I feel a little bit like Ruth did when she came home to Naomi after her long days of gleaning, carrying a huge bundle that would take days for the two of them to eat. So too, has God been extra gracious to me as I have studied His word this week. He has intentionally laid so many truths down before me to glean that I’m having great difficulty carrying them all, much less thrashing them all out, preparing them for this week’s bible study.
Last week we saw Ruth humbly going out into a stranger’s fields to glean behind the Reapers. This was in accordance with Leviticus 19:9-10, which provided for the poor by giving them access to the edges of the fields and to whatever fell or was left behind by the Reapers.
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.” – Lev. 19:9-10
Gleaning was very humble work because by going out to work behind the Reapers you were acknowledging that you were a beggar; you had no field of your own to work, you were not employed as a reaper by someone who did own a field, and you were completely reliant on the grace of God, and on others, to be able to pick up what was left behind or dropped. As Penny said last week, it is very much the picture of a beggar waiting for the crumbs to fall off the table for him to eat.
It was also extremely hard work. I grew up in Illinois, surrounded by corn fields. My first job was detasseling corn when I was 13-14 years old. The farmers in the area recruited young teenagers from the local middle and high schools to work in the fields. They usually recruited young teens who wanted to work for some extra summer money but were too young to work most jobs. They would take us out in buses to the corn fields and from the break of day until late afternoon or early evening we would ride on tractors and detassel the corn. The tractors had these long metal arms on each side that extended outward for about 4 to 6 rows and we would stand in baskets that hung down from the giant arms and were aligned between the rows. There would be two of us to a basket working back to back, one doing the right side, the other the left. The tractor would slowly drive forward at a slow pace and we would detassel the corn that passed by us. We would pull up on the tassels that grew up out of the top of the corn and throw them on the ground, working as quickly as we could, trying to hit the 99% pick-rate we needed. There would also be students following behind the tractors on foot, picking what we missed.
Detasseling corn was long, hot work and by the end of the first week about half the students who had signed up didn’t show up anymore. At the end of the season, I think only a quarter of those who signed up remained. Sunburns, dehydration, blisters, mosquitoes, scratches, eye injuries, all were common. Most of the students that remained were those who had to work, like me and my older sister. We didn’t have the luxury or the option of being able to quit. I know for us, working in the fields was an opportunity to provide for some of the needs that our single mom couldn’t easily provide, school clothes, school supplies, some of those little extras you want as a teenager, as well as some of those necessities we had been doing without. I was grateful for the 5-7 weeks when I was able to detassel corn for the extra income it provided.
My personal experience caused me to identify with Ruth’s working in the fields as a necessity to survive. She didn’t have the option of quitting either. Nor was she working just for herself, she had Naomi at home to provide for. I’m sure as difficult as it was, she too, was thankful to have the work and saw it as an opportunity, where others might shun such hard work, work that is now often left to migrant workers and young teens.
Unlike detasseling corn, Ruth’s work would have been much more laborious and back-breaking from having to walk long distances in the fields, constantly stooping and bending over to pick up what was dropped by the Reapers, not to mention having to carry her own load through the fields. As detasselers, we would have been more were more like the Reapers, the hired help. We were asked to be there. We could expect a day’s wage. We were kept safe to the best of our foreman’s ability. We were given water and breaks. We were treated well. Gleaners, on the other hand, were often unwanted in the fields, they were chased off and shooed away by the field owners, like rabbits caught devouring a farmer’s crops. Despite the Levitical law, many land owners were hard-hearted and cruel toward the unwanted gleaners who sought entrance into their fields. They were ridiculed, taunted. The field owners would obey the law, but oftentimes they would set specific times when the gleaners could glean, not allowing them to even be in the fields until after the field had been reaped and the Barley bundled and taken away. Only then could the gleaners go out and seek the leftovers, if there were any to be had.
In addition to all this, Ruth’s work would have been much more dangerous for her, also. She was a single woman working alone, a foreigner, a hated Moabite. She was in danger of physical assault from the other workers, and of verbal assault too, from their course talk and rude remarks. And she was in danger of being attacked by the other gleaners in the field, as well. Usually what fell and was left behind was scarce enough to feed one person, let alone two. The gleaners would often have to fight one another in order to gather enough food just for the day. When living in such poverty, the mentality is typically “every man for himself.” Many gleaners had families and children to feed at home and were very hungry themselves; they did not want to return home empty-handed. As we will soon see, all of this emphasizes that Ruth’s unusually large, abundant bounty was an amazing days’ work for a gleaner.
