Ruth 2

Well, good morning. Our text for today is Ruth chapter 2. So let me invite you to join me there. Ruth chapter 2. Mark that spot and then go to Matthew chapter 6.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention Ruth 2 · chapter mention Matthew 6 · chapter mention

So Ruth chapter 2 is our text for today, but I want you to join me in Matthew chapter 6. Today we have the opportunity to consider the second act in the story of Naomi and Ruth.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Verse 1 of chapter 2 introduces the final human character in this drama, a man named Boaz. So we have Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.

We will observe today the character quality of both Ruth and Boaz, but we need not lose sight that the major player in this narrative is God himself, as in all biblical narratives.

Recall I made the case to you last week that the primary work of the author of this book is to display God's sovereign goodness, his providential care for his people in the lives of these three characters.

Chapter 1 and verse 1 sets the stage for the book of Ruth. There it says,

In the days when the judges ruled. This is an unsettled time in Israel's history.

Widespread uncertainty, rebellion against God's good commands, power grabs and abuses.

Here, though, in the book of Ruth, we zoom in and can and should appreciate God's loving kindness to these two widows and to their kinsman redeemer.

When Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem, mere survival is on their minds. Without husbands or sons, they have no real mean for provision.

The narrator sets the scene for chapter 2 with God's providence provision in mind at the end of chapter 1.

There he writes in verse 22 of chapter 1,

And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

How are they to be provided for?

Well, we get a clue here.

God has orchestrated their arrival at a time of plenty, and he has a plan for their provision.

This chapter is a wonderful, real-life display of the instruction that Jesus gives recorded in Matthew 6, beginning in verse 25.

I referenced this briefly last week.

There he says,

What shall we drink?

What shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

God has promised to provide, and he does so providentially.

Providence is God's provide-ence.

Charles Spurgeon, the first part of this quotation is on the back of your bulletin, once wrote this,

All things live and move in him, and have their being, nor could they live or move otherwise, for God hath so ordained them.

I hear one say,

Well, sir, you seem to be a fatalist.

No, far from it.

There is just this difference between fate and providence.

Fate is blind.

Providence has eyes.

And then he goes on.

Fate is blind, a thing that must be.

It is just an arrow shot from a bow that must fly onward, but hath no target.

Not so providence.

Providence is full of eyes.

There is a design in everything, and an end to be answered.

All things are working together, and working together for good.

They are not done because they must be done, but they are done because there is some reason for it.

It is not only that the thing is because it must be, but the thing is because it is right it should be.

God hath not arbitrarily marked out the world's history.

He had an eye to the great architecture of perfection when he marked all the aisles of history and placed all the pillars of events in the building of time.

Isn't that good?

Purposeful.

Purposeful.

Sovereignty.

And this included all of that planning, the minutia of our daily bread.

And so, we have no need, as God's people, to be anxious for anything.

So let's look at the birds of the air and consider the lilies of the field and think about the lives of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz.

Ruth chapter 2.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention

Before I read, beginning in verse 1, I'd like to remind you, beloved, that this is God's word to us,

written for his glory and our good, and so we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.

Ruth 2.

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,

Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.

And she said to her,

Go, my daughter.

So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech.

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem.

And he said to the reapers,

The Lord be with you.

And they answered,

The Lord bless you.

Then Boaz said to a young man who was in charge of the reapers,

Whose young woman is this?

And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered,

She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

She said,

Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.

So she came,

And she has continued from early morning until now,

Except for a short rest.

Then Boaz said to Ruth,

Now listen, my daughter.

Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one,

But keep close to my young women.

Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping,

And go after them.

Have I not charged the young men not to touch you?

And when you are thirsty,

Go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.

Then she fell on her face,

Bowing 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?

But Boaz answered her,

All that you have done for your mother-in-law

Since the death of your husband has been fully told to me,

And how you left your father and mother and your native land

And came to a people that you did not know before.

The Lord repay you for what you have done,

And a full reward be given you by the Lord,

The God of Israel,

Under whose wings you have come to take refuge.

Then she said,

I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord,

For you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant,

Though I am not one of your servants.

And at mealtime Boaz said to her,

Come here and eat some bread,

And dip your morsel in the wine.

So she sat beside the reapers,

And he passed to her roasted grain,

And she ate until she was satisfied,

And she had some left over.

When she rose to glean,

Boaz instructed his young men,

Saying,

Let her glean even among the sheaves,

And do not reproach her.

And also pull out some from the bundles for her,

And leave it for her to glean,

And do not rebuke her.

So she gleaned in the field until evening.

