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Love is... (Part 2)

Love is... (Part 2)

Under His Wings - Ruth, Boas, and divine providence

Exploring Ruth's Journey: Boaz, Gleaning, and Divine Providence

This is part 2 of my Love Is… series, where I explore the Book of Ruth in depth. This post will focus on Ruth chapter 2.

Place and Setting

We can refer to this portion of the story as Act 2, and it takes place in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. For context, let us revisit the last verse of chapter 1.

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
— Ruth 1:22 NKJV

Chapter one ends with a summary of key information. Naomi has returned from Moab to Bethlehem, and Ruth, a Moabitess, has tagged along. This summary places Naomi in a place of prominence, and Ruth as a secondary character, a foreigner who is tagging along. When the narrator highlights that Ruth is a Moabitess, we anticipate that she will not be readily accepted by the community in Bethlehem. (For more on Moab/Israel relations, see my previous post Love is… Part 1) But Chapter 1 ends on a positive note, the barley harvest was beginning!

The timing is critical and providential, for it means that Naomi and Ruth arrive in “the house of bread” just when the grain for bread is ready to be cut, that is, in late April or early March by our calendars. Since barley was the first crop to be harvested each year, the timing of their arrival meant that Naomi and Ruth could get settled at a time when food would be relatively plentiful and that they were around to lay up stores of each crop for the dry season.
— Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 650.

With this in mind, let us transition to Ruth chapter 2.

Meet Boaz

There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.
— Ruth 2:1 NKJV

The narrator introduced us to a new character, Boaz. He is a relative of Naomi’s, now deceased, husband, and a wealthy and influential man in the community. Though there is little debate over the translation, it is worth noting that the same expression can mean a “noble with respect to character” (ibid) (See multiple translations of Ruth 2:1). I only mention it here because it is very likely that both meanings are meant with regard to Boaz. We also learn that he is from the clan of Elimelech.

Ruth takes the initiative

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.”
— Ruth 2:2 NKJV

For the first time, Ruth takes the initiative. The narrator once again highlights that Ruth is a Moabitess, a foreigner, yet she is taking the initiative. Ruth did not come to be a burden to her mother-in-law. Ruth, though a widow and a foreigner, is not helpless; she has agency and takes the initiative. She is determined to make something out of her life. Ruth had every reason to bemoan the lot in life; she could complain about how God must be against her, about how unfair life is, about the severe challenges that came with being a woman, being a woman in the ancient world, being a woman in the Middle East, being a widow, and being a foreigner whose only social support was an even older widow.

Without a doubt, the deck was stacked against Ruth; she is facing an uphill battle. Yet she is determined to go out and work, which is potentially dangerous. Ruth is not going to sit around helplessly waiting to be rescued. Ruth is not a princess whose main contribution to the world is her physical beauty, and is waiting to be rescued by Prince Charming.

What a coincidence!?

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.
—Ruth 2:3 NKJV

As Ruth goes out to work she happened to come to the part of the field that belonged to Boaz, who was related to Naomi’s deceased husband. What are the odds!?

How often do we pray to God about our unfavorable circumstances yet remain inert, waiting for deliverance? Sometimes our lucky break is out there, looking like just plain hard work. “Luck” can happen to anyone anytime, but it seems to happen more often to those working hard.

Ruth freely chose to go out and work. We are not told of her having a vision or hearing a voice from beyond telling her to do this. But as she went out to work, God directed her path, and she ended up working in the field of Boaz. Of course, the narrator does not say it this way; the narrator puts it in a way that seems like it was pure chance. How often do we experience something that could be interpreted as pure chance, but we see the fingerprints of God all over it?

By excessively attributing Ruth’s good fortune to chance, he forces the reader to sit up and take notice, to ask questions concerning the significance of everything that is transpiring. The statement is ironical; its purpose is to undermine purely rational explanations for human experiences and to refine the reader’s understanding of providence. In reality he is screaming, “See the hand of God at work here!” The same hand that had sent the famine (1:1) and later provided food (1:6) is the hand that had brought Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem precisely at the beginning of the harvest (1:22) and has now guided Ruth to that portion of the field belonging specifically to Boaz.
—Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 653–654.

Gleaning

Ruth is not going to harvest grain, but glean. This involves picking up grain that the harvesters have inadvertently dropped or left standing. Mosaic law made provision for the alien, orphan, and widow in this regard.

‘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.
— Leviticus 19:9-10 NKJV

22 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the Lord your God.’ ”
— Leviticus 23:22 NKJV

19 “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 stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
— Deuteronomy 24:19 NKJV

Oftentimes, we are in a hurry to do away with the Mosaic Laws, and we forget that God, in His wisdom, provided these laws for the benefit of humanity. An orphan, a widow, a foreigner, or someone going through hard times is hardly able to prepare the field and sow and reap, but an able-bodied person can glean. The owner of the field will not suffer a loss, and the person going through difficulties does not have to starve. But the person in need does have to go and glean. The food will not be delivered to his door.