The story of Ruth & Naomi and the law of the ‘Kinsman Redeemer’ is a great demonstration of God’s love and provision for the poor and needy. Despite the difficulty of Ruth’s work, we see so much of God’s sovereignty and redemptive acts behind it, especially in leading her to this particular field, in all the special attention lavished upon her, and in the permission that she received to glean right behind the Reapers.
I know when I detasseled corn, I never once saw the owner of the field we worked in. We had a foreman who drove our tractor and who managed our crew but the owner of the field never once greeted us. I am sure he was in an air-conditioned office somewhere watching us from a window. So I love that Boaz is out walking through his fields, greeting his workers and blessing them as they labored. I love that he took special notice of Ruth and showed her such warm regard and kindness when normally she would have been overlooked, ignored or ridiculed, and maybe even rebuked by other land owners. I love that here, in this story, this unwanted stranger is wanted and welcomed by Boaz and made to feel at home and asked to stay.
Of all the Reapers and maidens he had working in his field, he noticed this poor stranger working among them, and from this point on, we see that he bestows his favor upon her by acknowledging her, comforting her, speaking kind words to her, offering his field to her and even offering his protection to her. And soon we will see him inviting her to join his Reapers at mealtime to rest and to be nourished. So much favor shown to her! Such a gospel response! Such a picture of God’s love and provision!
Verse 14.‘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.’
Boaz continues to show Ruth great favor by inviting her to come at meal time and eat with the Reapers. He tells her to dip her morsel into the vinegar. This was a common meal in the hot, arid countries of Canaan, the dipping of bread in vinegar mixed with other things like wine or oil to make a kind of sauce. This is actually still practiced in many eastern countries and in Italy. Many restaurants serve fresh bread with a little dipping bowl of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, my personal favorite. My husband and I like to snack on this a lot at home when I make fresh bread.
“Ruth eats until she is satisfied and she still had some left over.”
I love this picture. Here was a beggar in the fields following behind the Reapers, picking up the crumbs, and then the beggar is invited to a feast. This wasn’t really a feast, it was just an ordinary lunch. But to a beggar, an ordinary meal is very much a feast. Ruth probably didn’t bring a lunch with her to the fields, so this meal would have been welcomed, maybe even desperately. Prosperity often causes us to take for granted the most common of things which we enjoy every day in abundance, things that were oftentimes unattainable luxuries to us when we were poor.
As Christians, as reapers of God’s word, who are fed His word in great abundance and who enjoy His food daily, we need to be aware that there is a grave danger in taking for granted our vast benefits in Him. Be aware, too, that there are strangers and beggars, foreigners and newcomers, who come into God’s fields to work alongside us, who greedily listen in and pick up the crumbs of our conversations, and tuck them away in their hearts. They follow us closely for some time and we may think nothing of it, for we interact with many foreigners, many newcomers, and we are just going about our business as usual. But God notices them. Christ notices them. Christ notices their interest, He notices their diligence, their willingness to come close, to work, to gleam something of value. Christ notices them and invites those who are afar off to approach Him, to come closer to Him, to sit and enjoy a meal with Him, to enjoy communion with Him. For that is what this is, communion with God.
Ruth is invited to mealtime. Mealtime is a time of rest, a time of fellowship, communion among others, a time of refreshment and strengthening for the remainder of the day. Mealtime is a wonderful time, a time that I think most of us look forward to even today as we break from our work to eat and socialize a bit. It’s a holy time as we spend time with our families and children. There is a saying that ‘a family that eats together stays together.’ You don’t see families sit down too often for meals anymore. These days it’s TV dinners, or we get too busy and have to eat and run. Get something on the go. Work while we eat. I do that allot myself. We don’t take time to just sit down for a moment, relax a bit, enjoy one another and get strength and refreshment for the rest of the day.
Spiritually, it is the same. Christ invites us to a set, or fixed, mealtime. But how many of us take the time to actually sit for a time with Him, to enjoy His presence, to be strengthened for the day? Instead we get our devotionals on the run, we get our daily food from the radio as we travel into work, we say our prayers as we are going about our busy day. These are good and necessary at times, it’s what has kept our spiritual lives alive at times. We need food to stay alive and we are feeding ourselves God’s word, which is good; but we know there is something missing. What’s missing is our communion with Christ. We take His food, we enjoy it, but we miss knowing Him, we miss seeing Him, we miss securing His presence for the day.
It’s the same way with our families, our kids, our spouses; we may all grab a bite to eat and run but do we really know each other anymore? Do we really know what’s going on in the other person’s life? Even though we see each other every day we become strangers because we don’t take the time to sit down with one another for communion. Communion takes time, and it calls for us to sit down for our meals.
Verses 15-16.“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.”
