Sermon Tone Analysis

Background:

As we said last week in Ruth clung to mother-in-law Naomi when her sister-in-law Orpa went back to her own family and stayed in Moab.

The last verse in chapter 1 tells us that they returned to Bethlehem during the Barley harvest

This is thought by most comentators to be during the month of April

The Barley would come into harvest and then the month after that the Wheat would start to produce, while the Wheat was more desriable the Barley harvest would often be an indicartor as to the production of that years crops.

The Barley would also be used as the offering of the first fruits to the Lord.

Harvesting the grains was hard back-breaking work they would use sickles that often were made out of flint and would either cut the grain at ground level or pull it out by the root.

Often most people inside the city walls for safety and protection and the fields they owned or worked would be outside of the city walls.

Often these fields would be marked by stones on the corners or a small wall would mark who owned each field.

The Proposal for the reaping: v1-2

Since it was Harvest season Ruth and Naomi could obtain food by gleaning in the fields.

Gleaning basically ment to go behind the reapers that were out harvesting the grains and gather what they had left behind.

There are 9 things that we see about Ruth’s charicter in this text that are worth looking at

Her Willingness

If you look at this text Ruth is the one that brought up this proposal.

Ruth saw the need and acted.

Her Respectfulness

Ruth requested permission from her mother-in-law

Ruth would not act independently of Naomi but showed due respect to her in all that she did.

Her Quickness

She had to act quickly because the harvest time would be over soon.

Also as the reapers harvested the field the birds and other small animals would come in and find the left over gain and eat it.

Her Industriousness

This was not easy work this is the stuff that fell off the bails and the stuff that was left it was by no means the best of the crop.

Her Humbleness

This was also very humbling work

it said that you were poor and in need

Her Lawfulness

The law of Moses made a provision for people to glean in the fields of others.

Ruth meet three of these qualifications

Poor

Sojourner

Widow

Her Graciousness

Even though she had a legal right to glean in this field she still asked permission to do it.

Her Steadfastness

This was another example of Ruths willingness to stay with her mother-in-law no matter what happened.

Ruth did not run back to Moab but stayed no matter how hard it got.

Her Acceptableness

Ruth was willing to accept the things that people who gleaned the fields were seen was.

No matter what it took Ruth was going to complete her promise.

The Place of the Reaping v3

On the day that Ruth went out to glean in the fields she did not know where she was going to glean she was just going to ask for permission and see where it went.

The Pursuing of a Place

The Striving in her Pursuit

Ruth had to actively hunt for a place to glean, no one was going to come to her door and tell her where to go and glean.

often times the poor had to search hard for a place to glean because even though the law allowed them too often times the owners of the field would say no and it was even harder for Ruth because she was a foreigner in the land.

The Wisdom of her Pursuit

Ruth went where the grain was

We must go where the gain is.

If we want to grow in Christ we must read the Bible, Pray, and tell others about His love.

The Success of her Pursuit

She had to put forth the effort to do the work.

often times we don’t want to put in the work but we want to have the results

The Providence in the Place

If you look in verse 3 it says that Ruth “happened” upon the field of Boaz.

The word in the greek does not mean that she came upon this field by accident, it was God that lead her to this field.

The Particulars of the Providence

She did not know the field belonged to Boaz

She did not know who Boaz was or that with His wealth and standing in the family of Elimelech could provide her with a marriage that would give both security and history to both women.

The Prerequisite for the Providence

Not everyone can experience Divine providence

Obedience

Faith

Willing

Fearless

The Provider In the Reaping v4-7

The Introduction of the Provider

The Inspecting by the Provider

The Interacting of the Provider

The Inquiring by the Provider