RUTH

Ruth Chapter 2

• Ruth 2:1  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. 

Ruth was not lazy but wanted to help both of them survive. This was a custom that the poor was to be allowed to go into the fields of those that owned land and glean what they could after the reapers were done. They got the left overs in other words which helped them to survive. Actually the reapers were to leave the corners of the field for the poor. This was part of the law that Moses received from God. 

• Leviticus 19:9  And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 
• 10  And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. 

This was the mercy and compassion from the Lord our God for the poor and those that did not own large fields of land to grow food. Our God is an awesome God.

• Ruth 2:3  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. 
• 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. 

Boaz was in the direct linage from which our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ was to come. We see this in Matthew 1:5 and Luke 3:32. He was the great grandfather of King David. Boaz was the son of Rahab the woman who found grace in Jericho when she hid the spies and bargained with them to save her and her family at the time Israel would destroy the wicked city of Jericho. It was sort of a picture of grace. She was not part of Israel similar to Ruth that was not an Israeli, but her faith saved her from being destroyed with the other inhabitants of Jericho.

Rahab believed in the power of the God of Israel when she heard how Israel was destroying all the wicked cities in the land of Canaan. Ruth received the God of Israel and forsook her own country's false gods.

In Matthew 1:5,6 we see that Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, Obed beget Jesse and Jesse begat David the king.

So even though the fourth son of Jacob named Judah was chosen from which the line in which Jesus was to come into the human race so He would qualify to be the future King of Israel, we see that a Rahab and Ruth who were not of Israel, were also chosen to be part of the line of Christ also.

• Ruth 2:5  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. 
• 8  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. 

Sexual harassment has always existed since the fall of men in the garden of Eden. It depends on the culture one is raised in but Boaz knowing how it was in their day, ordered the young men not to touch Ruth but allow her to glean without any harassment. He was a good land owner himself it seems. He also instructed Ruth to feel free to glean in his fields and that she doesn't have to go anywhere else to find food.

• Ruth 2:10  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? 

Ruth came from a country that worshipped idols so in that case they would not fear the real God and have a natural respect for the safety of women that were servants. Bowing down was not worship here but a show of respect which was customary in that day. It is obvious Ruth wasn't expecting this type of kindness to a stranger from another country.

• Ruth 2:11  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. 

Boaz already heard of Ruth. He already knew how she was willing to leave her own homeland to stay with and take care of Naomi even agreeing to worship the God of Israel and forsake the idolatry in her own land. Boaz knew about her fleeing her own land to take refuge in the land of Naomi's.

Stop and think for a minute. This young woman didn't know ahead of time whether she would be treated kindly or treated as a lowly servant with no rights. She didn't know whether she would have to suffer extreme hardships or even death. She was willing to go and be with her mother in law instead of returning to her own family that already knew her and would probably welcome her back.

• Ruth 2:13  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. 

Ruth was not expecting this at all and it humbled her. She was grateful to be treated equal to his maidens.

• Ruth 2:14  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. 

She was invited even to eat with Boaz's own people and be nurished. Usually that wasn't given to those that came to glean in the fields. The law of God was to leave the corners of the fields alone for the poor. Perhaps God acknowledged how Ruth had chosen Him as her God and purposely led her to this field instead of going elsewhere. I wouldn't be surprised. That sounds like something God does many times.

• Ruth 2:15  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. 

Boaz even went further and told his men to leave some on purpose for her to glean. I read that ordinarily no one was permitted to glean in the fields until the reapers finished binding the sheaves.

• Ruth 2:17  So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. 

This would be hard work for us today when they have machines that do everything. It was not easy. They had to beat out the grains of wheat at the end of the day. An ephah was about 5 gallons of dry grain by our measurements.

• Ruth 2:18  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. 

It seems Ruth brought not only the barley or wheat to her mother in law but also some of the food she had from her noon meal. It must have been heavy to carry. Hard work may build muscles so that even women became strong enough to work like that. That is my speculation. She might have had help.

• Ruth 2:19  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. 

Naomi was surprised at this and wasn't expecting this to happen.

• Ruth 2:20  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. 
• Ruth 2:21  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. 

Naomi was thankful and gave credit for this good fortune to God. She also knew the law of God about near kinsmen that were supposed to buy the field of the widows. This was called the law of kinsman redemption. She probably started plotting to bring this about believing this was God's plan. DC

Ruth chapter 3