After eating, Ruth went back to working in the fields. ‘She rose to glean’. Here we continue to see Ruth’s willingness to work. She was not idle and did not eat the bread of idleness. God’s word continually encourages us to work, even going so far as to say,
“If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.”
2 Thess 3:6-12.
You cannot attribute idleness or laziness to Ruth. Even the servant in charge noticed how hard she worked and remarked on this to Boaz:
“…She came and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” – Ruth 2:7
So God encourages us to work hard,
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might,” – Ecc. 9:10.
Ruth was a Proverbs 31 woman,
“She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands”. –
Proverbs 31:13
“Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” –Proverbs 31:31.
God has provided a means by which he provides for us, and that is often through hard work; doing what we are enabled to do and with the strength that is in us, not being a burden upon others, as far as it depends on us. We are called to work in some way. Naomi did not go out in the hot fields during the day, but you can be sure she worked at the house and probably prepared their meals from Ruth’s gleanings.
Here, we also see Boaz’s continued favor toward Ruth demonstrated as he instructs his men to allow her to glean among the sheaves. In other words, if she begins to harvest an area that they haven’t gotten to yet, let her go. Don’t stop her. And by the way, beyond all this, as you are working, purposely pull out some of the sheaves from the bundles and leave it for her to glean. Notice Boaz doesn’t just give Ruth a bag of gleanings. Ruth worked for them. It is the same way with us. If we would glean from God’s word, we must dig into it to get anything out of it. But God loves to reward us, so He purposely sets His truth in places before our hearts that is easy for us to pick up if we are but diligent enough and willing enough to search it out.
Boaz goes on to warn his workers, “don’t rebuke her.” Don’t chew her out. Don’t reproach her. Don’t shame or criticize her. I love how he stops their tongues. And I wonder how often the Lord has stopped the tongues of those who would criticize us if they only had the opportunity. This is not to say we will never be criticized, but we are not to be chewed out or shamed by those who have our Lord as Master and are accountable to Him for He would have those over us to deal gently with us. Those who belong to a different master and who are of the world are a different story, though. They will always criticize us and this we should patiently endure and count ourselves blessed that we should share in the sufferings of our Lord, for the Godly will be persecuted. (2 Tim. 3:12, John 15:20).
As a foreigner, as a young woman, and as a widow, Ruth could have suffered allot of criticism, allot of unkind comments, even lewd remarks, since it was not often safe for women in the fields, as Naomi points out in verse 22 when she tells Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” As a widow, Ruth did not have anyone to look out for her, to protect her, she could have very easily been taken advantage of and assaulted in another man’s field. But God was looking out for her, by placing her in Boaz’s field.“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” (Prov. 16:9) “A person’s steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand their own way?” (Prov. 20:24).
Once again we are able to see the activities and provisions of God behind the scenes, as He works through Boaz to show Ruth His favor by not only providing for her, but by protecting her.
Verse 17.“So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.”
Ruth didn’t bundle the Barley and carry it home. Instead she beat it out right there in the field, separating the chaff from it with air currents, probably using Boaz’s threshing floor. This would have reduced it’s bulk for her to carry home. She probably would not have been able to carry the large bundle, or bundles, home if she had not beat it out and winnowed it first.
This is also a picture of our own gleaning in God’s word, because afterward we, too, must thrash it, wrestle with it, for it’s inner blessing and get rid of all man’s chaff. It’s not enough just to glean from God’s word and to bundle our knowledge and store it away. If we want what we have gathered in our weekly sermons, bible studies and daily readings to benefit us, we must prepare it to be eaten by our spirits, which requires a thorough thrashing, and requires us to meditate on it, to wrestle with it, to chew on it until we have reached that small, inner nugget that blesses and feeds us. We can often reduce an entire bible study to one thought, an entire book to one sentence, an entire verse to one word that stands out to us. This is our seed. This is our daily grain. We must carefully seek it out, carefully separate it from all the rest and bag it, to tuck it away in our hearts to be chewed on the rest of the day.
An ephah of barley would have been about 20-25 lbs of barley or 6 gallons and 3 pints. This was quite an abundance for a gleaner who was considered fortunate if he brought enough home to feed one person, let alone two. This would have fed her and Naomi for at least 5 days. What’s more, you will see how great an abundance this is when you consider that a days’ wages for a Reaper would have equaled only about 1-2 lbs. Here we see a poor gleaner bringing in even more then the paid Reapers! She was making almost 15 times as much as they were! Such is the abundance of God’s grace toward those who have God’s favor in Christ! It is overwhelming.
