Below is the Bible Study written by Jim Rudiger for his Sunday School Class which meets at Third Presbyterian Church, Norfolk, Virginia. It's based on Ruth 2:8-18.
“We reap what we sow.” What does that mean? What we do has consequences that can come back and haunt us. “We only get out what we put in.” If we don’t spend the energy to till the garden, water the seeds or pull out the weeds, then the chances are that we won’t have any butter beans to freeze for this winter. You can’t say, “I’ll get around to the weeding next week - or the week after that.” If we are serious about having a good crop, we have to work at it almost every day. Christ helps out with reaping and sewing when we he gave us the parable about the man sewing seeds.
Now are you ready for another famous saying: “What goes around comes around.” What does that mean? How we treat others can cause people to treat us the same way. We don’t live in a vacuum. We come in contact with a lot of people every day. In those contacts, we don’t know when we might need the help of one of those contacts. That doesn’t mean we have to fawn all over them or build up their ego just so we can get something we want from them later on. So, how do we deal with our contacts? Scripture gives us the answer. What rule helps us deal with our contacts? How about the Golden Rule?
The last saying I want us to think about is: “The chickens will come home to roost.” What does that mean? What we do or say we own. We are responsible for what we say and what we do. We can try to scatter them or shoo them away, but when the time comes, they will return to their roost - our tongue or our heart. Does scripture give us any help with this? Bridle your tongue.
All three of these sayings have something in common don’t they? It is that our actions have consequences. In our examples we looked at the negative sides. But there are positive sides too. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. No where in scripture is this given more attention than the Book of Ruth. In today’s study, Ruth’s love and devotion to Naomi not only helps put bread on the table, it leads Naomi back to God.
Where were we when we left Naomi and Ruth last week? They have returned to Bethlehem in hopes of finding relatives who could help them out. When they got there, Naomi found that the people and relatives in Bethlehem still remembered her. They told her of the people who had died since she had left, marriages and the new babies born. Naomi told them about Ruth and the love she had shown her in the face of losing her own husband. How Ruth could have easily gone back to her family in Moab, but chose to follow Naomi to a strange new land. I’m sure that there were some people who hearing Naomi extol the virtues of Ruth snickered and remarked that Ruth was a Moabite and that meant that she was still a foreigner regardless of how she treated Naomi. While Ruth had raised Naomi’s spirits, she was still a bitter woman. Do you know what the name “Naomi” means? “Sweetness”, but, when she got back to Bethlehem, she told the women there that she should change her name to Mara which means “bitterness” because that is how she felt. Bitter for the way God has treated her.
Naomi claimed some land that had belonged to her dead husband, Elimelech, but, without men in the family to work the land, no crops could be planted or harvested. There was a compassionate Jewish law then that allowed for widows and orphans to go to fields being harvested and collect what was missed. This was called “gleaning.” Gleaning had several rules for those harvesting and those gleaning. (1) The owner of the field could not harvest right to the edge of the field. In other words there was a border that contained grain that was left alone. Actually, this made sense for the owner to leave this area alone. Being at the edge of the planted field, the grain was probably mixed with weeds, so a lot of valuable time would be taken separating out the good stuff from the bad. The widows and orphans would gladly take the time in order to have the chance of getting good grain. (2) You could only harvest a field one time. After going through the field once, you can’t turn around and go through it again to get the grain missed the first time through. This allowed the gleaners to have at least a fighting chance of get some grain. (3) If while you were harvesting, you dropped some of the sheaves, you weren’t allowed pick them up. They would be left for those gleaning. It was a law that recognized that there would always be people who through no fault of their own needed help. This way they got help and still maintained some degree of independence.
For the gleaners, they had to respect the owner of the field and his field hands and do what they said. They had know where they could pick and where they couldn’t. Above all, they weren’t to start trouble. If the gleaners worked all day, what did they do about food and water? The gleaners was responsible for their own food and water.
