By Jennifer Hutchins and Elizabeth Simkins
If you’ve ever felt like you have disappointed God in such a way that He could never forgive you or love you, Ruth 2 might just change your mind. Run back into the arms of God and you will see a redemption story like Naomi and God’s providence and blessings like Ruth. Here we continue to watch Naomi and Ruth’s story unfold as we meet Boaz.
This Ruth 2 commentary and chapter study dives deep into chapter 2. Watch as God loves on two widow women, writing a different story for them than we had expected.
Verse 1: (1) There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name [was] Boaz.
Naomi has a family member in Bethlehem. A man named Boaz who was a relative of her husband, Elimelech. Boaz is considered to be Naomi’s kinsman which means a relative. Boaz is described here in verse 1 as a mighty man of wealth. When Elimelech took his family and left due to the famine, Boaz and his family stayed behind. Once again, I’m sure Naomi sees that their decision to leave was a mistake and she lost her husband and two sons as a result.
A note from Jennifer: We don’t really know much about Naomi and her husband’s decision to move other than famine. Maybe they thought it was best to go where the famine wasn’t happening and they’d planned to return soon after since they were described as sojourning. With no news, tv, or social media they only had word of mouth. It could have been that others told them that leaving was the only way to survive. Either way they moved to a place that was full of idolatry and far from the hands of God’s protection. We have to remember that just because it looks and sounds good and others seem to be doing well doesn’t mean it is good for us. We must always go to the Lord before making big decisions instead of others around us. Boaz stayed behind and he was described as a man of great wealth. Elimilech took his family and left and we all now know how his story ended. God’s way is always best.
Verses 2-3: (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.” 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.
A note from Jennifer: See Leviticus 19:9-10.
(9) ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. (10) ‘And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather [every] grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I [am] the LORD your God. (Lev 19:9-10 NKJV)
In Leviticus, farmers were told not to gather their full crops at harvest time, through the law. They were to take all but a small portion that was to be left behind for the poor. If they dropped a bundle of grain they were to not pick it up but leave it behind as well. See Leviticus 19:9-10.
God had a plan for everything. This was a way that the people could take care of each other. It isn’t free money or food. Those without the things needed to survive still had to get to the field and work a full day’s work to feed their family. But they didn’t starve because they couldn’t afford to have land and crops. It seems to me that in the beginning God was trying to instill in us a giving, loving and helpful heart. Not one that is greedy and self loving. All of the scriptures about loving your neighbor come to mind here.
Read Ruth 2:2 again and you see Ruth asks Naomi if she can go to the field and glean heads of leftover grain. Ruth is a Moabite woman (woman from the land of Moab) who could have easily gone home and not had to deal with this situation she was in. Naomi had nothing to give her and together they would have to work to survive. You see a good quality in Ruth here. She had told Naomi that she wanted to stay with her in chapter 1 and refused to go home. Then she gave her heart to God and began to live a faith filled life alongside her mother in law. And now she asks to go glean in the fields (or to work) so that the women would have grain to eat. What we see is a young widowed woman, caring for an older widowed woman, with no children. What we’re soon to see in just a short time is the divine providence of God. He had a plan for Ruth and we will see it come together throughout this chapter and the book of Ruth.
In verse 3 we see that Ruth had gleaned into a portion of the field of Boaz. What seems like a coincidence will show to be this providence that we were talking about. God’s plans are never a coincidence, it’s always carefully planned.
A note from Jennifer: We really don’t know why Ruth decides to stay with Naomi and why she doesn’t go home when she sees how tough their situation is. But for sure we know how kind and compassionate she is and the character of Ruth. If she had left, Naomi would be trying to figure all of this out on her own. I think Ruth has all the characteristics we as moms want to instill in our daughters. God had a plan in the works as well. Maybe he is the reason she stayed or God blesses her for not leaving Naomi alone.
(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!” (5) 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 answered 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.” (8) 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.” (10) 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?” (11) 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. (12) “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.” (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.”
Boaz comes to the field to check on things. Boaz comes in and greets the ones who were working for him and they greet him back. His character is already showing that he is a kind man. He doesn’t have to greet those that work for him but he naturally did.