As a beggar, this would have been an incredible amount to come home with, which shows not only her hard work for the day, but also Boaz’s generosity as the Reapers let handfuls of sheaves fall behind them for Ruth to pick up.
It reminds me of the ‘Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard’ found in Matthew 20:16. The story where those laborers who went into the field last, at the end of the day, received the same wages as those who went into the fields first and worked all day long. Do you think there was some jealousy among the workers? Some cries of, ‘No fair!’ ? Yes, there was, and the vineyard’s owner answered them:
“‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.
Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” – Matt. 20:13-16
I was at a prison ministry meeting one time and heard a story of how a certain prison at one time had a university offering free classes to its inmates. It was a great program intended to give an opportunity for education to those who were incarcerated so they could get jobs when they were released. But those who were not in prison cried out against it causing it to come to an end. They said it was unfair. The argument against it was,“Why should those in prison have such an opportunity for an education that those outside it didn’t have?” They said that the prisoners didn’t deserve such an opportunity. The story weighed down my heart because here was a group of people who were basically jealous of grace. And Matt. 20:13-16 came to my mind. Didn’t the University have the right to bestow its grace on anyone it chose without being deemed unfair?
Grace is not about fairness. It’s about unearned, unmerited favor being poured out on the undeserving. When it is being poured out on us we don’t have a problem with it. When it is being poured out on others, instead of rejoicing at their good fortune, many of us, out of self-righteousness and jealousy, cry foul.
I wonder how many Reapers would have murmured against Ruth’s good fortune if Boaz hadn’t forbade them to reproach or rebuke her? I wonder if I, myself, would have been one of them, whispering and complaining about the 1-2 lbs for my days’ wages vs. the 25 lbs for her days’ gleaning. Would I have praised the grace Boaz showed Ruth or would I have complained about his seeming injustice to me?
God’s grace to us is often so great that it often does make others jealous. It is undeserved favor dispensed at His will to whomever He pleases. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” (Romans 9:15). Just because God does not show such grace and kindness to everyone in the field in the same measure, does not make Him unfair. He can pour out His mercy and compassion on whomever He will as He pleases.
Verse 18.“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 her what food she had left over after being satisfied.”
Ruth returned to the City of Bethlehem carrying her bounty. You can imagine the surprise on Naomi’s face as she set her large sack down before her upon arrival. It would have been similar to carrying home a huge bag of dog food. It was much like the little fisherman’s boat so filled with fishes that it almost began to sink. It was like the bounty of Benjamin’s plate and his sack when Joseph over-filled them. So too, had God flooded Naomi and Ruth with his favor by over-filling Ruth’s sack. Ruth not only carried her sack of gleanings home, but she carried her leftover meal to Naomi, which I am sure was received with great surprise and appreciation; it was food she could eat right away and would not have to wait as she prepared a meal with Ruth’s grain. It is hard to enjoy food knowing there is someone at home who is also deprived and hungry, in desperate need of food. Here God not only meets Ruth’s need for food but gives her enough so that she is satisfied and is able to share her abundant lunch with Naomi. God knows that Ruth’s need is not only for herself but that she also has a need to provide for Naomi at home.
So God sees not only our needs but the needs of our families at home, families that we are called to provide for, and He enables us to carry back enough gleaning not only to feed ourselves but to feed others, also. We too, can come home and share what we have gleaned from God’s word, words that have given us strength, encouragement, guidance, comfort and joy in our time of hunger and need. Much like we are doing right here, tonight. I hope you all go home and share something of what you have learned with someone else.
Verse 19.“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 worked today is Boaz.’”
Naomi is surprised at the size of Ruth’s gleaning and in her surprise she asks, “Where did you glean today and where have you worked?” Naomi knows this is more than the average days’ gleanings, this is a God thing. Obviously, someone has taken notice of Ruth and has shown her an unusual amount of kindness. Therefore, she says,“Blessed is the man who took notice of you.”
I would ask each of you the same question at the end of the day:“Where have you gleaned today? Have you gleaned from the field of God’s word? Or have you been gleaning from the field of the world? Have you spent any time seeking to gather truth from God’s word or have you relied on the world, the television, self-help books, in which to gather your comfort, wisdom, direction and strength for the day?”
Verse 20.“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.’”
Naomi gives blessings back to Boaz for the blessings he bestowed upon her and Ruth, much like the field workers blessed Boaz for his blessings upon them when he walked among them and said, “The LORD be with you!” and they replied, “The LORD bless you.” Ruth 2:4. Here we see that blessing others breeds more blessings after its own kind, much the same way that cursing others usually breeds more cursing, except that we are taught in Romans 12:14 to “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Something the apostles lived up to, as Paul states in1 Cor. 4:12 “We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it.”
