In our last study, we saw Naomi coming back to Bethlehem-Judah. She reminds us that believers who fail God can come back home. Another exciting truth we see illustrated in this story is that we not only see Naomi coming back to the land, but we also see Ruth getting into the land. Naomi is a type of a believer coming back to God and restored. Ruth is a type of an unbeliever coming to God and being redeemed. Now, we find her beginning her new life in a new land. She has left Moab, the old life; and is now in Bethlehem, the new life. She has just been saved from her old life, and is just getting started in her new life.
In these first days of Ruth’s new life in a new land, we have illustrated for us the matter of spiritual growth. August Van Ryn writes, “The whole of the second chapter unfolds the divine process of spiritual growth and enlightenment."
Physically, when we are born, we were but babes that entered a life in which there is a process of growth. The same is true spiritually. When we are born-again, we are spiritual babes in which a process of spiritual growth begins. A new baby must learn to walk, talk, etc. A new Christian enters a world in which everything is new. Spiritual growth is learning to talk and walk that new life.
Peter declared in 1 Peter 2:2, “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.” He also had in mind spiritual growth in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.”
I like the description Buddy Robinson gave of spiritual growth. He said, “A converted man is a baby in a cradle, and a wholly sanctified man is a man with his breeches on and his haversack on his back and his gun on his shoulder, with both eyes open and saying, ‘Where is the enemy?’”
Ray Baughman spoke of a survey that estimated 60% of the people in this country profess to belong to some church. From that survey he gave these evaluations. Out of 1000 people, 40% of them are spiritually dead. Of the 600 remaining, only about 200 will experience any amount of spiritual growth in their Christian life.
Many believers are like the little girl that fell out of bed one night. Her mother heard her crying and rushed to see what was wrong. “Mommy, mommy, I fell out of bed,” sobbed the little girl. Her mother picked up her, pulled her close and asked, “Honey, why did you fall out of bed?” The little girl answered, “I was sleeping too close to where I got in.” Many believers are living to close to where they got in when they were saved. They need to grow and move further on in the Christian life.
Let’s look at our text and notice Ruth’s new life in a new land and how it illustrates spiritual growth.
[Ruth 2:1-3]
1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
1. THE PURPOSE OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
We read, Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz (2:1). This is our first introduction to Boaz in the book. Boaz is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. From this point on, the emphasis in the book is the process by which Ruth becomes acquainted with Boaz and how their relationship develops and deepens. He is introduced and from here on out we see how Ruth is drawn into an intimate relationship with Boaz.
Contrary to what many would suggest, the purpose of spiritual growth is not to make us Bible scholars. Some have the idea that spiritual growth is a good and growing knowledge of the Bible. That may be part of the process, but if all your Bible study does is make you a theologian, you have missed the whole purpose of the Bible. The purpose of the Bible is to reveal Jesus Christ.
It is the person of Christ who vitalizes and energizes every page of the Bible. Jesus is prophesied in the Old Testament and He is presented in the New. The Old Testament anticipates Christ, the New authenticates Him. The Old Testament contains Christ and the New explains Him. Jesus is the fullness, the fascination, fiber, fragrance, and focus of the Bible. Jesus is found on every page, in every expression; in every symbol, prophecy, psalm, and proverb. If you read the Bible and miss Jesus, you have not read the Bible.
To some, spiritual growth is getting us ready for heaven. But I remind you that the light of Heaven is the face of Jesus; the joy of Heaven is the presence of Jesus; the melody of Heaven is the name of Jesus; the harmony of Heaven is the praise of Jesus; the theme of Heaven is the work of Jesus; the employment of Heaven is the service of Jesus; the duration of Heaven is the eternity of Jesus; and the fullness of Heaven is Jesus Himself.
Friend, the purpose of spiritual growth is developing a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Keeping this in mind, notice what was said about Boaz. First, we see that he was:
A) A Man of Relations
Boaz is called a “Kinsman of her husband” (2:1). Boaz was related to Naomi through marriage. Jesus is our kinsman. He, who in heaven had a Father, but no mother; came to this earth and was born of a mother, but had no father. He became one of us, one with us, and one for us. By taking on Himself human flesh, he became related to us.
Secondly, we see that he was:
B) A Man of Resources
Boaz is also described as “a man of great wealth” (2:1). He was a man of many possessions. Jesus is greater than the greatest, mightier than the mightiest, wealthier than the wealthiest.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corporation, is the richest private individual in the world. Here is a calculation of his wealth based on a forty hour work week. His wealth translates to:
$923,076,292.31 per week, $2,307,692.31 per hour, $38,461.54 per minute,
$534.19 with every beat of his heart.
Yet, I have news for Mr. Gates. He is a pauper compared to the Lord Jesus.
We also see that Boaz was a:
C) A Man of Reputation
“His name was Boaz” (2:1). Boaz means “mighty man.” He was a man with a respected and honored name. God has given Jesus a name that is above every name. At His name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord.
This was the person who Ruth would come to know, love, and marry. From the time he is introduced, we see Ruth learning of him, falling in love with him, and living for him. This is the purpose of spiritual growth; to know Christ in an intimate way.
Our prayer ought to be:
More about Jesus let me learn,
More of His holy will discern.
Spirit of God my teacher be
Showing the things of Christ to me.