Then she beat out what she had gleaned,

And it was about an ephah of barley.

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 what food she had left over,

After being satisfied.

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 work today is Boaz.

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.

And Ruth the Moabite said,

Besides, he said to me,

You shall keep close by my young men

Until they have finished all my harness.

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.

So she kept close to the young women of Boaz,

Gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest.

And she lived with her mother-in-law.

So the second act of this story

Displays God's providential provision

For the needs of his people.

But it's also important for us to note

That this providential provision

Works in congruence with human agency.

God does not separate the ends from the means.

So with God's sovereign grace in mind,

Let's also note the activity of the human players

In this chapter in the following brief outline.

Number one, we'll consider Ruth's diligent labor.

Secondly, Boaz's lavish generosity.

And thirdly, and very briefly,

Naomi's increased faith.

So look firstly at Ruth's diligent labor.

The narrator makes it evident

That Ruth does not wait for some solution

To fall into her lap,

But she is likely familiar with Jewish laws,

Which we'll speak about a bit more in a moment.

And so she asks permission of her mother-in-law,

Of Naomi,

To glean from the barley harvest.

And we see that there in verse 2.

Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain

After him in whose sight I shall find favor.

So those things that were not picked up

In the process of harvesting,

That were dropped along the way,

She was allowed to go and pick up

After those harvesters.

Now, there doesn't seem to be a distinction of fields

In the narrator's mind,

Which I just thought was interesting,

But simply a field.

So she goes out to glean,

Verse 3 says,

In the field,

After the reapers,

Which seems to be a bit like saying

She gleaned in the countryside.

Nevertheless,

There is a distinction,

And Boaz makes a distinction about his field.

But here there's a distinction

That at least a part of the field

Belongs to him.

And we see that at the end of verse 3.

She happened to come

To the part of the field belonging to Boaz.

And then this repetition of who he is

Of the clan of Elimelech.

The inclusion of the word happened

Is not meant to make us think of this

As an accident.

It's kind of how I read it in English, right?

She accidentally,

She stumbled upon this part of the land

That belonged to Boaz.

But recall that Boaz

Has already been introduced

At the beginning of the chapter.

And to the Jewish reader

Introduced as a possible redeemer,

Which we're going to spend a lot of time on

In the coming weeks.

He may be able,

He possibly has the power

To fix all of Naomi and Ruth's problems.

So he's been introduced in that way.

And so it is no accident

That Ruth arrived in the part of the field

Belonging to Boaz.

The narrator then tells us

That Boaz arrives at the field

And asks who Ruth is.

In verse 6,

The servant who's in charge of the reapers

Answered,

She is the young Moabite woman

Who came back with Naomi

From the country of Moab.

We talked at length about this

In chapter 1.

If you're here for the first time

And unfamiliar,

I would encourage you to go read

Chapter 1.

So,

She comes in verse 7

And says,

Please let me glean

And gather among the sheaves

After the reapers.

There's some debate about verse 7.

The servant says,

She came and she has continued

From early morning until now

Except for a short rest.

Either,

Ruth has been gleaning this whole time.

She came early in the morning.

The assumption on my part

Is that Boaz is not out late in the day

But he's come out sometime in the morning.

So she's been there early

And she's been gleaning the whole time

Except for a short rest.

Or,

When she comes to this portion of the field

She has asked permission to glean,

We see,

But she's been asking the permission

Persistently.

Perhaps she's arrived at this

Edge of the field

Where this activity is going on

And she doesn't think she has the right

As a foreigner

To step onto this land

And to glean

And so she's been asking to glean

And she's been asking

And asking and asking

It almost seems like the servant is saying

She's been asking

Except for a little while

She stopped asking

But she's still been asking.

Now,

Either way,

Whichever way you want to read it

And again,

It's kind of down the middle

People think one way or the other.

Either way though,

She has been working.

And she's been working hard

To make provision for her

And for Naomi.

She's been at it.

She's been out there

Trying to get this provision

Pulled together.

And this point is reinforced

By the record of verse 17.

There it says,

So she gleaned in the field

Until evening.

There's this great generosity

On Boaz's part,

But it's not without her work.

She continues to work

Throughout the day

And into the evening.

And then we see that she

Beats out what she had gleaned

And it was about an ephah

Of barley.

And once again,

There's a disagreement here

On how much exactly

An ephah was.

Some say it would have been

Six gallons in total.

Others say ten gallons.

The former would have

Either way,

In response to the generosity

Of Boaz,

Ruth still did

A lot of work.

Every bit of this

Had to be picked up

And carried

And processed.

