06/05/2026
Today’s Devotional: “God Has Not Forsaken”
“Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not forsaken his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead.’ Then Naomi said to her, ‘The man is our relative; he is one of our 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯 redeemers.’” (Ruth 2:20)
While Naomi called herself “bitter” (“Mara”), the key word 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 in the book of Ruth shows that God had never abandoned His lovingkindness to Naomi. When Naomi urged Ruth to leave her, Ruth replied, “Do not press me to 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 you in turning back from following you” (1:16). Later, Boaz expressed his desire to help Ruth because he had heard that she 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗸 her father and mother and the land of her birth (2:11). He even commanded his men to “pull out for her some grain from the bundles and 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘪𝘵” for her to glean (2:16). The word 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 here is literally 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲.
This theme of 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 or 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 reached its climax when Naomi beheld Boaz’s lavish generosity to Ruth. At that moment, Naomi exclaimed, “May he be blessed of Yahweh who has not 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 his lovingkindness to the living and to the dead” (2:20). Naomi realized that Boaz did not 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 his lovingkindness, both to them and to those who had died. He was the kinsman redeemer whom God would use to preserve them. Because of this, Naomi called Boaz, “Blessed of Yahweh.”
Contrary to what she had thought earlier, she understood that God had not dealt bitterly with her. Through Boaz, God showed that He had never 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 her. Naomi’s story illustrates that whatever our circumstances, we can know with confidence that He will never 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲 us.
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This devotional is adapted from 𝘞𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘸, available at 10% off (gracebooks.com/wonderful-things-from-your-law-a-daily-devotional.html).
