Reason #237

Sometimes we don’t understand. Why do we have to follow the rules? Why do we have to be obedient? It doesn’t seem like it’s that big of a deal. From our human perspective, it doesn’t seem that important or significant. So why does He ask us to do certain things, to live life in a particular manner? Why can’t we just do what we’d like, what we think is best, what seems to make the most sense? Be rational, be selfish, determine our own behavior thus determine the outcome. Well, the fact is, we very well can do that. We don’t have to be obedient, we don’t have to follow the rules. We can be as selfish as we’d like, which is something the human race has down well. We have the free will to determine our own actions. We aren’t puppets on strings, and He isn’t a puppet master. We have a choice, always. And so we choose to be obedient, or we choose to be disobedient. Either way, a choice is made. Sometimes we don’t know why parameters were set the way they were, we don’t know why He is asking this of us, but when we choose to be obedient, we can trust that there is a purpose behind it. It may be for a purpose we never get to see, it may be for our direct benefit, or it may be for the benefit of someone else. And if there is one thing I have learned full well, our actions, as well as our choice to be obedient, never effects us solely.

 

Ruth and Naomi moved back to Bethlehem. Devastation had struck their family and so they picked up and moved back to Naomi’s home. Ruth, being the daughter-in-law, wasn’t required to go with Naomi. Ruth had a choice. Go home to her family, to a life that would be considerably easier, or go with her widowed, childless, bitter mother-in-law to a foreign land. She chose the latter. “Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” (Ruth 1:16) The God of Judah, the God who redeems, was now the God Ruth served. And so the two went to Bethlehem. I feel like Ruth had every right to be as bitter as Naomi. I certainly think she was allowed to throw her own pity party. She was a widow, too. A widow in a foreign land, away from her family and away from all familiarity.

 

But Ruth knew full well that she couldn’t sit and wallow. She had a mother-in-law depending on her, and what’s more, Ruth had now taken on the role of provider. She didn’t have much of a choice, she was going to have to take on this responsibility if they were going to survive. So Ruth, probably still in the midst of grief, didn’t stand still. No, she got to work and did not let her sorrows immobilize her. “One day, Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”(Ruth 2:2) But Ruth didn’t just happen to land in “anyone’s” field. She found herself gleaning in the field of a man named Boaz, a man who just so happened to be her family redeemer.

 

“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.” – Leviticus 23:22

 

A rule, a law, a parameter set in place long before Ruth’s days. A rule that I’m sure some broke. A law that some didn’t follow. Because it seems small and silly. One might think it insignificant to leave the edges of the field untouched. After all, would it really matter that much if the whole field was harvested versus leaving the outside unharvested? And wouldn’t it be important that the workers leave nothing behind? The farmer should reap the full benefits of his crop. He deserved the fruits of his labor. So it didn’t quite make sense, I’m sure, to leave some of your hard work behind for someone else to enjoy. It didn’t seem fair that one who had no hand in the planting season should benefit from the harvest. But it was a law, none-the-less. Spoken directly from the Lord, himself. And He had a reason for setting this parameter. Because our God sees what’s to come, and He knew full well that one day His widowed daughter would be in a state of distress. He knew this fragile woman would be without an earthly provider and would have to assume the role on her own. He already had her in mind, thus He already had a plan of how He would provide for her.

 

“Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there?”...”She is the woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since”…Boaz went over to Ruth and said, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them”…Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.” – Ruth 2:5-10

 

And it was Boaz’s obedience in the small things that made a big difference in Ruth and Naomi’s life. A rule follower, and the Lord used those actions to bless another. Boaz was just doing what the Lord had asked of him. He had a choice, and he chose to obey even if he wasn’t sure why that law was created in the first place. Did he “have” to do that? No. But he knew full well what the Lord required of him and so he chose to obey. And it was his choice to be obedient that changed Ruth’s life. This choice not only effected Ruth, Naomi and Boaz, it effected us. Because the Lord blessed the obedience and faithfulness of these two in the form of a covenant and a son, named Obed. And from baby Obed, a king was born and an everlasting throne was established.

 

So we may not understand why. We may not always agree with the Lord’s requirements or even desire to follow them for that matter. But we can see so clearly that our actions and obedience have an eternal impact. And there really is a reason and purpose behind it all. No matter how small, how simple, how insignificant it may seem, when we obey the Lord, when we do what He asks of us, He is sure to bless it, use it to bless others, and most importantly, use it to further His kingdom.

 

#237 – Because He uses our actions performed out of obedience for a significant, eternal purpose.

 

“May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” - Ruth 2:12