Sometimes the King James Version says something so right that
you have to admire it. When speaking of how Ruth found a field to reap a small harvest
for herself and her mother-in-law, the KJV says, “her
hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz” (Ruth 2:3
KJV). Birds “light on” a branch; mosquitoes “light on” an arm. Ruth happened to
(her hap) light on a field that would lead to more than that night’s supper.
Just as God's eye is on the sparrow, he knew Ruth’s need and was there for her.
In case you wonder sometimes if the Old Testament has
anything worth reading today, look at this passage from Ruth. First some history: Old
Testament law required land-owners to leave the edges of their fields
unharvested so that the less fortunate could “glean” from them. Gleaning means
picking up what is left over. Record this: Ruth gathered what was “left
over.”
Second, Old Testament law had what was called the kinsman
redeemer clause. A “kinsman redeemer” is a person who, as the nearest
relative of another, is charged with the duty of restoring the rights of
another and avenging his [or her] wrongs. Ruth’s “rights” were to have children
of her Israelite husband, but he died before that could be accomplished. As
such, she stood by law as one who had had her rights denied. Little did Ruth
know that when she vowed to follow Naomi, her mother-in-law, back to Israel,
she would get the opportunity to have those rights granted.
So, her “hap” was to choose a field owned by the next
nearest relative of her departed husband. If you know the story, you remember
that the nearest relative didn’t care to fulfill his duty and gave Boaz the
right to take on the kinsman redeemer role. He did. The progeny from that
marriage eventually brought forth the one named David from whence comes the one
called Messiah. All because Ruth’s, “hap was to light on a part of the field belonging
to Boaz.”
What’s the lesson? Nothing is without significance. By “happenstance”
Ruth went to a field that was owned by someone who could make the course of
history flow in the correct channel. The Messiah came to redeem the world (That’s another
kinsman redeemer fulfillment, by the way.) The most insignificant things can change the
course of history. What if Brutus had flinched at the last moment when Julius Caesar
walked by? What if John Wilkes Booth’s pistol had misfired? What if Admiral Yamamoto
had decided the weather was not right for the Pearl Harbor attack? What if the
assassin’s bullet had missed Martin Luther King? History turns on the most “insignificant”
things.
Because I believe in a God who is in ultimate control of the
outcome, I can trust in the details that lead to the outcome. I don’t have to like
it in the outworking. Jonah probably didn’t enjoy his time in the smelly insides
of the great fish, but it worked for the greater good of Nineveh, one of the greatest
cities of his time. Moses probably didn’t relish his time on the backside of
the desert in Midian, but it prepared him for God’s mission: freeing his people
from bondage. Jesus certainly did not look forward to his torture and execution
at the hands of the Romans (via the Jewish leadership), but
He endured for the joy set before Him.
Don’t dismiss the “small stuff.” Someone wisely said that
the devil is in the details. More importantly, the God who runs the universe is
also in the details, and He overrules the devil every time. When it is our “hap
to light on” something we don’t understand, know this: The God who knows
everything is
working everything for our good, and he
will never lead us into anything we cannot handle with Him present. Keep
your eyes open; redemption is at hand.
