Field of Dreams

Ruth 2:1–23 NASB95

Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 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.” 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. 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.” Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. “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.” 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. “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.” 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?” 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. “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.” 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.” 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. When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. “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.” So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 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. 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.” 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.” Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 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.” 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.

Intro: The sermon this morning is titled, “Field of Dreams.” But before we get into it, I’d like to point out something that might be obvious: I am not Kevin Costner nor am I preaching about baseball.

Context- We must enter into our text today with Chapter 1 in our mind. Naomi and Ruth have traveled to Bethlehem following the deaths of all the men in the family (Naomi returning to her hometown, Ruth leaving everything and going to a foreign land). Neither have any possessions. They are poor widows who have little, if any hope.

The Set-up ()

The Set-up: (1-2)

The first two verses truly set us up. It’s like a Hallmark Movie- we are introduced to the other key character, Boaz.

Here, we are introduced to the other key character, Boaz.

Boaz, as we see here is a man of great wealth and who is related to Elimelich, Naomi’s deceased husband. We don’t know the exact relationship and, as far as we can tell, this man is introduced only to us as readers at this point.

This bit of info along with Ruth’s plan to go and glean is intended to spark some hope for us- especially in light of the hopelessness and despair that the last chapter left us with.

The first two verses truly set us up. It’s like a Hallmark Movie- Can you picture it? A poor girl, who has experienced immense grief, in a new place with no connections but is determined to move forward. And the wealthy, eligible Boaz introduced without any interaction… Yeah, this could totally be an opening scene in a Hallmark Christmas movie!

At any rate, Ruth is seeking to meet the current needs for her and her mother-in-law. She is simply seeking food so they do not starve, and she intends to work for it.

Note: Now, I think it is important that we understand what it means that she is going to glean. To glean means to pick up or gather. You see, it was instructed in the Law of Moses that, after a field was harvested, the poor, the widows, or the alien could go through the field and gather grains/ produce that was left behind. This was often hard work with little gain, but usually the gleaner could collect enough to curb their hunger for the day.

God’s Providence ()

The author wasted no time sharing that Ruth “happened” upon Boaz’ field in order to glean (3).

I don’t think Ruth knew whose field she was in

I don’t think Ruth, at this time, even knew of Boaz.

She was simply hoping to find favor so that she could gather some food.

But, she didn’t just end up anywhere. I believe that it was God’s hand guiding her very footsteps to this field. Furthermore, I believe it was God’s providence that led Boaz to come out to his field at this day. I believe it was God’s providence that made Boaz notice Ruth. You see, it would have been normal for a poor person to be in the field gleaning. Why should Boaz take notice?

God orchestrated this. God had this plan from the beginning- He was using these people and this event to bring about His ultimate plan of redemption!

Friends, I want us to take a moment here and acknowledge something. There are events and circumstances in our lives that being directed by our sovereign Lord to bring about redemption. God may have placed you in a job, school or in a neighborhood, so that you would an instrument of redemption in someone else’s life. I wonder if our faithfulness and trust in God reflects what we know to be true about His power, authority and goodness.

At this point in the story, things are still not noticeable better- Ruth does not have it easy, yet already God is working out His great plan to meet her needs, reward her faithfulness, and use her for the good of His kingdom. Indeed, this is God’s providence in action. And of course, in His providence, He also makes provision.

God’s Provision ()

We expected that Ruth would not starve to death. Here, in Boaz’ field she would find enough to be able to eat that evening. But, here God provides for her in some unexpected ways, for God used Boaz to meet Ruth’s immediate needs.

God provided protection through Boaz (8-9a)

Boaz instructed Ruth to stay in his fields alone- he did not want her to face harassment or abuse from others.

He instructed his servants to allow Ruth to glean alongside the female workers

He instructed his servants not to touch Ruth

God provided nourishment and refreshment through Boaz (9b, 14)

He allowed her to drink from the water supply for his servants

He fed her a meal (and gave her extra!)

God provided abundant food through Boaz (15-17)

Boaz instructed his servants to purposely leave some sheaves for Ruth to collect

She left that day with nearly 30 pounds of grain!

Without a doubt, we can see that Boaz has indeed shown favor and compassion to Ruth- more so than she had hoped or expected!

I believe that this demonstrates a principle for us:

God uses His people to provide for and bless others.

We think about this when we talk mission trips, etc. What about everyday activity?

He desires us to be generous with the blessings that He has given. Remember- God brought the famine to an end- Boaz recognized God’s goodness and extended it to Ruth. He wasn’t stingy or rude, but cheerful! “God loves a cheerful giver!”

As we trust God, He will meet our needs according to His goodness

This does not mean that it will be easy- Ruth worked hard in the heat for what she got. But, God blessed her and met her needs abundantly.

God rewards our faithfulness

Ruth trusted God enough to leave Moab, and her trust continued here.

BTW- Ruth didn’t know how much she would have until the end of the day when she beat out what she had gleaned (v.17)

God’s Blessing of Hope (Ruth 2:18-23)

If you remember last week, the story went from bad to worse to worser. Today, it seems to have reversed its path- things still are not ideal, but there is hope.

When Ruth returned to Naomi, Naomi was ever-joyed with how successful Ruth had been in her gleaning. 30 pounds of barley would provide food for the two widows for at least a couple weeks. Beyond that, Ruth gave her the leftovers from lunch! This was unthinkable!

This excitement led to the question- How? Where did you go? Whose field did you glean in?

To which, Ruth responds- The man’s name was Boaz and he told me I could come every day through entire harvest. This is good stuff- but there’s something pretty amazing in the midst of this conversation:

I want you to listen to Naomi’s response (Read )

Ruth 2:20 NASB95

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.”

Two things:

Now,

Naomi professes that, unlike her declaration of despair in chapter 1, God has not withdrawn His kindness!!

She sees that God is meeting their current needs.

But not just is God meeting their current needs, there is hope because Boaz is a close relative

This is the cliff-hanger. Naomi does not tell Ruth about the whole ‘redeemer’ concept. She does not press Ruth in any way. But there is hope- maybe things aren’t all bad.

You see, this is the status of the two women for the remainder of the Barley Harvest and Wheat harvest- approximately 2 months where Ruth would go and glean. No more conversations between her and Boaz are recorded, no more is said for 2 months.

So, what can we walk out of here today with?

God guides our steps.

God provides for our needs

God gives us hope

Does your life reflect that?

Do you treat your situation and circumstance as though God put you there for a reason?

Do you trust God?