow
any of these things, we will not be able to come to the feet of the Lord, for, friendship with the world
is enmity with God. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him” (I Jn 2:15).

“And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman” (Ruth 3:11).
SIMPLY TRUSTING AND RESTING

If we fall at the feet of Jesus, what will He do? As Boaz told Ruth, Jesus, looking at us, will
say, “Fear not, I will do for you all that you desire of Me.” If we learn to fall at the feet of Jesus,
He Himself will do for us all that we need. “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth
all things for me” (Psa 57:2). Sometimes we may be busy from morning till night. But our heart
should be resting at the feet of the Lord. Till the ‘Glorious Morning’ we should be at His feet.

The Lord wants to do everything for us—even little things. “He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures,” says David (Psa 23:2). The easiest thing a person can do is to lie down—even this
the Lord makes us do. And when the Lord makes us lie down it is only in green pastures—in
abundance of peace. Let us lie down at His feet, take time to be at His feet. Then He will help us in
everything we do. The more we learn to sit at His feet, the more He will be free to do things for us.
“I will do to thee all that thou requirest”—how beautiful! He wants to do everything for us—but we
must allow Him!
“Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart.
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its ev'ry need
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!”
 One thing many people think they should work for is, their sanctification. But the Lord
promises to do even that work for us. “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray
God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the Coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it” (I Thess 5:23,24).

YOU ARE BEING WATCHED!

‘All the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.’ All the people had
observed Ruth's conduct. They saw how she worked and how she moved with the others. They had
also seen how she treated her mother-in-law. And they could all testify that she was a virtuous
woman, a ‘woman of worth’. There’s no people in the world who are observed so much as
Christians are; the eyes of the world are fixed on them. Child of God, observing your day-to-day
walk, what can people say of you? Can they say you are a ‘man of worth’, a ‘woman of worth’?
One woman who observed Elijah's lifestyle testified that he was a ‘holy man of God’.

“Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning...will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord
liveth: lie down until the morning” (Ruth 3:13).
TOO BUSY

‘Tarry this night.’ The devil will try to make us so busy that we cannot come to the feet of
Jesus. In Mark chapter.5 we read of a man who lived among the tombs. He was busy all the time,
night and day. He would run to the mountains, then come running down to the tombs. But after being
delivered he sat relaxed at the feet of Jesus. If we cannot sit at the feet of Jesus, we are not in our
right mind.
“I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU”

When we sit at the feet of Jesus, He will speak beautiful things to us. “The Lord thy God in
the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in his love,
He will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph 3:17). He will joy over you with singing. God is not
singing over the angels but over us, His redeemed Bride! He will rest in His love. Another
translation says, He will silently plan all things in love. That night, when Boaz disclosed his plan to
Ruth, nobody in the threshingfloor heard it. Therefore, we must abide in the secret place of the
Most High. “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, what the Lord has prepared for them that wait for
Him” (I Cor 2:9; Isa 64:4). Our Boaz is waiting in the threshingfloor. Wash and anoint yourself
and go and lie at His feet. Lie there the whole night—till the Secret Coming of the Lord.

“And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he
said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor” (Ruth 3:14).
TILL MORNING BREAKS

All through the night Ruth lay at the feet of Boaz. ‘Night’ shows the dark hours of life, times
of troubles and trials. In times of sickness, troubles and problems we must learn to trust in our
Lord. Imagine Ruth going that night and resting at the feet of someone other than Boaz! It would
have spelled disaster. How sad it is that some of God’s people go and trust someone else or
something else at the time of sickness and fiery trials!

Dear child of God, at whose feet do you rest during times of difficulties? Remember, any place
of rest other than the feet of the Lord will make you restless. “Trust in the Lord...delight thyself in the
Lord...Commit thy way unto the Lord...Rest in the Lord...Fret not thyself” (Psa 37).
 ‘Morning’ shows the Coming of the Lord. Till the Coming of the Lord, we have to lie at the feet
of our Boaz. We should never go anywhere from the feet of Boaz—we should maintain a deep
communion with the Lord, a sweet prayer life. Saints say that prayer is our spiritual breath. Even
while eating or sleeping, our spirit should be praying. Just as it is certain we will die if we do not
breathe physically, we will die in our spiritual life if we do not breathe spiritually.
When everyone was asleep in the threshingfloor, Boaz rose up first ie. at midnight. Jesus was
the first to be resurrected (I Cor 15:20). Ruth waking early in the morning before anyone could
wake up shows the second order of resurrection ie. the resurrection of the Church. When Ruth
woke up, no one saw it. No one will see the rapture of the perfected saints. That is why it is called
‘secret rapture’. When all the others on the floor rose up later, ‘Ruth’, the Bride was gone.
“Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.”

“Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured
six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city” (Ruth 3:15).
ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY

‘Veil’ shows our clothing and can be compared to our mortal body. “For we do groan…that
we would be clothed upon, that mortatlity might be swallowed up of life”
(II Cor 5:1-4). By grace, our mortal bodies must be transformed into glorious bodies. ‘Five’ stands
for grace. So ‘six’ denotes abundance of grace. “Hope for the grace that is to be brought unto you at
the revelation of Jesus Christ,” we read (I Pet 1:13).
Six measures of barley is quite a large quantity and it was a heavy weight for her. It refers to
the eternal weight of glory reserved for us (II Cor 4:17). After we have lain at the feet of Jesus till the
morning of resurrection, ie, after we are resurrected, our Boaz will give us an exceeding and eternal
weight of glory—much more than we can carry.

“And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy
mother-in-law” (Ruth 3:17).

Ruth tells Naomi that Boaz gave her six measures of barley. After we are raptured, when we
are in the resurrected body, the glory we have received can be seen by others.

A FULL LOAD OF BLESSINGS

Boaz told Ruth, “Don’t go empty from me.” Even if we get only five minutes for prayer, we
must make sure we receive something from the Lord. Never go away empty from the presence of
the Lord. He gives blessings in which there is no chaff or straw—only pure grain, and that, as
much as we can take. When Ruth went from Boaz, she had a full load of blessings. He daily loads
us with benefits. When we learn to sit at the feet of our God, we will always have the fulness of
God’s blessing. What a gracious God we have! Why don't we learn to be at the feet of the Lord, not
only during the nights of our lives, but all the days of our life?
Look at the contrast between Naomi and Ruth. Ruth went away from Boaz with fulness of
blessings. Naomi went out of Canaan full and came back empty. She had gone away from the
presence of God. So she became empty. Her home became empty—her husband and children died;
her bag became empty—she became poor; her heart became empty—she had no hope, only
despair. Naomi's life is a warning for us.
In chapter2, we see Ruth falling at the feet of Boaz because he was very kind and showed her
some favour. This is the initial experience; she was not satisfied with that. In chapter3, Ruth does not
fall at Boaz’s feet for any material blessing; she wanted Boaz himself. Initially we come to Jesus for
some favour—for forgiveness of sins, healing of sickness etc. But as we grow in our spiritual life, we
should not be satisfied with some spiritual gifts and graces; like Ruth, we should desire to have a
personal, deep and lasting relationship with Jesus. Our relationship with Jesus should be more than
just having Him for a friend—for forgiveness, healing, help, etc. We need to have an intimate
relationship with Jesus. “Somehow I must win Christ”— this should be the longing of our heart.
When Ruth looked for a lasting relationship with Boaz, all other things were richly taken care of. The
Lord is waiting to richly bless us. Let us have an insatiable thirst for Him—for Him alone.
Ruth came to Boaz's field and got to know Boaz really well. Ordinary people of God will not
be able to know the Lord as much as those who serve Him. Nowhere can we get to know the Lord
as in His service. Ruth went to the field as a beggar—to glean. Go to the gospel field in all humility
—and taste of the Lord!
§§§§§

CHAPTER 9

A JOYOUS END
“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:1,2).

Unlike some other books in the Bible, the Book of Ruth has a joyous end. It begins with the
death of three men and weeping of three widows, but it ends on a joyful note—with a wedding. Our
life and ministry should have a joyous end. “That I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry,
which I have received of the Lord Jesus,” says St.Paul (Acts 20:24).

“Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not
be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day” (Ruth 3:18).

HEISALPHAANDOMEGA!

These are the words of Naomi to Ruth about

Boaz. Initially, we saw Naomi as a bitter, hard-hearted backslider. She gave the wrong doctrine to her
daughter-in-law saying, “Go back to your old gods.” She is now telling Ruth how kind, gracious and
good Boaz is.
“Sit still my daughter...the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing.” Only
after finishing the work of redemption shouting, “It is finished,” did Jesus bow His head to rest. Our
Jesus will finish the work He has begun in us. “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath
begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil 1:6). He is the Alpha
and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
When we were saved and received the Holy Spirit, the good work began in us. He Who has started
this good work in us will not rest until He finishes it. He is faithful. Some have a doubt—“Will I be
raptured? Will I be able to finish my ministry?” The Holy Spirit is saying, “Sit still, my daughter. You
cannot, but He will finish it. He will do it.” Believe that God will perfect that which concerns you.
Believe that Jesus will not leave you behind when He comes but keep you ready. “Faithful is He that
calleth you.” He will not fail. If we are left behind, the only reason for it would be our deliberate and
secret sins. Our strength is to sit still (Isa 30:7). “Be still, and know that I am God,” says the Lord
(Psa 46:10). When we sit still resting in His will, He will fulfil His grand plan in us.

“Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him...down there...and he took ten men of the elders of the
city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down” (Ruth 4:1,2).
JESUS PAID THE PRICE

Boaz is now getting ready for the wedding. The very day he spoke to Ruth, he started
preparing for the wedding! Why is Boaz in such a hurry? Is it because Ruth was very beautiful? Ruth
was very poor and she was working in the sun—we cannot say Ruth was beautiful. Ruth was a
stranger too—a Moabitess. We too were in this state—strangers to the commonwealth of Israel. And
there was no good thing in us for the Lord to choose us or pay a price for us. It is all the mercy of God
that we have been chosen to become His Bride.
The meaning of the word for ‘widow’ in the original language is ‘one who is dumb’. Here we
see Boaz acting for Ruth who was ‘dumb’—a widow who was a stranger in that land, poor and
helpless. If we really leave our matters in the hands of the Lord and look to Him in perfect trust, He
will do all things for us and fight all our battles. “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold
your peace” (Exo 14:14). We can be restful in our spirit.
Boaz goes to the gate of the city to redeem or buy Ruth. Remember, all the barley that has
been harvested is still in the threshingfloor. But for Boaz, Ruth is more precious than anything
else. O what love our Boaz has shown us! He left much more than barley—He left all His heavenly
comforts and glory and came down to this miserable earth, all because He wanted to redeem us. Ruth
had at least a claim on Boaz through her deceased husband; but as for us, we deserved nothing and
could claim nothing except our unworthiness. And yet we were more precious to Him than heaven,
than the holy angels, than anything else.
Just as Boaz went to the gate to purchase Ruth for Himself, our Jesus suffered without the
gate for us (Heb 13:12). Outside the gate are outcasts. We too should suffer outside the gate.
Suffering outside the gate shows humbling ourselves. Sometimes we suffer, but our proud spirit is not
broken. You may be going through suffering but you may be complaining, “Why should I suffer like
this?” Only suffering in humility will bring us great reward.
Boaz is interceding for Ruth. Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to intercede for us
(Heb 8:1). All the planning for the redemption was done privately. Boaz told Ruth the previous
night, “I am willing to buy the land and am willing to redeem you.” Purchasing the land and
redeeming her was done publicly. How interesting it is when we compare this with our salvation in
the New Testament! The planning of our redemption was done in private by the Father, the Son and
the Holy Spirit, but the redeeming was done in public at Calvary.
Boaz called the elders while paying the price. In the Old Testament, the rock that was smitten
is a shadow of Jesus' public crucifixion. The rock was smitten before all the elders. (Exo 17:5,6).
Another thing we can learn here is, the work we do, whatever it may be, should be accepted by
those above us.

“If thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and
I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it” (Ruth 4:4)
THE FLESH PROFITS NOTHING

First the kinsman says, “I will redeem it” but in vs. 6 he says, “I cannot redeem it.” What the
kinsman could not do, Boaz did, and redeemed Ruth. Who is the kinsman before Boaz? This kinsman
is the law. The law could not redeem us but Jesus did it (Rom 8:3). The first kinsman also stands for
our flesh. Our flesh, the works of the flesh or our works of righteousness cannot redeem us. But as
long as the flesh does not admit that it cannot redeem us, Jesus will not be able to redeem us. When
our flesh admits that it cannot redeem our soul, then Jesus comes to redeem us. Initially, our flesh (like
the kinsman) may boast that it can redeem us but eventually, we realize that our flesh cannot do
anything to redeem our soul.

“Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the
Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5).
SUFFERING JOYFULLY

“When you buy the field, you should buy Ruth also,” said Boaz to the kinsman. In Matthew
13:44, Jesus spoke about treasure hid in a field. The man in the parable gave up everything in order to
buy the field. The field stands for the gospel field. The whole world is the gospel field. The man who
bought the field is Jesus Who shed even His last drop of blood to redeem it. Ruth refers to the Bride of
Christ, the Church. Jesus paid the price for the Bride of Christ, which is found in the gospel field.
Another truth we see here is, servants of God also have to pay a price to prepare the Bride.
Boaz paid the price willingly. He was not reluctant or unhappy. Jesus also joyfully paid the price. We
should do the work of preparing the Church willingly. “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land” (Isa 1:19). Mere obedience will not do. We should be willing and obedient. ‘Fruit of
the land’ is the fruit of the Spirit. Unless we obey willingly we cannot lead a holy life.

