Debra Isenbletter
Ruth 2:11 – “And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.”
In this verse we see Boaz’s answer to Ruth’s question of “Why have I found grace (favor)?” Boaz describes the sacrifices that Ruth has made. He begins with saying: “It hath fully been shewed me,” he is saying “I have been made fully aware of all you have done” (Amplified); “I have been told all about what you have done.” (NIV). There is an emphasis on what he knows, and that it is a full knowledge. The word “fully” means “to explain, to report,” “to stand boldly out” and “to praise.” This report of Ruth caused her to “stand boldly out” and what she did caused others to “praise her.” Before Boaz even met her, before he saw her, he knew her! He knew of her and he knew about her! The question is, who showed Boaz this? First of all, Boaz had heard from others about Ruth, people were talking! But I believe Boaz had a second witness, a witness from God. Boaz had an assurance about Ruth that went beyond what others said. Man can tell some things and miss a lot, but God knew all the details. I believe that God showed Boaz the heart of Ruth before he even met her. This gave him an absolute assurance, he could say “It hath fully been showed me.”
Boaz makes some wonderful statements concerning what Ruth had done. He sees how she has blessed Naomi when he says: “all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law” – He knew everything! He knew what she said and what she did when she had come back with Naomi (1:14-19), He knew what she had been doing before she came to his field, that she had been caring for and comforting Naomi. He knew why she had come to his field, it was to provide for Naomi. Ruth had made a commitment to Naomi and God and now it was brought to light. In Ruth we see a wonderful fulfilment of the scripture: “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” (Ps 37:5-6) We may think that no one ever sees what we do or what we say, that we are unknown or unobserved and yet there are eyes watching us all the time: The Lord’s eyes, the world’s eyes, the saint’s eyes. Nothing we ever do for the Lord will ever be unnoticed, if it is not noticed here, it will be declared in eternity.
Notice the depth of the compliment, it is similar to the word “fully,” it is the word “all.” Boaz knew everything, he knew “all” that she had done and “all” that she had said. He knew that everything she did was because she loved Naomi and God. He knew what she was willing to sacrifice for that love. He knew everything that she had lost, that it was a great loss and at great cost. She had lost her husband: “since the death of thine husband.” She had left her family: “and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother.” She had left her country: “and the land of thy nativity (birth place, native country).” The word “fully” refers not only to what Boaz sees of Ruth’s outward actions but her inward attitude. She has fully surrendered. She has fully sacrificed. She has fully served. This is the testimony of the overcomer. The Psalmist writes concerning the testimony of the king’s bride that she forgot her own people and her father’s house (Ps 45:10) and because of this that the king greatly desired her beauty (Ps 45:11). This is the testimony of a disciple, the one who has heard Jesus’ call to “Follow me” and hearing it has “left all” and “followed him” (Lk 5:27-28).
Ruth left all, she left everything and followed Naomi and that journey led her to Boaz. Boaz describes her losses, and those were losses, they were things that caused her sorrow, but there is one thing that she did that would bring her joy, one thing that would make all the difference. Boaz tells her what she came unto after she let go of those things: “thou art come unto a people.” She came in by faith, just as she came out by faith: “which thou knewest not heretofore.” She had no idea of what to expect, the people were unknown to her, all she knew of them was her contact with Naomi and her family. She is like Abraham, Paul says “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” (Heb 11:8). He walked by faith, Ruth walked by faith, the Bride walks by faith. We step out into the unknown because by faith we see that there is a promise for us and we embrace that promise and the reality keeps our feet on that course set before us. The reality of that promise is our Boaz!
Ruth’s loss is only temporary, she would gain everything back and even more! She lost a family (hers) but gained a family (Naomi’s). She lost a country (Moab) but gained a country (Judah). She lost a husband (Mahlon) but would gain a husband (Boaz). Boaz sees her sacrifice, he sees her works, just like Jesus sees our works. The promises of the Word of God are so precious and comforting to those, who like Ruth, step out in faith into the unknown to claim the promises of God. The Lord “knoweth the way of the righteous” (Ps 1:6); The Lord will not “forget your work and labor of love” (Heb 6:10). The Lord knows our works: “I know your works” (Rev 2:2,9,13,19; Rev 3:1,8,15)