Secondly, as we see spiritual growth illustrated in this story:
2. THE PURSUIT OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
We read, "And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, 'Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.' And she said to her, 'Go, my daughter'” (2:2). In those days, much like our country, Israel had a welfare system to take care of the poor.
We read in Leviticus 19:9-10, “And when you reap the harvest of the land, you shall not completely reap the corners of the field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. And you shall not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.”
When the owner of the land harvested the wheat, he was to leave the corners. He was not to go back and pick up what had been missed or dropped. This was to be left for the poor. It was God’s welfare system. It was not a handout, but something one had to work for to obtain. They had to go to the fields and gather what remained. It was a law that helped to provide for the poor.
As we see Ruth gathering from these corners, we see:
A) The Food Needed to Sustain Her
We see that Ruth was concerned about how they were going to eat. They had returned home penniless, yet they had to eat. If they did not eat they would die physically. The same is true spiritually. Involved in spiritual growth is the pursuit of spiritual food. Peter had this in mind when he said, "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation" (1 Peter 2:2). Just as one must have food to sustain physical life, one must have a diet of God’s word to sustain spiritual life.
R. A. Torrey told about how in one of his early pastorates he asked one of his members how she was getting along in her Christian life. She replied, “Very poorly. My life is a disgrace to me and the Church.” Torrey asked her, “Do you read and study your Bible everyday?” She answered, “No, but I do study it occasionally when I have time.”
A little baby was lying in a carriage nearby. Torrey pointed at the baby saying, “Suppose you should feed that baby once in two hours today, one in six hours tomorrow, and then let it go a day without feeding, and feed it every two hours the next day. If you kept up that process, do you think the child would grow?” She said, “No, I think the child would die under that kind of treatment.” Torrey responded, “And yet, that is the way you are treating your soul.”
Spurgeon said, “If we think our bodies require refreshment by food thrice a day, can we think that less will serve our souls.” If we neglect to feed our souls, our spiritual life will become lean and eventually die. As Ruth needed food to sustain herself physically, we need to feed on God’s word to sustain our spiritual life.
According to J. A. Carlson, a bird can go 9 days without food; a dog 20 days; a turtle 500 days; a snake 800 days; large ocean fish 1000 days, and some insects 1200 days. May I say, the believer cannot go one day without eating spiritually in order to grow spiritually.
B) The Field Near to Supply Her
Her desire was to go into one of the nearby fields and glean corn (generic for wheat or barley). She had learned of God’s welfare system, and she had asked Naomi if she could go and search for a field to glean. We will notice in a moment that the field she went into to glean was none other than a field of Boaz. May I say that it is only in God’s fields that we can find the spiritual food we need to sustain our spiritual life and to grow as a Christian.
The Word of God is one of God’s fields to find spiritual food. Jabez Burns said, “The Word of God may be likened to food as it is essential to the life of the soul.” Mark G. Pearse said, “The Word of God is the food of the life of God. The Word of God, read, marked, learned, and inwardly digested is essential to healthy, spiritual life.” One has said, “The Bible is a loaf, every chapter a slice, every verse a bite.”
The Will of God is one of God’s fields to find spiritual food. God told Elijah to go to the river brook Cherith and it was there he would be fed. Being in the will of God is like finding manna on the ground each day as God leads us.
The Work of God is one of God’s fields to find spiritual food. As we work in His field we find barley to glean and wheat to harvest.
The Worship of God is one of God’s fields to find spiritual food. The Psalmist said, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). As we worship Him we find spiritual food.
Ruth wanted the food and worked the field. Spiritual growth does not just happen. It is pursued. One must glean from the field. One must want to grow and work to grow.
We have seen illustrated in this story: the purpose of spiritual growth, the pursuit of spiritual growth.
3. THE PROCESS OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH
We read, So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech (2:3). To me, this is one of the most thrilling verses in all the Bible. I like to think of it as the happy happenings. She went looking for a field in which someone would favor her and allow her to glean. She ended up in the field of Boaz. As we see her coming to the field of Boaz, we are reminded of:
A) The Divine Guidance of Life
If you are reading the KJV, you will see the word “hap” which means “chance or happenstance.” From a human standpoint, it seems as if she lucked up or by chance ended up in a field owned by Boaz. Ruth had no idea the field belonged to Boaz. It would appear that she just “happened” to choose his field. From a human standpoint, it looked like happenstance. But from a heavenly viewpoint, it was providence. You can be sure that she did not just “happen” to choose this field. Behind the scenes was a God who was in charge of her life, and He was seeing to it that all things worked for her good and His glory.
I think many will be surprised when they get to heaven and realize that a lot of things that happened to them were not breaks, but blessings. It was more than being fortunate on earth, but being favored in heaven.
We are also reminded as we see Ruth coming to the field of Boaz of:
B) The Divine Goal of Life
What was God doing? He was arranging things so that Ruth and Boaz would come to know each other and fall in love. God is behind the scenes of life, arranging all things with the goal in mind of bringing us into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. The whole process of spiritual growth is a work of God in our lives, allowing and arranging certain things to bring us closer to Jesus.
It is as Paul said in Romans 8:28-29, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
We see Ruth getting in and going on in her new life. It’s a new life in a new land!
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