“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 NASB)
One of the greatest lies that we Christians sometimes believe is that God will spare us from difficulties. We think that believing in the Almighty means there will be no illness, no disappointments, no pain. We believe that we will not go through the “valley of the shadow of death.”
The truth is that God’s Word not only doesn’t deceive us in this regard but also warns us to the contrary. In fact, the reality of suffering is something guaranteed for the Christian. This is something God uses to teach us, like a father teaches his son (Deut. 8:5), something God manages to bring about a greater good (Rom. 8:28), and something that points to a glorious future alongside our Savior Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:18). God allows our suffering to use it masterfully and to take us further than we could ever have gone otherwise.
The book of Ruth is a beautiful story that illustrates this principle like no other. It is a very close and intimate account of a family’s journey through the “valley of the shadow of death,” in which God is subtly and masterfully working to achieve a great and precious objective. It is, ultimately, a masterful demonstration of the reality that there is a God present and acting in the midst of the deepest pain in the hearts of those who suffer. So, let’s briefly delve into this beautiful story with such a personal and contemporary message.
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
During the chaotic time of the judges in Israel (Judg. 21:25), there lived a family in the small town of Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth 1:1). The head of the family was named Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were named Mahlon and Chilion. The story begins with a difficult decision. There was a severe famine in their land, so they decided to leave it in search of a future on the other side of the Jordan, in the lands of one of Israel’s greatest historical enemies, Moab (Ruth 1:2).
They thought they would fare better there than in their own land, but the truth was diametrically opposite. The father, Elimelech, died there, leaving Naomi a widow with her two sons (Ruth 1:3). She decided to marry them to two young Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth (Ruth 1:4).
But the misfortune in the life of this Bethlehemite family did not end there. To make matters worse, both of Naomi’s sons, Mahlon and Chilion, also died in the land of Moab (Ruth 1:5).
Thus, we have three widows, mother-in-law and daughters-in-law, destitute and with nothing, mourning the death of the three men who constituted their support, their security, and their future. Tragedy had struck.
While still mourning the death of her sons, Naomi learned that the situation in Bethlehem had improved significantly and that the period of famine had ended in her own land (Ruth 1:6). In a series of heart-wrenching conversations between the three women, Naomi expressed her desire for her two beloved daughters-in-law to return to their families so she could go back to her land (Ruth 1:8-14). She had nothing left to offer them but her bitterness and sorrow over the disastrous situation she found herself in. Finally, Orpah returned to her family. But Ruth did not. She decided to stay with Naomi, no matter what, through any suffering. According to her own words, only death would separate them (Ruth 1:16-17).
Ruth’s beautiful declaration of loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi is a splendid light that shines brightly amid the darkness of their situation. This profound and moving loyalty expresses deep faith in Naomi’s God, the God of the Israelites, which will shape the rest of the story.
Finally, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law arrived in the town of Bethlehem in a dire situation (Ruth 1:19). Still mourning the loss of their men, with no economic or social support, their future looked bleak.
Naomi made sure to remind everyone of this. In a disheartening speech, Naomi lamented her terrible situation, shaking her fist at God and blaming Him for her losses. There, standing silent and invisible, Ruth witnessed the sad spectacle of being ignored by the one to whom she had sworn eternal loyalty (Ruth 1:20-21).
This was the valley of the shadow of death that these two women had to traverse. Now, with no hope in sight, denying her blessings and deeply angry with God, Naomi could not see beyond her pain.
…But there was someone who could, someone who was already working amidst this tragic situation to bring about something great (Ruth 1:22).
In Boaz’s Field
The second chapter marks a tremendous shift in this story. With small details and grand gestures, we can see that they are not as alone as one might initially think. Quite the contrary, there is someone who is watching over them and helping them in the midst of their dark valley.
To avoid starving, Ruth offers to glean the leftover grain in the fields that the workers leave behind for the needy (Ruth 2:2). This wouldn’t change their dire situation, but at least they would have something to eat at the end of the day. So, “by chance,” Ruth ends up gleaning in the field of a good man, a close relative of the family of Elimelech, her deceased father-in-law (Ruth 2:3).
There, in that field, young Ruth toils tirelessly to obtain food for herself and her mother-in-law. It is at this moment that we meet another major figure in this story, Boaz. He is the owner of the field and the relative of Elimelech, as mentioned earlier (Ruth 2:4).
When Boaz learns that Ruth, who returned with Naomi from Moab, is gleaning in his field, he instructs his workers to treat her with great kindness and generosity (Ruth 2:8). He even speaks to her and tells her to stay and glean in his field, assuring her of protection and instructing his workers to leave extra grain for her to gather (Ruth 2:9).
This causes Ruth to bow down with her face to the ground and ask why she, a foreigner, widow, and poor, is being treated so well (Ruth 2:10). But Boaz does not see her that way. He sees a deeply compassionate girl committed to her mother-in-law, who had forsaken her own land and gods to trust fully in the God of Israel, and that is something worthy of praise (Ruth 2:11-12). Thus, for the rest of the day, Boaz’s challenge would be to honor and bless Ruth, to elevate her in honor and esteem (Ruth 2:14-17).
A critical point in these efforts and actions by Boaz to elevate Ruth in honor is the fact that Boaz serves her lunch with the workers (Ruth 2:14)! After the mealtime, he even instructs his workers to purposely leave grain for Ruth to glean (Ruth 2:16). Now, she wouldn’t just be a beggar picking up scraps in the field; for the rest of the day, Ruth would be someone collecting what was prepared especially for her.
All these care and services from her benefactor resulted in the young woman gathering about twenty kilos of barley after a hard day’s work. This is equivalent to two weeks’ worth of a worker’s harvest!
When her mother-in-law saw her returning, she rejoiced greatly and rightly asked about the identity of the man who had helped her achieve such a spectacular result. Ruth couldn’t have gathered all that on her own. When Ruth revealed the identity of the man responsible for such a productive day’s work, Naomi immediately began to connect the dots.
It was at that moment that she understood there was much more going on than what she had been seeing (Ruth 2:20). It was at that moment that she began to devise a plan that would change everything. And to carry out this plan, Ruth would need to continue gleaning under the protection of Boaz.
