seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ruth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
2 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.” 3 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.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”
“The Lord bless you!” they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 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.”
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 the women who work for me. 9 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.”
10 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?”
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 put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
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, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even 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 guardian-redeemers.”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite 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 the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.”
23 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.
Here's the link to the commentary I use.
A kinsman: This introduces an important word in the book of Ruth — the ancient Hebrew word goel. To say that Boaz was a goel (a kinsman) was more than saying he was a relative; it was saying that he was a special family representative. He was a chieftain in the family.
Stay close by my young women: These were Boaz’s female field workers, who tied together the cut stalks of grain. Boaz told Ruth to stay close to them, so she would be well taken care of.
Since I am a foreigner: This was constantly on Ruth’s mind. She was a Moabitess, and not an Israelite. She knew that on the basis of national background, she didn’t belong. This made Boaz’s kindness to her all the more precious.
It has been reported to me: This is a dynamic of small-town life; everybody knows everybody else’s business. Yet it also shows that Ruth’s devotion to Naomi mattered — it was noticed.
It is good, my daughter: Of course, Naomi told Ruth, “Stay with this man Boaz!” Not only was he generous, he was one of our near kinsmen — the importance of which will be unfolded in the coming chapters.
Thank you for clicking on my postings. It keeps me in the Bible. If I didn't get clicks... Well, there are a lot of mornings I might just "skip it". But as long as one person is reading... Well, it's worth it. So, thank you very, very much.
The Book of Ruth is a favorite at Woman's Bible Study. It's a short Romance Novel that shows the sensibility of the laws. I've heard it taught a number of times. I have to admit though.... It's never been as clear as it is today.Ruth was a widow. She had to be resourceful to survive. There would be no sitting around filing her nails. She had to get out and find an honest way to make a living. Gleaning the fields was a great way. She just had to find a good field to glean. She had to stay safe.
Now... We've been watching what is going on in the Middle East. Ruth was a Moabite. She was not an Israelite. She stuck out like a sore thumb.
You know how hard it is for someone from Gaza, Iran, or Lebanon to get along with someone from Israel in today's political climate. There is war.
The Moabites and the Israelites had been at war. All the Moabite men had been wiped out. Every male Moabite baby had been murdered. The Moabites had planned a war against the Israelites.... because the Israelites were moving in on their territory. They called on a guy named Balaam [with the talking donkey] to curse the Israelites so they could slaughter them... so, the Israelites took them out.
So, a Moabite woman showing up in an Israelite town was big news.
Boaz owned a lot of land. When the famine happened [that caused Naomi and the family to flee to Moab] Boaz stayed behind and toughed it out. It paid off for him.
Boaz was respected. People kept him up on the news. He knew Naomi and Ruth were there.
Boaz was attracted to Ruth the Moabite. They had dinner!
Boaz told his field supervisor to watch out for Ruth and keep her safe.
Ruth was protected!
