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Hello again! Things just keep getting more tangled in our US presidential contest, don’t they? Even as the contention is touching our family, creating wounds and ruining relationships, I know the Lord has all this in His hands and His will prevails. I ask you, wherever you are in the world, to pray for the people of this country, that they will resist the evil one’s temptation to turn on each other, especially members of God’s family through Christ. Let relationship-healing miracles begin!

Last Week’s Work

MY PERSONAL TREASURE
This chapter, I believe the Spirit is leading me to dig further into vv8-16. That’s a big chunk of text, but the topic drawing my attention is whether Boaz’s treatment of Ruth is unusual (as it feels like it might be based on her statements in vv10, 13). I remember what Naomi prayed over both her daughters-in-law in chapter 1: “… May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” (Ruth 1:8b-9a ESV). Could God be using Boaz to fulfill Naomi’s prayer for kindness? Let’s find out!

I’ll start by sharing what the Spirit showed me about characters, locations, and timeframes.

WHO (CHARACTERS)
Though the passage mentions several more characters, my focus, naturally, was on Ruth and Boaz:

• Boaz is mentioned first, identified as a blood relative of Elimelech in v1, and described as a worthy man. In the text, he comes from Bethlehem to the field (v4), I’m guessing to oversee the reaping, and he notices Ruth (v5). He learns who and how diligent a worker she is from the supervisor (vv6-7), then addresses her as my daughter (v8). That seems to imply an age difference and a closer relationship than just landowner/gleaner. His charge to the reapers not to touch her, and his actions to provide for her thirst (v9), and hunger (v14) also seem too intimate for virtual strangers. He admits he knows all about her and blesses her (v11). And I love the imagery in his characterization of the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!(v12).
  After Boaz invites Ruth to eat with his workers, he instructs them to let her glean among the sheaves, to even pull some of the heads out for her, and to speak kindly to her (vv14-16).
  When Ruth tells of his kindness, Naomi is moved to bless Boaz, without even knowing his identity (v19). When she learns that, she mentions he is one of our redeemers (v20).
• Ruth asks Naomi for permission to glean (v1) or pick up the grain dropped in the process of reaping. God required Hebrew farmers to leave that grain behind for the poor and foreigners (Leviticus 19:9-10). Ruth is both.
  While giving her permission, Naomi also calls Ruth, my daughter (v2). That seems appropriate.
  When Ruth comes to the part of the field belonging to Boaz (v3), she asks permission to glean there, working from early morning (v7) to evening (v17) with just two breaks—a short rest (v7) and a meal (v14). After Boaz approaches and speaks to her, she prostrates herself before him and asks why he even noticed her (v10), then acknowledges his favor, comfort, and kindness (v13).
  Her work, including beating out what she gleaned, nets about one ephah of barley (per Wikipedia, about 35-39 pounds of grain!). She took it to Naomi, along with leftovers from her meal (vv17-18).
  Ruth continued to glean in Boaz’s field through the barley and wheat harvests (v23).

WHERE (LOCATIONS)

• The main location for this chapter was the field outside Bethlehem where Ruth went to glean, specifically the portion of it owned by Boaz.
• The supervisor mentioned Ruth’s homeland (Moab) by name (v6), which Boaz calls your native land (v11). I’m aware of some animosity between Israel and Moab, though not sure this is the right timeframe for that.
• Boaz invited Ruth to sit with them at mealtime. I wonder if that was another instance of special treatment: would women eat with men? Would gleaners be fed at all?

WHEN (TIMEFRAMES)
All the timeframes I noticed seemed to point to what a diligent worker Ruth was:

• She worked from early morning (v7) till evening (v17). An ephah seems like a lot of grain: it feels like she had to have worked hard to gather that much even with the help of the reapers.
• At mealtime (v14). This was one of only two breaks Ruth took that day. Pretty amazing!

Dig-In Challenges

I hope you’ve also discovered some interesting facts from the setting of Ruth 2, and it spurs you to work through more of this process. Here’s what I’ll be doing this week:

1. PRAY each time I start to study using my prayer from last week.
2. MINE: Look for repeated concepts in this passage and, if I find any, consider their relevance to how Boaz treated Ruth.
3. MINE: Locate any special statements (blessings, commands, curses, prayers, promises, requests, and/or warnings) connected to his treatment of her.
4. MINE: See if I can find any lists (3 or more similar items mentioned in the text) that are related to how Boaz treated Ruth.

See you next week!

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