Ruth (3) Ch 2

God changes our hearts before HE changes our circumstances- keeps us God centered, not self centered

Ruth’s character- she is committed, devoted, diligent, dependent, surrendered, and humble to/in the LORD

what she is not- boastful, prideful, greedy......... she is meek, but not weak

Ruth 2:1–16

1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Boaz- kinsman, relative, great wealth- God was with Boaz through the famine, sustained him, provided...

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

Leviticus 19:9-10 “9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.”

James 2:20 “20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.”

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

6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

7 “And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

She was noticed and being watched, she caught the eye of BOAZ

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. 9 “Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.”

funny pick up line?

10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

WHY----- Moabite history lesson..... she was the least and last expected/qualified

Basically, the Moabites were begun when Lot had an incestual relationship with his daughter,

not a very proud past. And then, there was a point in the Old Testament where the Moabites

had actually countered the Israelites, and then another point where Moabite women, in

particular, Moabite women had seduced Israelite men into sexual immorality and idolatry,

brought the judgment of God upon the people of Israel. 24,000 people were killed as a result of

what Moabite women had done in seducing Israelite men. And so, needless to say, the

relationships between Israelites and Moabites were not too positive. Certainly, a shameful

storied past, when you think about Moab from the standpoint of Israel.

And so we got this picture of Elimelech leading his family, of all places, to Moab. Now when

they get there, unexpectedly, all of a sudden, Elimelech dies and so Naomi is left with her two

sons who end up marrying two Moabite daughters-in-law. This is not working out the way

Naomi had planned her life, as now, she find herself in a foreign land with two daughters-in-law

who are of all people, they’re Moabites, Orpah and Ruth. And then after around 10 childless

years where neither of her sons and their wives have children, her sons unexpectedly die and

she is now left alone, a widow, childless with two Moabite daughters-in-law, who are also now

widows, childless.

No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation,

none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, because they did not meet you with

bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against

you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. But the LORD your God

would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you,

because the LORD your God loved you. You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your

days forever. (Deuteronomy 23:3–6)

James 1:27 “27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

God is providing so much more then some sheaves/food-

community, safety, purpose, consistency, belonging

Deuteronomy 10:18 “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.”

11 Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”

Boaz’s reply- lifting his voice! loud enough for other’s to hear the testimony of Ruth

Ruth was reaping what she sowed in the life of Naomi!

13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

Humility- grateful heart and attitude

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.

15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16 “Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

Boaz is gracious and gives more then she deserves..... God is gracious and gives us more then we deserve, in fact, if we got what we deserved, we get death, separation from God,

Hebrews 12:2 “2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”