“Living In The Field Of Grace.”
Ruth 2:1-23
The story of Ruth began with an Israelite family who decided to leave the Promised Land during a time of famine. They decide to travel to the land of Moab where they hear there is food. The family consisted of Elimelech, his wife Naomi and their two sons. But life there was not easy. First Elim-elech dies leaving Naomi a widow. In the course of time the two sons marry Moabite women, but die without children. Naomi hears the famine is over in Judea, and decides to return home. She urges the two daughters-in-law to stay in Moab. Orpah stays but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi and returns with her to Bethlehem.
At end of chapter one there is a glimmer of light as Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem “at the beginning of the barley harvest.” (1:22) It was also the time of the feast of the Passover (Deut. 16:9). It was the beginning of a new year according to the Jewish calendar and there could be no better time for a new start or a new beginning.
“Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest (late April/early May; the eighth month…, shortly after which would follow the wheat harvest (2:23). This was perfect timing for two widows in need of food, as gleaning laws required land owners to leave the corners of fields and all fallen shafts of grain for the poor. We learn of God's sovereignty over life's details when the text says that Ruth happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz (v. 3); it is this seemingly incidental circumstance that effectually opens the door for the blessing God (Yahweh) had in store for Ruth and Naomi.” [Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Online. “Theology of Ruth.” www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary /turth-theology-of.html]
Iain Duguid (dew –kit) makes a wonderful statement about grace, “God doesn’t promise to give us the grace to survive all the scenarios that we can dream up-but only to give us the grace to enable us to make it through whatever he actually brings into our lives.” [Iain M. Duguid. Reformed Expository Commentary. “Esther & Ruth.” (Philipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2005) p.156]
From the very first Ruth reveals that she is looking for grace (v. 2). In spite of the past, in spite of who she was - she was looking for grace. She found it in verse three. And when she went to glean in Boaz’s field she entered a field of grace. Ruth found grace in the field of Boaz and her experience becomes an illustration of believers can live in the field of grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Bible times, barley was much more widely cultivated than now and was the main food of the poor. It was always valued less than wheat (2 Ki. 7:1; Rev.6:6). Although barley was sometimes used as animal feed in Bible days (I Ki. 4:28), it’s main
use was as a staple food.
First, Searching For Grace. (2:1-3)
“There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” (kindness) And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.”
Verse one introduces us to Boaz. We are told that he is a “man of wealth” During the time of famine when others had left the Promised Land and went to Moab, Boaz had stayed and God had not only provided for him but in fact he had made Boaz a man of great wealth.
One interesting fact about Boaz is that his mother was none other than Rahab (Matt. 1:5), the former harlot from Jericho, a gentile with a past.
It is Ruth that asks about going out and gleaning in the field after the men. It should be recognized that gleaning was for poor folk.
In so doing she put herself in a very vulnerable position.
Ruth was hoping to find favor (kindness) from a landowner (v. 2) The fact that Naomi did not accompany Ruth to glean in the fields is the cause of some speculation. Some hold that her absence is due to bitterness or depression. It may have been that she focused on the domestic chores while Ruth went out to gather grain. Perhaps the most plausible explanation is that by this time in her life Naomi is simply too old or not physically able to do the back breaking work required of gleaners.
• Provision of God (in the past) (v. 3)
“Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers.”
Ruth went to a field and began to “glean” (gather grain) she was allowed to do this because of past provision of God. G0d had established His own welfare program – “work to eat.” God in his wisdom provided for the poor by forbidding own-ers from reaping the corners and gathering the gleanings of the harvest (Lev 19:9-10). In this way God provided for strangers, the fatherless, and widows – (Deut. 24:19-22). But the person under God’s program could not stay and home and wait for it to be delivered – they had to go out and pick it themselves.
David Guzik points out, “This is a wonderful way of helping the poor. It commanded farmers to have a generous heart, and it commanded the poor to be active and work for their food – and a way for them to provide for their own needs with dign-ity.” [David Guzik. “Ruth’s Work As A Gleaner” Ruth 2. https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/ruth-2/ ]
• Providence of God (v. 3b)
“And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.”
From the human perspective it may seem that as if it were purely coincidental: verse three says, “she just so happened” or as we might say today, “As luck would have it.” Was it just blind luck or is there a God who oversees the circum-stances of our lives? “God was ‘behind the seen,’ working all things together (including the sinful choices of sinful people) for good to those who love him.” [W. Gary Philips. Holman Old Testament Commentary. “Judges, Ruth.” (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2004) p.307]
The word coincidence is not in God’s vocab-ulary. It has been said, “A coincidence is a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous!” It was the sovereignty of God in action. God made some decisions behind the scenes that affected Ruth’s life. He was working for her good, even when she did not know it. The applica-tion for us today is that God is always working behind the scenes in your life and in mine to bring about His best for us; this is called Sovereignty or Providence. (Carr)
Second, Discovering the Field Of Grace. (2:4-17)
• Boaz’s Introduction. (v. 4)
“Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered him, “The LORD bless you!”
