[One-Verse Meditation]

Ruth 2:20 (NIV) “‘The LORD bless him!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.’”

[Meditation]

A word that stands out in today’s passage is ‘grace’ (hesed). Ruth hopes to find grace in the eyes of Boaz (2:13), and her mother-in-law Naomi praises, “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” However, there is a theological debate about who “he” is in this verse—that is, whether the source of grace is God or Boaz. The traditional view holds that it is Boaz, based on the context, but many modern scholars see God as the subject.

However, a noteworthy interpretation suggests that the biblical author intentionally left the subject ambiguous, meaning that both God and Boaz are the agents of grace. In other words, God, the source of grace, bestowed His grace through the channel of Boaz. This is similar to the method we discussed yesterday: “providence disguised as chance.” In this way, God works through people, right in the midst of our daily lives.

Just as important as the source of grace is the content of grace. We can see it immediately in the text. For Ruth and Naomi, grace was “food.” The only grace that mattered was the life-giving food that would save them from certain death. For one who is starving to death, nothing else comes into view. Only life-giving food is what they seek. That is “grace.” Grace is just that.

What about our lives today? What is the grace that we seek? What moves us, makes us grateful, and fills us with joy and gladness? Today’s passage makes us stop in our tracks. It makes us step back for a moment. In this way, it causes us to look back on ourselves. Grace is what comes to us in that time, in that place.

[Prayer]

Lord, today again, through Your word, you lead me to examine my prayers and reflect on my life. Help me to seek not a ragged grace, patched together with worldly things, but only the ‘grace’ that is true, life-giving life. Let this be a day where I live, strengthened by that true food of grace. Amen.
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[Daily Reading]

Ruth 2:13-3:5