“And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my
right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it” (Ruth 4:6).

NO REPUTATION

According to the Hebrew law, when a person marries a widow who has no children, the
children born to him should be given the name of the first husband. So the kinsman was worried
about marring his own name and inheritance. This is our problem too. Our flesh is often worried
about maintaining our dignity and our greatness. The kinsman wanted to preserve his name but his
name is not even mentioned in the Bible, whereas Boaz’s name is mentioned even in the New
Testament.
Boaz redeemed Ruth, risking his reputation. Jesus lost all His reputation (Barabbas, a
notable prisoner, was chosen in His place by the crowd). Now, in this world, if you look for
reputation, name, fame, etc. you will be forgotten by the Lord. Some are willing to humble
themselves, but they do not like to be humi- liated by others. But what Christ faced was humiliation.
“I am crucified with Christ”, means “I am humiliated with Christ.” See how many times the
kinsman says ‘I’, ‘my’ and ‘myself’ - so much wrapped up in himself, his honour and his dignity!
Finally, all the honour came upon Boaz, and the kinsman who wanted to preserve his name and
honour, got none.

“No reputation, with Him I'm content,

Laying my life down to spend and be spent;
Living or dying, I will not refrain,
God cannot lie, I shall take it again.”

“The kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe” (Ruth 4:8).
“NO LONGER I”
 Plucking off the shoe shows putting off of the flesh. At one time we all walked after the
flesh; but after we realized our weaknesses and admitted our defeat, our Boaz stepped in to redeem
us. To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace (Rom 8:6). We
must get over living a life of defeat in our thoughts and imaginations if we are to have a lasting
relationship with our Jesus.

“Now I'm crucified with Christ,

Though I live, 'tis no longer I,
But Christ, with His faith, His pow'r and His love,
This life in me shall never die.”

“Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his
brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day” (Ruth 4:10).
A NEW NAME !

The purpose of redemption is that “the name of the dead might not be cut off.” In Adam we all
die. We were dead in sins and trespasses. Jesus redeemed us that ‘the name of the dead’ might be
quickened and raised up. Moreover, Jesus paid the price and bought us, not as slaves, but that we
might be His Bride. He has given us a new name, His very name. We are now a people ‘called by His
name’! Therefore, our service to Him should be a loving, joyful service. “For ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Cor 6:20).

“And all the people that were there in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make
the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of
Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem”(Ruth 4:11).
WE ARE GOD'S HOUSE

Just as Ruth came to the house of Boaz, we have come to the house of God. “Ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Eph
2:19). After Boaz married Ruth, we do not find her being referred to as a Moabitess any more.
When we are washed by the blood of Jesus and redeemed, our past is erased, forgiven and forgotten.
Ruth came to Boaz's house to build up the house of Israel. We have come to the church of God to be
built as the habitation of God with the other saints (Eph 2:20,21). Servants of God are the builders.
God has appointed them to build ‘the house of Israel’, the Church of God. “We are labourers
together with God...ye are God’s building,” St.Paul tells the Corinthian church (I Cor 3:9).

“And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter-
in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the
child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a
name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse,
the father of David” (Ruth 4:15-17).
UNCHANGING LOVE

Some people are united with other people and co-operate with them when they go through
hard times. But when prosperity and exaltation comes, they forget their friends and even relatives.
But as for Ruth, her marriage, her wealth and her child did not distract her and change her love
and devotion for Naomi. What an unselfish and unblameable love! “He hath chosen us in Him before
the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph 1:4).
CONSIDER YOUR END
 The Word of God says, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof” (Ecc 7:8). The
end of our life, the end of our ministry, should be far better than the beginning. All that is connected
with our spiritual life—our kindness, piety, consecrations, sacri- ficial life, prayer life, fastings, love
for the Word of God, passion for souls, etc. should be better in the end than at the beginning. Even
towards the end of our life we should not become a burden to the church or to others. King Jehoram
died without being desired (II Chron 21:20). Even when leaving any place, we should not leave like
Jehoram.
When we look at the life of Saul, we see that his beginning was great. He was exalted by
God; he became the first king of the children of God and was liked by all the children of Israel. He
also humbled himself saying, “I am not worthy for this post.” But later he became proud and that
led to his miserable end. Similarly, when we consider the life of Moses, we see that God Himself
testified that he was meek. But at the end of his life, being provoked in his spirit by the people, he
spoke unwisely. When the Lord asked him to speak to the rock, he smote it instead. Due to this he
could not enter Canaan. Joab was a mighty man of valour and the captain of David's army. He
won many victories for David. But his end was bitter. His name does not even appear in the list of
David’s mighty men whereas his armourbearer's does! (II Sam 23:8). We must not be like Amalek
either, whose latter end is to “perish for ever” (Num 24:20).
Backsliders who turn away from the way of
righteousness and who take back what they have conse- crated, are like the dog that returns to its
vomit (II Pet 2:20-22). Some people become slack in their consecration, faith life and sacrificial living
as years pass. The end of such is worse than the beginning. So let us be wise and consider our latter
end (Deut 32:29). It is because we do not consider our end that we lose patience in our trials. Job was
patient in his trials and so his end was doubly blessed.

