May you be richly rewarded by the LORD! (Ruth 2)*

Ruth 2:1-23

Key Verse: “May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:12b).

Introduction: Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth, entered Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem, the land of God’s blessing, together. Naomi’s heart was still weighted down by what God had done while she was in Moab, so she responded to the greeters they met in town:

"Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." (Ruth 2:20-21).

On the other hand, Ruth came with a clear decision to leave her people, her country, and her god to follow Naomi. Behind her decisions were always her confirm will and conviction. However, Naomi left Moab with bitterness in her soul, while Ruth left Moab with a clear conviction and will that the land of God’s blessing, and His people would be better than what she had left behind.

Each woman had two different outlooks, as they came into Naomi’s hometown. Ruth came to the land of God’s blessing with a positive effect, even though her situation was dismal. This led her to see and then to taste God’s great blessing personally. How can we come to taste His blessing? Today’s passage may give us an answer to this question.

1.      Let me pick up the left-over grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor (1-2).

For Naomi, even though she had returned to her own country and her people, nothing had changed. As a widow, she remained a hopeless, helpless, powerless, and destitute woman. She could not shake off the power that the deaths of her husband and two sons still had over her future. No one came to help her or extended their support. While these two widows lived under such a gloomy outlook, Ruth said to Naomi:

"Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." (Ruth 2:2a).

Ruth had just arrived in a foreign land; she did not know anyone and did not know where she could find food. However, she willingly offered to go out to find food herself.

Luckily, it was the season of the barley harvest. If she found someone who would show her favor, then she could get some grain. In some sense, this was a daring challenge, for, as a young woman, she would be vulnerable to all kinds of mistreatments from the local people. She was a Moabite woman, whom all the men of Israel would look down on with a contempt.

As we reviewed in the stories of Judges, sexual immoralities, even among Israel, was as bad as among other Gentile nations. A prime example of this is the story of a concubine, who belonged to a Levite of Ephraim (Judges 18-20). She was brutally sexually abused and killed by Benjamites, while she and her master were spending the night in a Benjamite town, not far from Bethlehem.

Boaz knew of such dangers and warned Ruth not to go anywhere else and not to follow any other people, except for the women who worked for him. All of these precautions amounted to the fact that there was a substantial risk in her going out to find help from a stranger.

Despite such a real risk, Ruth told her mother-in-law that she was going out to find anyone in whose eyes she could find favor. Unlike Naomi, Ruth’s mind was not constrained by their gloomy reality. When one believes in the God of justice and righteousness, she/he becomes courageous and can handle any present challenges by faith. This is the same hope in God’s leading hand that Ruth had, even though she did not know what was out there. This is how one entrusts one’s life to God’s righteous hand and His leading.

Naomi accepted this and answered,

“Go ahead, my daughter!” (Ruth 2:2b).

She began to open her heart to unknown possibilities through Ruth’s faith and she was thankful for her willing heart. Who else could she and her daughter-in-law, Ruth rely on, except the Lord? When one’s heart experiences the lowest points of life, all of the dangers and threats of this world matter little. Instead, Ruth’s heart looked toward the Almighty, the One who holds all authority over every human being.

The transition from one’s heart being filled with the thought of God’s punishment to focusing on His goodness and righteousness is a difficult one. However, God enlightens such hearts through a tiny slit between these two tightly shut doors. In Ruth’s case, she found that slit through which a dim light was shining. There was someone in whose eyes she could find favor! It was possible.

To live by faith is to see unlimited possibilities through what was unseen, because God is and works for those who believe in Him. In this world, we face similar situations to Ruth’s, feeling powerless, lacking wisdom, lacking connection with those who hold worldly power, living among savages, etc. As Ruth overcame challenges to her love and care for her mother-in-law, so we must overcome challenges in our love for our godly families. When she did so, what happened?

2.      God’s providence (3-10)

“So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.” (Ruth 2:3).

