Ruth 2:1-13 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ruth 2:1-13. Let’s go!
Ruth 2:1-13 (NIV)
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess 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 and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” “The LORD bless you!” they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Whose young woman is that?”
6 The foreman replied, “She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi.
7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She went into the field and has worked steadily 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 my servant girls.
9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch 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 exclaimed, “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 given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant–though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.”
On verses 1-13: In today’s passage from Ruth 2:1-13, we see from Ruth and Boaz some outstanding traits that made each of them worth noticing. Guys and girls, when you look for a life partner, don’t just focus on physical appearance or financial standing. Even more, focus on the person’s character because it’s the character of the two partners — not their looks or their bank account — that will determine how happy and healthy their relationship will be in the end.
Here are 4 great qualities about Ruth from today’s passage:
1. She was wise and resourceful (v2 – “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain…”). According to Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22, the poor and foreigners were allowed to go into an Israelite’s field and pick up the leftover crops that were not harvested the first time. Ruth understood this law and decided to use it to provide for her family.
2. She was courageous and took initiative (v3 – “So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters”). It was not the safest job for Ruth, a woman and a foreigner from Moab, to go into a stranger’s field and pick up leftovers. As Naomi would say in verse 22, “in someone else’s field you might be harmed”. But Ruth was willing to take the risk for her family.
3. She was humble and not self-entitled (v10 – “…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?”). It takes a certain degree of humility to go into a stranger’s field and pick up leftovers. To do so was to admit that you were poor and needy. But Ruth didn’t seem to mind. Also, Ruth didn’t expect that others should always notice her and serve her (v10); she didn’t have a victim complex. She was humble and comfortable in her own skin. Contrast that to people who are obsessed with saving face such that they don’t do what they could to take care of their family. (Sometimes “saving face” can get in the way of “saving faith”.)
4. She was a hard worker (v7). Notice what Boaz’s foreman said about her: “She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” (v7)
Women, of these 4 traits, which one are you needing to develop the most?
Now let’s look at 2 great qualities of Boaz from today’s passage:
1. He looked out for Ruth‘s safety and security. Boaz did several things to help ensure that Ruth was in a safe place and well cared for:
– Boaz told Ruth not to go to another field, that she could stay in his field for the duration of the harvest season (v8, 21)
– Boaz told Ruth to keep company with his female staff (v8). In other words, Boaz didn’t just let Ruth glean leftovers with the poor. He let Ruth pick the best that his field had to offer (v19).
– Boaz told the men not to lay a hand on Ruth (v9). He instituted the first anti-harassment workplace policy recorded in the Bible.
– Boaz told Ruth that whenever she needed a drink she could get it from the water jars that the men had filled (v9). Usually it was the women who would draw water for the men (e.g. Genesis 24:10-20), but Boaz showed special grace to Ruth.
Men, one of the ways you can love the woman in your life is to look out for their safety and security and to care for her physical needs. But that’s not all Boaz did.
2. He encouraged her and pointed her to God. Some guys crave the attention and praise that come from playing the hero. Not Boaz. When Ruth asks Boaz why he is being so kind to her, he doesn’t say, “Well, just another day at work for Superman!” Instead, Boaz points to the superhero he sees in Ruth, how he admires the sacrifices she has made for Naomi (v9). Even more, Boaz pointed Ruth, who was new in the faith, to “the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (v12) and blesses her.
Men, don’t just look out for the physical needs of the woman in your life. Even more, like Boaz, let’s do a good job of encouraging the women in our lives and pointing them to their only perfect hero, Jesus Christ.
Finally, notice in this story the sovereignty of God. The first field Ruth arrives at to glean, “as it turned out” (v3), just happens to belong to a man who is part of the same clan as Ruth’s late husband. According to Jewish laws on remarriage, if Ruth were ever to remarry, it would have to be to someone within the same clan as her late husband. As Ruth and Boaz each individually did their best and trusted God with what they had, in ways that they themselves could not control, God was bringing them together. Likewise, God is working in ways that you cannot control and cannot see. He is writing a greater story with your life than you can imagine.
I pray that all the women of Thrive Church would have the traits of Ruth described above, and that all the men of Thrive Church would be like Boaz in the ways we’ve talked about today. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
