Economists point to record June housing sales as a strong indicator to Canadian Economic turnaround. What a difference a month can make.
In God’s kingdom, what a difference a day makes. Naomi and her family disobeyed God’s instructions, left His people and sought what they thought was greener pastures. When she lost what she held most dear, she returned Bethlehem stating she went out full and returned empty. Ruth, in faith, went out empty and returned more than full, overflowing from lovingkindness.
Today can make a difference in you life. How today will affect the rest of your life depends on what you do with your day, and what decisions you make (Warren W. Wiersbe. Put Your Life Together. Victor Books. 1985 p.57). Decisions have consequences. Decisions based on trusting in God and His word, experience His loving-kindness.
In Ruth 2:17-23 we see 1) Loving-kindness in Praise (Ruth 2:17-19) 2) Loving-kindness in Hope (Ruth 2:20) and 3) Loving-kindness in Service (Ruth 2:21-23)
Ruth 2:17 [17]So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. (ESV)
The main focus of this segment concerns Boaz’s generosity and grace.
Ruth’s industrisness is substantial, for verse 17 notes that Ruth gleaned/scavenged for grain in the field until evening. Then, presumably with a flail or a stick, she “beat out” the grain from the heads of barley. To beat out has this same literal meaning of threshing out small quantities of grain by knocking them loose from the stalk by means of a curved stick, club, or wooden hammer (Waard, Jan de ; Nida, Eugene Albert: A Translator’s Handbook on the Book of Ruth. 2nd ed. New York : United Bible Societies, 1992, S. 37).
Where she did this is not indicated. Given Boaz’s generosity in the previous scene, one may imagine that Boaz had invited her to use his threshing floor.
The results of a day’s work in the field are nothing short of amazing. When Ruth measured the grain that she had threshed, it amounted to one ephah of barley. An ephah denotes the unit of measurement used for dry goods, especially grain and flour. According to Ezek 45:11 it was equivalent to the bath, used in the measurement of liquids, and one-tenth of a ḥōmer, the amount of grain a donkey (ḥāmôr) could carry. Scholars are not agreed on the size of an ephah. Containers marked bt found at Tell Beit Mirsim and Lachish averaged 22-24 liters (5.5-5.8 gallons). To thresh an ephah of barley grain from one day’s labor is an extraordinary feat, not to mention Ruth’s having to carry it home! Depending upon the quality of the grain and which standard one uses, an ephah of barley could have weighed from thirty to fifty pounds.
The harvesters obviously followed Boaz’s instructions and allowed Ruth to scavenge liberally. According to 1 Sam 17:17, an ephah of grain could feed fifty fighting men. According to Old Babylonian records from Mari (nineteenth century B.C.), the ration of threshed grain demanded of a male harvester rarely was more than one or two pounds.
• This ephah of barley would be enough for 20 or so loaves of bread, which would be about a two week supply for the two women.
Ruth 2:18 [18]And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. (ESV)
In Verse 18 has Ruth picking up the fruits of the day’s labor and heading for the city. After she had showed her mother-in-law what she had gleaned, Ruth measured out as much as she needed and gave Naomi the rest.
• The toasted grain that Ruth returned with was entirely unexpected. Through his generosity to Ruth, Boaz had extended his kindness to Naomi as well.
• When we show kindness to others, going beyond what is required or even beyond what is expected, we have the ability to bless beyond the immediate recipient.
Ruth 2:19 [19]And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz." (ESV)
Not surprisingly, the grain that Ruth brought home sparked conversation between her and her mother-in-law. Naomi’s amazement at the sight of so much grain evokes a response whose sense is as much exclamation as question: “Where in the world did you glean today, and where did you work?” The reference to where she worked would reflect the threshing of the grain. Naomi recognized both the bounty of food and the provision of working environment for her to thresh the grain.
Previously, Naomi had been bitter (Maura). She was bitter because of her empty home, her empty heart and her empty hands. She found nothing to rejoice in. Naomi’s bitterness turned into blessedness, her emptiness became fullness, and her discouragement turned into hope. (Warren W. Wiersbe. Put Your Life Together. Victor Books. 1985 p.59-60).
