“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:6-10

Ruth 2

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field

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.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

NEED TO KNOW:  The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Leviticus 25:25-55).  God’s Law provided help for widows and their care.  Only God could know all the situations and circumstances of life His People would face in generations to come. Only God has the best way to overcome.   

However, as God rescues, provides, and cares for us; we humans can slip into a dark entitlement way of thinking with an arrogant stance of pride.  We think we are particularly special as God’s child instead of being a “peculiar people,” chosen to tell others about Jesus as our Redeemer, living humbly and gratefully before Him. We begin to see other’s faults, especially highlighting the weaknesses in others that we ourselves have and hold. And we judge. Paul spoke of this flaw of being a “holy-than-you-are” person to the church; 

“So, when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:3-4

When we struggle with dark habits in our own lives of which we are ashamed; the temptation to judge others of the same things is there! It seems it is a way to avoid being judged ourselves!  We must remove this glitch as it grieves the Holy Spirit living in us.

Instead of seeking special treatment from God, the Jews had a greater responsibility to obey Him and glorify Him because of the blessings they had received from Him. In His goodness, God had given Israel great material and spiritual riches: a wonderful land, a righteous law, a temple and priesthood, His providential care, and many more blessings. God had patiently endured Israel’s many sins and rebellions and had even sent them His Son to be their Messiah!

It is by God’s kindness, love, compassion, mercy, and grace that leads us to His redemption of our sins.  Condemning us is not God’s way to call us to repentance—demonstrating His love and compassion for us is the Way.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17

What do these thoughts have to do with Ruth meeting Boaz?  Read again what Naomi said to Ruth, “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” Naomi was living a dead life of paralyzing grief and bitterness.  She even called herself Mara (bitter), blaming God for her misfortune to her family and friends who greeted her upon her return to her hometown with Ruth.  But, because of the kindness of Boaz, she feels Hope rising from her despair.

Pause to reflect and evaluate prayerfully before responding to what God is teaching us: 

• Do we think God should do what we want or do we ask God what He wants to do in us?
• Do we blame God for circumstances in our lives that are difficult and exhausting?
• Is grief forming a hard-core shell of bitterness that is so great we are oblivious to other’s who love us?  Is our love for God shaded by blaming God for our predicament? Has trust escaped us?
• Do we give God an overview of our accomplishments done for Him so that we might find favor from Him?
• Do we judge others for the same sins we are doing in thought and in deed?
• Who are we? Who is God to us? How healthy is our current relationship with God?
• Faith, Hope, and Love but the greatest of these is Love. (1 Corinthians 13) Who do we love most and admire?

RECAP:  The existence of the gleaning law was proof of God’s concern for the poor among His people.  Ruth’s going out to gather grain was completely an act of faith because, being a stranger, she didn’t know who owned the various parcels of ground that made up the fields. Furthermore, as a woman and an outsider, she was especially vulnerable, and she had to be careful where she went.  By the providence and kindness of God, Ruth gleaned in the portion of the field that belonged to Boaz. Boaz’s name means “in Him is strength.” Scripture says Ruth “happened” to come to this portion of the field, but this was no accident—her steps were guided by the Lord. By God’s kindness to Ruth who succeeded in gathering grain for them to eat; Naomi’s bitterness begins to fade as she realizes that her God is indeed at work in their lives to help them.

God led Ruth to the field of Boaz and then led Boaz to visit his field while Ruth was there. When we commit our lives to the Lord, what happens to us happens by way of appointment and not by accident. Ruth was still a poor widow and foreigner; but God was about to create a new relationship that would completely alter her circumstances.  Did Ruth arrogantly assume God would act on her behalf? No, she humbly worked hard in the field, gleaning grain, while trusting that God would care for her and Naomi.

Sometimes what we feel and demand as our “rights” are not at all of God’s righteousness nor are they characteristics to acquire.

Ponder this until tomorrow’s daily manna from God through His Word;

Grace is favor given to someone who doesn’t deserve it and can’t earn it. As a woman, a poor widow and a foreigner in Naomi’s hometown; Ruth could have no claims on anyone. She was at the lowest rung of the social ladder. Boaz gave to Ruth what she could not.  We can see in Boaz a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ in His relationship to His bride, the church. Like Ruth, the lost sinner is outside the covenant family of God, bankrupt, with no claim on God’s mercy. But God took the initiative and provided a way for us to enter His family through faith in Jesus Christ. (See Ephesians 2:10–22.)

God’s Kindness leads us to repentance and redemption!

Stay tuned…there’s more to come with more to learn!

Lord,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving us from all our sins and removing them to be remembered no more! Thank you for convicting us of judging others for the same sins we have done! Thank you for showing us the love story of Ruth and Boaz that demonstrates yet again the deep and profound love you have for us which lead to you, dear Jesus for being our “guardian-redeemer”!  We didn’t deserve it and cannot earn it. Your love is just who you are.  May we live humbly before you today.

In Jesus Name, Amen