Ruth’s Reward

The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. - Ruth 2:12

    “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”

    The Book of Ruth is full of instruction to the believing heart. It sets before us the romance of redemption and beautifully portrays the grace of God toward fallen, depraved sinners through the Lord Jesus Christ, our Boaz, our Kinsman Redeemer. There are several lessons which are continually brought before us as we go through this brief, instructive book of inspiration.

    The Danger of Worldliness

    The Book of Ruth opens with a sad, sad picture. Elimelech, a wealthy man, took his money and his family and fled from Bethlehem down to Moab when famine struck the land of Bethlehem-Judah. When he died, he left his family, without a trace of good influence, in the idolatrous land of Moab.

    Perhaps Elimelech was a believer. We are not told. His parents apparently were, for in the days when there was no king in Israel and every man did that which was right in his own eyes, Elimelech’s parents named him Elimelech, which means - “My God is King.” But Elimelech did not live up to his name. He fled when he should have been faithful. He left the people of God, the Word of God, and the worship of God for the sake of temporal, earthly interests (Matt. 13:22; Lk. 12:15).

    Let no believer settle in any place where he would not want to leave his family without his influence. I am sure he had no intention of doing so; but Elimelech died in Moab. There he left his family to fend for themselves among pagans, far away from the people of God, the worship of God, and the influence of the congregation of the Lord. Some things are more important than financial security. Read and learn what our Lord teaches us about the love of this world (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17).

    The Mystery of Providence

    The Book of Ruth illustrates the fact that “all things are of God” (2 Cor. 5:18). “For of him, and through him, and to him are all things: to whom be glory forever!” (Rom. 11:36). God overruled Elimelech’s failure to fetch Ruth out of Moab, because he had chosen Ruth both to be an heir of grace and to be in the genealogy of Christ. When Naomi came back to Bethlehem, she was full of bitterness. Yet, within a few weeks she was called the happiest of women (Ruth 4:14-15).

    We read that Ruth’s “hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.” As far as she was concerned, it was altogether accidental. But as one of the many links in the chain of God’s purpose, it was ordained and brought to pass by God. What God does in this world he does on purpose (Eph. 1:11; Rom. 11:28). And the purpose of God in all things providential is twofold: (1.) The glory of Christ (Col. 1:18) and (2.) The saving of his people (Rom. 8:28-29).

    The Wonders of Redemption

    The primary subject of this little book is redemption, redemption by a near kinsman (2:1). As we have seen, Boaz was a picture of Christ in many ways. He was a mighty man (Heb. 7:25), a wealthy man (Eph. 3:8), and a near kinsman (Heb. 2:9-18). Two things were required in the law of Moses for the express purpose of foreshadowing our redemption by Christ: (1.) The nearest kinsman had the right to redeem the inheritance his brother had lost (Lev. 25:25). (2.) The kinsman was to marry the widow of his brother to preserve alive the seed of Israel (Deut. 25:5-10). Boaz did both (Ruth 4:9-10). So did the Lord Jesus Christ as our near kinsman. He who is our Redeemer is also our Husband.

    The Super-Abounding Grace of God

    Redemption and grace always go hand in hand. Wherever you find one, you find the other. As with Boaz, those who are redeemed by Christ shall be wed to Christ. All whom he redeemed, he saves. All whom he redeemed, he forgives. All whom he redeemed, he blesses with all the exceeding riches of his abundant grace. The Book of Ruth is a book about grace, the super-abounding grace of God. It shows us a beautiful illustration of God’s prevenient grace, by which he prepares the way for his saving grace. Ruth’s redemption by and marriage to Boaz portrays our Lord’s undeserved grace to us. Ruth was a Moabite, the cursed child of a cursed race. Yet, Boaz loved her, redeemed her, and married her. That is a picture of grace, the free, unmerited grace of God to sinners in Christ.

    Ruth 2:12 sets before us a picture of the superabundance of God’s grace to us. As Boaz invoked upon Ruth “a full reward” from God for what she had done, so the Lord Jesus Christ invokes upon every believer a full reward from the Lord God.

