Ruth 2:1

The Bible says in Ruth 2:1-3, “And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.[2] And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.[3] And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.” Notice verse one: “Naomi had a kinsman.” Even the family that Naomi was born into was part of God’s plan. That means that every family member that she had was part of God’s plan. Boaz was “a mighty man of wealth.” That was part of God’s plan too. God was moving in the lives of many people for decades and then everything fell into just the right place because God has a plan. God’s plan in the Old Testament was greatly about the Savior who would come to save the world. In the book of Ruth, we see God creating the human lineage for that Savior. In Ruth and Boaz God brought together a Moabitess and a Jew perhaps in order to symbolize that the salvation that Jesus would bring was for all the world.

Notice in verse two that Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn.” One of the things that this tells us is that Naomi and Ruth were very poor. The social services of the Old Testament provided that the poor people would be allowed to go into the fields after the reapers were done, and the poor people could get just enough to have something to eat that day. And the next day they would have to do that again because they were not allowed to get an excess to profit from it. Ruth was going out into the field every day to work so that she and Naomi could at least eat and not starve. Of course, this shows us that Ruth was a worker. She was willing to do that work. It also shows us that she had a good and respectful relationship with her mother in law. The Word of God says, “Honor your mother and your father.” That includes those who are not your biological mother and father, but whom God has brought into your life to fulfill that role. As we will see in the rest of the book of Ruth, evidently Ruth was wise enough to know that she needed the benefit of Naomi’s council and advice. If Ruth had not listened to Naomi’s council and advice, Ruth could have easily ended up with the wrong man for a husband. Over the centuries of human history, we can ask how many young adults ended up marrying the wrong person simply because they did not humbly and respectfully listen to the council and advice of older adults that God had brought into their lives, whether it be their biological parents or others.

Notice in verse three that it says about Ruth, “her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.” Of course, we know that looking at things from a spiritual standpoint, there is no such thing as luck or happen-stance or coincidence. How is it that Ruth just happened to start working in a field that belonged to Boaz? Of course, we know that was God arranging all things so that Ruth and Boaz would come together. Yes, it may have been partly due to Naomi’s council and direction to Ruth, but God uses people too in order to make these kinds of coincidences happen.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:4, “And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.” This verse tells us a couple of things about Boaz that are good to notice. First, he used the name of the LORD in his greetings. Just like Naomi, Boaz was a person of faithfulness to the Lord. Boaz knew the importance of using God’s name with respect in public. He did not hide his faith. Boaz was a good leader. He treated his workers with respect. His workers followed his example, and returned his godly greeting. They liked Boaz. That tells us everything we need to know about the man.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:5-7, “Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?[6] And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:[7] And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.” Boaz notices Ruth. He knows she is new to Bethlehem. He knows she is there to glean and is therefore poor, but willing to work for her food. He knows that she is from Moab, but that she obviously was willing to stay with Naomi to come to Israel. And of course, Boaz is a near relative to Naomi. What does it all mean? It means that God is at work.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:8-9, “Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:[9] Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.” Immediately we see that Boaz is kind to Ruth, he is interested in her well-being, and he makes sure that she is taken care of, both in being able to glean in his fields, and in telling the young men to not molest her. Perhaps it was love at first sight, or at least it was an attraction that would ultimately result in love.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:10-12, “Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?[11] And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.[12] The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” Ruth knows that what Boaz is doing for her is an uncommon kindness, and so she asks him directly in verse ten why is he being so kind to her even though she is a foreigner. The first thing that Boaz mentions in verse eleven is that he knows that she is single because her husband has died. Boaz knows all that Ruth left behind in order to come to Israel. When you become a Christian, the Lord wants you to leave your old life and start following Jesus. What Ruth did symbolized that very thing. Boaz also knew “all” that Ruth had done for Naomi in helping to take care of her. The hard work that Ruth was doing to gather food in the fields went to Naomi as well as Ruth, so Ruth was gathering for two people. Finally, in verse twelve Boaz speaks to Ruth in what was apparently a common form of speaking for him: Boaz used the name of the Lord twice in expressing his hope and prayer that Ruth would be blessed and rewarded by the LORD. Boaz also states that he knows that Ruth has become a true believer because Boaz says about the Lord and Ruth’s faith at the end of verse twelve, “under whose wings thou art come to trust.” That is exactly what someone does when they come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus: they trust in Christ to save them and to deliver them from their sins, and after that, they start trusting in the Lord concerning everything in their life.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:13-17, “Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.[14] And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.[15] And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:[16] And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.[17] So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.” Verse thirteen shows us that Ruth was humble even while thanking Boaz for helping her. She calls herself a “handmaid,” which means servant; and she says that actually she is not even a handmaid, implying that she is less than that. Boaz continues taking care of her. First, he makes sure that she is allowed to eat with the other workers, and then he tells the laborers in verse fifteen to “reproach her not.” In other words, he told them to treat her with honor and respect. And then in verse sixteen Boaz tells the reapers to let more extra sheaves fall to the ground than normal so she would have an abundance of left-over grain to collect. This is really a good start to their relationship: work hard, be polite, keep your word, be kind and polite to others, and use the name of the Lord with honor and respect in public and private, and you just might be led to the person with whom to share your life.

The Bible says in Ruth 2:18-23, “And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.[19] And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.[20] And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.[21] And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.[22] And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.[23] So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.” Now is when Naomi changes from a person of sorrow, and bitterness, and negativity to a person of happiness, faith, and being positive about what has happened to her. It starts in verse nineteen when Naomi hears that Ruth has a really good day by being helped and provided for by the proprietor of the field where Ruth worked that day. Naomi says to Ruth in verse nineteen, “blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee.” But then as soon as Ruth tells Naomi that Boaz was the name of the proprietor of the land and it was Boaz who had helped her, Naomi immediately knows that everything has changed for her and Ruth. Things changed because God changed them. Naomi says in verse twenty, “Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi now sees that the Lord has abundantly blessed the way that they have come. Naomi sees Romans 8:28 taking place before her very eyes. She knows what Boaz can do for them. She sees Ruth and Boaz coming together, even though this is just the start of their coming together. Naomi is going to do her part in making sure that they do come together. She is going to be a match-maker. Naomi knew the potential of the situation, and that is why she said at the end of verse twenty about Boaz, “The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.” That is why Naomi directed Ruth to keep going to the same fields that belonged to Boaz and to stay with the other female workers who worked for Boaz. This situation continued for some days or weeks until the end of the harvest. God was at work. When the Lord wants something to happen, it works out wonderfully.

Notice in the middle of verse twenty Naomi’s phrase about God’s “kindness to the living and to the dead.” Remember that Naomi’s husband and her two sons are dead. That was among her many sorrows: losing those three. But now Naomi sees that God had been using those deaths to bring Naomi and Ruth to the point of this great opportunity.

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