The Love of God: A Reward and a Refuge
A full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. (Ruth 2: 12)
Read: Ruth 2:4-16
What Is God Saying?
Ruth was born in Moab. The people of Moab were unrelenting enemies of the children of Israel. They worshiped a degrading god, Baal of Peor, and constantly stood against Israel's ways and customs- geographically near, but far away from the high standards of Jewish monotheism. Only a severe famine could incline Ehmelech and his wife Naomi to take up residence even for a little while in such a place as Moab, but he didn't live to return to Bethlehem. The two sons of the widowed Naomi married Moabite women. After ten years they also died.
One of the young widows named Ruth was given the choice of staying in Moab amid familiar surroundings or accompanying her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. She followed her heart and said to Naomi in those beautiful words of love, ‘Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God; May the Lord do so to me and more also if other than death parts me from you’ (Ruth I: 16-17).
Over time, in a touching narrative of romance and suspense, Ruth marries Boaz and goes from rags to riches. This is a beautiful story, as Ruth, a heathen, becomes an ancestor of Jesus. Boaz gave Ruth a tender, loving blessing, ‘The Lord recompense you for what you have done, and a full reward is given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge’ (2:12).
How Does This Apply To Us?
This same blessing is an appropriate one for the Christian to ponder and, by the grace of God, to receive. Ruth was drawn to Naomi, to Naomi's people, and Naomi's God because she had come to trust Him. The influence of other lives has drawn us closer to God even as Naomi's sincere faith drew Ruth to make her decision. We are thankful for the evidence of God's love seen in the lives of others. They help us to make a decision to follow Christ, to receive the reward of forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. We find in Jesus Christ not only the reward of faith but the refuge of a Savior's love. Come to prayer; claim His reward that we cannot earn and find in His love the refuge we never lose.
Pray With Me
Dear Lord, Ruth's faith was simple. Her love was uncomplicated. That is what I want and need. You have brought people into my life in whom I have seen the beauty of Jesus Christ. Just as Ruth saw the beauty of Naomi's Lord in Naomi's life, I have seen the love of Jesus in the lives of His followers. To the beauty of Naomi's character, Ruth responded with loyal love. In the same way, I would respond to every revelation of Yourself that I see in the lives of those I love and respect.
Ruth found both a reward and refuge as she followed Naomi to her homeland. Let this be my experience, too. In the company of those who believe, I shall enter that land where faith is rewarded and love finds a refuge. I would leave behind the little prizes of a cautious and selfish existence. I would set my heart upon the rewards that are given to the brave and selfless. I would forget the things that are behind and press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I would no longer hide beneath the thin covering of a straining self-righteousness. I would seek the refuge of Your great love.
Let my reward be the smile of a Lord whose heart is pleased, and the words of a Master who will say, Well done! Let my refuge be the promises of Your Word and the words of Jesus, ‘Come unto me!’ Give me a heart that follows Your leading with simple love. Give me the will to obey. Give me the wisdom to turn my back on the past with all its mistakes and embrace the future with You and for You. Then, Lord, I shall know completely even as now I am knowing more fully each passing day the reward and the refuge of Your redeeming love.
Through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
We don't engage in prayer to be rewarded, but when we seek the Lord's will we are rewarded. We do engage in prayer, without shame or apology, because we need a refuge,
• a refuge from the storms of life,
• a refuge from winds that blow across the desert of secularism with searing and tedi0us monotony,
• a refuge from our foolish mistakes, which, though abandoned, still linger on to plague us
In prayer, we find the refuge of God's love supremely revealed in the Cross of Jesus
The shadow of a mighty rock in a weary land,
A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noon-day heat,
And the burden of the day
Continue in prayer, enjoying its rewards, and accepting the refuge it gives.