Provision was thus made for supplying the needy with the necessities of life, and for teaching those more favorably situated lessons of unselfishness and compassion. Furthermore, the needy had to work for what they received, and did not become merely the passive recipients of charity. This preserved their self-respect and encouraged initiative and industry.
—Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1976), 434.

Just because the law provided for the destitute, it does not guarantee that the owner of the field will follow the law. As a widow and a foreigner, Ruth does not have someone to fight for her, at least not someone in a position of power. Ruth understands that she needs to find favor, either in the eyes of the field owner or the harvesters.

Boaz arrives

 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!”

And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”
— Ruth 2:4 NKJV

Again, coincidence strikes when Boaz and Ruth happen to be in the same field at the same time. With a greeting, the narrator shifts our focus from Ruth to Boaz. Boaz arrives and initiates the dialogue with two profound but simple words (in Hebrew), “May the LORD be with you.” This simple greeting gives us, and Ruth, an insight into the type of man that Boaz was. Boaz was the type of man you wanted to have as your boss. From this first interaction, we see that he is a man who creates a positive work environment. Boaz’s speech is characterized by grace, making him an example for true covenant love/hesed (see my post Love is…1for a longer explanation of hesed) for all who are in a leadership position. We notice that his workers appreciate having him as their leader by their response, “The LORD bless you!”

Whose young woman is that?

Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

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. 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.”
—Ruth 2:5-7 NKJV

Boaz notices a stranger in the field and asks the supervisor whose she is. This is an odd question to most of us. Why didn’t Boaz ask who she was or what her name was? Instead, he asked, “To whom does this woman belong?” Boaz assumes that Ruth, who was obviously a stranger, would not be independent. Perhaps he thought she was engaged to someone, was someone’s daughter, or wife. His question did not indicate that she must necessarily be a slave. Boaz could also be interested in which clan or tribe she belonged to. What is her context? Where does she fit in?

This question refocuses the attention on Ruth and gets the reader thinking about Elimelech, who gives her identity some context. However, Elimelech is not mentioned in the answer. Instead, we have Ruth’s status as a foreigner highlighted: " She’s a young Moabite woman” who is related to Naomi, a widow, and has just arrived from Moab. In other words, she’s nobody important. She’s interesting, perhaps, but she has no power and is not related to anyone important.

The supervisor knew about Ruth because she came to him asking for permission to glean. We know that she was working from morning until now, but the last clause of this verse (about her resting) is the most difficult line to translate in the entire book. (ibid) Ruth may be unimportant without connections to powerful (living) men, but she is working hard to provide for her mother-in-law, a widow. Ruth’s value comes not from her social ties or a man but rather from her character and strong work ethic. In other words, her value comes from her good decisions, not because of who she “belongs to.”

Stay here

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. 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.”
— Ruth 2:8-9 NKJV

Boaz takes the initiative in the conversations, and Ruth, as a foreigner, a young woman, and a field worker, gives short answers. The main contribution of these conversations to the plot is to reveal the character of Boaz to us (the readers).

From the first time Boaz opens his mouth until the last words he utters (4:9–10), his tone exudes compassion, grace, and generosity. In the man who speaks to this Moabite field worker biblical ḥesed becomes flesh and dwells among humankind.
—Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 659.

Boaz refers to Ruth as “my daughter,” and this appears to break down the natural barriers that separate him from her. This is not a patronizing expression. As we read on, we will see even more evidence that suggests a difference in age. (Notice how Ruth is referred to repeatedly as being young.) This could be a sign that Boaz feels a sense of responsibility for Ruth. Though Ruth is a Moabitess, and he knows it, he is not looking to take advantage of her but rather desires to offer her his resources and protection.

Boaz’s behavior paints a beautiful picture of what love (hesed) looks like. The person with power/resources uses it to help the person in need. To be fair to Ruth, she is not helpless; she took the initiative to show up early and to work all day. Boaz guarantees her a safe work environment. Boaz basically instituted the first anti-sexual-harassment policy in the workplace recorded in the Bible. Allowing Ruth to drink from their water was also no small matter.

In a cultural context in which normally foreigners would draw for Israelites, and women would draw for men (Gen 24:10–20), Boaz’s authorization of Ruth to drink from water his men had drawn is indeed extraordinary.
— Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 660.

Overwhelmed by generosity

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?”
—Ruth 2:10 NKJV

Ruth falls on her face and bows down in a physical gesture of submission and gratitude, then she speaks, expressing her amazement that Boaz would be so gracious towards her or even notice her at all, especially since she’s a foreigner. Ruth is clearly self-conscious about her status as an alien, and she can’t believe how well Boaz treats her.