The way she speaks reflects her utter amazement at Ruth’s productivity. But she is not really interested in the geographical location of the field. Before Ruth can answer, Naomi breaks out in a spontaneous utterance of blessing upon the man who had taken notice of her daughter-in-law.
In Ruth’s response to Naomi’s question she seems to be just as excited as her mother-in-law. Her response sets the stage for the climactic announcement of Boaz’s name. Ruth’s statement, “The name of the man … is Boaz,” does not answer Naomi’s question precisely. She had asked “where” Ruth had worked; Ruth answers “with whom” she has worked.
This intentional switch draws the reader’s attention to the person who has been the focus of the narrator’s interest throughout this chapter. Since Boaz’s name was never mentioned in the preceding dialogue, we may assume that Ruth had heard it repeatedly in his conversations with his workers.
Naomi’s excitement is also reflected in the form of the blessing (lit.): “May he who took notice of you be blessed!” (yĕhî makkîrēk bārûk).
Psalm 103:1-2 [1]Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! [2]Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits (ESV)
Quote: On the topic of praise, C.S Lewis said:
“It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with” (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms [New York: Walker & Co., 1985], p. 95).
We have seen: 1) Loving-kindness in Praise (Ruth 2:17-19) and now:
2) Loving-kindness in Hope (Ruth 2:20)
Realizing the significance of Ruth’s “chance” encounter with Boaz, Naomi spontaneously erupts with a second blessing for him.
Ruth 2:20 [20]And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" Naomi also said to her, "The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers." (ESV)
There is a new hope in Naomi’s heart. The opening line follows the conventional pattern of Israelite blessings, (as opposed to the unconventional form in the previous verse). Here we see: bārûk + subject + lamedh attached to the name yhwh. Naomi’s utterance is an exclamation of praise to Boaz and a commendation of him to Yahweh. (T. G. Crawford, Blessing and Curse in Syro-Palestinian Inscriptions of the Iron Age, American University Studies, Series VII, 120 (New York: Peter Lang, 1992))
The blessing acknowledges Yahweh’s (hesed) covenantal faithfulness. Boaz has fulfilled the covenant people’s highest ideals. We see this in a similar form:
Genesis 24:27 [27]and said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master’s kinsmen." (ESV)
But what does Naomi mean when she says that Yahweh has not forsaken/abandoned his ḥesed toward the living and the dead? The aspect that Naomi refers to in being not forsaken/abandoned refers to the lovingkindness of God.
First, haḥayyîm, “Living” here is plural, encompassing both Naomi and Ruth. For the first time since leaving Moab, Ruth is included in the family of Naomi to whom the Lord will show His faithfulness (Iain M. Duguid. Esther & Ruth. Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Press. 2005. p. 162).
• This is what happens when we consider the Lord’s blessing. We look beyond ourselves and consider both His wider plan and we look around and see His hand of blessing and guidance for others.
Hammētîm, “the dead,” refers to the deceased Elimelech, Mahlon, and Chilion. Together this pair of antonyms functions as a figure (merism)where two opposites encompass everything in between, therefore, covering the whole of Naomi’s family (Iain M. Duguid. Esther & Ruth. Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Press. 2005. p. 162)..
• Her comments on the living and the dead foreshadow two aspects required of the Kinsman-redeemer which we will see in a moment.
This is the second time we have heard the expression of “kindness/hessed” from the lips of Naomi (cf. 1:8). This is one of the key theological expressions in the book. It wraps up in itself an entire cluster of concepts—God’s mercy, covenantal steadfast love, covenantal loyalty, mercy, grace, goodness, benevolence, and covenant faithfulness.
As the following clauses indicate, here it involves Yahweh’s covenant grace to this family. This speech represents a total turnaround from her despairing and accusatory words in 1:20–21. The expression she uses, ʿāzab ḥesed, “forsaken /to abandon ḥesed,” and represents the opposite of ʿāśâ ḥesed, “to demonstrate ḥesed,” covenant, compassion, and faithfulness in 1:5.
Specifically, in Naomi’s eyes Ruth’s coming upon the field of Boaz was a demonstration of God’s grace and favor. In 1:8–9 she had prayed that Yahweh would match Ruth’s ḥesed to her family by granting her rest in the house of her own husband. There she had in mind a Moabite husband, but now, in remarkable fulfillment of that prayer, she is struck by the potential of Ruth’s encounter with Boaz. Her amazement at what has transpired is expressed in two emphatically redundant descriptions of the man. First, (lit.) “The man is our close relative” (qārôb lānû hāʾîš) and, “He is one of our (kinsman)-redeemers” (miggōʾălēnû hû).
