Meeting Boaz

[Read Ruth 2:1-17]

I still remember the feeling as I stepped out of that airport in the Dominican Republic and breathed in the hot, humid air. It felt like I was breathing in a wet towel that had been pulled out of a hot tub. I remember immediately thinking, “What in the world did we get ourselves into?” 

Part of my seminary degree included a five-week cross-cultural internship. Since Rachel and I both speak Spanish, we thought it would be fun to do the internship in a Spanish speaking context. As things worked out, we ended up landing in the Dominican Republic in early June and stayed into July.

After leaving the airport, we stopped at a small, outdoor food place to eat. After sitting there for about five minutes, I was already drenched in sweat. I looked around at my family, their faces were beat red and overwhelmed. Zoe saw a ceiling fan and stood under it with her arms open, trying to cool off as much as she could. After eating, we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on food. It was one of the most overwhelming experiences of the trip. Everything was different. Everything was in a different language. Sure we spoke Spanish, but Dominican Spanish is something completely different. One of my Mexican friends said, “Man, we can’t even understand them.” So, here we are trying to buy food. We don’t understand what things are. We try to ask for help, but no one understands what we’re saying and we don’t understand what they’re saying. We eventually get to our apartment, ready to  lay down and crash, thankful to have a fan blowing on us to cool us off a bit. Just as we lay down in bed, the power goes out. In that part of the DR, you typically only have power for a few hours a day. As the fans slowly stopped spinning, a Cock fight begins on the roof next to our apartment and continues for a good portion of the night. And I laid there in bed thinking, “What in the world did I just get my family into?” 

In the midst of this culture shock—which is definitely what we were experiencing—I noticed we were all tired all the time. We were always exhausted even though we weren’t doing much physical labor. I’m sure the heat had something to do with that—we regularly had heat indexes from 105-114 degrees. But there was much more to it. When you’re a foreigner in a foreign land, EVERYTHING takes work—even the simplest tasks. You don’t know the language. You don’t know the customs. You don’t know where anything is. And you have to WORK at everything. The most tiring day of the entire trip for me was sitting in on Cultural Diversity training for an entire day. I literally just sat in a chair all day. But as I sat in that chair, I was constantly trying to follow the conversation, trying to understand, trying to be respectful of cultural interactions, trying, trying, trying. 

I say all of this because I think Ruth had to experience some of this as well. She was not an Israelite. That’s repeated throughout this passage. In the first chapter, we’re already told that Ruth is from Moab, but right away at the beginning of this chapter she’s once again called, “Ruth the Moabite” (Ruth 2:2) and later when Boaz is asking about her, the foreman says, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.” (Ruth 2:6, ESV). He says it twice, just in case you didn’t catch it the first time. Then, later when Ruth is talking with Boaz, she calls herself “…a foreigner” (Ruth 2:10) and Boaz mentions how she left her “native land and came to a people that you did not know before.” (Ruth 2:11). All of this is there to remind us that Ruth is NOT in a familiar place. She’s a foreigner in a foreign land. And being a foreigner in a foreign land is EXHAUSTING. Everything is harder. 

Which only amplifies Ruth’s diligence and hard work. When she says, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” (Ruth 2:2, ESV) it’s a big deal. This meant that she—as a foreigner—had to go into an unfamiliar land, with unfamiliar people, and begin gleaning in a field. Because she was a foreigner, she would have stuck out in such a small community. But, because Ruth had already committed herself to Naomi—committed to providing for and caring for Naomi—she went out to find some food DESPITE all the difficulties and challenges associated. 

And once Ruth finds a place to glean, she gets right to work. Boaz’s foreman says, “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.” (Ruth 2:7, ESV). He says that Ruth came early in the morning and asked if she could glean in the field. Once she received his permission, she got to work and hadn’t really stopped—except for a short break. There’s actually even stronger language being used here to describe Ruth’s work ethic. The Hebrew is difficult to translate, but there’s a strong argument to be made that “she has continued” could almost be translated “she set up shop”—meaning, she got to work and wasn’t going anywhere until she’s done. Then the passage ends with this sentence, “So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned…” (Ruth 2:17, ESV). If this was a movie, you would have watched Ruth walking to the fields as the sun began to break the horizon, working through the heat of the day until the sun began to drop below the horizon, and as the daylight was slipping away, you would see Ruth sitting beside the road, beating out the barley she harvested. 

