Hello brothers & sisters,

Charles Simeon, 18th century pastor, encouraged his saints to never think their circumstances beyond hope when they have Jehovah as their God: “For as the bondage and imprisonment of Joseph were steps to his highest exaltation, so may our heaviest afflictions be the appointed means of bringing us to the most exalted good.”

As we go through Ruth chapter 2, we are introduced one of the most sterling characters of the Old Testament – Boaz (:1).  After the intense loss in the lives of Naomi and Ruth, God has arranged a meeting between this man and the Moabitess.

In Boaz, we see one of the clearest pictures of free grace that foreshadow the coming of our Lord Jesus (Luke 4:18-19).  This “man of great wealth” lowers himself to speak, not with one of his workers, but with one of the gleaners.  He speaks kindly to Ruth the Moabitess, promises to protect her from harm, quench her thirst from the well and provide for her.  From a heart of sheer kindness, he loads her with benefits beyond any expectation, even inviting her to his table.  Sound familiar?  This is what happens when you come to the “Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” (:12). Ruth is overwhelmed.

When she gets home that evening, Naomi is amazed at the blessings: “Where have you gleaned today?” (:19).  Oh, that the lives of the redeemed in our local church would bring about such a question from a watching world that cannot but help ask about the hope that lies within us.  All the misery of chapter 1 is about to swallowed up by a foreshadowing of Christ in Boaz, the kinsman redeemer.