There were no tractors.

There was any kind of

Implements being used.

It wouldn't have been used

By her.

This was all

Labor done

By her

Hands.

Ruth's persistent labor

Serves as an example

For us to be diligent

In the work that God

Has placed

Before us.

And we all

Have some

Task

To be faithful in.

Whether we are

Crunching numbers

Or

Manipulating spreadsheets

Or

Building houses

Or

Studying

Textbooks

Raising children

Educating them

Wiping their

Noses

Or

Shepherding

Souls

All should be done

With great

Diligence.

She's just a beautiful

Picture

Of that.

From early morning

Until late

In the evening

As a response

To this

Generosity.

And we are not

To be diligent

Just for our own

Sake

But also

For the sake

Of others.

Normatively

Not always

But normatively

Hard work

Is rewarded.

We want to

Teach our children

This.

There's reward

To good

Steady

Labor.

The author

Of the Proverbs

Speaks to this

Very end.

The goal

Though

Of that

Reward

Ought

To be

The good

Of others.

Listen to Paul's

Exhortation

In Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Chapter 4

In verse

28.

There he says

Let the thief

No longer

Steal.

And

What's often

Written about

This text

That he's

Addressing

Those who

Weren't

Contributing

To the life

Of the church

But were

Taking from

It.

They weren't

Working but

They were

Receiving the

Generosity

Of the church.

He says

Let the thief

No longer

Steal but

Rather

Let him

Labor

Doing honest

Work with

His own

Hands.

The implication

There is for

His own

Provision.

But Paul

Goes on

So that

He may have

Something to

Share

With anyone

In need.

I think

That's just

Astounding.

The goal

Of the

Reward of

Labor

Not being

Just

Example of

Diligent

Work on

Ruth's

Part.

It's the

Human agency

That plays

Into God's

Provision

For her.

And then

We get to

See Boaz

As a

Wonderful

Example

Of generosity

To those

In need.

So one

Who also

Is laboring

Not in

The same

Measure.

