One
of the reasons this story is so beloved is that it shows character in action.
There are no villains in this piece; only troubles. So let us see how
character deals with those troubles.
(Ruth 2 NIV) Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's
side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz. {2}
And Ruth the Moabitess 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 and began to
glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself
working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. {4}
Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The
LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back. {5}
Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is
that?" {6} The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back
from Moab with Naomi. {7} She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the
sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily
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 my servant girls. {9}
Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls.
I have told the men not to touch 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 exclaimed, "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 given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant--though
I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls." {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, "Even if she gathers among the
sheaves, don't embarrass her. {16} Rather, 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 kinsman-redeemers." {21} Then
Ruth the Moabitess 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 his
girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed." {23} So Ruth
stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat
harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
The character of Ruth
The
Targums of the Jews say that Ruth was the daughter of the king of Eglon. This
is unconfirmed by the Scripture, but if it was true, then you can imagine what
a fall it is to go from the daughter of a king to someone who is gleaning grain
in the fields. Character is developed in hardship; it is also seen in
hardship.
Humility
Just
because you’re in poor circumstances doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve
learned the lesson of humility. The proud poor are often with us. But notice
the signs of humility in Ruth:
- She’s
the one that makes the suggestion that she should glean the grain. She
doesn’t wait for Naomi to tell her to do it; she accepts it and does not
let pride get in the way of necessity.
- Note
that she asks permission to glean in the field.
By the Old Testament Law, the owner of the field was to allow such. That
doesn’t mean she had the “right” to glean; it just meant he was commanded
by God to allow it. How many of us go before God telling him what we are
entitled to. We have missed the meaning of his grace by demanding our
“rights.”
- We
can see this again in her reaction to Boaz, as she bows and asks him why
she is so favored. This is the humility which comes of setting your
expectations correctly. It is a model for us in our dealing with God; we
need to know we are not worthy; we are loved.
- But
there is one thing we can give to God, as Ruth does here: honest
gratitude.
Industry
There
is no substitute known for hard work.
- Note
that she gleans as long as there is light. How many of us are good at
beginning, but tire during the work!
- You
never know who notices these things. With what did the foreman commend
her to Boaz? She’d been at it all day with only one short break. We, as
Christians, never know who is looking and drawing conclusions.
Her care for Naomi
Scripture
says very little about care for your family, for the simple reason that it is
assumed that any idiot would know that this is a serious duty. You can tell
from the way Naomi counsels and blesses Ruth just how well Ruth did this.
- Naomi
shows the proper concern that a mother would – instructing her that it is
both polite and safer to stay in the fields of Boaz. Ruth has no words of
reproach for the fact that Naomi is not gleaning (probably due to age).
- Note
how Ruth shares out the grain with Naomi. There is a sense of love in
this; we may have little to share, but share it we should.
The character of Boaz
There
are many men who are pious and good fellows on Sunday. If you want to know
what they are really like, check on Monday morning at work.
His relationship with his workers
Boaz
is rich. He is a prominent man in the community. It is instructive to see how
such a man does not carry himself with arrogance, but with the easy grace – it
is humility in the rich – of a man who accepts all things as a steward, not
with greed.
- He
greets his workers in the Lord; they reply in kind. The basis of his
relationship with them is not master/servant. It is that of a man of God
who has been placed in the position of being rich by God. Therefore, he
blesses and is blessed in that name. How many of us can say the same?
- Note
his foreman’s diligence. He already knows all about Ruth; he has already
given permission for her to glean. This shows he knows his master’s mind,
and acts accordingly. It’s a great example for us; know your Master’s
mind – and act accordingly.
- Boaz
has come to inspect the work. For those who are in positions of
responsibility in the church, here is a lesson. Check and make sure that
things are going well; then set the example for your workers.
- It
is a little thing, perhaps – but there is a tent to provide shade from the
sun as the workers take a break. This man provides for the comfort of his
servants. For those in authority, here is another example. Does our Lord
meet our every need? Then what should we do for those under us?
Boaz
is a model of the servant-leader; an example of what such a man should be.
His care for strangers
One
of the great tests of the faith is this: how do you treat those who cannot
possibly repay the favor?
- Boaz
– and we can tell from his foreman he does this consistently – obeys the
commandments of God, particularly in the matter of gleaning.
Obedience is the foundation of faith.
- Note
the detail of his care; he has her stay with his servant girls –
lest there be any impropriety towards her, an alien in Israel.
- He
tells his servants to be generous in this to her. He could have let her
glean just by the Law; he could have given her the grain outright.
Instead, he spares her harm and especially embarrassment.
- He
treats her like the gracious host he is; in essence, he feeds her lunch.
(My father taught me that no one was to leave our house hungry; it would
be disgraceful. Disgraceful = dis (not) + ful (full) + grace)
- As
Naomi says, this is kindness to the living (the two of them) and the dead
(meaning her late husband.) If there is ever a favor which must be
rewarded by the Lord, it is a favor to the dead. It is a measure of a man
that he does kindness to those who absolutely cannot repay him.
A man who honors righteousness
When
Boaz first meets Ruth, he praises her for what she has done for Naomi. It may
seem a small point – after all, the two women have had plenty of nothing but
troubles – but even the humblest may share. Boaz sees this, and honors it.
This is a man who has trained his conscience to the things of God.
Lessons to be “gleaned”
There
are a number of lessons here just itching to pop out of the text.
Gleaning
Harvesting
is hard work. Gleaning is even more so. But it is a model of Christian
behavior, if we see it correctly:
- Gleaning
is done bit by bit. What an example of patience is this woman,
Ruth. How many of us make the good beginning but falter over the long
race; it should not be so.
- Gleaning
is done with eyes open. So often the Christian today assumes he can
learn nothing about God and His will except in the church – when God is
trying to teach him every day.
- In
gleaning, you stoop to succeed. It is a humbling experience; you
must bend over to pick up every little bit. It is hard; it is also
required.
- In
gleaning, what you gather you must hold on to. It is of no use to
pick it up if you can’t keep it. So it is with us; how many of us need
to be re-taught the same basic lessons simply because we won’t apply them
the first time, and keep on applying them?
The providence of God
“As
it turned out” – she wound up in the fields of Boaz. Did you think there are
such things as accidents? You are watching the providence of God. See one
other characteristic of God’s providence: it is more than sufficient. Ruth
did not just “get by;” she came away with more than her daily need. So it is
with those who will trust God.
Under his wings
One
hates to give away such things like this; I do so wish I could charge you all
for this and become fabulously wealthy. Alas, our Lord has arranged it so that
you can read it for free in his marvelous Word! Here is the secret in this
story:
(Ruth 2:12 NIV) 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."
How
often in your difficulties have you gone to God and said, “Help me!” Yet he
seems to do nothing for you, and your difficulties remain. Would you like to
know why?
You
go to God and you say, “God, help me. I’m too fat (or too poor, or hooked on
pornography, or an alcoholic, or whatever). I need some help from you in
this.” Sound familiar?
There
are two kinds of “help.”
- If
I have to move a table, and I ask you to pick up the other end, that’s
help. But it’s help between two equals. You and God are not equals.
- There
is also the cry for help of the one who has given up all thought of doing
any part of it themselves. It is the cry of the victim for the police;
it is the cry of the Christian for refuge under the wings of God.
Until
you take refuge under the wings of God, you will not see his help. When you
do, you will not see the end of it.