Ruth Bible Study

Ruth Lesson 2 Review

Naomi was not alone in her suffering.  Ruth was experiencing great pain and sorrow, too.  However Ruth's response to her trial was different from that of her mother in law.  While Naomi's reaction was to say "Call me bitter for God has dealt severely with me!"  Ruth's response was to take action.

Her action involved humility.  When she saw that they would need food, she willingly took the position of a lowly servant and went to glean behind the threshers in the fields. 

Her actions also involved risk.  Boaz himself told her that gleaning was not always safe for a young woman.  He advised her to glean only in his field where he instructed his workers to watch over her.

Not only were her actions done in humility and with personal risk but they were done

with all she had to give.  She went into the field and worked steadily from morning till night only stopping for brief rests in the shelter.

When faced with overwhelming obstacles and grief, Ruth chose to put action to her faith that the God of Naomi was the one true God.  She acted on the basis of her faith.

James tells us "Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do...Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did?

...You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did...faith without deeds is dead."  What James is saying to us is that our action is evidence of the genuineness of our faith.  In Galatians 5:6 the apostle Paul goes on to say, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."  True faith produces action.  Ruth refused to give up hope and responded to crisis in faith that was active!