He's now

Managing

A field

Of

Reapers

But he's

Doing

This

And serving

Others

In

The process

Let's look

Secondly

At Boaz's

Lavish

Generosity

Before we

Consider Boaz's

Generosity

Let's just

Take a

Moment to

Consider

Boaz

The man

Once again

We see that

Introduction

In chapter

Two

And verse

One

That Naomi

That Naomi

Had a

Relative

Of her

Husband's

A worthy

Man

Of the

Clan

Of Elimelech

Whose name

Was Boaz

There are

Three observations

Concerning

Boaz

Here

The first

And the

Third

Hint at

A potential

Family

Obligation

To Naomi

And the

Second

That he

Is a

Worthy

Man

Suggests

That he

Has the

Character

And ability

To fulfill

That obligation

He's worthy

For this

Task

To be used

By God

To provide

For Naomi

And for Ruth

This idea

Develops

Further

In verse

Four

Here we see

Boaz comes

From Bethlehem

He comes

From the city

Center

Where he

Would have

Lived

And he

Comes out

To his

Field

And he

Says

To the

Reapers

To his

Employees

The Lord

Be with

You

And they

Answer

The Lord

Blessed

God

Has granted

To him

And I

Believe the

Narrator

Includes

The greetings

Of verse

Four

To show

Us

That Boaz

Wishes

Good for

His workers

And they

For him

By placing

God

At the

Center

Of their

Interactions

It's a

Very tiny

But very

Encouraging

Literal

Interaction

For those

Who have

Employees

Under them

And for

Those who

Are

Employees

The Lord

Be with

You

And the

Answer

The Lord

Bless

You

I think this

One little

Verse gives

Us some

Picture of

Boaz's

Quality

As a

Manager

Those employees

Felt something

Of him

And for

Him

Remember

This is taking

Place in the

Days when the

Judges

Ruled

And the

Days when the

Judges

Ruled

Judges

Judges 21 · chapter mention

Chapter

21

And

Verse

25

Tells

Us

Everyone

Did

What

Was

Right

In

His

Own

Eyes

A

Big

General

Statement

Because it

Doesn't

Seem to

Be

So

With

Boaz

Boaz

Observes

A woman

In

His

Portion

Of

The

Field

And

He

Obeys

God's

Commands

Concerning

Her

Keep

Your

Hand

In

Ruth

Ruth 2 · chapter mention

Chapter

2

And

Turn

With

Me

To

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24 · chapter mention

Chapter

24

This is

One of

A

Number

Of

Places

That

This

Command

Is

Given

I'll

Begin

Reading

In

Verse

19

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24:19

24

Verse

19

Here

God

Commands

When

You

Reap

Your

Harvest

In

Your

Field

And

Forget

A

Sheaf

In

The

Field

You

Shall

Not

Go

Back

To

Get

It

It

Shall

Be

For

The

Sojourner

The

Fatherless

And

The

Widow

That

The

Lord

Your

God

May

Bless

You

In

All

The

Work

Of

Your

Hands

When

You

Beat

Your

Olive

Trees

You

Shall

Not

Go

Over

Them

Again

It

Shall

Be

For

The

Sojourner

The

Fatherless

And

The

Widow

You

Shall

Remember

That

You

Are

A

Slave

In

The

Land

Of

Egypt

Therefore

I

Command

You

To

Do

This

But

Now

Just

Practically

Speaking

The

Lord

Is

Not

Commanding

Here

That

You

Be

Lazy

In

Your

Harvesting

But

Inevitably

You're

Going

To

Leave

Stuff

Behind

You're

Going

To

Miss

Something

Don't

Go

Back

Over

It

Again

Leave

It

There

It's

A

Measure

Of

Generosity

Right

That

People

Can

Come

Behind

And

Do

That

Careful

Gleaning

Of

What's

Left

Over

This

Command

Was

A

Practical

Way

That

God

Ordered

For

The

Provision

Of

The

Less

Fortunate

Right

Those

Who

Are

Being

Listed

Here

Are

Those

Who

Didn't

Have

Rights

To

The

Land

But

Note

The

Founding

Principle

!

Of

It

In

Verse

22

This

Is

Why

I

Wanted

You

To

Turn

There

And

See

It

Yourself

Right

So

Do

This

Generous

Work

Of

Leaving

Behind

Those

Things

That

You

Miss

Because

Because

Verse

22

God

States

I

Have

Been

Generous

Toward

You

I

Delivered

You

From

Slavery

Now

You

Are

To

Be

Generous

Toward

Others

Right

You

Were

A

Slave

In

The

Land

Of

Egypt

Therefore

I

Command

You

To

Do

This

So

We

See

This

Boaz

Right

Being

Obedient

To

This

Command

Right

To

Allowing

For

Naomi

To

Come

Even

As

A

Foreigner

And

To

Glean

In

His

Field

So

Boaz

Knows

This

And

He

Provides

For

And

He

Protects

Ruth

So

You

See

In

Verse

8

Boaz

Says

To

The

Ruth

Now

Listen

My

Daughter

Do

Not

Go

Glean

In

Another

Field

Or

Leave

This

One

But

Keep

Close

To

My

Young

Women

And

You

See

At

The

Very

End

Of

The

Chapter

That

She

Does

This

Through

The

Barley

And

Then

The

Wheat

Harvest

For

This

Extended

Period

Of

Time

She

Is

Able

To

Come

Back

And

Glean

And

Have

This

Provision

!

He

Says

In

Verse

9

Let

Your

Eyes

Be

On

The

Field

That

They

Are

Reaping

And

Go

After

Them

Follow

Them

Around

Then

He

Says

Have

I

Not

Charged

The

Young

Men

Not

To

Touch

You

And

You

See

Him

Pulling

Those

Young

Men

Aside

And

Saying

Hey

She

Not

To

Be

Touched

And

When

You

Are

Thirsty

Go

To

The

Vessels

And

Drink

What

The

Young

Men

Have

Drawn

The

Work

They've

Done

To

Bring

That

Water

Up

Out

Of

The

Ground

And

They've

Stored

It

There

For

People

To

Particip

And

Being

Refreshed

In

That

Way

!

So

She

Sat

Beside

The

Reapers

He's

Elevated

Her

To

This

Position

And

He

Passed

To

Her

Roasted

Grain

And

She

Ate

Until

She

Was

Satisfied

And

She

Has

Some

Left

Over

So

Much

That

She

Takes

It

To

Naomi

And

Shares

It

With

Her

So

He's

Providing

For

Her

And

He's

Protecting

Her

Verse

22

We

See

This

Instruction

Given

Beyond

There

Naomi

Says

To

Ruth

It

Is

Good

My

Daughter

That

You

Go

Out

With

His

Young

Women

Lest

In

Another

Field

You

Be

Assaulted

Everyone

Doing

What's

Right

In

Their

Own

Eyes

A

Dangerous

Place

To

Be

And

So

We

Have

Boaz

Who

Both

Provides

For

And

Protects

Ruth

And

By

Extension

!

