Read: Ruth 2:10-13
"A full reward be given you by the Lord." (v. 12)
A second reading of these verses tells us more about how faith is rewarded. We know what Ruth's conversation with Boaz says about her. She is a woman of faith: that is why she will be richly rewarded.
But by whom? Boaz's words are "May you be richly rewarded by the Lord," (NIV) when all the time he is rewarding her. He says she has come to the God of Israel for refuge, when in fact he is going to give her refuge.
So again it is the kind of talk about God that some find strange, the talk of first causes and second causes. In my country many elderly people go to their nearest post office every Thursday to collect their state pension. Do they believe that because they receive the money from the postal clerk, it actually comes from him? That would be as foolish as thinking that if the pension "really" comes from the government, the prime minister has to personally bring it to their door!
That's what we learn from Ruth and the provision Boaz makes for her. It really does come from him. But at the same time it really does come from God as well.
Prayer: Lord, help us to see you as the Giver of all good things, as well as appreciating those through whom they come to us. Amen.
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