“Ruth And Abraham” - 1/13/25
When Ruth spoke to Boaz in the field (Ruth 2:8-11), Boaz told her not to leave his field but stay there and continue to glean, serving with his female servants and even drinking from the water drawn by his male servants (v. 8-9). “Why,” she asked, “did he want to treat her like this?” Boaz answered in Ruth 2:11. “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.”
At first glance, this is almost a repeat of Ruth 1:16-17. Thanks to the servant who spoke to him, Boaz was aware of Ruth’s sacrifices to be in Bethlehem and serve Naomi (Ruth 2:6-7). We would do well if this is all we gained from our reading. However, after further consideration and study, do we not see something else emerge? Aside from the service to her mother-in-law, can we think of anyone else who had left the land of his/her birth (nativity, KJV) and came into a country previously unknown?
I cannot say with certainty that Boaz intended to compare Ruth to Abraham in this text, but I will compare them in our study!
Abraham, though father of the Israelites, was not born a Jew (Rom. 4:9-12). Ruth was not born a Jew either (Ruth 1:22, 2:2, 2:21, 4:5)
Abraham left his family and country (Gen. 12:1-3), and Ruth also left her family and country (Ruth 1:10-18).
Just as Abraham went to a land “foreign” to him (Gen. 12:1), so also Ruth went to a land “foreign” to her.
Both people journeyed to the same country (Canaan/Israel)!
They were definitely in the same general area if they did not walk the same ground. We know Abraham journeyed here and sacrificed his son in the place later called Jerusalem (Gen. 22:2). Ruth was living about 6 miles away from that place when she returned with Naomi and gleaned the fields.
Abraham’s unwavering determination to follow God for the rest of his life (not the idols of his fathers, Josh. 24:2-3) is mirrored in Ruth’s resolve to follow God, not the Moabite idols (Ruth 1:16). Their determination serves as a powerful motivation for us to stay steadfast in our own spiritual journey.
Abraham and Ruth displayed immense courage by leaving their family and country (Gen. 12:1-3; Ruth 1:10-18). Their bold steps inspire us to face our spiritual journey with courage and determination (Ps. 23:4; Matt. 7:13-14). Have we done like Abraham and Ruth spiritually? Have we decided to leave the idols (Col. 3:5) we have known and turn to the Lord (Acts 3:19; II Pet. 3:9)? Have we determined to follow in the steps of Abraham (Rom. 4:12)? Have we determined to follow in the steps of the Lord (I Pet. 2:21)? We have a journey to make to a land we have never seen before (Heaven). How determined are you to go? Will you forsake all, like Abraham, Ruth, and so many others did, to go there (Heb. 12:1; Rev. 22:14)?
- Jarrod M. Jacobs