Have you ever watched a colony of prairie dogs when a fox is near? The first one to see the fox starts chirping. The other prairie dogs hear the alert and go stand next to their hole. All of them stand at attention chirping out the alert until the danger passes or they dive in their holes to safety. It sounds like a fool proof way to stay out of harms way. But sometimes foxes still have prairie dogs for dinner.
The prairie dog’s experience sounds familiar doesn’t it? We make elaborate provisions to stay out of harm’s way but sometimes harm still finds a way. The story of Ruth has been like an oasis in the desert for me in times like this. I’d like to share with you the part of her story where harm had seemingly won the day but God quietly opened the door to redemption.
The first chapter of the story acquaints us with a time in Naomi’s life that was nothing short of disaster. Within the first five verses of chapter one her husband and two sons were dead. By the end of the chapter she preferred a new name, “Call me Bitter.” At the beginning of chapter two the writer momentarily stops telling the story to give us a piece of inside information.
“Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.”
This is significant. If we listen with the ears of the original Jewish audience, we realize that Boaz is in a position to marry Ruth. He is a kinsman redeemer, able to marry the wife of the deceased to keep the family name and inheritance alive. The writer is giving us a peek at the end of the book. We know before Ruth knows that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Boaz could marry Ruth and, on top of that, he can amply provide for her well being.
Stop the story here and pretend you don’t know the details of Ruth and Boaz’s meeting and marriage.
What needs to happen for Ruth to meet Boaz? The most obvious step is for Naomi to introduce Ruth to Boaz, right? Naomi knows that Boaz exists. She knows he is a relative who is in a position to redeem Ruth. (See Ruth 2:20; 3:1-2.) From my limited perspective, I think Naomi needs to give Boaz a call. Look at how Naomi overlooked the opportunity.
“And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”"
Naomi could’ve made the connection right there. “Boaz owns and farms land. My daughter-in-law wants to pick up the leftovers. I could send her to Boaz! They could meet! They could marry!” Instead, she missed the boat, “Go, my daughter.” She seemed unaware of Boaz or any hope of redemption. The solution was at her fingertips; she was blind to the light at the end of the tunnel. But God wasn’t!
So Ruth departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.”
Try and picture this scene in your mind, a huge open field next to and surrounding the tiny town of Bethlehem. It’s important to note that the field was not marked by fences as we see today in modern farming. Even though it was owned by multiple people, the field would have looked like one large undivided piece of property. There were no fences or signs that would have led Ruth to Boaz’s field. Only stones placed in strategic locations would have been a clue to ownership boundaries.
Ruth happened to end up in the section owned by Boaz. Notice what the writer does; he tells us a second time that Boaz is related to Elimelech. The writer won’t let us overlook the “coincidence.” He essentially says, “Ruth walked out into this huge field and ended up on the property of the very man who could redeem her!” It gets better.
“Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.”
The first two words of that sentence are important, “Now behold…” The writer is trying to get us to look at the scene closely as it plays out in our mind’s eye. He is pointing with his words at another “coincidence.” “Not only did Ruth just happen to end up in Boaz’s field, Boaz came walking up!” Land’s sake! This might work out in spite of Naomi’s failure to connect the dots; Ruth and Boaz are within eye sight of one another! It gets even better.
Then Boaz said to the servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
Boaz has seen her! It could happen! Redemption might be right around the corner! It gets better still. Boaz approaches Ruth,
“Listen carefully , my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw…”
This is just the beginning of the favor that Boaz gives to Ruth. Read Ruth 2:8-17 in it’s entirety. By the time Ruth got home that evening, Boaz had seen to her thirst, her hunger, and her personal safety. She took home thirty pounds of grain! Have you ever bought thirty pounds of anything from the grocery store? Ruth went home with a grocery cart of grain.
Don’t miss how the opportunity for redemption was overlooked by Naomi but seized by the Lord. Where people fail us as shepherds the Lord does not. His plans for redemption are not stalled or lost due to human failure. They are realized even when we are completely ignorant of the path to safety and restoration.
You might think redemption is your responsibility. You might be scared to death that you’ll miss what God wants to provide. Remember the Lord is your shepherd. He’s really good at shepherding, too.
We have hope even when harm has found a way into our “prairie dog” lives.
