Ruth The Caregiver - Sermon Iii: A Caregiver Who Made Sacrifices Series

RUTH: WOMAN OF DEVOTION – SERMON III: A CAREGIVER WHO MADE SACRIFICES

Ruth 2:8-12

Ruth was the daughter-in-law of a Jewish woman by the name of Naomi. You will recall that Naomi and her Jewish family had moved to the land of Moab during a time when famine blanketed their home land of Palestine.

In Moab, Naomi’s two sons met and married two Moabite women, one of who was named Ruth. Within a short time, tragedy struck this family when Naomi lost not only her husband but also her two sons - which of course left all three women widowed.

As the three widows struggled to provide for their needs, Naomi and Ruth developed a very close relationship. The two of them loved each other.

They had a lot in common, and they got along well.

The account of their relationship reminds me of the closeness of my own mother with my oldest sister-in-law who herself had been raised in an orphan home; but when my daddy died and left my mother with ten living children, three of whom were old enough to work, but seven of us still living at home, the wife of my oldest brother expressed her desire to take us into her home in another state and help my mother take care of us kids. She and my mother became very close in their relationship.

When the time came for us to return to Georgia, my sister-in-law came back with us – that was in 1943 – and she has lived in the Atlanta area ever since. Today she lives in the assisted living section of Christian City.

Just this week, my only living sister and I visited this beloved member of our family to join others in celebrating her 91st birthday. Her name is Alice; she is the matriarch of our family; and we are grateful that God has seen fit to keep her around all these years for us to enjoy her friendship – even though she has gotten a little ornery in her old age.

Well, Naomi and Ruth had the kind of relationship that prompted Ruth to return to Bethlehem with Naomi after the famine ended and it was time for Naomi to go back home to live in her native land.

Ruth returning to Bethlehem with Naomi was nothing less than an act of love.

We have learned already that Ruth was such a caring person that she made a vow to Naomi that wherever her mother-in-law went, Ruth would go; wherever Naomi lived, Ruth would live; wherever Naomi died, there Ruth would die and be buried alongside her mother-in-law. What devotion!

Then we learned that Ruth was so devoted to keeping her promise that she took the initiative to get a job to provide for the needs of both herself and her mother-in-law.

Ruth went out into the fields during the barley harvest and asked for permission to go behind the reapers and pick up any barley grains missed or dropped by the reapers. Poor folks in those days were allowed by law to glean the fields for leftovers; so, they were called gleaners.

Ruth became a gleaner – and she was a good one! So good that she gained the recognition of the field bosses, and they in turn pointed her out to the wealthy land owner by the name of Boaz.

Boaz was so impressed with her that he went out into the field where she was working, and he spoke to her. He told her to remain in his field, and not to go to anyone else’s field. He offered her water to drink. He told her that he had instructed his men not to touch her.

Well, you can imagine that Ruth was so moved by his kind words that she fell before him, and she asked Boaz how she had found favor in his sight. After all, she was a stranger (a foreigner).

Now we need to understand that Bethlehem was a small town where everyone knew everyone else. Naomi’s return had been news – or you might say gossip – that had made the rounds of everybody in the town.

Boaz had heard about her even though he had never met her. He knew that her husband had died and that she had made a commitment to stay with Naomi and take care of her. He understood that she was gleaning in the field to provide for herself and her mother-in-law. You might say that this wealthy Jewish landowner was aware of the sacrifices this woman from another country had made.

She had left her father and her mother and all the security that she would have received if she had returned to her own home. She had left the land of her birth and come to live among people who were foreigners and strangers to her. She had made these sacrifices for Naomi’s sake.