In one of his books, Watchman Nee tells how evil seeks to reproduce itself in our hearts. It seeks to gain entrance, and to move from one heart to the next by multiplying itself, that way it can expand from one person to the next, and on to the next and to the next. It is our job as Christians to put it to death, instead and to not allow it to reproduce itself in our spirits or gain another breath through us. In contrast, it is our job to spread our blessings around and let them multiply.
< “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!”
The Lord’s kindness is not limited to the living only, but also to the dead. By taking care of these two widows, Boaz showed kindness and respect, not only to Ruth and Naomi who were living, but also to the memory of Elimelech and his two sons, who were now dead. They would have wanted their wives to be taken care of and provide for.
The word kindness used here is the Hebrew word ‘chesed’ or ‘checed’ as some translations spell it. It is a word that is difficult to translate into our English language and difficult to convey its meaning. A great article can be found here that goes into a detailed explanation of the word ‘Chesed’. The link is: http://www.bible-researcher.com/chesed.html. It is often translated as ‘kindness, mercy, steadfast love, loving-kindness or sometimes even loyalty’. The word is only used when there is some relationship or tie between the parties. Instead of being used to convey kindly deeds, it is used to show more of a covenant type attitude between two parties. It combines the idea of love and loyalty together, which is why it is often translated as stead-fast love, unfailing love, faithfulness.
“Turn, LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love/chesed.” –Psa. 6:4
“But I trust in your unfailing love/chesed; my heart rejoices in your salvation.” –
This word ‘chesed’ is used to communicate God’s sure love for wayward Israel, insuring that He will never let her go. When she is unfaithful, He is faithful still. His love is not dependent upon them or their deserving of His mercy, otherwise they would receive justice instead of chesed. God has entered into a covenant with them to show them chesed, therefore when Israel deserves judgment, deserves wrath and deserves being forsaken by Him, without dimming His righteousness, God in His great wisdom and faithfulness, shows them chesed.
Naomi is praising God for the chesed she has received. He has not forsaken her. He is not against her. Through Boaz’s demonstration of chesed kindness, Naomi is reminded of God’s great chesed kindness and mercy.
“the man is near of kin unto us”
Ruth would have had no way of knowing this, but Boaz was a close relative of theirs. A relative on Naomi’s husband’s side. Naomi immediately recognizes his name when Ruth tells her whose field she found such favor in. She was familiar with Boaz, I’m sure, but she probably never considered seeking his help. Who would trouble such a great man? But God has brought his name into her remembrance and she recalls his position. He is a near kinsman, a redeemer. He has the right and the power to redeem their houses and possessions, according to the law in Leviticus 25:23-32.
They are not as alone in the world as it first seemed. They have the possibility of hope, something she probably hadn’t even considered or anticipated before she saw such generosity and kindness flow from him toward both of them. Although she doesn’t say anything to Ruth, I am sure from this point on, Naomi begins to pray about, and to consider, the possibility of their being delivered and restored from their fallen condition. What seemed like a hopeless situation before, is now hopeful. For the first time the gray clouds begin to break, and God’s sunlight begins to peak through the darkness.
“one of our kinsmen/redeemer”
The word for kinsman here is ‘Goel’ which means: “a redeemer; one who redeems or ransoms.” They had a right to avenge the blood of the slain, to redeem their houses and possessions, if sold or mortgaged, and to redeem their widowed women by marrying them and raising up seed in the name of a deceased brother or kinsman.
Verse 21-22. “And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’” 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.’”
Ruth tells Naomi of Boaz’s offer for her to continue working in his field’s until the end, not only of the Barley Harvest, but of the Wheat Harvest, too; which she does according to the next verse. As we have already discussed, this is to her benefit, since she could easily have been assaulted in any other field, and of course, she may not have been blessed in any other field either. Here we see the tremendous peace of mind that God has given both Naomi and Ruth, that neither one of them would have to worry about Ruth’s safety in the fields, nor do they have to concern themselves with finding a field where she could glean from next. With the abundance of favor and generosity that Boaz has already lavished on them, they will be well provided for during the upcoming cold winter months.
Verse 23. “So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”
Ruth stays with her mother-in-law through the end of the Barley Harvest and through the end of the Wheat Harvest. And she continued to work in Boaz’s fields. The Wheat Harvest would have began seven weeks from the beginning of the Barley Harvest, at the time of Pentecost. This gives us a time-frame before the next chapter begins, a passage of about 3 months. During this time, Ruth lived with her mother-in-law. This one sentence is a foreshadowing that this time period was about to come to an end.
Ruth would not be living with her mother-in-law much longer…