We do not know how many fields of harvest Ruth passed by before she reached Boaz’s field. It is not impossible that she would have asked at a few other places to see if she could pick up their leftovers. However, she was rejected because her clothing, her manner, and her accent were different; it is even possible that she wore such ragged clothes that no one was even willing to respond to her request. Beggars and solicitors were not welcomed! Neither were foreigners and strangers!  

But strangely, she was accepted into the field of Boaz; a young man in charge was kind and asked who she was and what she was looking for. When she told him that she was a Moabite who had returned with Naomi, he graciously allowed her to pick up the sheaves after the workers had passed. How could this young man allow her to work without permission from his boss, Boaz? We come to know why as we look at the next verse:

“Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they answered.” (Ruth 2:4).

Boaz, the owner of the field, greeted his people, and hired workers with God’s blessing. This tells us that he ran his farm under God’s blessing. His land, his workers, a good harvest, and even his life were all God’s blessings for him.  Likewise, Boaz ran his farm with a thankful heart to the Lord, for God is the Lord of all blessing. This thankful heart was also in the hearts of everyone who worked on his farm. All the more so with the young man who oversaw the farm.

Ruth stepped into that place where God’s blessing was abounding in and among all those who worked in the field. How did she come to this field? The New International Version reads “It turned out to be” (v3). The New American Standard says, ‘she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz’. She did not have a particular revelation from the Lord; or have an ingenious idea as to how to find the right place. She did not have any intuitive wisdom in order to test and seek the right place. But it seems that it just happened by chance!

When did Boaz arrive back at his farm? The passage says, ‘just then’ (NIV), or “now behold’ (NAS), carrying a sense of surprise. To the writer of this book, it was more than just a surprise that, not long after Ruth began to work there, Boaz returned. It was not necessary for him to come to his field all the time. It appears as though he came to find a new young lady working for him. This is the second surprise that happened by chance. When he noticed her, he asked who she was and found out that it was Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law. Since Boaz had never seen Ruth before, she was a total stranger, but as soon as he heard that she was Naomi’s daughter-in-law, he immediately recognized her. He went to her and said:

 "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled." (Ruth 2:8-9).

Boaz showed his compassion and care for Ruth. He warned her about the men of the field and told her to follow his maids. He warned her not to go to any other man’s field and to stay in his field. If she had to leave the field to get some water, then she must not leave the field; instead, she was to drink from the jars nearby that his men had already drawn for his people. A widow, young and foreign, was vulnerable to all kinds of ungodly advances from men. Boaz made sure that she would not become a victim of such ungodly forces of the times, like the protection of a father for his daughter. His word was filled with compassion and care for her, like her real father.

Even though Ruth knew there were many dangers out there, she took the chance, in hopes of finding a man who would give her favor. However, when she heard Boaz’s strong words of care and protection, like a father, she was surprised and even shocked, for his care was far beyond her expectations. In shock and awe, she bowed her face to the ground before him and asked:

"Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me--a foreigner?" (Ruth 2:10b).

She had just met him for the first time. How could such a stranger show such graceful care for her after first meeting her? Not only was she overwhelmed by his love and care, but it was also all too strange for her to feel the immense force of that care. Had she received such care before?

3.      The LORD repays (11-13)

Boaz answered:

“Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband--how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.” (Ruth 2:11).

Although he had never seen Ruth before, Boaz had heard of Naomi and Ruth’s story. Even though he had only heard about them, he came to know that what Ruth had done was out of her genuine love and care for her mother-in-law.

She was good and kind before, but her genuine love was revealed after her husband died. His death did not crush her spirit or her mind; instead, she came to sense God’s truth and His righteousness. Having seen the Lord, the God of righteousness, at work, she could overcome the power of death that had come upon her husband, brother-in-law, and father-in-law.

If God punished the unrighteous, then He would surely bless the righteous! Ruth did not waver in her trust in the Lord. In this way, she became the source of strength and comfort for Naomi, and she cared for her. This love was strong enough to compel her to leave her parents and her homeland of Moab, in order to live with her mother-in-law, in a strange land, among a strange people.

