What’s the Haps, Bro?

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.