When the Lord permits humiliation in our life and we take it with joy, we will have a good
end. “Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might
humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end” (Deut 8:16). In
Hebrew ‘manna’ means “What is this?” When we face troublesome situations, instead of questioning
the Lord, we must learn to rejoice in that situation. Every day the Israelites got manna but once they
reached Canaan there was no more manna. Similarly, once we enter heaven we will have no more
trials—only endless joy.

Naomi, Boaz and all Bethlehem were blessed through Ruth. She gave birth to Obed, the
grandfather of David, and it is in his line that Jesus was born; Boaz became famous and so did
Bethlehem.

CHRIST IN THE CENTRE

Earlier, Ruth had no children. She appeared to be barren. But when Boaz came into her life,
she became fruitful and everything became bright and glorious. When Christ becomes the centre of
our life and when we have a lasting relationship with Jesus, we become a source of blessing to others.
There is no place Christ can take other than the centre. He must be the central figure in our thoughts,
desires, etc. Our Husband is very jealous. He wants our whole life to revolve only around Him. Only
if Jesus rules your life will your life be a blessing. If, instead, the flesh reigns in your life, your life will
become miserable. When Saul was dining with everyone, one seat was empty – the seat of David. It
was empty because Saul was occupying David’s rightful place ie. the king’s seat. David depicts Jesus
and Saul depicts Satan or the flesh. If the king’s seat is given to Satan or carnality, Jesus cannot be in
your life. If you give room to anger, lust, jealousy, etc the nature of Jesus cannot grow in you. Saul
was very unhappy about David's absence. We may be like Saul. We want to occupy the king's seat;
our will and plans take the important place in our life: still, we want ‘David’ to be seated somewhere
around nearby. No, that's not possible. If you want ‘David’ to be in your life, He must be given the
king's seat—the top priority.
When David was king, lame Mephibosheth was given a seat with him at the table. When the
king's seat is given to ‘David’, although we may be spiritually crippled and have many needs, our
King will say, “I will feed you all your life; do not be afraid. With all your weakness, come to My
table.” So, giving the right place to the Lord is important.
The child born to Ruth was to be Naomi's. The family name would continue—which was a
great honour for the Jews in those days. Through the gospel our shame is removed. “I am not
ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation”
(Rom 1:16).
To have a joyous end, like Ruth, we should humbly follow the Lord. Orpah might have wept
bitterly in the land of Moab on hearing the manifold blessings Ruth received as she followed the
true living God. She came very close to the promised land, but turned away and lost it. Now it is too
late for her. She could not make the right decisions for the Lord at the right time. Perhaps you are
in a spiritually backslidden state. You might have failed to make the right decisions in your
Christian life. Don’t be an Orpah. Don't wait till it is too late. If you hear His voice today, harden
not your heart. If the Lord has called you to serve Him and love Him in a particular way, obey; if
you do, you will have a very blessed future.
We all have our own tragedies, problems and sorrows. But our end should be happy and
glorious. For this we need an unbroken intimacy with the Lord. He alone can really understand us
and He alone can meet all our needs and fully satisfy us. If you have a broken relationship with the
Lord your life will end in dis- satisfaction. Do what Ruth did. Go to the feet of the Lord. Then, like
the story of Ruth, you will have a happy end. Your life will become a source of joy and blessing to all.
“Pressing onward, upward,
Life grows pure and strong,
’Tis the vision splendid
Saves from all that's wrong;
In the steps of Jesus,
We would plant our own,
Blessed path of triumph,
Leading to the throne.”
§§§§§