Genuine faith always reveals itself by action. When it is revealed, we are able to see the power and truth that lie beyond the ordinary in the one whose heart is set on God. A godly nature and quality are invisible, and yet these saturated Ruth’s actions; anyone who had eyes to see could discern this. The reason for this is because God dwells with the one who puts his or her trust in Him. He is with them, for there are many who will carry out His spirit and will.

Boaz revealed why he cared for Ruth.

“May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:12).

The Lord’s will is to care for those who seek Him. Ruth literally left everything in order to seek the Lord the God of Israel. Boaz saw this as soon as he heard her story. He was the son of Rahab (Matthew 1:5), a prostitute from Jericho who committed her life to God’s hand. He knew very well how God cares for those who fear Him and commit their life to Him. Actually, he himself owed his life to the Lord’s grace. When one lives by God’s grace, they come to understand God’s heart and act to show their grace to others who seek Him.

Without fail, God repays those who seek Him. He might be slow and patient in implementing His righteous judgement on those who disobey, but surely in time, He will bring His punishment down on those who disobey Him. This was evident in the deaths of the three men in Elimelek’s family. How much more then is He also righteous and good at caring for His followers.

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6).

The Law of the Covenant had blessings and curses. As much as God is right and just in punishing those who violate the Covenant, so is He also obligated to bless those who follow Him. Boaz knew God’s grace with certainty and delivered His will to Ruth.

Lastly, we must note that God responded to the action of the faithful, namely Ruth. “Repay” or “reward” denotes a reciprocal action. God surely responds  with good things for those who do good, and with punishment to those who do evil. This was the basic frame of the Covenant of the Law. It is somewhat at odds with the common idea that, when one believes, God saves them by His grace. Also, it seems to be at odds with the command  that God must show His love first, in order that man comes to believe and honor Him.

Long before giving the Covenant of the Law to His people, God demonstrated His power and grace by saving Israel, without any condition, from their slavery in Egypt. Paul rooted the demonstration of God’s interminable power and grace in His creation of the world (Romans 1:21). However, I would like to add two more of God’s works that are grounded in history; one is Israel’s history, as recorded in the books of Exodus through Joshua, and the other is the history of Jesus’ life, as recorded in the four Gospels (Romans 3:25-26). These two biblical accounts are verifiable, because they are grounded in history. Now the whole world is under God’s injunction, under the Covenant of the Law. Paul, without any hesitation, demanded repentance in action (Acts 26:20).

Commitment to the Lord was not just an inward assent to God’s existence or His good will. It was also seen in Ruth’s actions (i.e. leaving her old life, her people, her religious beliefs, and her land). She was like Abraham, whom God told to leave his people, his country, and his household. Had God done anything like this for Abraham before? No! Not at all. However, there were general revelations of God’s works; examples of this were the Flood, and other instances of God’s invisible qualities as the Lord of heaven and earth.

In this respect, what Paul said was true; no one can make the excuse that he does not know the Lord, because He did not reveal Himself to him (Romans 2). God rewards those who honestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). He reciprocates back to them, surely and certainly. No one should make any mistake of thinking that they can sin freely without experiencing God’s punishment. At the same time, not expecting good things from Him is to deny His existence, His righteousness, and His mighty power.

As Boaz declared God’s blessing upon her, Ruth began to understand his actions. His care and concern for her was not out of his own good will, but from God and his fear and reverence for Him.

The fact that the owner of the field was Boaz, a man filled with God’s grace who also knew about her, was the third surprise. When one encounters one good thing by chance, we would consider it a stroke of luck. When someone faces two surprises, we might question why such things happen and if there was someone behind it. When such things happen for the third time in a row, then we cannot see anything but God as being responsible.