Then Boaz asks about Ruth and his head reaper replies that she is a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi and asked for permission to glean in his field. She didn’t ask for handouts or to get the firsts from the field she only asked to be allowed to glean so that she and Naomi could eat. This man also reported back to Boaz that she was a hard worker and has worked all day with only a short rest.
Boaz speaks to Ruth and tells her to stay in his field with his women who are working. He will protect her from the other men and she will have water to drink as she works.
I’m sure this brought comfort to Ruth to know she would have a safe place to work.
In verse 11, we see why he took her under his protection when she asked him why considering she is a foreigner and this is not her native land. He knew what she had been through after losing her husband and what sacrifices she was making to stay with Naomi. We see such noble characteristics in Boaz as he is so kind to Ruth but at the same time he has listed her noble characteristics as well.
Boaz then speaks such good things and encouraging words to Ruth almost as if he was saying a prayer over her.
Now let’s look at a little small piece we could easily miss if we aren’t careful. Boaz says under the wings you have come for refuge. Many times in scripture it is mentioned to take refuge under God’s wings. Isn’t that just what Ruth did when she told Naomi that her God would be the same one that Naomi served in chapter 1? Ruth gave up her idols, religions and anything she had known her whole life to walk with Naomi’s God. Her life had changed and even so Boaz knew that she was relying on God to take care of her and to keep her safe. For him to know this he had to see the change in her. Moabite women would have carried themselves differently since it was such a different culture. The change in her was evident. Those around her knew that she served the one true living God.
Ruth responds with thank you and explains that Boaz has made her feel safe as he comforted her and spoke kindly even though she was different from his other maidservants.
(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. (15) 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.”
When they sat to eat at mealtime, Boaz invited Ruth to sit with the reapers. He passes her bread and allows her to dip the bread in the vinegar. He continues to show such kindness to Ruth. She wasn’t a reaper that was getting paid for her work. She was a poor foreign woman coming to pick up ears of grain that were left behind.
Ruth, being who she was, didn’t take advantage of the kindness of Boaz. The bread he gave her she ate just what she needed and saved the rest for Naomi not asking for more than what he gifted her, but making sure to care for Naomi as well. She is showing a kind and loyal heart. After she had eaten she rose up to continue her work. Boaz then tells the men working for him to let her glean even from the sheaves. He went above the law and was allowing her to have some that was already gathered and allowed her to work where other gleaners were not allowed. If that weren’t enough he then told them to just kind of drop some of the grain for her. Boaz is blessing Ruth and Naomi both here without just giving them a handout. Boaz is very generous to the woman. She was able to gather up an ephah of barley by the end of the barley harvest. This would have been about ten days worth of food, around five gallons of barley for them.
A note from Jennifer: Ruth had worked hard all day and it wasn’t easy, clean work either. Usually, field work started as soon as the sun was up in the morning until dark. If you have ever worked in a garden or your yard, you know the hard work that goes into growing food. Now multiply that by ten and you will understand what she did for the day. These were fields not just small yard gardens. But we don’t want to forget that this was all accomplished because of God. He had made provision for the woman and provided the work and food. He is the great Jahovah Jireh our Provider.
(18) 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, “Blessed [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.” (21) 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.”
When Ruth returned home she gave Naomi all that she had harvested that day and the leftover bread from lunch. I’m sure Naomi was surprised by Ruth’s bounty. Knowing the law she would know that it was more than a gleaner would have gotten in a day and an act of great kindness. Now Naomi questions Ruth about where she had worked and whose field. God blessed both of these ladies. Naomi’s response was to shout out a blessing of thankfulness to God. She knew where the provisions had come from. Then Ruth tells her everything that had happened that day in the field.
Naomi said to Ruth that he is a close relative, a kinsman of her husband. Naomi tells her then to stay with the women of Boaz’s field.
A note from Jennifer: I can’t help but to refer back to Matthew 6: 25-34 after reading this story in Ruth 2.
(25) “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? (26) “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (27) “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? (28) “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; (29) “and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) “Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, [will He] not much more [clothe] you, O you of little faith? (31) “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ (32) “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (34) “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day [is] its own trouble. (Mat 6:25-34 NKJV)
Just like Ruth and Naomi, God has promised to take care of us. Not to make us rich with all of the best material possessions but the things we need. If you are worried about money today and how you will pay your bills, clothe and feed your families go to God and talk to him. He is your great provider and he loves you. Your cares are his cares and your worries are his as well.
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