Ruth 2:10-12 … She asked him, “Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you
notice me—a foreigner?” Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have
done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your
father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not
know before. May the LORD repay you for
what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Jonah is a negative example concerning
attitude to ‘foreigners’ but the book of Ruth provides a very positive example
of how a noble female foreigner is accepted by God’s people. What is striking
is that it is Ruth’s loving commitment to her mother in law that the people in
Bethlehem have talked about and been impressed with. Ruth’s selfless love and
courage in leaving her own people and her commitment to Naomi’s God is no doubt
one of the reasons this story of ordinary women was first written down. It finds
itself in the Bible not least because it highlights the fact that God rewards
those who trust Him whatever their culture or race. God is extremely kind and
gracious to all of us and as his people we enjoy a place of great safety and
security under His wings. This place of refuge however is not for us alone but
a place we should invite others wherever they are from to join us in.
Father,
thank you for being so good to us and for the strength of your love, which
gives us security and protection.
Ruth
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