Did you ever go to the strawberry fields in Virginia Beach about fifty years ago? Then, professional pickers went through the fields and when they were done, regular folks could come in and pick. You can imagine that there weren’t a lot of ripe strawberries left. It was hard work with a little reward, kind of like the gleaners in Israel only we paid 10 cents a quart for the opportunity to pick fresh strawberries.
Right out of the blue, in verse 1 of Chapter 2, the writer introduces us to a new character, Boaz. Boaz was Elimelech’s nephew and, as such was kin to Naomi. He is described as being prominent and rich. He was descended from Rahab. Who was Rahab? The women who hid the spies sent to Jericho by Joshua. One commentary said that Boaz was related to Samson and was known as a fierce warrior. By talking about Boaz, the writer is telling us to remember this guy, because he is going to be important to the story of Ruth.
After about two weeks with nothing coming in and their stomachs empty. Ruth asks Naomi for permission to go to the fields and glean. It was in March and at this time of the year, barley was being harvested. In May and June, wheat would be harvested. Naomi gave Ruth permission and sent her off. Why didn’t Naomi go with Ruth and help with the gleaning? She was probably old and her arthritis was giving her a fit.
Ruth sets out early in the morning down the road to the barley fields. The field of barley was divided into smaller fields. Farmers would mark the corners of their fields with a stones. The field owned by the most prominent farmers bordered on the road. Guess whose field Ruth came to first? Laying out in front of her was the field owned by Boaz. Didn’t I tell you that Boaz was going to play an important role in Ruth’s life? Well, this is where it starts. We know that Boaz was a relative of Naomi and that she had gotten together with the women in her family to find out how everybody was doing. As the richest guy in the family, don’t you think that her relatives would have bragged about how Boaz was making a lot of money and owned a lot of land? Knowing that Boaz was a well to do relative, why didn’t Naomi tell Ruth to go to Boaz and ask for a job? Remember, the Jews felt that if a disaster fell upon you it was because you did something to displease God. Naomi had some big disasters - a husband die and two relatively young sons die. According the Jewish thought, she must have really sinned big time. Maybe she was too embarrassed to have Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law, beg her rich nephew for a job.
Ruth doesn’t know anything about Boaz being Naomi’s nephew, but she is anxious to get started. As the widow of an Israelite she has a right to glean in any field. She seeks out Boaz’s foreman and asks for permission to glean in this field. Nobody else has asked him for permission to glean, so this sticks in his mind. If she didn’t have to, why did Ruth ask for permission? While she was a widow of an Israelite, she was still a Moabite. She didn’t want to work all day and then have the grain taken from her because was a Moabite.
Just so happened that Boaz shows up to check on the harvesting, making sure that the men are working to get it all in. He greets his workers by saying, “The Lord be with you.” By the way, do you know what “goodbye” really means? “God be with you.” So, Boaz greets his workers by saying “Goodbye.” His workers answered by Blessing him. What does this tell us about Boaz? He is not only prominent and rich, he is also religious. His faith in God was at the forefront of his communications with his workers.
It must have been about noon when Boaz came to the field. He looks over the field and there, following after the harvesters, is a girl he doesn’t recognize. Bethlehem is a small town and Boaz knows nearly everybody there by name, but, he doesn’t know this girl. What do you think got his attention? What was it about this girl that caused him to look twice? She might have been a looker. She might have had those almond eyes with thick black hair framing her face. Skin as smooth and fine as rich silk. Maybe it was the clothes she was wearing. Perhaps she still dressed like a Moabite and it made her stand out among the Jewish widows. Maybe, she was working so hard that dust was flying as she gathered up the leavings and the clouds of dust caught his attention. Boaz goes over to his foreman and asks to whom does this woman belong? He doesn’t ask who she is, but to whom does she belong. What does he mean by asking a question like that? He can figure out that she must be a widow or poor because she is gleaning the field. Remember in those days, women were in the shadow of men. Boaz wants to know if there are men involved with her. Whose family does she belong to? Is she married? Who is her father? Boaz was curious. It may be just me, but, I think there is more on his mind than how much grain she had picked.
