Kristi Burchfiel

A plan. Boaz makes a plan based on what has happened with Ruth. She needs a savior and Boaz knows there are two potential candidates. Read Ruth 3:12-13. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.” RUTH 3:13 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.13.NASB Boaz is going to sort this once and for all. In this culture, if a man dies without any sons, a close family member is to marry the widow and raise a son that will carry on the name…

Reputation. People knew Ruth’s reputation and they shared it when they spoke about her. Read Ruth 3:10-11. Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. RUTH 3:11 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.11.NASB Ruth had asked Boaz to be the one to take care of her. Boaz is responding. He knows about her and he has heard what the people in town have said about her. Ruth was not asking this of him for purely selfish reasons. And because Boaz was familiar with her reputation, he saw her actions as ones that had…

Ask. I am a big advocate of just asking for what you need. You may not always get what you want, but sometimes you will. If you don’t ask, then the answer is always no. Read Ruth 3:7-9. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” RUTH 3:9 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.9.NASB Ruth followed her mother-in-law’s direction and found herself right where she needed to be in order to ask for what she wants. So she did. Do we recognize when we have needs? When we see a need, do we actually ask for…

Action. Yesterday, we saw that Ruth trusted Naomi and all that Naomi was asking her to do. Today, we see that she did it. Read Ruth 3:6. So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. RUTH 3:6 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.6.NASB It’s one thing to tell someone that you will do what they say. It’s something else to actually do it. When we say that we are going to do something, it is important to follow through and actually do it. Ruth didn’t just give lip service to her mother-in-law, she followed through on what was asked of her. Can the…

Trust. Today in the United States is traditionally and day where we try to trick other people. As a result, people don’t necessarily trust each other to mean what they say. However, this lack of trust is not just an issue on April fool’s day. Often, we evaluate what someone tells us to do based upon our own understanding of the situation. Look at how Ruth responds. Read Ruth 3:3-5. She said to her, “All that you say I will do.” RUTH 3:5 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.5.NASB Naomi came to Ruth with her plan. And Ruth must have initially thought she was crazy. “You want me to do what?” Maybe Ruth had…

Preparation. Naomi has taken the time to think and to wait on God and now the time has come to act. She pulls Ruth aside and starts to share. Read Ruth 3:2. Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. RUTH 3:2 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.2.NASB Now, obviously Naomi wasn’t just sitting around doing nothing this whole time. She had learned the pattern and rhythm of what was going on. She knew that Boaz would be working tonight. And now she reveals to Ruth the fact that he is a close relative and what that means. As we are waiting…

Then… such a simple word, but it captures such great timing. Things only happen after something else has already happened. We saw yesterday that Naomi waited and had patience. Only after having that level of patience did Naomi begin to act. Read Ruth 3:1. Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? RUTH 3:1 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.3.1.NASB Naomi had seen a glimpse of God’s plan. Now, after patiently waiting to pray, to seek God, to look to confirm what that flash of understanding had shown her, now she finally took action. Her first action was seeking…

Patience. Now that Naomi had a glimpse if God’s plan, it would be easy to want to run ahead and make things happen, but that’s not what she did. She had patience. Read Ruth 2:21-23. So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law. RUTH 2:23 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.2.23.NASB Do you see the patience there? Sometimes we miss patience in a story because we are reading to see what happens next. Ruth acknowledged the instructions Boaz had given her. Ruth followed the instructions of Boaz, and then… time passed. Several…

Understanding. In a flash, Naomi started to see the path that God was moving her and Ruth down. Like standing outside and getting the light to see by from a flash of lightning, Naomi caught a quick glimpse and all of a sudden, her entire thought process started to change. Read Ruth 2:20. Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.” RUTH 2:20 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.2.20.NASB Now, to us reading this here in this day and time,…

Ever been so sure of something and then been surprised when it turned out different than you thought? Naomi experienced that. Read Ruth 2:17-19. Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Ruth 2:19 NASB https://bible.com/bible/100/rut.2.19.NASB Naomi had all but given up. She didn’t even go help Ruth when she volunteered to go glean. She knew she was abandoned and she wasn’t going to do anything more. So Ruth…