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God¡¯s
Reward for Ruth
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2
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I have also
acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon¡¯s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain
the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear
from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses.
[NIV]
Ruth 4:10
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3
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Naomi, who had lived in Moab while there had been many bad years
of crops in Bethlehem, had finally returned to Bethlehem with Ruth one
of her daughters-in-law.
The people in Bethlehem gave them a warm-welcome.
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4
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Good-hearted Ruth knew
that she needed to get something to eat
for her and her
mother-in-law. So she suggested to Naomi,
¡°Let me go to fields and pick up the
leftover grain behind anyone
in whose eyes I find favor.¡±
Naomi was left
with her two daughters-in-law in Moab.
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5
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After she heard that she
gave permission to her,
¡°Go ahead, my daughter.¡±
Though Ruth was a
Moabitess, she took good care of her mother-in-law
with all of her
heart.
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6
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Ruth went looking for
somewhere to pick up the leftover grain
and then she found one.
At that time, the Lord
blessed and repaid her for what she has done for her mother-in-law.
Accordingly, the Lord led her in a field belonging to Boaz who was a relative
of Naomi.
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7
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As she was in the field,
Boaz arrived there to check on the harvesters and he also greeted and blessed
his servants.
¡°The Lord is with you!¡±
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8
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After he finished
greeting, he found Ruth picking up some grain and he asked his servant. ¡°Whose young woman is that?¡± His servant replied, ¡°She is the Moabitess who has come
from Moab with Naomi. She asked,¡±
Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.¡± She went into the field and had
worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the
shelter.
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9
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So Boaz said to Ruth,¡± Don¡¯t go and glean in another field and don¡¯t go away from here. I¡¯ll tell the men that you work here.
And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink. I¡¯ve heard all about what you have done for your mother-in-law
since the death of your husband.¡±
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10
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Ruth was very appreciative
and she said,
¡°I¡¯m so thankful for your hospitality even though I¡¯m not one of your own.
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11
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On top of that, at
mealtime, Boaz offered to Ruth to have some bread.
She ate all she wanted.
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12
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As she got up to glean,
Boaz gave orders to his men,
¡°Even if she gathers among the
sheaves, don¡¯t embarrass her.
Rather, pull out some
stalks for her from the bundles to pick up.¡±
So Ruth gleaned in the
field abundantly.
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13
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She came back to her home
with all that she had gleaned and
some left-over food that
she had saved.
¡°Where did you glean today? Blessed be
the man who took notice of you.¡±
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14
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Then Ruth replied,
¡°The name of the man that I worked
with today is Boaz,¡±
as Ruth was saying this,
Naomi¡¯s eyes suddenly were wide
open.
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15
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¡°The Lord blesses him!¡±
He has showed his kindness
to the living and the dead.
You shouldn¡¯t go to any other field but his in
the future.
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16
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The Lord loved and blessed
Ruth for her good deeds. So Ruth became the wife of Boaz and they became the
great-grandfather and great-grandmother of David. Finally, they were so
blessed to be the ancestors of Jesus.
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17
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Ruth was a woman who left
her hometown and followed and obeyed her mother-in-law to be a person of God.
That¡¯s why God blessed Ruth
abundantly. As we live in this world, we should learn and take this attitude
of obedience not only to our God but also people around us, for example, to
our parents. Then we will receive the full blessing from God.
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