The foreman tells Boaz that she is a that Moabite woman who Aunt Naomi brought back with her. He then told Boaz that she asked permission to glean in the field. Now it was Jewish law that widows could glean. They didn’t need permission since the owner of the field was obliged to let them anyway. But Ruth asked permission. Maybe, being a Moabite, Ruth didn’t want to cause a problem in the field with the other widows. Either way, it struck the foreman as a classy way to glean a field. The foreman also told Boaz that Ruth had been on her feet since early morning working like a Trojan. She only took time out one time all morning to rest in the shade. What impressed the foreman was how focused and diligent she was. How does Boaz react to what the foreman told him? That’s where we pick up the story in our lesson today.
Ruth 2: 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn."
He wastes no time. Boaz either calls Ruth over or he goes over to Ruth. How does Boaz address Ruth? My daughter. This is Boaz’s first encounter with Ruth and he calls her “daughter.” Why would Boaz use that term in addressing Ruth? Boaz is letting her know that her nationality isn’t considered. She is part of his family and he will treat her like family. It also tells us that Boaz must have been quite a bit older that Ruth. In fact, he was probably closer to Naomi’s age than Ruth’s age. Calling her “daughter” would be like us calling a teenager “youngster.” Which fields does he tell her to glean? He tells Ruth that there is no need to go to any other fields. Don’t leave this field. The words Boaz uses isn’t like a suggestion. It more like a command.
How is Ruth told to glean? Stay close to the women working for Boaz. The way the harvesting worked was that the men went ahead cutting the sheaves with sickles. Women followed after them and gathered the sheaves into bundles. Ruth will get the prized location right behind the women binding up the sheaves. Having that position got you a special name - the chief gleaner. Ruth would actually be working ahead of all of the other gleaners so she would have the opportunity to get the best and most leavings.
What does Boaz tell Ruth about his men? He had sent out word that his men not to mess with her. Was it necessary to tell the harvesters to leave Ruth alone? Unfortunately, yes. TV and papers now-a-days are full of Hollywood celebrities sexually harassing women. Well, harassing went on in the gleaning fields, too. In those days a widow’s life was full of danger. A lot of time when widows couldn’t make ends meet, they became prostitutes. Some men looked on all widows as being prostitutes so they hit on them. Isn’t that what is happening today? Some men argue that because a woman is wearing provocative clothing, she’s a willing target. Widows gleaning in a field were fair game for the male harvesters. Boaz let it be known that Ruth was off limits and was to be left alone.
What other freebee was Ruth given that other widows gleaning didn’t get? Water to drink. When a widow was in the fields she was responsible for her own water. When she got thirsty, she had to leave the field to get a drink from a spring or carry her water with her. Just having to go get water cut down on how much the widow could glean in a day. Boaz let Ruth drink from the water jugs set out for the harvesters. This was quite a concession for Ruth. She could keep on working, gathering more grain than most of the other gleaners.
Now all of the other female gleaners see that Ruth is being given preferential treatment. How do you think they felt? Jealous. Mad. It wasn’t fair. How do you think they acted on their feelings? Snide remarks. Maybe some pushing and shoving particularly before and after work. Maybe complaining to the foreman that Ruth was just another example of wet backs from Moab.
Ruth 2:10 Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?"
How does Ruth react to all that Boaz is doing for her? She fell to the ground with her face on the ground. This is an act of gratitude and humility. Do you think Ruth was kind of shocked over all the things that this rich landowner is allowing her to do? Ruth had thought because she was a Moabite, she had it made if she was just allowed to glean even if she was at the back of the line. Never in her wildest dreamers did she think she would be treated in this special way. As a Moabite, he could have kicked her out of his field.
Ruth 2:11 But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 May the LORD reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!" 13 Then she said, "May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants."
