Love At First Sight

“Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?”  Ruth 2:10

The story of Ruth and Boaz is one of the greatest love stories in the Bible and also a picture illustrating Christ’s love for His church.  It also illustrates the importance of making right decisions.  Ruth, her mother-in-law Naomi, and her sister-in-law Orpah all became widows in a relatively short span of time.  Ruth, a Gentile from Moab, made the decision to stay with Naomi, a Jew, while Orpah returned to her people.  Ruth and Naomi traveled to Bethlehem, Naomi’s hometown, from Moab.  Naomi and her husband Elimelech had moved to Moab years earlier because of a famine in the land of Judah.  But now there was no reason to stay in Moab, and since conditions had been improving in Judah, Naomi and Ruth went home.  It’s always good to get home.

Of course they were going to need shelter and food thus it was necessary for Ruth to find work.  It so happened that a relative of Elimelech owned a large piece of land where corn and grain were grown.  Ruth went to his field to glean the leftovers that the field hands left behind.  Gleaning was a custom in ancient days so that the poor would have food.  It wasn’t just handed to them; they had to gather it for themselves.  The owner of the land, Boaz, saw Ruth, and I think it was love at first sight.  He told her to continue gleaning in his fields, and he warned the young men to leave her alone.  He even told them to leave extra grain on purpose for her.  Ruth, having been brought up in a land of idolatry where the God of Israel was not worshipped, was somewhat perplexed by the kindness of a man that was a stranger to her.  When she asked Boaz why he was being so nice to her, a stranger, he replied that he had heard how she had chosen to stay with Naomi and had come to believe in the God of Israel.

The story of Ruth and Boaz illustrates how God cares for those who belong to Him, and who humbly serve Him.  Ruth and Boaz did marry and became the great grandparents of David, king of Israel.  Ruth’s decision gave her a place in the line of Christ.  She is one of only four women who are listed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ found in the first chapter of the book of Matthew.  Perhaps I will do another blog some day about how their marriage came about.  I will say that they had some strange customs in those days.  Of course, some of our modern day customs, beliefs, and ideas would seem strange to them.

There’s nothing like an old fashioned love story to cheer the heart.  In our world today, deep and abiding love is really rather rare among folks.  The greatest love story that I have ever heard is the one about the Groom who actually died for the bride, but it all ends well because the bride and the Groom will spend all eternity in a paradise that far exceeds the fanciest resort on earth.  I can almost hear the wedding bells ringing!  God not only loved us at first sight, He loved us before we were even born and had already made the wedding plans for us to be united with His Son, Jesus Christ.  I guess we could refer to God as the Master Wedding Planner!