This redeemer (gāʾal), functions as a technical legal term, related specifically to Israelite family law. As a kinship term it denotes the near relative who is responsible for the economic well-being of a relative, and he comes into play especially when the relative is in distress and cannot get himself/herself out of the crisis. The Scriptures note five aspects of a gōʾēl’s redemptive role: (1) to ensure that the hereditary property of the clan never passes out of the clan (Lev 25:25–30); (2) to maintain the freedom of individuals within the clan by buying back those who have sold themselves into slavery because of poverty (Lev 25:47–55); (3) to track down and execute murderers of near relatives (“avenger of blood”: Num 35:12, 19–27); (4) to receive restitution money on behalf of a deceased victim of a crime (Num 5:8); and (5) to ensure that justice is served in a lawsuit involving a relative (Job 19:25; Ps 119:154; Jer 50:34).
The Israelite provision for the gōʾēl is based upon an assumption of corporate solidarity and the sanctity of the family/clan: to offend a relative is to offend oneself. The custom of redemption was designed to maintain the wholeness and health of family relationships, even after the person has died (R. L. Hubbard, “The gōʾēl in Ancient Israel: The Theology of an Israelite Institution,” BBR 1 (1991): 3–19; id., “גאל,” NIDOTTE 1.789–94.)
Please turn to Deuteronomy 25:5-10
Remarkably, in none of the texts clarifying the role of the gōʾēl is there any reference to marrying the widow of a deceased person. Still it is commonly assumed that in addition to these functions of the gōʾēl the kinsman-redeemer also came into play in the case of a widow whose husband had died without leaving progeny.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10 [5]"If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. [6]And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. [7]And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ’My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ [8]Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ’I do not wish to take her,’ [9]then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ’So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ [10]And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ’The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’ (ESV)
• This is the defining text regarding the custom of levirate marriage in Israel.
Although the story of Boaz and Ruth does not follow the letter of the law of the levir, it certainly captures its spirit.
The final two elements of what Naomi referrs to in Ruth 2:20 can now be dealt with. First, in reference to how Yahweh has has not forsaken the living or the dead.Yahweh has been gracious to her deceased husband and her sons by sending a potential “redeemer-kinsman” into their lives. Here the use of the plural (Boaz is “our close relatives and redeemers.
Please turn to Leviticus 25
The regard for the living: mean a blessing in terms of physically providing for a family (Levirate marriage.) (Dt. 25: 5-6) the regard for the dead completes the second aspect of the kinsman redeemer’s role of land
Leviticus 25:23-25 [23]"The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. [24]And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land. [25]"If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. (ESV)
• We have seen the concern that God has for the individual workplace in Boaz’s treatment of his workers. This provision in Leviticus 25 concerns a societal balance that God considers important.
• A singular feature of the Sinai covenant was its guarantees against the concentration of land in the hands of a few, which, in turn, would destabilize the economy and create a restless, rootless underclass. The prophets later on condemned these social difficulties when they happened anyway (Isaiah 5:8; Micah 2:2) (Lawrenz, John C.: Judges, Ruth. Milwaukee, Wis. : Northwestern Pub. House, 1997 (The People’s Bible), S. 239).
• Modern Government has a role such as a competition bureau, so no corporation/family owns so much that people become hostages to their services.
When you consider the particulars of legal requirements in Dt. & Lev. 25 you quickly notice that these legal precedents do not seem to address this case directly. Boaz was not a brother to the dead man. The law didn’t address the issue of foreigners who had illegally married into the family and what obligations if any, a kinsman redeemer had toward them. There were plenty of loopholes Boaz could have slipped through and absolved himself of any legal responsibility, had he so wished. Boaz was not concerned simply with the obligations of the law. He had a heart that had been touched by God’s covenant faithfulness, and it overflowed in covenant faithfulness to those around him (Iain M. Duguid. Esther & Ruth. Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Press. 2005. p. 163)..
• In our dealings with others we are not faithful if we spend our time debating who our brother is or what the letter of our obligations are. Like Boaz, we are to be overflowing vessels of Grace, always ready to bless others.
