CHAPTER 2

(1312 B.C.)

THE FIELD OF BOAZ

¹And Naomi had a kinsman of her husbands, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. (In a sense, Boaz is a Type of Christ; Ruth, a Gentile, is a Type of the Church. The terrible losses in the land of Moab portray the dispersion and, thereby, judgment of Israel.

Boaz will prove to be the kinsman redeemer of Ruth. There is one Hebrew word for kinsman and redeemer, for he only had the right to redeem who was a kinsman. Hence, it was necessary that the Lord Jesus Christ should become Man in order to redeem man. Ruths marriage, and the wealthy home into which she was brought, picture the satisfying joy and fullness of blessing which union with Christ secures for the heart that trusts Him Williams.)

²And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn (grain) after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. (This portrays the fact that Naomi was poverty stricken. The welfare system of Israel in that day, which was given by God in the Law of Moses, stated that the poor, during the harvest, could go into the fields and glean the leavings. In this Law, the reapers were instructed to not glean the corners of the fields, and to leave a little something along the way.)

³And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers (we find that Ruth, although a beautiful young lady, was not adverse to hard work; those who are, are seldom, if ever, used by the Lord): and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. (Of course, the Holy Spirit was guiding her all the way. She did not know Boaz, but the Lord did. When the Lord plans for us, beautiful things result; when we plan for ourselves, there are no positive results!)

FAVOR

⁴And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless you. (Boaz was extremely wealthy. He was of the Tribe of Judah, and in the direct line of the Messiah.)

⁵Then said Boaz unto his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? (This question, even though asked casually by Boaz, would be answered by the Holy Spirit. Ruth would be the great-grandmother of David, and, thereby, of the Son of David.)

⁶And the servant who was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab (to those around her, Ruth was reduced to the level of gleaning, as she was poverty stricken; also, she was a Moabitess, with all its resultant connotations; however, Heaven would answer the question in a much different way):

⁷And she (Ruth) said, I pray you (speaking to the servant), let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house (she has reaped constantly, only resting a short time in the house).

⁸Then 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 (Boaz, after being made aware of Ruth, and being introduced to her, now shows her favor):

⁹Let your eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them (after the maidens): have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch you? and when you are athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

¹⁰Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in your eyes, that you should take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? (A Gentile! Boaz had done far more than merely take notice of her. Her action toward him denotes humility, a trait, incidentally, enjoyed by precious few.)

¹¹And Boaz answered and said unto her, It has fully been showed me, all that you have done unto 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 nativity, and are come unto a people which you knew not heretofore. (Boaz makes it clear that he had already been informed of her consecration as a proselyte to the Hebrew faith, and of her decision to leave her own people, her native land, and its gods, to live with a people who were strangers to her. He then pronounced a blessing from the God of Israel upon her. The Hebrew Targum adds to this answer of Boaz: It has been certainly told me by the word of the wise, that what the Lord has decreed [Deut. 23:3]. And it has surely said to me by prophecy, that kings and prophets shall proceed from you because of the good which you have done)

¹²The LORD recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of the LORD God of Israel, under Whose wings you are come to trust (in his own way, Boaz welcomes Ruth into the Family of God).

¹³Then she said, Let me find favour in your sight, my Lord; for that you have comforted me, and for that you have spoken friendly unto your handmaid, though I be not like unto one of your handmaidens (she places herself socially beneath the other Jewish girls who were gleaning, with the idea in mind that she is a Gentile).

¹⁴And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn (grain), and she did eat and was sufficed, and left (still, Ruth doesnt actually know who Boaz really is).

¹⁵And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

¹⁶And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. (Boaz, in his instructions to the reapers, directed them to give Ruth greater liberty than that commanded by the Law. The handfuls of purpose, in effect, state that handfuls of grain were to be dropped just for her. As stated, she was truly favored.)

¹⁷So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley (about a bushel).

¹⁸And 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 (she had gleaned far more than Naomi had thought she would be able to do).

NAOMIS ADVICE

¹⁹And her mother in law said unto her, Where have you gleaned today? and where have you worked? blessed be he who did take knowledge of you. And she showed her mother in law with whom she had wrought (worked), and said, The mans name with whom I wrought (worked) today is Boaz. (The way that Ruth answered proclaims more than a mere identification. She sensed something more, but Naomi would have to fill in the blanks, which she instantly did.)

²⁰And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, Who has not left off His Kindness to the living and to the dead (her husband and her two sons). And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. (Naomi was speaking of the Law of the kinsman redeemer. It referred to buying back a relatives property and to marrying his widow. When a Hebrew was forced to sell his inheritance because of poverty, the nearest relative was to redeem it for him [Lev. 25:25]. If one acted as a kinsman redeemer for one who had died without a son, he was obliged to marry the widow. Should he refuse to take possession of the property, he was not under obligation to marry the widow. Boaz had no right to redeem the property until the nearest kinsman refused, which he did.)

²¹And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, You shall keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest (in other words, Boaz told Ruth to not go glean in any other field except his).

²²And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, that they meet you not in any other field (the implication is, Boaz wanted to see more of Ruth).

²³So 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. (During the time of barley harvest, which was in April, three Feasts were to be kept: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. During the time of the wheat harvest, which came in the latter part of May or early June, was to be the Feast of Pentecost. It was fifty days after Passover.)