+ DAILY PRAYER +
Ruth Meets Boaz Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a prominent rich man from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after someone in whose eyes I may find favor.”…
This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 107:10-16
10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
Reading for Monday October 23rd Ruth 2-3
Ruth Meets Boaz
2 ?Now? Naomi ?had a relative of her husband?, ?a prominent rich man? from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after someone in whose eyes I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she went and came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. And she happened by chance upon the tract of field ?belonging to? Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. 4 And look, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.” And they said to him, “May Yahweh bless you.” 5 And Boaz said to his servant ?in charge of the reapers?, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 6 And ?the servant in charge of the reapers? said, “She is a Moabite girl returning with Naomi from the countryside of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and let me gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came and remained from the morning up to now. ?She is sitting for a little while in the house?.”
8 And Boaz said to Ruth, “?Listen carefully?, my daughter, go no longer to glean in another field. Moreover, do not leave from this one, but ?stay close? with my young women. 9 Keep your eyes on the field that they reap and go after them. Have I not ordered the servants not to bother you? And if you get thirsty, you shall go to the containers and drink from where the servants have drawn.” 10 And she fell on her face and bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes by recognizing me—for I am a foreigner?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband was fully told to me. How you left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and you went to a people that you did not know ?before?. 12 May Yahweh reward your work and may a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you came to take refuge.” 13 And she said, “May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken ?kindly to your servant?, and I am not one of your servants.”
14 And Boaz said to her ?at mealtime?, “Come here and eat from the bread and dip your morsel in the wine vinegar.” So she sat beside the gleaners, and he offered to her roasted grain. And she ate and was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 And she got up to glean, and Boaz instructed his servants saying, “Let her also glean between the sheaves and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out for her from your bundles and leave it so that she may glean—and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until the evening and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she picked it up and went to the town. Her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. And she took it out and gave to her what she had left over ?after being satisfied?. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean ?today? and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” And she told her mother-in-law ?with whom she had worked? and said, “The name of the man who I worked with today is Boaz.” 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, whose loyal love has not forsaken the living or the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative for us, he is one of our redeemers.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Also, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidservants so that you will not ?be bothered? in another field.” 23 So she stayed close with the maidservants of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Ruth Meets Boaz at the Threshing Floor
3 Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek for you security that things may be good for you? 2 So then, is not Boaz our kinsman whose maidservants you were with? Look, he is winnowing the barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3 Wash, anoint yourself, put your clothing on, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. 4 And when he lies, take notice of the place where he lies. And you shall go and ?uncover? his feet and lie down, and he shall tell you what to do.” 5 And she said to her, “I will do all that you say.”
6 And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had instructed her. 7 And Boaz ate and drank until his heart was ?merry? and then he came to lie at the end of the grain heap. And she came in quietly and ?uncovered? his feet and lay down. 8 And it happened in the middle of the night the man was startled and he reached out and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread ?your garment? over your servant because you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “You are blessed by Yahweh my daughter. You did better in this last kindness than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And so then my daughter, do not be afraid. All that you ask I will do for you, for the entire assembly of my people knows that you are a worthy woman. 12 Now truly I am a redeemer, but there is also a redeemer of a closer relationship than me. 13 ?Stay tonight,? and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good; but if he is not willing to redeem, ?then as Yahweh lives,? I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning and got up before ?anyone could recognize each other?. And he said, “It must not be known that ?you? came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the cloak that is on you and ?hold it out?.” And she held it out and he measured six measures of barley and put it on her cloak. Then she went into the city. 16 And she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, “?How did it go for you,? my daughter?” And she told her all that the man did for her. 17 And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘You shall not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 And she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
Heavenly Father, shepherd of Your people, You raised up James the just, brother of our Lord, to lead and guide Your Church. Grant that we may follow his example of prayer and reconciliation and be strengthened by the witness of his death; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
[1] W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jdg 13:1–25.
