Ruth was born under a curse. One of our most cherished Old-Testament heroines came into the world wearing the reproach of her people. “Moabite” wasn’t something Ruth did, it was who she was, and her identity made her guilty before God (Deut 23). Heir to an idol-worshipping, Israel-hating, curse-bearing nation, Ruth would have floated down the same dead stream as the rest of her culture. But God.
God reached down to a woman under a curse, and he drew her out of Moab. He set her in a field — Boaz’s field — where she gleaned from early morning until late at night. Boaz, son of Rahab, took notice of Ruth the Moabite and approached her:
“My daughter do not go glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
Protection. Community. Guaranteed work. Water. For a Moabitess
Boaz’s kindness overwhelmed Ruth. Scripture tells us she “fell on her face, bowing to the ground.”
I imagine her cheek resting on the dirt, maybe tears in her eyes, stunned by this stranger’s kindness to her. She responds to Boaz’s offer:
“Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
Ruth’s posture here before her future redeemer captivates me. What astounding inward transformation is revealed by her spontaneous question: Why me?
Four things stand out to me about Ruth’s “Why-me” moment with Boaz.
- Ruth does not feel entitled. Her virtue toward Naomi does not puff her up to make demands or think of herself more highly than she ought. She’s resolved to glean the fields and scrape together a humble living for she and Naomi.
- Ruth could have voiced a different “why me?”, one of complaining.
My husband died. Why me?
I must provide for my bitter old mother-in-law. Why me?
I left my home for this life of hard labor. Why me?
I’ll never see my sister again. Why me?
I moved to a strange new country that hates me. Why me?
I pick up people’s leftover grain all day. Why me?
So often my “why-me?” moments are cries of pity instead of gratitude. This is not Ruth’s heart in this moment. She was able to receive the extravagant blessing of favor because she wasn’t poisoned by self-pity. - Ruth’s “why-me?” response echoes through the heart and life of all who have been changed by Christ. When we look at our lives, we’re overwhelmed by the breathtaking mercy of God. We were a people under the curse of sin, destined for hell. But God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ while we were still sinners! He pulled us out of death and set us in his kingdom. Ephesians 1 says he “chose us in him before the foundation of the world.” Such knowledge compels us to cry to our father as Ruth cried to Boaz: “Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me?”
Was I smart enough? Was I good enough? Was I born into the right family? None of these earn salvation. It is only by the pure unmerited, unconditional love of God we are made alive with Christ. - God’s saving favor sends us to our knees. Like Ruth, when we realize that God has lavished his unmerited grace on us to raise us from the dead, we fall on our faces. We know there is nothing good in us and we are not deserving of his love. There is no pride. No ego. Only a face to the ground, hands in the air, and one question ringing from our lips: Why me?
If Ruth was this overjoyed by a little water break and some gleaning buddies in the field, can you imagine her joy at how the rest of her life unfolded? This is the way of God. He doesn’t just save us and leave us. He refines us. He stays near to us. He prepares us to marvel at him when he comes back for us. Even in our suffering he wrings out joy for his children, changing us from one degree of glory to another. We’ll probably never know the “why me.” It will be enough to know that we have indeed found favor with him. Our Redeemer has taken notice of us, and we’ll continue with him forever.