“And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”—Ruth 2:16
A POEM:
God to Boaz
Let fall handfuls of purpose for her
She knows not the blessings I have in
store
And while My plans for her are taking
form
As she waits, please bless her with
provision, kindness, and care
Boaz to His Men
Let fall handfuls of purpose for her
As she ministers to her mother-in-law
and likely grieves the passing
Of her husband, brother-in-law, and
father-in-law
Comfort her with generous amounts of
barley in our harvest
and protect her from any harm
I admire this young lady
She has shown commitment to our God
By leaving her comforts, her home, and
her family—all she knows
To join herself with His people
Out of love for her mother-in-law
Show her the kindness of our God
Let her know that He does not let one
of His children go uncared for
Show her the respect that she likely
has never known
By letting handfuls of purpose fall
before her
And watching over her as she gleans in
my field
While I may not see the picture clearly
I know she is a special woman
She's young, yet has shown great
wisdom
In how she is faithful and obedient to
her mother-in-law
Boaz to God
So, Lord God,
Help me be to her
All that you are to me.
While I let handfuls of purpose fall
before her.
A DEVOTION:
In the book of Ruth, Boaz told his
young men to let “handfuls of purpose” fall on the ground for
Ruth to pick up and glean. Not only was she to glean after the
reapers what fell to the ground, more handfuls of barley were to be
dropped on purpose on the ground in front of Ruth to glean. As far as
we know, she was the only one of the maidens of Boaz' field who got
this privilege. I think it could be said that she did not know this
provision was taking place on her behalf. She just went along with
her commitment to provide for her mother-in-law and reaped blessings
in return.
So, too, in our lives. God's handfuls
of purpose may not be easily understood or seen by us at the times of
His provision of them, but when we look with hindsight back on the
workings of God in our lives, we then see clearly that He, too, lets
fall handfuls of purpose (or in a general sense, handfuls of
blessings) before us.
Another way of saying this is that God
not only provides for us, He gives us much more than we expected or
even hoped for from Him. This could be monetary provision. It could
be in the form of wise counsel from our brothers and sisters in the
Lord. It could be the illumination He grants us when we read His
Word. Whatever it is, if God is doing the providing, it is abundant,
free, and given without rebuke or strings attached.
I think many of us, who have trusted
Christ as our Savior, and received His free gift of salvation believe
that somehow we need to work for His blessings. While there is some
truth to the fact God blesses His children while we are faithful to
Him in the here and now, I think God's handfuls of purpose are
completely free and not dependent on anything we do.
Like salvation, the gifts and
provisions He gives us in our daily lives, when viewed in light of
Ruth 2:16, are blessings above and beyond our good works, our hopes,
our requests, and our desires.
I think the best way to fully
appreciate and acknowledge these handfuls of purpose then is to be
thankful to God. Not congratulatory of ourselves in our walks with
God and how we've “earned” these blessings, but to acknowledge
that without Him, we would not receive these handfuls of purpose,
these above and beyond blessings from His Hand.
As I survey my life, I can look back
and see many of these kinds of blessings from the Hand of my Savior.
I acknowledge that He has provided for me above and beyond what I
ever hoped in my education, in my relationships with my family, in my
work, in my growth in Him, with the recent gift of a husband and a
daughter, and so much more.
It is good for me to remember as I
reflect on these handfuls of purpose that God has let fall along my
path, that they are from Him alone and are a testament of the
greatest gift He could ever give me—His love.
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