Boaz had dignified Ruth, a destitute widow from Moab, by treating her as a significant person and placing her socially on par with his hired (and likely Israelite) field workers.

Ruth’s character

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.”
— Ruth 2:11-12 NKJV

Though Boaz had just met Ruth, he had heard about her. The love Ruth demonstrated to her mother-in-law surprisingly reached Boaz’s ears, and he was impressed with Ruth’s character. This was not about Naomi, Elimelech, or Ruth’s deceased husband. Boaz was familiar with Ruth’s character based on her actions. Ruth freely chose to stick by her mother-in-law. Ruth freely chose to get up early and find a field to glean. Boaz had heard enough about Ruth to recognize she was a virtuous woman. The evidence of Ruth’s character was clear to anyone paying attention, and Boaz was paying attention.

Boaz noticed how Ruth traded what she knew, he land, her family, friends, and customs, for what she did not know, Naomi’s God, people, and land. Ruth, like Abraham, traded the familiar for the unknown.

Boaz blesses Ruth, praying that the LORD would repay her for her actions. This is a biblical principle.

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.
—Proverbs 19:17 Berean Standard Bible

Boaz also understood that Ruth had chosen the LORD over the gods of Moab. “To express this notion Boaz introduces one of the most beautiful pictures of divine care in all of Scripture.” He imagines the LORD as a mother bird (Deut 32:11; Isa 31:5; Matt 23:37) who offers her wings for the protection of her defenseless young. (Block, 663) When Ruth came to Boaz’s field, she was vulnerable and in need, and he offered her his protection, personally functioning as the wings of God!

Do you ever consider that your kindness towards someone in need is an extension of the arm of God? Do you see yourself as the hands and feet of Jesus to bring relief to those suffering?

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.
Proverbs 14:31 English Standard Version

By his kindness to Ruth, Boaz also honors God. Our love for God impacts every aspect of our lives, especially how we treat others.

You have comforted me.

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.”
Ruth 2:13 NKJV

Boaz’s kindness had brought Ruth great relief. Ruth has found comfort and security under the wings of God, who is blessing her through Boaz. Ruth is astonished that the differences of race or class did not repress Boaz’s compassion towards her.

Meal time

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.
—Ruth 2:14 NKJV

This conversation happens later in the day, but the words from the previous interaction are fresh on the reader's mind. During the meal, we discover Boaz’s kindness and compassion toward Ruth have been exhausted.

After a morning of hard work, the harvesters stop for a meal. The fact that Boaz joins his workers during the meal says something about Boaz’s character. But Boaz is not done. Not only does he share the meal with his workers, but he also invites Ruth, an outsider, to join him and his workers.

We are not told if Ruth had packed her own lunch, but judging by what she and Naomi were going through, she would likely have had very little food, if any, for this meal. Boaz has to invite Ruth to join them because she keeps her distance, understanding that Boaz has provided food for his workers and is just happy to be allowed to glean.

Imagine Ruth’s surprise at being invited to the table to eat bread! This could be the best meal Ruth has had in a while. Boaz does not just give Ruth dry bread but invites her to use the dip, and he personally serves Ruth roasted grain. Ruth eats to the point of satisfaction and brings some extra, possibly to share with Naomi when she returns home.

The narrator hereby shows how Boaz took an ordinary occasion and transformed it into a glorious demonstration of compassion, generosity, and acceptance—in short, the biblical understanding of ḥesed.
Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 667.

You might be tempted to consider that there was some romantic attachment, but the narrative gives no clear evidence of this up to this point. There were enough racial and social barriers to discourage either Boaz or Ruth from getting any ideas. Boaz understood that the wings of God were not meant to comfort only Israelites, and he offered protection even to a Moabitess.

Back to work

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.”
—Ruth 2:15-16 NKJV

Boaz gives his men orders concerning Ruth. Not only is Ruth to be allowed to glean, they are also to purposefully leave behind cut grain for her so she does not have to cut or pull the grain that she is gleaning. She is not to be harassed, neither physically nor verbally.

I hope you are able to see why God would cause a man like Boaz to prosper. Boaz uses his power and wealth to bless those around him. Not only is he gracious to his workers, he extends it towards a widow who is also a foreigner. I see Boaz as a person who is safe to bless. God can bless Boaz knowing that Boaz will pass God’s blessing on to those around him.

The Results

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 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.
—Ruth 2:17-18 NKJV

Ruth worked hard all day and ended the day by beating out the grain from the heads of barley. There is debate among scholars and historians regarding the exact measurements since they seemed to vary depending on time and location. But regardless of the exact measurements it was a lot of grain!

