Ruth 2:10-12 -- On Kindness and Obedience

"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?
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust."
Ruth 2:10-12


This is from the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. Ruth and Boaz end up getting married (well, actually "purchased to be my wife" is the exact wording, but since the word "wife" is in there, I assume there was a marriage of some sort... not certain), but at this point in the story they have just seen each other, and Boaz asks about her, and is told her story. He thinks it is great that a young woman like this is so dedicated to her mother in law that she left her homeland, and he encourages her to gather any leftover barley that was missed when the harvest was gathered, and encourages the young men to leave some extra for her as well.

At this point in the story I don't think that Boaz even considered a relationship, and likely nor did Ruth. Their ages were too different, and he was wealthy, and she was just gleaning in his fields to help herself and her mother in law survive. Naomi is the matchmaker in this story... or really, God is, helping them find each other, and inspiring Naomi with the idea of how to get her daughter-in-law a new husband. So, it is interesting when Boaz pronounces the blessing of "a full reward" from God here, he also ends up fulfilling the blessing for God as well.

Today, let's be kind to each other, and obedient to the Lord... as we are kind and obedient, the Lord can work wonders in our lives, helping us to find each other and bless each other's lives in whatever ways are appropriate to the situation. :)