Undeserving

Ruth sighed softly as she took off her jewelry. She examined each piece intently. They were beautiful and expensive. How her fate has changed. She looked into the mirror. She has changed physically too. Just few weeks ago, she had dark circles under her eyes and lines were becoming faintly visible on her face. But now, she is glowing.

Life had taken a sharp turn unexpectedly. She remembered Mahlon. Her heart sank. She had loved him. She could remember him working hard in the fields, the sun burning his back. She could remember him and Chilion sitting down to a meal, resting just before they got back to work. It had been love-at-first sight for Ruth and Mahlon. Her friend Orpah had told her about two brothers who had just moved into their little village. Apparently, they were from Bethlehem and had moved to their town, escaping the famine in Bethlehem. Two weeks after meeting Mahlon for the first time at the marketsquare, he proposed to marry her. Fleeting days of friendship had budded into something deep, something genuine. Although the marriage proposal had come as a shock, she had hoped for it. And so, they got married. Ruth and Mahlon, Orpah and Chilion. Had tied the knot. It was blissful. She and Orpah did their best as wives, but few years into their marriages, tragedy struck. One after the other, the brothers passed away after their father's death, leaving both wives and an aged mother.

Just then, Boaz walked in and Ruth was drawn out of her thoughts. He walked towards her and sat at the edge of the bed. "My love, can you remember our conversation when I first saw you in my field?"

"Yes, I do," she replied and gently laid her hand on her husband's. "And I will never forget your prayer for me..."

He smiled and inched closer to her. "Tell me about it," he said.

"You said to me, "It has fully been shown to me, all that you have done to your

mother-in-law since the death of her husband: and how you have left your father and mother, and the land of thy nativity, and have come unto a people which you have never known. The Lord recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to trust," Ruth paused. “And now Boaz, you're that reward." [1]

Boaz smiled and held his newly wedded wife in his arms. "You know, my mother was just like you in a way."

Ruth closed her eyes. "Hmmmmm...so…"

"Let me tell you about her," said Boaz.

Ruth listened intently. She was ready to be the best wife for this man who had so graciously taken her into his life, not considering her past and woes.

Boaz continued, "There was a wealthy woman who lived in Jericho. It has been suggested that she was a “harlot” or let's say, an “innkeeper,” thus making her a wayside tavern. Guesses have been made that she had been a concubine, but that in Jericho she was a reputable woman identified with a respectable business. Like many a young girl today, perhaps she found the restrictions of her respectable home too irk-some. She wanted a freer life, a life of thrill and excitement, away from the drab monotony of the home giving her birth and protection. So, high-spirited and independent she left her parents, set up her own apartment with dire consequences."

"Anyway, when my father's people, the Israelites, went to conquer her land, their leader, Joshua sent two spies to go and secretly explore the land of Canaan, especially the city of Jericho," Boaz continued. “When they came to the city, they went to spend the night in the house of the prostitute named Rahab. The king of Jericho heard that some Israelites had come that night to spy out the country, so he sent word to Rahab: “The men in your house have come to spy out the whole country! Bring them out!”

“Some men did come to my house,” she answered, “but I don't know where they were from. They left at sundown before the city gate was closed. I didn't find out where they were going, but if you start after them quickly, you can catch them.” (Now Rahab had taken the two spies up on the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax that she had put there.) The king's men left the city, and then the gate was shut. They went looking for the Israelite spies as far as the place where the road crosses the Jordan.”

“Hmmmmm,” Ruth said. “Why did she do that? She was endangering herself and her people. She…” Boaz laid a finger on her lips, gently shutting her. “Just listen,” he said.

“Before the spies settled down for the night, Rahab went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land. Everyone in the country is terrified of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea in front of you when you were leaving Egypt. We have also heard how you killed Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. We were afraid as soon as we heard about it; we have all lost our courage because of you. The Lord your God is God in heaven above and here on earth. Now swear by him that you will treat my family as kindly as I have treated you, and give me some sign that I can trust you. Promise me that you will save my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all their families! Don't let us be killed!”

The men said to her, “May God take our lives if we don't do as we say! If you do not tell anyone what we have been doing, we promise you that when the Lord gives us this land, we will treat you well.”