Unless you believe that there is a benevolent God whose loving-kindness leads you to praise through Hope, you will not act.
Illustraiton: In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl, successor of Sigmund Freud at Vienna, argued that the “loss of hope and courage can have a deadly effect on man.” As a result of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Frankl contended that when a man no longer possesses a motive for living, no future to look toward, he curls up in a corner and dies. “Any attempt to restore a man’s inner strength in camp,” he wrote, “had first to succeed in showing him some future goal.” (Green, Michael P.: Illustrations for Bilical Preaching : Over 1500 Sermon Illustrations Arranged by Topic and Indexed Exhaustively. Revised edition of: The expositor’s illustration file. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1989)
We have seen: 1) Loving-kindness in Praise (Ruth 2:17-19) 2) Loving-kindness in Hope (Ruth 2:20) and finally:
3) Loving-kindness in Service (Ruth 2:21-23)
Ruth 2:21 [21]And Ruth the Moabite said, "Besides, he said to me, ’You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’" (ESV)
She continues her work in hopeful thanksgiving. We can see thing in how Ruth reports to her mother-in-law. It is with such hopeful excitement it was as if saying: “And guess what else he said to me!” another small but significant comment. But before we comment on her statement, we note the oddness of the addition of “the Moabite” after her name. In this alien context “Ruth the Moabite” functioned as her full name.
One may surmise that this was how the citizens of Bethlehem distinguished her from other women in town who had the same name. On the other hand, the narrator may hereby be deliberately reflecting a clash of cultures. Naomi’s reference to Boaz as a gōʾēl makes sense only within the context of Israel’s unique theology of family and land. As a Moabite, Ruth may not have grasped the significance of Naomi’s statement.
Ruth could have stayed at home and waited for Boaz to perform his duties as kinsman-redeemer, but she didn’t do this. Instead, she went right back to the field and labored until the harvest was finished (Warren W. Wiersbe. Put Your Life Together. Victor Books. 1985 p.62)..
We should all follow Ruth’s example as we serve in God’s field. Ruth is a beautiful picture of the ideal servant of faithful labouring in hope.
• When we pray for bread, He does not give us the bread; He gives us a piece of land, and a plough, and a hoe, and we must work for the bread.
• When Christ fed the five thousand by the shores of the Sea of Galilee, He did not distribute the bread Himself; He broke and blessed it and gave to His disciples, and they passed it on.
• As then, so now, so always, He filters down His good things, though minister, through prophet, through teacher, through friend, and through companion (James Hasting. The Speaker’s Bible. G.& E. Fraser. Ltd. p.442)
• When we pray for wisdom, He does not instantly make us wise. He gives us His word, faithful teachers and the Holy Spirit to guide us in the way of truth, but we must work the field of His word for this wisdom.
Don’t be discouraged by what seems to be outward hopelessness, for God controls the situations and seeks faithful workers who trust Him and see the opportunity of the harvest.
Galatians 6:9 [9]And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (ESV)
Ruth 2:22 [22]And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted." (ESV)
Naomi is telling Ruth not to make the same mistake she made in wandering away seeking greener pastures.
Naomi and Elimelech had displayed exactly that kind of foolish blindness so many years before: they ignored the Lord’s constant faithful provision in the past to His people and went to someone else’s field.
• There is a sense of repentance here in that Naomi could see clearly how foolish that decision had been. She was thus warning Ruth not to repeat her own pattern of sin.
• We too should not wander from the Lord’s promised provision and protection into the fields of worldly pleasures.
Ruth 2:23 [23]So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law. (ESV)
Why state the obvious? It is because that simple remark highlights the fact that she wasn’t living with a husband to which the full image of the kinsman-redemeer fulfilled. There was more to be done with God’s blessing (Iain M. Duguid. Esther & Ruth. Reformed Expository Commentary. P&R Press. 2005. p. 165)..
Ruth kept close/clung to (dābaq) the young women of Boaz/Boaz’s female servants (naʿărôt, as per Naomi’s advice), intending to glean/scavenge in Boaz’s field not only to the end of the barley harvest but until the end of the wheat harvest as well.
