October 8
Verse of the Day for October 8
And she went, 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 KJV
The Key of Endurance · Day 8 of 31
Reflection · 3 min read
Her Hap Was To Light
Ruth is a widow supporting an older widow in a country that is not hers. She goes out to glean, which means walking behind the harvesters and picking up whatever they drop. It is the legal provision for people with nothing, and it is as undignified as it sounds.
She has to choose a field. She does not know the owners. She picks one.
And she went, 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.
Her hap was to light on. Her chance. The narrator writes it as luck, flatly, with no halo on it — and then spends the rest of the book showing you that this field is the hinge on which a family line turns, and eventually a king, and eventually the genealogy in Matthew chapter one.
The writer knew exactly what he was doing. He gives you the moment as Ruth experienced it — an arbitrary choice on a hard morning — and lets you find out later what it was.
She did not feel providence. She felt tired, and she picked a field.
She felt luck.It was a lineage.
You are unlikely to recognise the important day while you are inside it. It will feel like an ordinary decision made without enough information.
Keep going out to the field.
Carry this today
What are you doing that feels too small to count?
Pray
Read Ruth 2:1–4
1And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 3And she went, 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. 4And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.
Keep praying
Reflection by Collins Asein, from the daily devotionals in the PrayerKey app. Bible text: King James Version.