“Wow,” Ruth exclaimed.

“Rahab lived in a house built into the city wall, so she let the men down from the window by a rope. “Go into the hill country,” she said, “or the king's men will find you. Hide there for three days until they come back. After that, you can go on your way.”

“The men said to her, “We will keep the promise that you have made us give. This is what you must do. When we invade your land, tie this red cord to the window you let us down from. Get your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's family together in your house. If anyone goes out of the house, his death will be his own fault, and we will not be responsible; but if anyone in the house with you is harmed, then we will be responsible. However, if you tell anyone what we have been doing, then we will not have to keep our promise which you have made us give you.” She agreed and sent them away. When they had gone, she tied the red cord to the window. The spies went into the hills and hid. The king's men looked for them all over the countryside for three days, but they did not find them, so they returned to Jericho.”

Boaz looked down at his wife. She was smiling softly. He was contented, and so he continued the story. “Some weeks later, the invaders camped round her land and for six days, they marched around the city. It was confusing what they were doing. On the seventh day they got up at daybreak and marched seven times around the city in the same way—this was the only day that they marched around it seven times. They blew trumpets and gave a loud shout, and the walls collapsed!"”

Ruth's eyes widened. "My love, how can that be?" she asked. Boaz looked at his beautiful wife, drew her closer and continued the story. "Then all the army went straight up the hill into the city and captured Jericho. With their swords they killed everyone in the city, men and women, young and old. They also killed the cattle, sheep, and donkeys." Ruth was startled. Her eyes close to shedding tears. "What happened to Rahab? But they promised to keep her safe!" she shouted.

Boaz laughed boisterously. Ruth's innocence has always been such a beautiful attraction to him. "Joshua then told the two men who had served as spies, “Go into the prostitute's house, and bring her and her family out, as you promised her.” So, they went and brought Rahab out, along with her father and mother, her brothers, and the rest of her family. They took them all, family and slaves, to safety near the Israelite camp. Then they set fire to the city and burned it to the ground, along with everything in it, except the things made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, which they took and put in the Lord's treasury. But Joshua spared the lives of the prostitute Rahab and all her relatives, because she had hidden the two spies that he had sent to Jericho. (Her descendants have lived in Israel to this day.). That’s the end of my story.”

Ruth looked perplexed in spite of her satisfaction with how the story ended. “So, my love, I don’t understand how the story correlates with your mother,” she said. Boaz turned Ruth to face him, shifting his weight on to his right elbow. “My mother is Rahab.”

Ruth gasped. She could not understand. “The prostitute? No, the “saviour”? The faith-filled woman? The strong one?” she thought.

“I know that you are surprised. I told you that you are both similar in a way,” Boaz said. He cupped Ruth’s face in both hands and said, “My mother was not one of God’s own people. But now she is one of God’s beloved people. [2] She could have been seen as a moral leper in a way, undeserving of the rich blessing of God’s chosen people, but through her faith, God accepted her. My mother, a former prostitute, married my father, one of the princes of Judah.”

“Naomi, your mother-in-law told me what you said to her. Indeed, I also heard of it in the town. You told her, “…Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.” [3] That was faith in our God… My love, like I told you before, the Lord will repay you, richly reward you and take you under His wings. For accepting Him above all else, not knowing what the future held, He is your exceedingly great reward.”

Ruth’s eyes clouded with tears.

Boaz continued, “He did it for my mother. He will do it for you. Since you have accepted Him as your God, He has accepted you as one of His own. Do not consider yourself a foreigner and stranger anymore. You’re now a citizen.”

Ruth could not hold it any longer. She burst into tears, her heart full of thanksgiving to this God she had come to know. She had received too much goodness at the hand of God. All who hear her story shall call her blessed.

***

If God could do it for a prostitute, and also for a hopeless widow, He will surely do it for you. No matter how terrible your past has been, no matter how much tribulations you have faced, if you come to him, He will never drive you away. He will call you His own, and in this is all the blessings ever imaginable. Come to Him. Your Father awaits.

[1] Ruth 2:11

[2] 1 Pet. 2:10

[3] Ruth 1:16