On Diminishing the Song of the Terrible Ones…

 

From Chapter 2 of Ruth:

Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn."—Ruth 2:8-9

Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.—Ruth 2:14

And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."—Ruth 2:15-16

As I was reading through Chapter 2 of the book of Ruth, the kindness of Ruth’s future husband and kinsman-redeemer, Boaz, brought these verses from Isaiah to mind.  

For You have been a strength to the poor,

A strength to the needy in his distress,

A refuge from the storm,

A shade from the heat;

For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

You will reduce the noise of aliens,

As heat in a dry place;

As heat in the shadow of a cloud,

The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.—Isaiah 25:4-5

My Jesus is my strength, my song and has become my salvation.  He is my refuge…my ever present help in times of trouble. He is a shade for me in the heat of my trials. He silences the noise of my enemies and brings me peace.

I so want to be as He is and live out these verses from Isaiah for the people God has placed in my life. I want to be their soft place to fall in a world of hard places and sharp edges who always points their hearts to Him. 

Boaz does this for Ruth by showing her…a poor, widowed foreigner…the covenant lovingkindness of his God.  In doing so, He becomes a shining light during a very dark time in the history of Israel when everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Boaz obeys God and is kind. He notices Ruth, welcomes her to his fields and calls her daughter. He surrounds her with his protection.  He makes sure she has water to drink and food to eat. He provides for her continued sustenance by telling his workers to drop extra grain for her and not rebuke her. Philippians 2:3-4 says this. I think it describes Boaz well. 

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.—(Philippians 2:3–4) NKJV

The NLT says it this way:

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.(Philippians 2:3–4)NLT

Father…May each of us imitate Boaz. May we be kind and tender-hearted toward  each other.  May we fulfill the law by putting on love…may we bear one another’s        burdens and in so doing fulfill the law of Christ. 

A man will be as a hiding place from the wind,

And a cover from the tempest,

As rivers of water in a dry place,

As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.—Isaiah 32:2