Read Ruth 2
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 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.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “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. 9 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.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
11 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. 12 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.”
13 “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.”
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
22 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.”
23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Go Deeper
In today’s reading, we see the Lord’s sovereignty already all over Ruth and Naomi. What was once despair and bitterness as we see in Ruth 1, the Lord has beautifully turned into provision and hope. There is nothing we go through that has not sifted through God’s sovereign hands (Proverbs 16:33). His sovereignty and brilliancy are on display when he leads Ruth not only to the field of Naomi’s relatives, but also to a potential Redeemer for them. Is that so thoughtful or what?!
Boaz allows Ruth to glean extra barley, protects her, and also provides her with water and food “until she was satisfied and had some left over” (vs. 14.) This is what the Lord does with us. He meets our needs and then brilliantly goes beyond what we could ask or imagine so that we are satisfied with some left over. What we can trust about the Lord is not only that He provides, but he provides in abundance. He gives in a way that only He can–in ways that when we look back on our life, we see those creative and thoughtful details in which we say “only God”.
Another thing that stands out about this chapter is that Boaz is clearly a wealthy man. Whereas he could have easily taken all of the harvest that was rightfully owed to him, he opted to let Ruth not only glean the scraps, but also told his men to leave her extra. The Lord blessed Boaz with a fertile field, many workers and plentiful harvest, and in turn, Boaz gives generously. He allows himself to be used by God, the origination of all of his blessings, to bless someone in need. So often in our own lives we harbor what the Lord has given us, whether that be giftings, resources, finances, etc., and we use it for selfish gains. However, when we look at Boaz, we see a man who has been entrusted with much and submits his resources to the Lord to be used by Him. We can observe from the way Boaz treats Ruth (and even his servants) that he understands the weight of what the Lord has blessed him with. May this be true of us as well.
Praise God for His sovereignty, His abundant provision in our lives, and for the ways He has equipped us to bless others. Let us have a heart to acknowledge His sufficiency and the way He sustains us on a daily basis. Let us have eyes to see those around us that the Lord has providentially placed in our path to bless with whatever means that have been entrusted to us.
Questions
- How does this chapter reveal the character of God?
- Where do you see the Lord’s provision in your own life?
- In what ways have you been blessed (talents, finances, giftings) by the Lord to be a blessing to others? What is one practical way you can walk in that today (think about who is in your circle of influence that you can impact)?
Did You Know?
This is the first time that we see the term “redeemer” (v. 20) used in this book. This is in reference to a kinsman-redeemer, which is a person who “under the Mosaic Law, was a male relative who had the responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need” (for more information, check out this article from GotQuestions.org). This will make more sense as we continue to read Ruth, but already we can see the parallels in this book to Christ being our Redeemer—acting on our behalf when we were desperately in need.
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4 responses to “Ruth 2”
This chapter address the poor and the widows. James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Deuteronomy 14:28–29 At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that ithe Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. God was and is concerned with our generosity, and care we give others.
Ruth takes God at His word and believes He will provide for her and Naomi. He guided her steps by “happening”into Boaz’s field. too God works in us, for us and with us to accomplish His purposes. Boaz took the initiative to give Ruth grace. God takes that initiative because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) God planned for eternity and knew salvation was how it would be accomplished. Boaz spoke to Ruth and told her to help herself. God speaks to us through Holy Spirit and His Word to guide us with what we need in everyday life. We have hope just as Ruth and Naomi now had hope due to Boaz being a kinsman redeemer. Our hope is through Jesus Christ our blessed redeemer. It is a principle from God’s word. Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Boaz models the love of Christ.
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. [38] This is the greatest and most important command. [39] The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. [40] All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”Matthew 22:37-40 CSB
God thank You for today, these minutes of this day, that I can also model the Love of Christ to others. Thank You for letting me see others through Your love goggles and not through my fleshly eyes. God give me wisdom in words to speak. God everyone is going through something, may You help me with kindness overflowing with Your love. Thank You for breath life, joy everlasting, and love overflowing about You in Jesus name amen
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m reminded that we can either be a conduit where God’s blessings flow through or a container where they become stored but not shared. Both Ruth and Boaz recognize where the riches of grace come from, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (v12). The loving kindness shown to them, they in turn give others. Surely, this is the way God intended his endless life-giving gifts to flow.
20 “he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”
Boaz sure seems like a good guy. Kind of reminds me of the character of the various Centurions mentioned in the New Testament.
Boaz shows compassion and provision.
God reveals to us His character through His grace, mercy and care.
We are made in the image of God and should build our character according to His.
What a beautiful story of restoration and redemption.