"Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do." (Ruth 3:1-5)
I can think of no better example of submission to the will of God than that found in the example provided by Ruth in obedience to the instructions of Naomi, as seen in the above quote. For it is here that Naomi, the mother-in-law of Ruth, gives careful instruction to Ruth as to what she should do concerning her relative, Boaz (who, as it turns out, is in the market for a wife).
Ruth is to:
1. Wash herself (verse 3) 2. Anoint herself (possibly implying the use of some perfume) (verse 3) 3. Dress properly ("put thy raiment upon thee") (verse 3) 4. Go to the vicinity of Boaz ("get thee down to the floor") (verse 3) 5. Hold her peace (don't speak) (verse 3) 6. Wait patiently as Boaz has his food (verse 3) 7. Patiently wait until the day has finished (verse 4) 8. Find out where Boaz sleeps (verse 4) 9. Go to that place where he is sleeping (verse 4) 10. Uncover his feet as he is lying down! (Verse 4) 11. Lie down next to him! (Verse 4) 12. Wait for his instructions. (Verse 4)
Wow! What an incredible list of things to do! Surely almost every single person would have stopped prior to getting to number 10! But not Ruth. Notice her response in verse 5: "All that thou sayest unto me I will do."
Ah ... It is no wonder that later on ... much later, we read these wonderful words, indellibly penned into God's Holy, never-changing, impossible-to-destroy, word: "... and Booz (Boaz) begat Obed of (by) Ruth ..." (Matthew 1:5) and then a little later in the same passage, reading that her lineage goes all the way to Jesus Christ! (Verse 16)
How strong is your faith today? How much would you be willing to do to achieve a blessing or to get your name penned in one of God's rewards books? What is God asking you to do that you have not yet done?
May you have the strength and the courage of a Ruth, to say to the One that is asking you to do these things, "All that thou sayest unto me I will do."
May the Lord bless you -- and he will -- as you do these things.
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