But Ruth isn’t the only character in this story. We’re introduced to Boaz right away. We read, “Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.” (Ruth 2:1, ESV). This brief introduction is meant to do a couple things. First, it’s there to make us wonder, “Wait, did Naomi forget about him? Why didn’t Naomi think about him when talking to her daughters-in-law?” and it’s there to create curiosity: “What role is he going to play in the story? Will he help them out?” 

We definitely begin to wonder about this when we read his description. He’s described as “a worthy man.” The word has a lot of possible meanings. It was used to describe war heroes, it was used to describe a powerful man, or a man with high standing in society—well respected. This provides some stark contrasts. First off, Boaz is a stark contrast to Ruth and Naomi. They are poor, weak, needy, and empty. Boaz is wealthy and powerful. Boaz also provides a stark contrast to Ruth’s former husband. While his name was either Weeny or Whiny, this man is Worthy. That’s quite a contrast. 

We also see that Boaz was a Godly man. The first words out of his mouth are, “The LORD be with you!” (Ruth 2:4, ESV) as he greets his workers. This wasn’t the traditional greeting. The traditional greeting was “Shalom/Peace!” This is there to draw our attention to the fact that he is a Godly man. And that’s not something to take for granted in those days. Remember, these were the days of the Judges, when Godlessness and rebellion were everywhere. But Boaz wasn’t part of that. He was a Godly man in the midst of an unGodly people. 

The primary thing we’re supposed to notice about Boaz is his generosity. He’s not some stuck up rich, tight-wad, but a caring and generous man. When he sees Ruth in the field, and finds out who she is, he calls her over and says, “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.” (Ruth 2:8–9, ESV). 

There’s a couple things we need to know in order to understand the extent of Boaz’s generosity. First we need to understand gleaning. This had been part of God’s people since they left Egypt. God commanded them, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:9–10, ESV). This is how they cared for the poor and the foreigner. They were not supposed to eek everything out of every part of the field. They were supposed to leave some standing along the edges of the field, and leave some of the stuff they dropped in the process of harvesting. That way, the poor and the foreigner could come back through and pick up what they left behind. 

Second, both men and women worked in the fields. The men typically were the ones cutting handfuls of barley, and the women came behind them gathering those handfuls into piles—sheaves. If you were gleaning in the field, the expectation was that you would stay a good distance from these workers. They didn’t want you trying to take from the sheaves themselves. So, you needed to stay back, wait for them to do their thing, and then you could come through and pick up the leftovers. 

Once we understand this, we can see how generous Boaz is toward Ruth. He tells her not to go to any other field. She will get everything she needs right here. He tells her not to hang back from the workers, but to keep close to his female workers in the field—the ones who are gathering the barley into piles. Ironically, Boaz tells Ruth “Where they go, you go.” He tells her that he’s told his male workers to leave her alone. They are not to yell at her for getting too close to the sheaves. They are also not to lay a hand on her. Then, to take things to another level, he tells her to drink the workers’ water if she gets thirsty—which is assumed when you’re working though the hottest parts of the day. One commentator pointed out that this will also increase Ruth’s productivity because she wouldn’t be dehydrated and weak. 

But, wait, there’s more! (It almost feels like a TV infomercial). When Boaz and his work crew sit down for their midday meal, he invites her over to eat with them. Now he’s providing more than just water. And we read these powerful words, “And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.” (Ruth 2:14, ESV). Don’t forget where the story left off last time. When we ended last time, there was emptiness—nothing. Now, for the first time in the story, we read that Ruth was satisfied. She was able to eat her fill and even have some left over. Things are beginning to change from emptiness to abundance. 

Then, as Ruth heads back to work with a belly full of food, Boaz looks at his workers and says, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” (Ruth 2:15–16, ESV). This is HUGE! Before, she was able to “stay close” to the female workers, now he’s saying that she can glean right in the middle of the piles of barley. Not only that, but Boaz is instructing his workers to intentionally be “sloppy” in their work. As they cut handfuls of barley from the field, he tells them to leave some of those handfuls on the ground for Ruth to pick up. This is EXTREME GENEROSITY! 

