Lesson 15: A new way of life

Read Ruth 3

As Ruth began her new life in Bethlehem with Naomi, she was the one who needed to go find food for the two of them. One of God’s provisions for the poor in this nation was that farmers were not to harvest their crops all the way to the outside edges of their fields. This bit of grain or produced at the edges was to be left for the poor who could then come gather food for their families. Before Ruth left for this task, Naomi told her which fields to go to.

When Ruth arrived at the first field, she began gathering the grain. She did not know that the owner of the field, Boaz, was watching her, and had told his harvesters to drop grain stalks ahead of her so she would have plenty; she only knew she was able to pick up quite a lot of grain. When she took it home to Naomi that evening, Naomi asked her how it was that she had gotten so much. Ruth told her she had been following the young men doing the cutting in one field and they were dropping it on the ground.

Naomi asked which field this happened in, and when Ruth told her, Naomi said she should not go to any other fields. Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions.


All day Ruth worked with other poor women who were doing the same thing she was doing, and probably heard from them about other fields which were being harvested where these other women were going. Maybe they even told her about fields closer to home so she didn’t have to walk as far. But Ruth continued to follow Naomi’s instructions. She did not know Naomi had a plan for far beyond this current need for food.

We also often set out to provide for ourselves, and discover Jesus gives us instructions for certain things that may not be what others are doing or what is the easiest for us. How often do we go our own way rather than following what Jesus asks of us? Jesus has a plan for us too, covering far more than this earthly life we are often too concerned about. For example, we want a better-paying job than the one we have, but Jesus asks us to stay where we are. We can see only what is present, and we do not know what He has for us in the future.

*How do you respond to Jesus when He stops your plans for what you think is best for your life?