Obviously she was comfortable with Boaz’s generosity and the crew of women workers he had in the field. Ruth must have been out in the fields for six to seven weeks, from late April till early June by our designations of the months. The narrator does not indicate whether there were any further contacts between her and Boaz. Meanwhile, in fulfillment of her oath of commitment in 1:16–17, Ruth settled down (yāšab) with her mother-in-law. The note not only brings the chapter full circle (cf. 1:22) but also creates the impression that they had settled into a regular routine.
Barley harvest usually began about mid-Apr. and wheat harvest extended to mid-June—a period of intense labor for about two months. This generally coincided with the seven weeks between Passover and the Feast of Weeks, i.e., Pentecost (cf. Lev. 23:15–16; Deut. 16:9–12) (MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Ru 2:23).
By the end of chapter 2, the end of the barley harvest had arrived; seven weeks had passed by and it was time for the festival of first fruits which was part of the feast of weeks or Pentecost. By this time Ruth and Naomi have experienced the first fruits of God’s deliverance in the gift of Boaz’s grain, but they have not yet seen the fullness of what God had planned for them.
Pentecost, was the day that God chose to pour out His Spirit on Jews and Gentiles alike, bringing them together into the one new people of God (Acts 2:1-39). For us Gentiles, like Ruth:
Romans 8:23 [23](And not only the creation, but) we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (ESV)
• Like Ruth, as much as we enjoy physical provisions in the here and now, the Holy Spirit, who Himself is the promise that there is more to come. We await our full inheritance when Christ comes again
Boaz, the Kinsman-Redeemer, would continually have to allow Ruth to return to glean. It was a redemption that had to continue over and over.
• In a similar typology the High priest had to continually offer scarifies on behalf of the people.
For a kinsman-redeemer, the right of redemption was always dependent upon:
a) Divine Appointment: Only one who is appointed by God has the right to redeem (Jn. 10:16-18; Heb. 10:5-14)
b) Near of kin: The one who has the right to redeem must be one who is near of kin to the person for whom he acts (Heb. 2:10-13)
c) Innocent: The kinsman-redeemer must himself be entirely free of the debt (Heb. 7:26)
d) Able: The one who had the right to redeem must be able to redeem. He must be able to satisfy fully all the demands of God’s law and justice for those of his kind whom he represents (Gal. 3:13).
e) Willing: The one who had the right to redeem must be willing to redeem. The Lord Jesus Christ was the Father’s willing bond-slave (Isa. 50:5-6; Heb. 12:1-2)
f) Particular & Effectual Redemption: The redemption made was always a particular and effectual redemption. There was nothing general or universal about it. The redemption was made for a specific people, and obtained a specific inheritance (Mt. 1:20-28; Jn. 10:10-15, 17:2-9; Eph. 5:25; 2 Pt. 2:1).
g) Establish a lineage: The one who has the right to redeem must raise up a seed. So also the Son of God, our Kinsman-Redeemer, will raise up a seed. There are some people in this world who, having been chosen by God in eternal election and redeemed by special redemption, must and shall be saved by God’s omnipotent grace (Isa. 53:10-12; Ps. 22:30-31)
(Donald S. Fortner. Discovering Christ in Ruth. Evangelical Press. 1999. p. 103)
Ruth’s bushel of grain was the “firstfruits” of all that Boaz would do in the future, just as the Holy Spirit within us is the “firstfruits” of all that God has promised us (8:23). Although Ruth’s supply of grain would be gone in a week, the witness of the Spirit within will remain until our hopes are all fulfilled when we see Jesus Christ.
The exciting new hope that now possessed the two widows was centered in a person, Boaz, just as our hope is centered in the Son of God. In fact, Jesus Christ is our hope (1 Tim. 1:1; 1 Thes. 1:3; Col. 1:27). Through faith in Christ, we have been born again into “a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3); and because it is a living hope, it grows stronger each day and produces fruit. The hopes that the world clings to are dead hopes, but ours is a living hope because it is rooted in the living Christ (Wiersbe, Warren W.: Be Committed. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1993 (An Old Testament Study. Ruth and Esther), S. Ru 2:17).
(Format Note: Some base commentary from Block, Daniel Isaac: Judges, Ruth. electronic ed. Nashville : Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001, c1999 (Logos Library System; The New American Commentary 6), S. 669)
