5 Days in the Book of Ruthનમૂનો

Day 3: Goodness Brings Hope

Read 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.

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.” 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.

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”

“The Lord bless you!” they answered.

Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 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.”

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. 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.”

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?”

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. 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.”

“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.”

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. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. 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.

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.

“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.”

Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”

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.”

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.

Reflection on the passage:
My husband loves the craft of film and can handle watching harsher movies than I can. I know I’m not a very fun watching companion if I’m stressing out about the trauma the characters are experiencing and how they need psychological and spiritual care. When we are deciding on something to watch together, I sometimes ask him if there are any admirable, virtuous characters in the movie. That makes a huge difference for me. A character who displays goodness brings such hope, light, and inspiration amid the sadness and harshness of life. That is just what Ruth and Boaz do in this chapter of Ruth! The previous chapter ended with Naomi feeling bitter and hopeless as she returns home to Bethlehem. But now the focus turns to two characters who shine with beautiful qualities.

Ruth doesn’t want waste any time in taking next steps to provide for her mother-in-law and herself, who are now poor and on their own. Thankfully, it is the harvest season for barley and wheat, and so she takes initiative to find a field where she can gather what is left behind by the harvesters. We don’t know how much she knew of God’s law that required landowners to leave the edges of their fields unharvested for the poor and foreigners to gather. And certainly not all landowners followed this law. But in God’s providence Ruth ends up in the field of Boaz, a man who followed not only the letter of this law, but the spirit of it! Ruth works tirelessly in Boaz’ field, so much as to impress the overseer. She faithfully continues all through the harvest season, bringing home to Naomi each day the grain she gathered and the leftover food from the meals Boaz provides her. In all this she demonstrates humility and gratitude.

Boaz is also a wonderful breath of fresh air in this story! The relative of Naomi’s husband Elimelek, Boaz is a respected man of standing in the community. He demonstrates his faith in God in his attentiveness to his harvesters whom he greets with “The Lord be with you!”. He also demonstrates it in his generosity to Ruth, a poor woman and foreigner. He urges Ruth to glean only in his field where she will be safe and provided for. And he makes sure of this by giving strict instructions to the men to leave her alone, telling her to follow behind the women, making sure that extra is left for her to gather, and providing her meals and water while she works. Boaz recognizes Ruth’s goodness in what she has done for her mother-in-law and prays a blessing over her.

This story is no longer so dim! Ruth and Boaz’ goodness have brought provision and great hope to Naomi. She blesses this man who “has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead,” and begins to form hope in her heart about this man being their “guardian redeemer”. May we like Ruth and Boaz be a source of hope and light to the people in our lives, as we live into the righteousness we have in Christ.

Focus verse for prayerful reflection:
“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)

1. Whom do you know that you might pray this beautiful prayer of Boaz over? Perhaps someone who is newly learning to trust in God. Consider texting this prayer to them today.
2. Where in your life are you taking refuge under the LORD’s wings? Where might you need to lean further into that shelter He provides? Take some time in prayer about this.

For further reading:
Read Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19–21 about the laws that provided for the poor and foreigners.