The Day Of Restoration
I believe all humans appreciate a smashing love story. One outstanding love account in the Bible is Ruth and Boaz’s story.
Ruth was a Moabite woman who had everything going against her. She was a poor widow, a Moabitess, a Gentile in the Jewish nation of Israel, and after her husband died she needed to stay with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to survive.
Because of their poverty, Naomi and Ruth could not afford to buy grain. Ruth worked in the fields to perform the menial task of gleaning whatever the reapers had left behind so they could eat.
Yet, Ruth depended on the Lord’s favor and said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor."
God's Favor
Ruth had bold confidence that even though she was a foreigner with no connections to anyone who worked in the fields, she would find favor. She was not aware of who owned the fields from which she was gleaning.
“And she sent and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech” Ruth 2:3.
Of all the spots in the field Ruth could have wandered into, her “hap” was to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was a man of great wealth, and who also happened to be Naomi’s relative. “Hap” is an old English word that means “to happen” to be in the right place. In the original Hebrew text, the root word is the word qarah, which means right happening.
When Ruth trusted in God’s unmerited favor she quarah-ed or happened to come to the field that belonged to Boaz.
Boaz saw Ruth. He fell in love and married her.
Right Place, Right Time
Before meeting Boaz, Ruth was at the lowest point in her life. But she chose to put her trust in the Lord – Who put her in the right place at the right time.
Please note that in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:5 it states that Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. What an honor to be included in the genealogy of Jesus.
No matter what circumstances may surround you, have confidence in the unmerited and undeserved favor of Jesus. He will cause you to be in the right place to experience His protection and success.
You have this favor because of the message of grace. The message in the New Covenant assures you of your position in Christ today.
Christ is the fulfillment of the promise God made in the Old Covenant.
“I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking” Jeremiah 23:4.
Share the gospel of grace with authority, certainty, assurance, and confidence so no one will be oppressed by fear or discouragement. This is our mission.
God wants to restore what has been stolen from you and restore to you what He has promised.
120% Restoration
Even more amazing is that God wants to restore more to you than what you lost. Believe God for a 120% restoration.
“Because he has sinned and is guilty, he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which was found, or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering” Leviticus 6:4-5.
My memoir, Battered Hope, chronicles my story of the perpetual loss of one trauma on top of another. But my husband and I stayed focused on God’s promises and did not waver in our faith. God has more than restored what was stolen from us.
This principle of restoration was under the law of Moses but is greater today. The covenant we have now is “a far better covenant with God, based on better promises” Hebrews 8:6.
The person who brings his restitution on the day of his trespass offering is a beautiful picture of what Christ did for us. Jesus became our substitute and was judged in our place for every trespass we committed so that we can receive all of God’s blessings He has promised us, including restoration.
“He will restore what the locusts have eaten” Joel 2:25.
I have seen this promise fulfilled in my life and continue to praise God that He never fails us, never leaves us, and will restore to us what has been stolen. His Word is YES and AMEN!