Hope on the Horizon

typically in these escape rooms there is someone watching you through a video feed. They are allowed to provide a couple of hints along the way, but generally remain silent, unless you are severely stuck or somehow in danger.

There are times when the challenges in our lives can feel that way. The mounting bills make you feel like you are moving backwards, each day becomes a drudgery, life feels a bit hopeless.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been considering the book of Ruth and the story of Naomi. We began by seeing how Naomi and her family moved from Israel to Moab because there was a famine in their homeland. They were “Running on Empty”. While in Moab, “tragedy and death” visited the family leaving Naomi destitute and alone, except for the companionship of her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth. So they decided to “Go where God is working” and return to the land of Israel - because they heard in the fields of Moab that God had visited the land and had provided food. Upon returning to Israel in hopes of finding food, Naomi recounts her bitter story - blaming God for her circumstance and yet at the same time turning to God. She helped us to see how the story of our lives works within the story that God is telling.

I imagine Naomi may have felt a bit trapped. The clues needed to escape her circumstances are not making sense - at least not yet.

So as we look at the next part of Naomi and Ruth’s story, let’s begin with…

The setting and a secret (1:22-2:1)

Look in your bibles at the end of chapter 1. This will help us to provide some context. Here we also see that the author or narrator foreshadows something for us as readers that Naomi and Ruth don’t see.

Ruth 1:22–2:1 ESV

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Remember, this was happening about this time of year - it was the end of our month of April. The harvest was just beginning. It was also Passover season - so there would have been big celebrations as well. This was a good time for the women to return to Israel.

The narrator clues us into a little secret by telling us of a relative. This is a bit like the escape room clue that you get from the person who is monitoring your progress from the video camera. Except, we, the readers are the ones who get the clue - not Naomi. So there is this relative. Not just any relative - a good relative. This man was a “worthy” man. Some translations note that he was a “prominent man of noble character.” (CSB) It wasn’t just about means or about personality, it was about both. As we will see in a few verses, he was also a godly man.

So with the setting of this scene delineated and the secret insight revealed to us, next we get to see…

Ruth’s plan and God’s provision (2:2-7)

So, now that the women are back in Israel, it seems that Ruth can see that the harvest is happening. John Reed notes in his commentary (BKC) on this book that Ruth likely understood the rights of the poor in Israel. Landowners and harvesters were to leave some extra for people who were poor or traveling. Ruth and Naomi fit into both of those categories and so she asks for Naomi’s blessing to glean in hopes of finding someone who will show her favor.

Ruth 2:2–3 ESV

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech.

Notice, the narrator reminds us again that Ruth was a Moabite. We don’t necessarily need to be reminded, but it seems like he is bringing this to our attention. She is a foreigner. She only has rights as a foreigner. It’s as though the narrator is trying to tell us that she should not be treated well. And yet she goes in hopes of finding favor with someone.

One of the things that is also helpful for us to consider in this in the implicit danger that Ruth faced. A bit later on Boaz, the noble man of character, tells his workers not to torment or harass Ruth. After this first day, Naomi even tells Ruth to remain in the field of Boaz for safety. While OT laws talked about how women were to be treated, this was the time of the judges where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” It seems that this was a dangerous time for women in general - especially foreign women. Boaz and Naomi were concerned for Ruth’s safety. God seemed to be looking out for her safety as well through them.

Ladies, I can only imagine the danger that you might feel. I know that abuse is far more common than anyone would hope. I hope too, that your brothers in Christ will look out for you, to protect and care for you the way that Boaz looked out for Ruth.

It is interesting too that she “happened” to come to part of the field that Boaz owned. The writer even uses language that implies this was a chance act literally reading “as chance chanced.” (Duguid) In reality, as we will see, this was what Iain Duguid called a “Divine Coincidence.” God was orchestrating all of this.

So Ruth set out to glean or get the leftovers, which was part of God’s ordinary provision for the poor. This ordinary provision begins to involve more than just a little grain.

It is interesting that this gleaning principle or law was a national policy but a personal application. There were not storehouses for the poor or national food banks. It was the personal responsibility of each citizen to care for the poor and the sojourner by leaving some extra. It was also the responsibility of the poor and the sojourner to work for what they would get.

I realize that our nation is not Israel and our national policies are not informed by scripture, but we are Gods people. So, as it pertains to us individually, how should we apply this principle?