Notice the use of “behold” to tell us something important and unexpected has happened. The owner of the field comes to visit his workers. As Boaz was a man of some means he would not spend every day in the fields. We are immediately shown something of the character of Boaz by the way he greets his workers and how they greet him in return.
• Boaz’s Inquiry About Ruth. (vv. 5-7)
“Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers ans-wered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”
Boaz notices someone new among his work-ers and asks as to her identity. But notice he did not ask, “Who is she?” he asks, “Whose is she?” Boaz is asking about her family relationship. Whose wife or daughter is she? Or to what clan or tribe does she belong?”
As the supervisor answers Boaz’s question he identified Ruth as the Moabite woman who return-ed with Naomi. And then he adds that Ruth had not assumed anything but had properly asked permission to glean in the field. He also pointed out how hard a worker she was.
• Boaz’s Interchange With Ruth (vv. 8-13)
“Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
Boaz tells Ruth, that she is to “stay close by my young women” (v. 8b) that she will have com-panionship of others of her sex. And that she should “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them” (v. 9a) that she should stay with his servant’s as they go from field to field that in so doing that she can feel confident of being safe.
And that he has “commanded the young men” not harass her in anyway (v. 9b). Of verse nine Daniel Block comments, “Contemporary readers will be struck by how modern this comment sounds. Boaz is hereby instituting the first anti-sexual harassment policy in the work-place recorded in the Bible.” [Daniel I. Block. The New American Commentary. “Judges, Ruth.” (Nashville; Broadman & Holman, 1999) p. 660]
And she can avail herself the refreshment that are available to his servants (v. 9c)
? Ruth Is Humbled By Grace. (10)
Ruth never felt that grace was owed to her
but rather was awed by the grace that was shown to her. “So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” (v. 10)
When Ruth asks Boaz why he has shown such unexpected kindness to her, a foreigner, he res-ponds, “And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before.” (v. 11) Boaz says “it has been reported to me.” All of us as residents of a small town understand this dynamic – “Everybody Knows Everybody Else’s Business.” There are no secrets in a small town.
But what Boaz heard was good, the reports that he had heard had emphasized two things about her; her extraordinary kindness to her mother-in-law and her courage in accom-panying her to a foreign land. For her acts of kindness Boaz invokes a blessing that he ultimately would help to fulfill: “The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge” (v. 12). Because Boaz treated Ruth kindly and with great generosity, Ruth learns about the gracious provision of God. Boaz creates a beautiful picture of God’s care. He imagines God as a mother bird who offers her wings for the protection of her defenseless young. He pictures Ruth as a person who like a small chick alone and afraid runs into the open arms of safety with the Lord. It this image that Jesus uses to describe His desire to protect Jerusalem (Matt. 23:37). No doubt Boaz meant this to primarily apply to Ruth’s turn from the pagan god Chemesh to Jehovah but also in a way to how he sees her under his protection.
? Ruth Is Grateful For Grace. (13)
“Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
Ruth is deeply grateful for all that Boaz is doing for her. She reveals that his actions “have comforted” her – the words literally picture the lifting of a burden so that one “can breathe again.”
This is made all the more amazing to her and treated her as one of his servant’s even though she did not have the standing of one of servants.
• Boaz’s Invitation to Ruth. (v. 14)
“Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.”
Boaz demonstrates kindness to Ruth at the noon mealtime by inviting her to eat with the rest of the workers. It is highly probable that Ruth had little if anything with her to eat that day! During the meal Boaz made sure that she was not over-looked by passing roasted grain over for her to eat
• Boaz’s Instructions Concerning Ruth.
(vv. 15-17) “And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.”
Boaz extended kindness by instructing his
young men to let her glean even among the stacks of grain (sheaves) without reproach and in fact they are to purposely let stalks fall from the bundles for her to glean. This allowed her to reap an ephah (about 30-50 lbs.) of barley. Or to make it more understandable in our culture, you know those huge bags of ‘Ole Roy’ dogfood you can buy at Walmart, what she brought home was that much. It was a rather large amount for someone to glean from scraps! But then she had a lot of help from the suddenly "clumsy" workers!
Third, Reporting about Grace. (2:18-20)
“Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied.19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one 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.” 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Bless-ed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”
When Naomi saw how much Ruth had gleaned she was amazed and overjoyed and she asked her, “Where did you work.” In Ruth’s answer instead telling where she worked she told her for whom she worked.
1) Naomi asked God to bless Boaz. (v. 19)
“…Blessed be the one who took notice of you.”
2) Naomi moved from despair to delight.
“Blessed be he of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” (v. 20a)
She was moved because Naomi recognizes that the Lord had not stopped showing kindness (chesed) or blessings to her as she once thought. God had not changed He was always there, eager for his child-ren to take refuge in him.