    A Work Of Faith

    The first thing seen in this twelfth verse is Ruth’s work of faith. Boaz said to her, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.”

    We understand that faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). Faith is wrought in us by the exceeding greatness of God’s almighty power in saving grace (Eph. 1:19). Faith is the work of the operation of God in our hearts (Col. 2:12). If I believe God, it is because of his grace. Yet, faith, being produced in us by the power of God the Holy Spirit, is not a passive experience. Faith is a living principle, a grace that works (Gal. 5:6). Faith does something (James 2:14-26). And God will not forget your work of faith and labor of love (1 Thess. 1:3; Heb. 6:10).

    Remember, as you read the Book of Ruth, Ruth represents us, sinners saved by grace, God’s elect, all who are converted by the power and grace of God. This woman had come to trust God. Naomi had taught both Ruth and Orpah the things of God. No doubt, Orpah believed Naomi’s words and was prepared to go with her to Bethlehem, until she realized what it would cost her. When she realized that, she went back to Moab. She believed Naomi; but she did not trust the Lord. But Ruth had come to trust the Lord God of Israel himself. She believed God. She had come to “trust under his wings.”

    The metaphor used by Boaz to describe Ruth’s faith refers either to the wings of the cherubim overshadowing the mercy-seat; or to the wings of a mother hen. In either case, it speaks of a place of great strength, complete safety, personal care, and great comfort. Christ is that hiding place for sinners. In him, we take refuge under the wings of the Almighty.

    Because she believed God, Ruth did what Orpah could not do (v. 11). She forsook her own relations. She abandoned all earthly comfort and benefit. She resolved to worship and serve the Lord God of Israel, whom she had learned to trust through Naomi’s faithful witness. She had come to trust the covenant keeping God, of whom her mother-in-law gave faithful witness, who is faithful and true, sovereign and omnipotent, merciful and gracious. Ruth learned to worship and trust the Lord God by Naomi’s witness. Naomi told Ruth who God is, what he had done, and where he was to be found. And Ruth believed. She believed Naomi’s word; but more, she trusted Naomi’s God.

    The Reward Of Grace

    As this text speaks of a work of faith, it also speaks of the great reward of God’s great grace. “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Here is the super-abundance of God’s grace. He rewards our works of faith (faith which he has given) with the full reward of grace (1 Sam. 2:30). This is beautifully demonstrated in Ruth.

    She found what she never expected or looked for - a husband. She who was barren, bare a son through whom untold millions have been born of God, for her son was the man through whom the human lineage of Christ was directly traced. Like Ruth, we have found in Christ more than a Redeemer and a Savior. We have found in him a husband (Eph. 5:25-30).

    Being married to Boaz, Ruth obtained an inheritance to which she had no natural claim. Even so, in Christ, God’s elect have obtained an inheritance to which we have no natural claim. Our reward from God is a heritage of grace given to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord God gives chosen sinners free forgiveness of all sin (Isa. 43:25). He gives every believer the blessedness of a peaceful conscience (Heb. 9:12-14), quietness “from fear of evil” (Prov. 1:33), the blessed assurance of all good (Psa. 23; Rom. 8:32), the confidence of merciful, divinely ordered providence (Rom. 8:28), communion with himself and all the fulness of eternal glory (Rom. 8:17). In the last day, our God shall grant us the full reward of grace which is the fulness of heavenly glory. “The Lord will give grace and glory!”

    Yes, God will reward his own elect, like all others, according to their works, in strict accordance with absolute justice. He will reward us for the perfect righteousness of Christ. Just as he rewarded our Substitute in strict justice for our sins which were imputed to him, so he will reward every believing sinner in strict justice with heavenly glory, because of the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to us (2 Cor. 5:21; Rev. 20:12-15; 21:27; Rev. 22:14).

    God’s saints will possess all the fulness of heavenly glory, because in Christ they are worthy of it (Col. 1:12; 3:23-24). Are you worthy of heaven? If you are in Christ you are. As Boaz invoked a full reward for Ruth, the Lord Jesus Christ has earned and purchased a full reward for his people; and he gives it to all who trust him (John 17:5, 22; Rom. 6:23).