Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
| SEEING JESUS IN |
| Boaz |
| Provider |
| Ruth 2:14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. |
| John 21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. |
Let’s remember that at this point in the story, Ruth is a beggar, a foreigner associated with Naomi, having come to Israel due to very bad circumstances back home and an initial faith in the God of Israel. This faith in Israel’s God had not, at this time of the story, granted her great wealth and health, but simply the lowly work of gleaning the fields after the reapers had taken their haul for Boaz.
Granted, Boaz had learned of her relation to Naomi, of her desire to be with her mother in law, even to the point of leaving her homeland. He knew of Ruth’s continued care for her.
It wasn’t long before Boaz had taken upon himself to provide Ruth, not only the freedom to glean, (which by accounts of Leviticus 19:9-10, she could claim by law), but also the privilege of sharing a meal with Boaz and his reapers.
Boaz provided her bread / parched grain and wine/vinegar to dip into, exactly what his workers were able to partake of. Gleaners were not typically associated with the owner and his laborers. It was enough that they were able to retrieve foodstuff from the fields without harassment.
But for Ruth, she was provided the honor and privilege of sitting with the king of the field, and his workers. She was provided a meal sufficient to her needs and more, for she had some left over.
Does not Jesus provide those He loves the opportunity to gather around a meal? Is there not many that have taken the faith of the Israel’s God and had their provisions met?
Jesus provides His people the opportunity to join, to partake and to sit with those others in the kingdom.
And like Boaz in his provision to Ruth, Jesus provides those who were mere beggars more than is sufficient.
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