David Dykes of Tyler, Texas tells a story about “Mable and Sam who had been married for thirty years. They lived in a rural community where most people drove pickup trucks. They were driving along one day and Mable noticed how many other couples were sitting close to each other. Mable turned to Sam and said, ‘Sam look at those couples. They’re in love. They sit next to each other in their trucks. We used to do that. But look at us now. I’m on one side and you’re on the other.’ Sam glanced her and said, ‘Well I ain’t moved an inch!’ If you don’t feel close to the Lord, who moved?” [David Dykes. “Living In The Field Of Grace.” Sermon on Ruth 2:1-16 www.gabc.org/wp-content/uploads/s082210.pdf]
Psalmist declares “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, Until these calamities have passed by.9 I will praise
You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. 10 For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; Let Your glory
be above all the earth.” (Psalm 57:1, 9-11)
3) Naomi explains that Boaz is a relative of
her late husband Elimelech. “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.” (v. 20b) But Boaz is more than just a relative he is a special kind of relative. Now we are introduced to another important principle in the book of Ruth – the “kins-man redeemer.” Three times Boaz is referred to as the go’el –kinsman redeemer to Naomi and Ruth (2:20, 3:9. 3:9, 3:12). The first time is when “Naomi explains that Boaz is one of her nearest relatives, one who might be prevailed upon as a go'el "kinsman-redeemer" – (Lev 25:25-55 ). Marriage is not mentioned as a responsibility of a go'el, but this seems to be her purpose in reveal-ing this kinship. Verse 23 indicates that Naomi did not act at that point, waiting instead several weeks until the barley and wheat harvests were finished (between late April and early June). [Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary]
We will look at the “kinsman redeemer” more closely in chapter three. (see discussion in Block pp. 674-675)
Third, Abiding In the Field of Grace. (2:21-23)
“Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.”
A key word in the book of Ruth is chesed or “loving kindness.” We were first introduced to the word when Naomi claimed that both Ruth and Orpah had displayed chesed to the "living and the dead" (1:8) and there deserved to be shown chesed by God (Yahweh). Naomi later praised Boaz for showing Ruth chesed in exceeding what was required by the gleaning laws and making special provisions for her (2:20).
Conclusion
“What Naomi and Ruth needed most was not simply a redeemer to rescue them from their earthly poverty and danger, nor even a husband for Ruth. Rather, they needed a heavenly redeemer to rescue them form their sin….(Jesus) is able to be our Refuge in the storm, the one under whose wings we may take shelter. He is our Redeemer from and through all kinds of difficulties. Follow the path He sets before you, holding firmly to your faith and knowing that His covenant faithfulness will never leave you nor forsake you. His chesed never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning (Lam. 3:22), and will accompany us every step along the hard road of life, until our faithful God welcomes us into our Heavenly home.” [Iain M. Duguid. pp.166-167]
“Living In The Field Of Grace.”
Ruth 2:1-23
“God doesn’t promise to give us the grace to survive all the scenarios that we can dream up-but only to give us the grace to enable us to make it through whatever he actually brings into our lives.” Iain Duguid
First, Searching For Grace. (2:1-3)
• Provision of God (in the past) (v. 3)
(Lev 19:9-10, Deut. 24:19-22).
• Providence of God (v. 3b)
“A coincidence is a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous!”
Second, Discovering the Field Of Grace. (2:4-17)
• Boaz’s Introduction. (v. 4)
• Boaz’s Inquiry About Ruth. (vv. 5-7)
• Boaz’s Interchange With Ruth (vv. 8-13)
Ruth is humbled by grace (10)
Ruth is grateful for grace (13)
• Boaz’s Invitation to Ruth. (v. 14)
• Boaz’s Instructions Concerning Ruth. (vv. 15-17)
ephah (about 30-50 lbs.)
Third, Reporting about Grace. (2:18-20)
(goel – kinsman redeemer)
Fourth, Abiding In the Field of Grace. (2:21-23)
“Living In The Field Of Grace.”
Ruth 2:1-23
“God doesn’t promise to give us the grace to survive all the scenarios that we can dream up-but only to give us the grace to enable us to make it through whatever he actually brings into our lives.” Iain Duguid
First, Searching For Grace. (2:1-3)
• ________ of God. (in the past) (v. 3)
(Lev 19:9-10, Deut. 24:19-22).
• ___________ of God. (v. 3b)
“A coincidence is a small miracle where God prefers to remain anonymous!”
Second, Discovering the Field Of Grace. (2:4-17)
• Boaz’s ___________. (v. 4)
• Boaz’s _________ About Ruth. (vv. 5-7)
• Boaz’s _________ With Ruth (vv. 8-13)
Ruth is humbled by grace (10)
Ruth is grateful for grace (13)
• Boaz’s _________ to Ruth. (v. 14)
• Boaz’s ________ Concerning Ruth. (vv. 15-17)
ephah (about 30-50 lbs.)
Third, _____________ about Grace. (2:18-20)
(goel – kinsman redeemer)
Fourth, __________ In the Field of Grace. (2:2