By either standard, to thresh an ephah of grain from one day’s labor is an extraordinary feat, not to mention Ruth’s having to carry it home! Depending upon the quality of the grain and which standard one uses, an ephah of barley could have weighed from thirty to fifty pounds.
—Daniel Isaac Block, Judges, Ruth, vol. 6, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 670.

Naomi is amazed

Ruth came home with so much grain that Naomi got curious.

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.
—Ruth 2:17-23 NKJV

Naomi greets Ruth with two questions and a blessing on whoever took notice of her. Once Naomi realizes that Ruth happened to work in the field of Boaz, she blesses him a second time, commending him to the LORD. The reason Naomi commands Boaz to the LORD is that Boaz has not abandoned his hesed (love) to the living and the dead. By not abandoning hesed, Boaz is fulfilling his highest ideal as someone who has a covenant with God. However, the beauty of this text is that scholars argue about who exactly has not abandoned his hesed (love). Is it Boaz who has not abandoned his hesed, or is it the LORD who has not abandoned His hesed?

Who has not forsaken his hesed to the living and the dead?

Because hesed is such a complex and important theological expression (It wraps up in itself an entire cluster of concepts—love, mercy, grace, kindness, goodness, benevolence, loyalty, and covenant faithfulness (Block, 673)), some attribute it to God and His covenantal faithfulness to Naomi’s family. Personally, I do not feel a strong urge to differentiate between God and Boaz at this point. I have no problems with God showing His faithfulness to Naomi and Ruth through His servant Boaz, who lives a life that exemplifies God’s hesed.

Careful what you pray for

Naomi had prayed that the LORD would match Ruth’s hesed to her family by granting rest in the house of her husband. (Ruth 1:8-9 discussed in detail in Love is… part 1) Naomi likely had in mind a Moabite husband for Ruth, but now, since Ruth has met Boaz “by chance,” she begins to consider a new possibility.

Kinsman Redeemer

As a kinship redeemer is a near relative who is responsible for the economic well-being of a relative, and he comes into play especially when the relative is in distress and cannot get himself/herself out of the crisis. The Scriptures note five aspects of a gōʾēl’s redemptive role:

  1. to ensure that the hereditary property of the clan never passes out of the clan (Lev 25:25–30);

  2. to maintain the freedom of individuals within the clan by buying back those who have sold themselves into slavery because of poverty (Lev 25:47–55);

  3. to track down and execute murderers of near relatives (Num 35:12, 19–27);

  4. to receive restitution money on behalf of a deceased victim of a crime (Num 5:8); and

  5. to ensure that justice is served in a lawsuit involving a relative (Job 19:25; Ps 119:154; Jer 50:34).

The Israelite provision for the gōʾēl is based upon an assumption of corporate solidarity and the sanctity of the family/clan: to offend a relative is to offend oneself. The custom of redemption was designed to maintain the wholeness and health of family relationships, even after the person has died.

Remarkably, in none of the texts clarifying the role of the gōʾēl is there any reference to marrying the widow of a deceased person (Block, 674–675.) Deuteronomy 25:5-10 is the defining text regarding levirate marriage in Israel and helps shed some light on the customs of the time. Though the story of Ruth does not follow the letter of the levirate marriage, it does seem to follow its spirit.

Until the end of the harvest

We don’t know, but scholars believe that Ruth would have been gleaning in the fields from late April until early June, so for six to seven weeks. (Block, 677)

Takeaway

In Ruth chapter 2, we are introduced to Boaz, a successful and influential man who is kind and is used by God to protect Ruth. We also discover that Ruth is not only kind to Naomi but also dedicated and hardworking.

From this story, I learn that God provides miraculously when my actions align with His will for my life. The miracle is not super obvious, but the coincidence is simply too great to result from mere chance.

Ruth freely chose to get up early and look for a field to glean. There was no guarantee that she would succeed, and in the process, she was also exposing herself to potential harassment. But God guided her to Boaz, who showed kindness to her and offered her protection. Not to mention that he is a possible kinsman redeemer.

Boaz freely chose to be kind to his workers and to share a meal with them. He freely chose to extend his kindness to Ruth an alien and a widow. By showing hesed to Ruth Boaz is acting as an agent of God who is showing hesed to Ruth and Naomi.

When we choose faithfulness to God, when we trust in God and act in accordance with our faith, God uses us for His honor and glory, and we are blessed in the process.

The challenge

My challenge to you this week is to extend kindness to others. As God blesses you, freely choose to bless those you can. Offer help, a share a kind word of encouragement, be a listening ear. Look for an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Ask God to use you to bless those around you. Live this week missionally, and let me know how God changes your life and the lives of those around you as a result.

Ps. I ask for a week, but feel free to make this your new approach to life.

Love is... (part 3)

Love is... (part 3)

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Love is... (part 1)