Blessed To Give - July 17

Read Ruth 2:14-17 (ESV)

And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

Reflect

Have you ever been the surprise recipient of a lavish act of generosity? What did receiving that kindness mean to you? How did you respond?

The book of Proverbs is a book of principles, not promises. Proverbs are general truths and wise sayings about the way life usually works. When we study generosity in the Proverbs, the general consensus is this: generosity leads to blessing. For example, Proverbs 11:24-25 says, “One gives freely yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Here’s another like it: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (Proverbs 19:17). But perhaps, Jesus Himself said it best when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). I believe we are seeing this principle in action in today’s passage. We are continuing to see Ruth receive abundant blessings from Boaz.

Now, you may be thinking that Ruth didn’t do anything to earn what Boaz gave to her. She was a poor, destitute widow. She didn’t have any money. She is simply the beneficiary of Boaz’s extravagant grace.

That is true. She didn’t earn his special treatment and she didn’t have anything financial to give. But what she did have was herself and she gave that to Naomi. Think about it. Ruth and Naomi had both found themselves in the same situation. They both lost their husbands who were their providers. But Ruth was in a better position to get herself out of poverty. She was in her homeland. She could return to her parents for support. She was young so she could still do physical labor and she could still get remarried. Whereas Naomi was a stranger in the land, her parents were dead and gone, she was likely too old to labor and glean in the fields, and at her age, her remarriage prospects were slim to none.

Ruth could have left Naomi to suffer through her circumstances on her own. But instead, she selflessly gave up her best shot to improve her station, to stay by Naomi’s side. It was Ruth who gleaned from sun up to sun down with only a “short rest” (Ruth 2:7). Today, we see that even when she was done gleaning, she had to “beat out” or “thresh” the grain. She had to separate the grain from the straw it was attached to before it would be useful as food. She worked hard to provide for herself and for Naomi.

Boaz noticed. He was impressed with her selflessness towards Naomi. So he responded with a selfless attitude of his own towards Ruth. Not only did he grant her special gleaning privileges directly behind his reapers but he also shared a meal with her. He offered her his bread and wine. And he wasn’t stingy about it either. She ate her full and still had a ton of leftovers!

But Boaz wasn’t done being generous. He knew how hard she was working so when she went back out into the field, Boaz commanded his workers to intentionally pull some stalks out of the sheaves they were gathering so that she could glean more easily. Further, he reminded them to be kind towards her. He didn’t just provide for her, he ensured her protection as well. Ruth was receiving her reward for her generosity towards Naomi and if you can believe it, God still wasn’t done blessing Ruth through Boaz yet. But that’s a story for another day.

In the meantime, know that this is not prosperity teaching. Remember, this is a principle, not a promise! I am not suggesting that if you just give enough money to ministries or to the poor that God will solve all of your problems. When we follow after Christ, very often that means that we suffer for it. But the general principle still stands—those who are a blessing to others are more likely to be blessed. Regardless of what may or may not be in it for us, we are called to be generous to those who need it. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). We are blessed so that we can give. God will notice your faithfulness.

Respond

Lord, thank You for putting people into my life who have blessed me the way Ruth blessed Naomi and the way Boaz blessed Ruth. Help me to generously bless those in need however I can with my time and talents as well as with my finances. I want to give, not because of what I may get in return, but because I have already been blessed. Amen.

Reveal: How can our generosity and hospitality reveal the heart of Christ to others?

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