God's Loyalty Shown in Ruth

 “The Lord watches over the strangers, He upholds the orphan and the widow.” Psalms 146:9


A wonderful example of this verse is the story of Ruth and Naomi. Most times when it’s taught, Ruth’s loyalty to her mother n law Naomi is emphasized with her famous words of: “Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people. Your God, my God.” When you read the entire book of Ruth, however, you will see God’s loyalty to these two widows. How God truly watched over them, protected, and provided for them.


Together they return to Naomi’s homeland Judah where they hear there is food. Ruth here is not only a widow, but she is a Moabite - a stranger. One provision the Jewish people had for the poor was the practice of gleaning. Once the fields had been picked they allowed the poor who included widows, orphans, and strangers to “glean,” pick up what was left - the remnants of the harvest. 


So, Ruth, the poor widow and stranger, in order to provide for her and Naomi, goes to a field to glean. God upholds her by bringing her attention to Boaz the land owner. Boaz in turn gives her special treatment by providing food and water for her. Now a woman working alone could be taken advantage of, but Boaz sends men to protect her. Not only that, he tells them when they harvest to leave a bit extra for her in the fields that she gleans. Her loyalty to Naomi has paid off when Naomi realizes that Boaz is related to her and would be the perfect husband for Ruth. In the end of the book Ruth and Boaz are married and their child Obed becomes part of the lineage of Christ.


This is a wonderful story of God’s provision for the widow and stranger and how God uses human agents like Boaz to take care of Naomi and Ruth’s needs. Not only did God provide for their physical needs but also for their emotional needs. We find Naomi at the beginning of the story bitter since she has lost her husband and two sons. She feels like a failure returning home, as she puts it - “empty.” But with the marriage of Ruth and Boaz and birth of her grandson, the women bless the Lord who has brought her “a redeemer, a restorer of life, and a sustainer to her old age. Naomi is no longer empty but full of God’s blessings.


What an example of God protecting and sustaining us even when we feel bitter and empty. Psalms 107:9 tells how “the hungry soul has been filled with good things.”


May we have faith that God who provides for the stranger and widow will provide for us.

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