The Book of Ruth
Chapter Two
Today we will be studying Chapter 2 of the Book of Ruth.
Boaz : A friend in Need!
Memory Verse : "And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not." Ruth 2 :16
1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.
5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:
16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz
The kinsman is now mentioned in this passage. Boaz was a kinsman of Naomi. Ruth "happens" to come accross a field belonging to Boaz a kinsman of Elimelech. Events will show that this happening was divinely ordained and a providence of God.
1. Ruth goes to glean in the fields of Boaz.
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
While excersing the right reserved to the poor and needy to pick up the grain which fell to the ground during the barley harvest Ruth meets Boaz, who is the relative of her late father in law.
2. She asks the servant that was over the reapers to let her glean after them. When questioned, this is what he tells Boaz.
And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Something that came to my mind when reading this part of the chapter was that she asked to glean in the fields. Just like when we ask Christ to help us and let us glean in his fields. We are repenting and wanting to trust him as our Saviour! She was trusting those reapers to provide food for her and Naomi.
3. Boaz tells Ruth not to go anywhere else but to glean in his fields and to stay close to his maidens. Boaz shows Ruth grace.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
He tells her she can drink from his vessels, she can eat from his table, and he commanded the young men not to touch her. This is a example of the grace of God. God calls us to come and dine....he tells us we can partake of that which he has left for us. We have found grace in the eyes of the Lord. As sinners, he showed us grace. Boaz is protecting Ruth, just as the Lord protects us from things that can happen to us before he redeems us so that we might have another chance to get saved!
4. It is Ruth's faithfulness in working at the task of gleaning in order to keep Naomi and herself from starving which brings her to the attention of Boaz. She was sacrificing her time to do this for Naomi and herself, just as we sacrifice the worldly things to follow Christ.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23
5. Boaz tells her at meal time to eat and she did and was sufficed.
And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
Now this reminds me of a passage in Matthew that talks about a king that was holding a marriage supper for his son. This verse is an example of the marraige supper of the Lamb and that the Father is bidding all the lost to come and dine with them at this marriage supper. To partake of the good things that HE has prepared...some will not come...here is the verse that sticks out in my mind:
"Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage." Matthew 22:9
Boaz is bidding Ruth to come and dine with him and to partake of the things that he has prepared...Just as God the Father is bidding all lost to come and dine and partake of all the things HE has prepared! When we do he fills us up to overflowing! Praise the Lord!
6. Handfulls On Purpose!
And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
Oh boy....If we trust in the Lord and stay close to Him he will give us handfuls on purpose. Handfulls of what?
A. Handsfull of GRACE: Ruth found grace in the eyes of Boaz. He gave her handsfull of grace when he told the reapers to let extra fall to the ground. Extra grace for the need! The Lord gives us grace for every need!
"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
B. Handsfull of BLESSINGS: The extra barley that was left by the reapers was no doubt a blessing to Ruth. Because she OBEYED Boaz he gave her extra blessings by providing barley for her and Naomi to eat! God gives us extra blessings when we obey him.
"Trust and obey for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."
" Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
We need to trust him and then obey HIM. This means obeying what he has given us to obey and that is His commandments given through his Holy Word!
Boaz came to love Ruth more and more. God loved us even when we were sinners, lost without hope. Ruth found grace in the eyes of Boaz just as we as Christians have found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Her loyalty and faithfulness to Naomi was one things that struck Boaz. She trusted the God of Israel instead of the gods of her homeland. Boaz knew that and therefore gave her grace, (and handfulls of it!) Just as the Lord gives us these handfulls of grace and blessings because he loved us!
7. Naomi is excited! She gets excited when she realizes that Ruth has found her kinsman.
And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
Ruth has gathered up quite a bit of barley and Naomi asks where she gleaned. Ruth tells her and she excitedly tells Ruth that this is her kinsman. Jsut as we would be excited that a sinner had turned to God for grace. She tells Ruth that it is good for her to be out in His field and to continue there.
8. She dwelt fast in the field of Boaz.
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law
An application that I have applied to this passage is that when we find grace in God's sight then we are told to stay close to him. That we will possible miss out on a blessing if we do not. Just like Ruth we as Christians should continue to glean in the fields of the Lord bringing in the sheeves until the harvest is over and the Lord comes back. During that time of harvest...the Lord will pour out his handsfull on purpose if we jsut stay close to Him. Boaz showed Ruth grace in her time of need. God showed us grace in our time of need, when we were lost without hope in this dying world. We turned to God and he shown us grace and saved us from everlasting condemnation or starvation! Praise the Lord!
Study Questions for Ruth Chapter 2
1.Whose field did Ruth “happen” to glean upon?
2.Was this just coincidence?
3.Why did Ruth glean in the fields?
4.What did Boaz do when he saw her gleaning in his fields?
5.What does he tell Ruth? How does he react?
6.How can we apply Boaz’s response to our own lives?
7.What brought Ruth to the attention of Boaz?
8.Boaz told Ruth to eat with them….how can we apply this to our own life?
9.What are two things that God gives us handfuls of?
10.What must we do to receive these handfuls?
11.What is Naomi’s reaction when she finds out that she gleaned in Boaz’s field?
12.What was the last thing that the bible says that Ruth did?
13.Repeat the memory verse.
14.Discuss your thoughts!
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