Then she fell on her face, bowing
to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that
you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" Boaz replied to
her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of
your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and
your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not
previously know.
Venturing
out beyond our safety zone puts us in an area where we feel uncomfortable and
at risk. Here is Ruth in a foreign land, gleaning, and the big boss owner comes
and talks to her personally. So she is falling on her face. I don’t think I’ve
ever seen anyone “fall on their face” like that before, though I have seen
people so humbled in prayer that they’ve put their face on the floor. Actually once that did happen to me. I
started out praying sitting down, then I was kneeling and soon I had my face to
the floor, humbling myself before God. He touched my very soul, showing me how
I looked to Him.
It
must have been a humbling experience to be gleaning—let alone to glean and have
the Boss come talk to you. In the story of Abigail and David, Abigail falls on
her face before David (1 Samuel 25:23) pleading for David to not pay attention
to her foolish husband Nabal who was not willing to share his food with David
and his men. David did listen to Abigail, and not only accepted her food gift,
but eventually after Nabal died of a heart attack, David married Abigail.
Falling on one’s face, humbling yourself before another person is a good thing.
Boaz recognized how much Ruth had given up, her family, homeland, customs, in
order to be a helpmate to Naomi. Have we given up anything to have a
relationship with God? No matter what that is, home, family, prosperity, old
friends or old ways, it is worth much more to seek God and His goodness, His
good ways.
Heavenly Father, help us to see
ourselves as you see us and to give up our old life for the new life you offer
us in Christ.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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