There’s one more character in this story that we cannot miss. It’s God. I briefly mentioned this last week, but it’s even more evident this week. God is working in the wings of this entire story. The author loves to use IRONY to point this out. When Ruth goes to glean in the field the author says, “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.” (Ruth 2:3, ESV)—she just HAPPENED to find the field of Boaz. And let me tell you, this wasn’t something likely to happen. They didn’t use fences or boundaries for their fields. They wanted to use as much of the land as possible. So, it was basically a massive barley field where each owner had their own plot. And, in the midst of this massive puzzle, Ruth JUST HAPPENED to stumble upon the field of the man who would generously provide for her, protect and care for her, AND eventually redeem her. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s the hand of God. 

Not only is it extraordinary that Ruth just happens to find Boaz’s field, Boaz shows up at just the right time. Again, the author uses IRONY: “And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem.” (Ruth 2:4, ESV). You could also say, “Oh look! Here’s Boaz showing up to his field at the same time Ruth is in his field!” Again, it’s no coincidence. It’s the hand of God. 

I have to take a moment to expand on this. As someone reading this story, we LOVE the fact that we can see God’s sovereign hand at work. We LOVE seeing Him guide Ruth to Boaz’s field. We LOVE seeing Him guide Boaz to this field at just the right time. But, once again, take a moment to put yourself in Ruth’s shoes. She has NO IDEA that any of this is happening. From her point of view, she just found a field to glean in. From her point of view, she HAS NO IDEA who Boaz is. She only knows he is a generous guy who is protecting her and providing for her. She’s just going about her business, working hard to be faithful and do the right thing. 

It’s the same with us. We HAVE NO IDEA what God is doing. We don’t see his sovereign hand at work in our lives. We just think we found the right job, the right house, the right whatever. We’re just going about our merry business, trying to be faithful, trying to work hard, trying to do the right thing, running into interesting people, and we HAVE NO IDEA how God is using all of this for our own good and His glory. But we do know this: We KNOW that GOD IS working all of these things together for our good and His glory—even the mundane things of our lives. 

And yet, while God is in control, he is also using other people to accomplish his purposes and provide for His people. So, chapter one ends with Naomi saying she is empty. Who is filling her? Well, on the one hand, you may say Ruth is filling her. Ruth has been working from morning until night to provide for Naomi. You may say that Boaz is filling her because of his extreme generosity. But, underneath all of this, through Ruth and Boaz, it is the Lord that is filling Naomi. That’s why Boaz says to Ruth, “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!” (Ruth 2:12, ESV). How is the Lord repaying Ruth? He’s doing it through Boaz’s generosity? Who is the Lord filling Naomi’s emptiness? He’s doing it through Ruth’s faithfully diligent hard-work and through Boaz’s extreme generosity. But, ultimately, it’s the Lord who is doing the filling, guiding Ruth to the right spot, bringing Boaz at the right time, working in Boaz’s heart to bring about his generosity, giving Ruth strength to keep on working. 

Here’s why this is REALLY important. Trusting God’s sovereignty and blessing and provision DOESN’T mean sitting around doing nothing, trusting God to give you what you need. No. Ruth still had to get up early in the morning and work late into the evening. Boaz still had to run his farm, care for his workers, and give generously to someone in need. Yet, Ruth got up early and worked hard BECAUSE she had taken refuge in God—BECAUSE she trusted God. Boaz was able to generously give to those who are needy BECAUSE he had also taken refuge in God and trusted Him.

And through all of this hard-work, generosity, and trust in God, God poured out his blessings in abundance. The last chapter ended with the image of Ruth and Naomi entering Bethlehem empty-handed, with nothing. This passage ends with Ruth walking home after a hard-days-work, with a burden of blessing upon her back. After she had beaten out the barley she harvested that day, she carried home about 30 pounds of grain (on the low end) on her back. There are different ways to calculate how long this would last them, but it was most likely about 15 days worth of food. Because of Ruth’s hard work, Boaz’s generosity, and the Lord’s provision, Ruth had gathered a half-month’s provision in a single day. That’s the opposite of emptiness. That’s true Abundance. 

Our God is a God of Abundant Provision. But that doesn’t mean we sit around doing nothing, “trusting” Him to take care of us. We’re called to get up and go to work. We’re called to work hard to provide for our families and our loved ones. We’re called to be generous with the gifts God has given us. When we encounter someone in need, we are to do what we can to generously meet that need. And as we do these things, we do it all trusting our faithful God. Trusting that His hand is at work in the mundane aspects of our life. Trusting that He is using our hard work and our generosity for his glory and the blessing of others. Trusting that he is using our hard work and generosity as a way to bring blessing and abundance into our lives AND, ultimately, to bring glory and honor to Him.