Chapter 2 – Ruth’s Blessed Beginning

Naomi went her own way, and as a result, encountered hardship in life. In the midst of suffering, she reflected and observed, discovering that God was indeed working blessings in Israel. Therefore, she chose to return to Israel, to return to God once more! Not taking the path of relying on herself, but choosing the path of trusting in God, which is the beginning of blessings. Where does this blessed path begin? It begins in the heart of a person. Without experiencing suffering, one does not know the importance of God's blessings. Without experiencing suffering, we do not realize our own limitations. In hardship, what can a person do? Nothing at all. It turns out that suffering can awaken the heart. Thank the Lord for allowing suffering in life. Otherwise, how arrogant would people become! Without suffering, many would not seek God and would together become useless, together falling into hell.

The blessed path begins with seeking God in one's heart! When people live in pleasure, their hearts become confused. They do not pay much attention to what tomorrow will bring, much less think about what death is. But when suffering comes, the heart awakens. Originally muddled, now they begin to wake up, seeking the meaning of life, seeking the Lord of life, seeking God's blessings! If one awakens and seeks the Lord in suffering and is blessed, how much more blessed it would be to awaken and seek the Lord in peace and joy!

Ruth was also a protagonist of suffering. She experienced the pain of losing her husband, seeing that when a person dies, it is all over, and everything vanishes like smoke! I imagine Ruth must have been contemplating what it means to live. Is this what life is all about? No, I am not willing to live like this, living and then dying. That kind of life has no meaning. Is there eternal life? Does man have a soul? Is there an eternal God in the world? Ah! The God of Israel is the eternal God! I will seek this eternal God. Do you see? The reason Ruth was so resolute was that she clearly knew that if man does not have eternal life, living is meaningless. She knew that man needs eternal life and that the God of Israel is the eternal God! All who seek God with the concept of eternal life will find God! But many Christians today are living in a daze, not caring about whether they have eternal life or not. This is what God said: Do not love the world, for the love of God is not in you. Only by seeking the eternal God with the concept of eternal life will one say, Unless death separates you and me!

How did Ruth know that the God of Israel is the eternal God? In fact, Ruth lived not too far from the generation when Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan. Why? Because Boaz's mother was Rahab. Rahab was the prostitute from Jericho who was saved when Joshua conquered the city of Jericho. Throughout the Middle East, the miracles that the God of Israel performed among them were renowned. I imagine that Ruth had heard about the deeds of the powerful true God of Israel before she married Naomi's son, this Israelite who had moved to the land of Moab. It was truly a good opportunity that God had given Ruth when an Israelite came among them. So she married into this Israelite family, becoming an Israelite wife. After interacting with Naomi and her husband, she certainly knew even more about the God of Israel! Ruth's knowledge of the God of Israel began very early on. Ruth's knowledge of the God of Israel made her determined to go among the Israelites. Although her husband had died, and her husband's brother had also died, Ruth still wanted to follow the God of Israel. In fact, in that generation, the story of Israel was circulating throughout the land. Although Ruth was a Moabite, her heart was an Israelite heart. Most Moabites felt that the God of Israel had nothing to do with them. But Ruth said, I will follow the God of Israel. She regarded the God of Israel as her own God!

Ruth’s understanding of the God of Israel was fundamentally different from Naomi’s. Naomi believed God was the one who caused her suffering, but Ruth believed God was the one who blessed her! How you perceive God determines the kind of God you will experience. If you believe God is your healer, you will receive divine healing. If you do not believe God is your healer, you will not experience healing. This is crucial. Ruth knew God was guiding her path. Therefore, she said she would glean in the field of whoever favored her. But Naomi said God had caused her great bitterness.

The beginning of blessing lies in our understanding of God. In reality, Ruth was a poor person at that time. Yet, she did not have a poor person's mentality. Instead, Ruth believed it was the beginning of blessing. Consequently, God declared a blessing through Boaz's mouth: Ruth 2:11-12 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

What a person does, and their faith in God, are known to others! That was the day Ruth longed for while in Moab! There are many remarkable figures in the Bible. Although Jacob was the younger son, he desired the birthright of the firstborn. Ruth, though born in Moab, a true Moabite, longed to be among the people under the God of Israel. If your understanding of God and your trust in Him are like Ruth’s, with such a heart to seek God, you will surely receive the blessings Ruth received! The author hopes that all readers have such a mindset. If you have this mindset, I assure you that you will be blessed! Consequently, she married into Rahab's family, becoming Rahab's daughter-in-law.

Ruth gleaned in the fields behind the harvesters. What do you think Ruth was thinking? It was like begging for food, extremely poor. If you were in such a situation, what would you think? Ruth thought, I am going to be blessed. I am going to be blessed. I have come to the kingdom of the God of Israel. I am going to experience God's blessing. While gleaning, she told herself, I am going to be blessed. And indeed, she was blessed! I urge everyone, do not pity yourself. Do not declare that you are unlucky and that your life will always be this way. Do not say such things. Even if we do the most menial work in the world, we must declare: I am going to be blessed. Do not say, I am unlucky. A person's blessing begins from within. With a heart that desires blessing, even if the current situation is not good, I must live a blessed life in my heart! What was Naomi's mindset? I have suffered! Although she was an Israelite, she did not have the heart of the God of Israel. Ruth, though a Moabite, had faith in the God of Israel. It does not matter if your background is not good; having the heart of the God of Israel will transform your life. It does not matter if you do not have a good father; having God is enough! Even today, generations of Christians praise Ruth as blessed.

Indeed, blessing begins in the heart. The outcome of life comes from the heart. As a result, she married Boaz, a wealthy man of noble character in that era!