These things were joined together to provide evidence of God’s graceful hand for Ruth. Her faith and her hope were becoming a reality, for it was the first time she had seen the Lord’s reward in her life; His reward was finally real and true. She expressed her hope in this way:

"May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant--though I do not have the standing of one of your servants." (Ruth 2:13).

4.      Come and join the family of God (14-18)

She hoped to find a person who would show her favor (2:2). She found one, Boaz, and she wanted to receive that favor on an ongoing basis. The reason? She was unworthy to receive such favor, and, without God’s favor, she would have nothing. She was a Moabite and a widow; she literally had nothing in this foreign land. If she was to survive there, she needed everything from someone else, including their favor. In today’s term, she was bankrupt; there was nothing with which she could sustain her own life. She came to be under such conditions because everyone who had held the means for her life was all dead, by God’s punishment. She came to know that she was unworthy, because she saw God’s righteous judgment come upon the three men in her house. She could only live and sustain her life by God’s grace. Seeing and tasting God’s righteous judgment, she came to know she was unworthy of His grace, for she was outside of the boundary of His blessing.

Feeling unworthy is terrible for anyone. It deprives them of meaning  in life and destroys everything that they value as a human being. Often it sets them at a crossroad, with one way pointing to degradation into a pit of sin and destruction, and the other leads back to the Lord and His grace (Deuteronomy).

The opposite of unworthiness is a firm confidence in one’s value and the meaning of his or her life. This confidence in one’s own value and meaning will surely face its crisis at some point in their life, for the value and meaning that we establish in what we have is transient and fleeting. This means that, in one way or another, everyone will surely face such a moment in life, either by their choice or by being forced to face it.

When one’s life is shaken to the core of his or her life, their mind sinks into a deep sense of despair and unworthiness.

The first emotion they may experience is a deep despair, caused by a life crisis. Futility and hopelessness are the main causes of such unworthiness. This is very common among those whose lives have turned out to be futile, hopeless, and powerless. In some sense, God subjects all human beings to such futility in life in one way or another; even the rich and the most successful are not immune to this, for God speaks His truth to all human beings that, without His blessing of life, all men are like grass, no matter how successful they might become in their aspirations.

There was a shepherd who had been studying God’s words and joined a campus mission over fifteen years ago. For last several years, however, he did not feel that God was with him or that His word was giving him anything new. His financial situation had been the same over last ten years, without any visible progress, and he was barely getting by. In addition to this, his wife had recently gotten sick and the medical bills were mounting. This loaded him with a great burden. He became depressed and could not see any hope or escape from his unproductive, unfulfilled, and monotonous life. He lost his desire to read and search God’s words. Day by day, his life dragged by with obligations for his family and from his job. After all, all of these things were totally contrary to his hope and belief for what the life lived in God’s blessing should be like. If this was the best that he could make with everything that he had done to pursue God’s good will, i.e. spending hours studying Scripture every week, witnessing to students, praying, attending worship and other meetings, then this life is not worth much!

Those who have worked for the Lord for many years are often struck by such a sense of futility and worthlessness of life. Is there something wrong or missing? What is it?

However, for those who seek the Lord’s will, unworthiness is totally different. Unworthiness comes to one’s heart when one is confronted with the immensity of God’s glory and righteousness (Isaiah 6:6). He or she is looking at the Lord Almighty, and, before Him, they see themselves as unworthy compared to His glory or His blessing.

Out of the ashes of her husband’s and two sons’ deaths, Naomi was forced to face this existential reality; under sin’s power, or in rebellion against the Law of the Covenant, there shall be no life. However, out of the dust of these three deaths, her attention turned to the Lord who had created His nation and His people for blessing.

She said to her two daughters-in-law:

“my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has turned against me!" (Ruth1:13b).

To her townspeople, she said, with the same tone of unworthiness:

"Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter (Ruth 1:20).

It was a good thing that she did not rebel and did not give into the darkness of Israelite society. Instead, she began to see the Lord of righteousness and justice and sought Him as she turned toward the land of God’s blessing in hope.

