Ruth's lowly service
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Life’s changes
Life’s changes
Life is not what we expect it to be. We can plan, we can hope, but God has the final word. Some of life’s changes are God’s plan being worked out!
Previously we saw in chapter one:
Our characters, Elimelech/Naomi
Their sons and wives Mahlon, Chilion, Orpah, and Ruth
We saw a journey during a famine from Bethlehem to Moab.
We can remember the death of Elimelech and his sons and the grief of Naomi, Orpah and Ruth.
We then saw Ruth’s noble choice (Ru1:16-17)
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”
The noble choice was to leave her home, her religion, her people and adopt Naomi’s home, her people, her religion.
(Transition) We were able to see great devotion that Ruth had for Naomi, by her noble choice and tonight by her lowly service. - our setting is it is the time of the barley harvest in Bethlehem of Judah.
Ruth’s lowly service passage
Ruth’s lowly service passage
1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 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.”
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.” 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.” 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?”
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.”
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.” 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.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.”
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that others do not fall upon you in another field.”
23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Anything stick out to you in this passage or maybe any words we should define?
Maybe kinsman (v.1)? a man who is one of a person's blood relations
What was Ruth’s request (v.2)?
Let me go and glean ears of grain.
What was Boaz question (v.5)?
Whose woman is this?
After learning who she was what did Boaz tell Ruth (v.8)?
Do not go glean in another field, stay here
What was Ruth’s response (v.10)?
Fell on her face, asked why had she found favor for she is a foreigner.
Boaz offers a blessing to Ruth (v.12).
Boaz instructed his servants (vv.14-15), what does he tell them to do?
Let he glean among the sheaves.
You can see from (vv.16-17) more instructions, and Ruth’s work.
Maybe another word we should define: Ephah: It is about 6.1 US gallons, and is 10 times the size of an “omer”. Ephah - Wikipedia Note that omer is a measure of mass related to the “ephah”, of about 3.5– pounds
After finding out what field Ruth gleaned (v.19) what did Naomi say (v.20)?
He is a relative, our closest relative
also note that he was a blessed of the Lord, kindness of the Lord to the living and the dead.
As you can notice (v.23) not only there for barley harvest but the wheat harvest as well.
Ruth gleans
Ruth gleans
Ruth gets permission from Naomi to go and glean, why, hoping to find favor from a landowner (vv.1-2)
Law (Lev19:9-10) forbad the reaping the corners of the fields nor gather the gleanings (what has fallen) in the harvest. It was so that portion would be provided for strangers, fatherless, and widows (Deut24:19-21)
Ruth was a stranger for sure, she was a Moabitess, it is mentioned several times in the book.
She gleans in the field of Boaz (v.3) who when he comes inquires about her (v.4) after giving a blessing to his workers he asks more about this woman.
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.”
He learns that she is a Moabite that was related to his relative Elimelech. Also about how hard a worker she was laboring in the field.
(Transition) this leads to Boaz response now
Boaz extended kindness
Boaz extended kindness
Boaz encouragement, stay here, glean here, do not go other places (vv.8-9)
His kindness bring question about his kindness by Ruth (vv.10-11)
His kindness also included prayer for her that the Lord would bless her (vv.10-11)
Ruth finds hope and comfort in His kindness (v.12)
His extended kindness is more than words it was actions (noon mealtime) (v.14) and instructions to his men, do not reproach her, but provide for her (vv.15-16).
Due to his kindness she was able to reap about ephah of barley (v.17)
This is about 30-50 lbs of wheat. That is a lot for someone who was to get the leftovers (the fallen, the corners only). God used Boaz as the provider and his workers as the instruments of the provision for her.
Ruth returns to Naomi and Naomi has great joy (vv.18-20)
Joy in the harvest
Joy in the person whom owned the field it was Boaz a close relative.
Joy had replaced her bitter feelings and desire to be called “Mara” before. (Ru1:13, 20-21)
Naomi instructs Ruth to keep going and doing, sty close to the women laborers (vv.21-22) and that is what she did until end of harvest of both barley and wheat (v.23)
Ruth’s lowly service conclusions
Ruth’s lowly service conclusions
Ruth humbled herself to go and serve in the field.
Ruth ministered in going to provide for Naomi her mother in law.
We also see a return to Naomi’s faith of the goodness of God.
We too are to be humble servants, consider (1Pt5:5-7)
5 You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Be humble
Be willing
Be serving