1Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. 2Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.”
She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3She went, and came 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.
4Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May Yahweh be with you.”
They answered him, “May Yahweh bless you.”
5Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, “Whose young lady is this?”
6The servant who was set over the reapers answered, “It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab. 7She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house.”
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens. 9Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”
10Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”
11Boaz answered her, “I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father, your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know before. 12May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
13Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.”
14At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.”
She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain. She ate, was satisfied, and left some of it. 15When she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don’t reproach her. 16Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it. Let her glean, and don’t rebuke her.”
17So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.
19Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you.”
She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
21Ruth the Moabitess said, “Yes, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”
22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.” 23So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
In V1 a new person enters the story, Boaz (his name means strength). The is a RAY OF HOPE here. Boaz is a relative of Elimelek. Boaz was wealthy and very influential in Bethlehem. He was a good boss and, in an age when everyone did what was right in their own eyes, he stood out (V4).
Ruth, the younger of the two widows offered to go to the barley fields to gather grain. Remember, she is an immigrant and not used to Jewish customs. She had no idea how dangerous gleaning was. Young widows were vulnerable. They had no status and had no one to stand up for them. They were easy prey. Naomi knew how dangerous the fields were yet she let her go. It shows how desperate their situation was.
There is RAY OF HOPE here. Boaz arrived to see how the harvest was progressing and to check up on his workers. He was there to pray over them as they worked in the heat of the day. When he finished praying he saw Ruth gleaning in the field.
There is a RAY OF HOPE here. Not only was Boaz a relative of Elimelek, not only was he rich, not only was he a man of good standing, he was one of the most eligible bachelors in town.
When he found out about Ruth’s background, he told her to stay in his field as other fields were dangerous. He fed her at lunchtime and told her to take food home for Naomi.
She worked all day and took home 50lbs of grain. Naomi was amazed. Ruth also gave her the remainder of her lunch. Hold on. There are lots of coincidences in this story. Boaz was a near relative of Elimelek. He was an eligible bachelor. He lived Godly life. He had a compassionate heart. He was concerned for the welfare of a young widow. I believe that nothing happens by accident. If I don’t believe in coincidence I must have missed something.
I went back to Chapter 1. There it was staring me in the face. I missed it the first-time round. Read V8-9. In the darkest hours of her life, when she had lost her husband, her two sons, when her heart was totally broken she reached out her hands and prayed for God to bless her daughters-in-law.
All of the coincidences in Ch 2 are a direct result of a mother’s prayers when it seemed like all was lost and there was no hope in the future. Even when she felt that God was against her, Naomi called on Him, She prayed to a God who never misses the cry of a sincere heart and never misses a prayer. He never misses one of your prayers.