Leaving extra in our budget for those in need.

Maybe willingly hiring someone in need for a temporary job in order to help them.

In talking through this I think it’s a point of prayerful consideration - for our families -

How can we make space to provide for the poor the way that God would?

How are we treating foreigners or sojourners? Are we welcoming and hospitable or are we treating them with contempt?

How can we make room for the sojourner in order to help them meet their needs?

It’s also a place of prayerful consideration in our benevolence ministry.

How can and should we share those abundant resources?

Notice though that Naomi did not work. Maybe she couldn’t or maybe she was occupied in other ways. Should we add an element of work for those who can?

Speaking of the benevolence ministry, I do want to thank you for your generosity in that. Each first sunday of the month we have an extra plate out at the back of the sanctuary intended to be used to support the benevolence fund. As I mentioned last month, because of God’s provision through your generosity, we were about to give over $1500 in grocery cards to families in need in the run up to Easter. In addition to that we, regularly assist with individual gas and grocery cards, mortgage payments, utility payments and more. Thank you for your generosity.

Getting back to Ruth, in the next couple of verses we get to meet Boaz personally.

Ruth 2:4–7 ESV

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”

We begin to see a little bit of Boaz’s worthy character. Not only does he own the land and lead these workers, but it seems he was a man of genuine faith - greeting his men with the blessing “Yahweh be with you.” They replied with a similar response - “Yahweh bless you” - a derivative of the Aaronic blessing - (Numbers 6:24–26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”) There are some cultures where a religiously minded greeting is common. Among many devout Muslims it’s common to hear the statement “A-Salaam-alaikum” or “peace be unto you.” Among Christians in northern India, I was often greeted with “Jai ma si” which means “praise the Lord” rather than the Hindu greeting of “namaste” which means “bowing unto you.”

It may be that Boaz was just being polite, but there are other things that happen that give us insight into the fact that he was a devout man of faith. David Atkinson notes that this seems to be the only place in Scripture where we find this kind of greeting.

He also seems to take care of those under his watch and notices among all of the people working for him that someone looked a little different. He inquired about to whom she belonged. To our ears this sounds a bit offensive. A woman is not property. Each woman, just like each man, is made in God’s image. But in that culture, a woman would have been the responsibility of either her father or her husband. So Boaz’s question is perfectly fitted to this situation.

So Ruth made a plan to get some food for Naomi and herself. God provided for her - by allowing the favor of the workers, but also by leading her to the relative.

In the next several verses, we get to see...

Ruth’s reputation and God’s refuge (2:8-19)

After greeting his workers and learning about Ruth, Boaz and Ruth finally get to meet in person.

Ruth 2:8–9 ESV

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”

I would guess that allowing strangers to glean in your field could be a bit of a burden for the landowners. That was profit that was being taken - even though it was fulfilling the principle of leaving room that God had put forth in the law. And yet Boaz welcomes her and even goes the extra mile - providing protection and refreshment.

Ruth 2:10 ESV

Then she fell on her face, bowing 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?”

She knows that she has no rights to expect anything, so Boaz’s kindness is radical to her.

In many ways, he is simply responding to her the way the she responded to Naomi.

Ruth 2:11–12 ESV

But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”

Her reputation truly preceded her. All that she did had been told to him. She left so many things and now turned up in a foreign land.

What do our reputations (individually and collectively) say about us?

It is interesting that while Boaz responded to Ruth’s reputation, he did so recognizing that it is ultimately God who is providing refuge for her. He is simply God’s instrument in her protection.

When God calls us to minister in the lives of others, when opportunities to be a blessing come on us, do we take the credit for it, or do we give that glory to God?

God was the one who set up the principle - allowing for the gleaning. God was the one who had blessed Boaz with an abundant crop. God was the one who had revisited the land and stopped the famine. In spite of the hardships that Ruth and Naomi had faced, God had not forgotten them.

In addition to providing protection for her and extra hospitality, at one of the meals, Boaz went so far as to invite her to join them for a meal. Welton Bonner, in his sermon on this chapter, noted that Ruth even had a “to-go box.” She had some to take to Naomi.

Ruth 2:14 ESV

And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.

There is something special that happens at meals. When we get an opportunity to sit down with each other, we are challenged to lay aside agendas and tasks and simply get curious. This is certainly an area that I need to work on. Not necessarily eating more, but eating with others more - you, neighbors, pastors here in town.

