Based on Ruth 4 (New King James Version)
“Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, ‘Come aside, friend, sit down here.’ So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’’ And he said, ‘I will redeem it.’ Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.’ And the close relative said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.’ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, ‘Buy it for yourself.’ So he took off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, ‘You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.’ And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, ‘We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.’ So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, ‘Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.’ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘There is a son born to Naomi.’ And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.”
A.W. Tozer said once: “Refuse to be average. Let your heart soar as high as it will.” One of the hardest things to find in this world is faithfulness. What is normal (or average) is to be unfaithful. Intimate relationships are found among the average. If marriage was not respected before, it is now respected less than ever. Each person puts conditions and limits, with very material and superficial agreements within the marriage. When the other person does not do what they are supposed to, according to some sort of personal criteria (not what God teaches; the Creator marriage), or they do not fulfill the required duties, then divorce or cheating within the marriage occurs. Very few people stay through the difficult moments, or also, they give in to those things where there should not be any negotiation. They remain faithful to evil things, or to a harmful relationship, doing things that go against the will of God. What is written is fulfilled: “They will call good evil, and evil good.”
In the same manner, or to a worse degree, God is treated also. Many so-called believers treat God as a servant. And, God should watch out (per se) if He does not take care of superficial petitions that are prayed for. They think that by dedicating a selfish prayer, focused many times on vanities, that God “has to” answer. God’s will is not looked for, but rather, that “my will” be done. God is demanded upon, without any kind of respect, or fear (let’s not even think that some sort of love exists towards Him). God is simply not thought of as God. Many continue seeing a crucified Christ hanging on a cross; ready to be beaten, insulted, and humiliated. No respect for God exists; but even more, very little faithfulness toward Him.
What does this have to do with today’s passage? Ruth is a Biblical example of faithfulness. Being a woman of pagan background, she knew how to be faithful. If you read the book (which I recommend), you will see that Ruth could have left Naomi alone, a poor widow that also had lost her children (one of which was Ruth’s husband). There was no human relationship between them. But Ruth did not leave her. Instead, despite that she was a pagan woman, she accepted the God of Naomi for the love and faithfulness she had towards her, and she accompanies her mother-in-law back to her land. She found God through her faithfulness, by being faithful to a person that really needed faithfulness. And we see through Ruth that being faithful to good things has rewards. Despite being something detestable to God, because of her faithfulness, not only does she find God’s grace in finding a new life, but also, she becomes part of something supremely important and Holy to God. Her son Obed would come to be the grandfather of King David. Ruth also becomes part of the most important genealogy in history, the genealogy of the Son of God; because the Messiah was to be called the “Son of David”.
God looks for faithfulness in us, in His people. God desires that we become part of something truly special. But if we are unfaithful to Him, will we become part of God’s plans? The evil servant teaches the abuse of God’s grace; that it does not matter what you do; because God remains faithful. But the Bible teaches this: “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: ‘Thus you say, ‘If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?’ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” Ezekiel 33:10-11. It is also written: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8-9. God’s faithfulness is seen when He forgives our sin when we repent with all our heart; not when we persist in our evil. If you haven’t been faithful, change! So then, are you being faithful to God? Lord bless! John