Ruth’s heart went beyond Naomi’s feelings of fruitlessness. She had already decided to seek the Lord with hope, for the life she had lived never had such hope. She tasted and overcame death’s power and futility by hoping in the Lord of righteousness and holiness. She knew she was nothing before the Lord, for she knew that her life was so ungodly and could not be compared to the lives of His chosen people. Her unworthiness was a truthful estimation of her life in God’s holy and almighty eyes.

Unworthiness, in atheistic existential despair, must move in order to see the God of righteousness, like Naomi’s did. Her hopelessness must move aside in order for her to attain Ruth’s godly hope. We all must go through these three different stages of unworthiness in life. God counted Ruth’s unworthiness as very precious, because it was the kind of heart and mind that see and honor the Lord’s glory.  

So far, it seems that Boaz said and did enough for her. However, when he heard of Ruth’s humble status, living with less than his maids, his heart was struck with empathy for her humbleness, and he did something extraordinary.

During their mealtime, Boaz called Ruth over; he was about to eat with all of his workers, and invited her to sit down along them. So, she came down and sat among them. As she sat, he told her to have a piece of bread, dipped in wine vinegar. She ate as much as she wanted, she ate to her full satisfaction for the first time in a long time.

Sharing a meal with someone is to count them as a member of one’s family. Ruth was an outsider, a Gentile, and a Moabite; she could not be a part of God’s chosen community. However, Boaz still called her in to share a meal with the rest of his workers. In this way, Boaz showed that Ruth was accepted and had become a member of this community, under God’s blessing. Now she had become an equal with any of his other workers or servants. This implies that her standing as a Moabite or a Gentile had been upgraded to one of God’s chosen, making her eligible to share in His blessing. Now, every member of Boaz’s workers must count, respect, and honor her as one of their own people in God’s blessing.

Boaz did not stop there. He told his workers to drop some of the stalks for her from their bundles (v15-16). This meant that they were to give some of their stalks to her. She was no longer to pick up the leftover grains after his workers. This was not only a gesture of his generosity, but also demonstrated that he was counting her as one of his family members who were well qualified to take the crops from his field.

Ruth was lower than the maids in Boaz’s community, which was also the community of the Lord’s blessing; however, she had now become a member of this blessed community, like any of the other workers. Being one of the blessed or feeling as though one is a part of God’s blessing is great.

Ruth’s heart overflowed with joy, and she took home about an ephah, about 30-50 lbs., of barley. When we buy a 40lb bag of rice, it lasts about a month. It is heavy for Rebekah and I to carry it. I can carry it for a short distance from the store to the car, but it is too heavy for me to carry it for more than one block. An ephah of grains is truly an abundance and would have been very heavy for Ruth. However, she carried this heavy bag of barley home with lightning speed, for her heart was filled with the joy of meaning and hope. God was with her!

5.      The Lord shows His kindness to the living and the dead (19-23)

Three deaths in the same family would have likely depleted all of their money. They lived in poverty and hunger. Now, suddenly Ruth and Naomi saw an abundance of food, beyond their imagination. As soon as Naomi saw what Ruth brought home, she was in shock and bombarded her with one question after another.

“Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" (Ruth 2:19).

Naomi’s heart was weighed down by bitterness and sorrow over what God had done in her life (1:20). Now she saw a light, and her heart raced to see where all of this abundant food came from. Ruth explained how things had happened that day. At the end, she told her mother-in-law the name of the man in charge.

"The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.” (Ruth 2:19c).

As soon as Naomi heard that it was Boaz, she shouted:

"The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." (Ruth 2:20).

Naomi came to have a keen sense that the Lord’s blessing had come. What Boaz did was of the Lord and His grace; however, what she said next is somewhat intriguing and profound.

