Open: Spend a moment just clearing your mind and asking God to show you something from his Word.
Recap: Were you able to act on something yesterday as a result of your reading from Ruth?
Starting Point:
- Is it possible for men and women to be friends without being attracted to one another? How?
- If you were Ruth, would you be tempted to try to find someone to get rid of the loneliness and uncertainty you feel?
Read: Ruth 2:14-22 (You’ll stay safe with him)
Some things to consider:
- Ruth brings all the food she received from Boaz back to the place where they were staying. Naomi is surprised by all the food and excited to hear that Ruth was shown favor by Boaz.
- It was very uncommon for something like this to happen. Think of it – most field owners were married. So they had families to tend to and would not have the time to notice foreigners that were gleaning from the edges of the fields. Boaz has the time to notice this, and potentially, he is attracted to the hard-working young lady who only wants to help her mother-in-law.
- Ruth has come all the way from a foreign country to a completely different people, language and religion – all to make sure that her mother-in-law is taken care of. This is what impresses Boaz and so he wants to make sure that both Ruth and Naomi have enough.
- This is the first time we see Naomi happy. She has been through horrible conditions and weathered difficult storms in her life, so much so that she thinks that God is bitter with her. So when something good finally happens, she essentially says, “stay with this farmer, keep things going with this arrangement!”
What is it saying?
· In this passage, what is one thing that sticks out to you that God seems to be saying?
What should I do?
· If God is saying something in this passage, what do you feel he is leading you to do today?