Now we get a little idea if why Boaz treated Ruth this way or at least how he rationalized it. What reasons does he give? He had heard about her. How she treated Naomi after the death her husband. How she could have left Naomi all alone and gone back home to her own people and gotten on with her life, but, she didn’t. How she had left all of her loved ones to follow Naomi back to people she didn’t even know. If Boaz had heard all of this about Ruth from people she had met when Naomi introduced her to the other women in Bethlehem, what does this tell us about how Ruth treated the residents of Bethlehem when she got there? In the two weeks she had been in Bethlehem, she really must have impressed Naomi’s family and friends. I think that the family and friends saw that Ruth had a real love and devotion for Naomi by the way Ruth spoke to her, walked with her and supported her. In just a short time in Bethlehem, Ruth had developed a reputation as a loving caring daughter-in-law. The fact that she was a foreigner didn’t matter very much.
Boaz prays for God’s protection for Ruth. But, I believe that Boaz saw himself as that one who God would use to protect Ruth. Does Boaz sound too good to be true? Well, there are some questions that rightly should be considered. Was it just an accident that Ruth picked Boaz’ field and Boaz came to the field that particular day? Maybe he got word that this remarkable Moab women that he had heard so much about was in his field and he wanted to meet her. Besides, he had heard that she was a knockout. He had asked his foreman which of the gleaners was Ruth, so, he could give her the special privileges he felt God wanted her to have. Does it really matter what his motivation was? Ruth had been doing good things. Sometimes we aren’t rewarded in this life for doing the right thing, but, sometimes good works do catch up with us. Ruth had finally received some compensation for the sacrifices she had made for Naomi and the loyalty she had shown to Naomi.
What is Ruth’s reaction? She’s humble. He is a rich important man and he has been so generous to her. Even though she isn’t one of his servants, she feels she has the same responsibility to him that they have. Based on that, she hopes he will continue to show her kindness. Remember, she still doesn’t know about the relationship between Naomi and Boaz.
Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine." So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, "Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her."
It’s getting close to lunch time and what does Boaz do now? He goes up to her and says, “Ruth, let’s do lunch.” It is kind of like a picnic in the fields. A checkered table cloth is laid down, the grille is lit, a bottle of wine uncorked and Boaz makes his move. Do you think that Boaz is developing more than a family interest in Ruth? What did they have for lunch? Parched barley grain. How many have had parched barley for lunch? In fact, what is parched barley? They took fresh barley grain that was still soft and moist. The grain would be baked and served. Not exactly a Whopper meal. One of the harvesters cooked the meal and served Ruth. Everybody was in a good mood. The harvest had gone well that morning and most importantly, Boaz was pleased. They weren’t sure whether it was how much they harvested or who was siting beside him. Ruth ate all she wanted and then took what was left over, wrapped it in a cloth and put the doggy bag into a pocket in her robe. This would be enough for Naomi’s supper.
Then she went back into the fields. When she had left, Boaz called his harvesters and what did he tell them? They should let Ruth pick where she wanted even if the area hadn’t been harvested yet. In fact, they should take some of the sheaves that had been bundled and lay them on the ground for Ruth to find. Is he letting any of the other widows do this? Why is he giving Ruth this special favor? It’s beginning to look like Boaz thought that the way to Ruth’s heart was through HER stomach!
Ruth 2:17 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 picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied.
How late did Ruth work? Ruth worked until it got dark. She took what she gleaned and beat it out to get the grain. When she was finished she had an ephaw of barley which is nearly a bushel of barley grain. Most of the time a gleaner was lucky to get half that much. She hurried back to Naomi to show how much she had gotten. This would last them a week. She also gave her the doggie bag left over from lunch.
Naomi was impressed. Ruth is a hard worker, but, not even a hard worker can get this much grain. Naomi asked where Ruth had gleaned. Ruth told her it was in a field owned by Boaz. This bowled Naomi over and the light bulb went on in Naomi’s head. Boaz was kin folk. In fact, very near kin folk. For the first time, Ruth finds out who Boaz is.
We reap what we sew. What goes around comes around. The chickens will come home to roost. Is there any one of those statements that doesn’t describe what happened to Ruth in this study These saying don’t have to be a warning about how we behave. They can be an encouragement to act in ways that treats others as we want to be treated.
Prayer: Help us, Father, to see the potential in those who the world shuts out. In Christ’s name, Amen.
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