Naomi

And

Boaz

Does

This

Lavishly

I

Really

Think

That

Boaz

Gets

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24:19–22

24

Verse

19

Through

22

I

Don't

Think

He's

Merely

Following

The

Letter

Of

The

Law

But

The

Spirit

Of

It

Boaz

You

See

Boaz

Was

Never

Himself

A

Captive

In

Egypt

That

Command

In

Verse

22

To

Remember

That

He

Was

A

Slave

In

Egypt

Doesn't

Apply

Directly

To

Him

But

But

He

Sees

The

Principle

At

Play

That

God

Is

Displaying

Here

In

That

Text

God

Is

His

Provider

And

His

Protector

What

He

Has

He

Has

Because

Of

The

Gracious

!

Kindness

God

And

Therefore

He

Is

To

Be

Used

Of

God

To

Bring

The

Same

To

Others

Boaz

His

Understanding

Of

God's

Sovereign

Grace

Is

Reflected

Proportionally

In

His

Kindness

Towards

Ruth

He

Extends

God's

Been

So

Kind

To

Me

Look

What

He's

Done

For

Me

And

Then

He

Turns

And

Does

This

For

Her

Now

Note

That

He

Has

He

Left

Your

Father

And

Mother

And

Your

Native

Land

And

Came

To

A

People

That

You

Did

Not

Know

Before

I've

Seen

I've

Heard

Tell

Of

How

You

Gave

Up

And

Sacrificed

For

The

Sake

Of

Your

Mother

In

Law

And

He

Speaks

This

Blessing

The

Lord

Repay

You

For

What

You

Have

Done

And

That's

Not

An

Empty

Blessing

He's

The

One

Bringing

!

The

Provision

And

A

Full

Reward

Be

Given

You

By

The

Lord

The

God

Of

Israel

Under

Whose

Wings

You

Have

Come

To

Take

Refuge

Remember

From

The

First

Chapter

Who

Saying

To

Naomi

That

Her

God

Would

Be

Hers

She

Has

Come

With

Her

Expecting

The

Provision

And

Here

It

Is

Being

Provided

For

Her

So

We

See

At

The

End

Of

The

Chapter

She

Keeps

Close

To

The

Young

Women

Of

Boaz

Gleaning

Until

The

End

Of

The

Barley

And

Wheat

Harvest

And

We

Close

!

Out

The

Scene

And

She

Lived

With

Her

!

In

Law

That's

With

Naomi

Just

As

We

Have

Lessons

To

Be

Learned

From

Ruth

We

Also

Have

Much

To

Learn

From

Boaz

We

Who

Have

Been

Shown

Such

Generosity

We

Ought

To

Be

Generous

We

Should

Identify

With

Both

Of

These

Characters

And

Find

Instruction

For

Us

And

You

May

Say

I

Do

Not

Own

Fields

Some

Of

You

Do

Most

Of

Us

Do

Not

Own

Fields

And

That's

So

Certainly

True

Then

What

Do

You

Have

To

Give

Stop

And

Think

How

Has

The

Lord

Blessed

Me

What

Is

It

That

I

Also

Have

To

Give

And

I

Want

Your

Thinking

To

Be

Led

Broader

Than

Just

Financial

Resources

Although

Certainly

That's

On

The

Table

As

Well

But

To

Time

And

To

Talents

And

To

Energy

How

Has

God

Resourced

You

That

You

Might

Use

Those

Resources

To

Be

A

Blessing

For

Others

!

Well

But

I

Can

Tell

You

That

One

Of

My

Great

Concerns

About

American

Christianity

Is

How

Self

Oriented

It

Is

As

People

Involve

Themselves

In

The

Life

Of

The

Church

They're

Looking

For

What

They

Get

Out

Of

The

Church

And

You

Could

Be

A

Consumer

Of

Good

Things

Things

That

Are

Proper

!

And

Ordered!

You

Ought

To

Be

Served

!

When

You

Come

And

Gather

With

God's

People

But

Your

Mindset

Should

Be

How

Do

I

Show

Up

And

Serve?

What

Has

God

Given

Me

That

I

Might

Contribute

For

The

Sake

Of

Others?

And

I

Think

We

Would

Find

The

Church

To

Be

Such

A

Beautiful

Growing

Organization

If

Everybody

Had

That

Mentality

When

They

Came

I

Think

We

Would

Find

Our

So

Receiving

Far

More

Than

We

Ever

Would

Have

!

Expected

To

Receive

If

We

Would

Show

Up

With

A

Mind

Toward

What

Can

I

Contribute

To

The

Kingdom

Of

God

Christian

People

Should

Be

Marked

By