First, was she talking about Boaz or God? Though it is possible to take ‘he’ as either Boaz or God, for me, it seems that, here, she meant ‘he’ to refer to God. God showed His mercy on the dead - her husband, two sons - and the living, i.e., Naomi and Ruth. God showed His mercy to Naomi and Ruth through Boaz. But, how then did He show His mercy on the dead? She explained what she meant by this:

“That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.” (Ruth 2:20c).

Boaz showed compassion and love for Naomi and Ruth. He simply loved the Lord and did this out of his reverent fear of Him; however, it was far more significant that he was one of Naomi’s close relatives, who could become a guardian-redeemer.

We mentioned three coincidences, which pointed to God’s provisional hand at work as Ruth went out to work in Boaz’s field. Here is a fourth happenstance. Boaz was Naomi’s close relative and a kinsman-redeemer. God was working, and, when He works for His people, it is like a miracle disguised in plain coincidences. When Naomi sensed His amazing hand behind all the things that had happened to Ruth that day, she could only be amazed at the Lord’s mercy and grace.

Her bitterness was gone, and a new hope had dawned on her. This hope was further solidified by what Boaz had said to Ruth:

“Then Ruth the Moabite said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain."” (Ruth 2:21).

Boaz was willing to care for Ruth until the end of the harvest, which was about three or four months away. This seems to confirm that Naomi’s conviction and hope for her family’s redemption, through Boaz, was real and coming soon. She immediately directed Ruth on what to do next.

“Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field you might be harmed." (Ruth 2:22).

Ruth fully concurred with her mother-in-law and stayed in Boaz’s field until the end of the harvest (23). She, as well as Naomi, believed that it was the work of God’s hands, and followed in the direction which He was leading them.

Conclusion

The world is under the Covenant of the Law for as long as they operate under their own justice and goodness. God is patient, but He will surely judge everyone in His time and for His good purpose, according to what they have done (Romans 2:8). Three deaths in Elimelek’s family devastated the whole family and put them on the verge of total decimation, having only left three widows without any male support or provision. Under such overwhelming judgment, the only remnant of God’s chosen people in this family, Naomi, came home with bitterness in her soul.

On the other hand, Ruth, living in the same family calamity, saw God’s righteous judgment and His goodness and decided to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, in seeking the God of Israel.

At some point in our lives, we all face such moments, whereby God’s punishing hands are heavy on us. If anyone suffers unworthiness or an existential crisis, then they must look to the Lord and return to His fold, like Naomi did.

God has chosen us as His children in Christ, yet we often suffer like Naomi. His will is not to always judge us, but to bring us back to Himself with true humility, as Ruth had.

In humility, Ruth saw the Lord of holiness and the righteous Judge, left everything behind, and sought His favor. Since He is the true and just Lord, He will surely respond with good things for those who honestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

God orchestrated His blessing for Ruth through a godly man, Boaz. She was given protection from all the harms of that society, provided with abundant food, and welcomed into the community of God’s blessing. In a day, she was moved from being an unworthy Moabite woman, less than a maid among God’s people, to being counted as one of His children.

God’s blessing on Ruth was a great encouragement for Naomi and she could open her eyes once again to see the One who is merciful to both the dead as well as the living. God had not done away with those children who had violated the Covenant and died. Despite their sins, His mercy continued for the sake of the dead and the living, through those who put their trust in Him.

If you are a Naomi, then you are to encourage the Ruths of this age. In this way, you will surely see God’s amazing grace and power living through their lives. Ruths are so precious and are true believers in Christ. They are the ones who see hope beyond the power of death. They are the ones who dare to seek God’s favor in the midst of darkness. They are the ones who are truly humble and with whom God is happy to impart all of His blessing for this age. They are the ones who can open the eyes of their hearts, which were previously stricken by the bitterness of this world.

God waits for all sinners to come to Him. When they do so, He provides for and blesses them abundantly. We are to believe and trust Him in all situations, like the death of our loved ones. Our faith will surely be rewarded by the Lord of grace.