So they get refreshed from the meal and return to the field. Boaz even told his workers to intentionally drop extra bundles.

So Ruth ends up working a long, hard day. At the end of her gleaning, she beats out the grain from the sheaves and collects the barley grains. It turned out that she had an ephah of barley - which is the equivalent of about 22 liters - or more about 94 cups. That is a lot of barley. I looked up a recipe for making simple barley this week and found that one cup would have been enough to feed four people at one meal. They had more than enough to meet their needs for a long time - 4 months if all they ate was barley. What would they have done with that?

Save some for the non-harvest season.

Sell some - to buy other food and even provide for their living.

Share some - with others. Hospitality is a great honor in middle eastern cultures. Keeping extras on hand to share with a visiting neighbor or friend or even another foreigner would have been a high priority for them.

And yet as we’ll see in the next few verses, Ruth continued to go back to Boaz’s field for the next couple of months. The harvest is not finished, neither is her work.

At the beginning of this chapter, we were let in on a little secret - that Boaz was a relative and a worthy man. In these final verses, the secret is fully revealed - as we learn that not only is Boaz a relative, but he is a redeemer as well.

A relative and redeemer (2:20-23)

Let’s start back in verse 19

Ruth 2:19–22 ESV

And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man 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.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”

Atkinson notes that Naomi, who had blamed God for her bitter situation, begins to see the better life that God has in store for them. This better life is experienced through the faithful generosity and kindness of a man of God.

She also acknowledges God’s kindness in this. The word that is translated “kindness” in verse 20 is the Hebrew word hesed or covenantal love. She sees that God has not “forsaken” her or her deceased family members.

More than simply being a kind and generous man, she remembers that Boaz is a redeemer, someone who can utterly fix the destitute situation in which they find themselves.

We talked about this briefly a couple of weeks ago, but the OT laws provided for widows through family. If someone died without descendants, then the brother of the deceased was to provide a child for the woman in the name of the deceased. This was the means by which that provision and protection happened for them. They called that “redemption.” Boaz is called a redeemer because he is in the line of the family who can fulfill the obligations. We won’t get into the details of that until we get to the next chapter, but in the very least, Naomi begins to see hope on the horizon. She sees the light at the end of the tunnel. She can glimpse a way to escape the puzzles of this room of destitution.

But let’s think about this on a personal level. We may tend to look to religious activity, good deeds, etc. as a means of fulfilling some element of what Maslow called “self-actualization.” Ruth was able to supply some of their needs through the physical act of gleaning, but ultimately she needed more. Ruth’s gleaning was only going to get them so far. They ultimately needed someone who could pull them up from out of their destitution. They needed someone who could purchase their heavy debt and bring them into a new life.

We need the same.

We will see in a few weeks that not only is Boaz a redeeming option for them, he is the best option for them. Jesus Christ is our best and perfect and truly only option for redemption for a new life. We may try to live a good life, but keep getting mired by our sin. Jesus Christ stepped in and purchased our sin debt with his life. He essentially wiped our slate clean and brought us into a new beginning. If you are a follower of Christ, rejoice in that new life. Continue to “work out your salvation” but know that you are his eternally. If you’ve not yet responded to God’s love for you through Jesus’ substitutionary life, death, and resurrection - then come to him today. Let him be your redeemer.

Closing thoughts

Ruth set out with a plan to get some food and hopefully find favor. She found that God had provided for her beyond her wildest expectations.

She acted in faithfulness toward her mother-in-law, and God rewarded her with refuge - protection in the field and provision. God showed her hesed or kindness through Boaz.

may we receive God’s loving-kindness through Jesus and extend his loving kindness in how we treat and care for others.

In all of this, Naomi begins to see hope on the horizon as the provision that came to them was from a relative who may be able to redeem them.

Let’s pray

Benediction

Proverbs 21:21 ESV

Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.

Questions of for reflection and discussion.

Read: Ruth 2.

What stood out to you in this chapter or in our time of worship on Sunday?

How did God provide for those who were in need in the OT law? How can we apply that personally or as a church community today?

What was Ruth’s reputation? How did that affect how others viewed/treated her?

How did Boaz go beyond what was expected? Where are there places in our lives when we should go beyond what is expected as well?

Where did Naomi see hope?

Have you responded to the hope that Jesus provides?

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