# Ruth 02 📖: Ruth Meets Boaz [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Ruth Overview]] | [[Ruth 01]] | [[Ruth 03]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] [[-Ruth Overview]] --- ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) ## Ruth Works in Boaz’s Field [[#Verse 01.]] Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side of the family named [[M0009- Boaz]]. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. [[#Verse 02.]] One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” Naomi replied, “You may go, my daughter.” [[#Verse 03.]] So Ruth went and gathered grain in the fields behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. [[#Verse 04.]] Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “May the Lord bless you!” [[#Verse 05.]] Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” [[#Verse 06.]] The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab. [[#Verse 07.]] She asked, ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain among the bundles?’ Since she arrived she has been working hard from this morning until now—except for sitting in the resting hut a short time.” [[#Verse 08.]] So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my dear! Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside my female workers. [[#Verse 09.]] Take note of the field where the men are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. I will tell the men to leave you alone. When you are thirsty, you may go to the water jars and drink some of the water the servants draw.” [[#Verse 10.]] Ruth knelt before him with her forehead to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so kind and so attentive to me, even though I am a foreigner?” [[#Verse 11.]] Boaz replied to her, “I have been given a full report of all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. [[#Verse 12.]] May the Lord reward your efforts! May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection.” [[#Verse 13.]] She said, “You really are being kind to me, sir, for you have reassured and encouraged me, your servant, even though I will never be like one of your servants.” [[#Verse 14.]] Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have some food! Dip your bread in the vinegar.” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. [[#Verse 15.]] When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles. Don’t chase her off! [[#Verse 16.]] Make sure you pull out ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” [[#Verse 17.]] So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed what she had gathered, it came to about 30 pounds of barley. [[#Verse 18.]] She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much grain she had gathered. Then Ruth gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. [[#Verse 19.]] Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” [[#Verse 20.]] Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” [[#Verse 21.]] Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” [[#Verse 22.]] Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” [[#Verse 23.]] So Ruth worked beside Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. - The first verse is the author connecting the sadness of the first chapter to the rest of what is going on. This is the author's way of reminding us that more was happening. It's not an accident that the author introduces Boaz at the bottom of the story. Boaz becomes God's method of salvation for Ruth and Naomi. **Boaz**- His name means strength. The name "Boaz" was also used for one of the pillars in Solomon's Temple. - Some historians think he could have been a retired soldier. - He was likely in his late 40s or 50s during these events. - He was a relative. Possibly a cousin to Elimelech. ###### Verse 02. __"Let me go..."__- shows Ruth's continued respect for Naomi. It also shows her courage. To be a foreigner and to go out by herself was to invite disaster during the time of the Judges. __"Pick up the stalks of grain..."__- Deuteronomy set up a benevolence system for widows, orphans, and foreigners. Once a field had been harvested, they could collect all that was on the edges or left behind. This is all she can do since she is now at the bottom of the social class system. __"My daughter..."__- Shows the respect Naomi is giving to Ruth. She has been accepted as family. ###### Verse 03. __"As it happened"__- This is a wink by the author. He is saying it was a coincidence, but it was not a coincidence. The whole point of this book is to show God's providence through our faithfulness. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. - How the author describes Boaz shows that he is a man of integrity. He greets his servants with kindness and notices when there is someone new. ###### Verse 06. - The foreman had noticed her hard work and used it to describe her to Boaz. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. - __"My daughter..."__- This shows kindness toward Ruth. She was a foreigner but was being treated like an insider. - __"Stay right behind my young women..."__- She has gone from gleaning the edges to being able to glean along with the servants. This means she will be able to get enough to eat. - __"I have warned the young men not to mistreat you."__- This is during the judges' time. Those at the bottom of the social class had few protections. Many times, women would be assaulted, and nothing could be done about it. Boaz has ensured her safety. - __"Help yourself to the water..."__- Bethlehem has no natural water access. It has to be brought in through buckets and fields through irrigation. Water was highly valuable. Boaz is offering her a significant gift. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. - Ruth recognizes she does not deserve this. This is not because she thinks less of herself. Seeing how great the blessings are from Boaz is a matter of thankfulness. ###### Verse 11. - Boaz has heard of Ruth's difficult choices and faithfulness. It is why he is willing to bless her. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. - Her gratitude shows her sincere thankfulness and willingness to work for what she has. This probably impressed Boaz even more. ###### Verse 14. - Again, Boaz is showing his kindness. This could have been their lunchtime, which would have been the second largest meal of the day. Since Ruth was not a scavenger, she would not have brought lunch to eat. This was a blessing. ###### Verse 15. - Boaz is not being extravagant with his blessings. Ruth possibly does not realize it, but Boaz is making sure she goes home with more than she needs, and she does. The Hebrew word for the amount she went home with was an ephah. That is the equivalent of a 5-gallon bucket. This would have been enough to feed the two women for two weeks. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary - What is the main event or teaching? This is where the narrative turns. Chapter one was all about rock bottom. This begins to show how God was working all the time. - How does this chapter fit the book’s overall story? The tide begins to turn. Human faithfulness meets God's providence. - What stands out immediately? When it says she just so happened to be in Boaz's field. It was no accident. This is a wink from the narrator. Anything Apologetic to point out? - God's faithful providence through our decisions. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the greater Boaz, the Redeemer who notices the outsider, welcomes her to His table, and gives more than she asked for (2:14-16). Ruth found refuge under the wings of the God of Israel (2:12), and in Jesus that refuge is open to all who come (Matthew 23:37). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application - 📌 God blesses those who take responsibility. Ruth took action. - 📌 God is always moving behind the scenes. - 📌 Many think the verse of Boaz blessing Ruth is the key verse of the whole book. **Today, I can apply this chapter by:** - ✅ It may not be your fault but it is your responsibility. - ✅ Hard work gets you noticed. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Ruth "happened" to glean in Boaz's field (2:3). Where can you look back and see God's providence in what seemed like coincidence? 2. Boaz blesses his workers and protects the vulnerable. What does his example teach about leading people with kindness? 3. Ruth asks why she has found favor as a foreigner (2:10). How does her question reflect our response to God's grace? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verses 11-12: Boaz blesses Ruth for her faithfulness and for seeking refuge under the Lord's wings. Many see this as the key verse of the whole book. - 📖 verse 3: Ruth "happened" to come to Boaz's field. The narrator is winking at God's providence. - 📖 verse 10: Ruth asks why she has found favor as a foreigner. - 📖 verse 20: Naomi realizes Boaz is one of their family guardians. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts 1. Gleaning laws let the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners gather what harvesters left behind (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22). 2. Boaz's name likely means "in him is strength." One of the two bronze pillars at Solomon's temple was named Boaz (1 Kings 7:21). 3. Boaz greets his workers with "The Lord be with you," and they answer, "May the Lord bless you" (2:4). It is a rare glimpse of an everyday greeting in Scripture. 4. Ruth gathered about an ephah of barley in one day (2:17), likely around 30 pounds. That is far more than a normal day of gleaning. 5. The lunch included bread dipped in sour wine and roasted grain (2:14), a common meal for field workers. 6. The Hebrew word for "wings" in 2:12 is the same word Ruth uses in 3:9 when she asks Boaz to spread his garment over her. 7. Ruth gleaned through both the barley and the wheat harvests (2:23), roughly April through June. 8. Naomi calls Boaz one of their "guardians" (2:20). The Hebrew word is *go'el*, the family redeemer who could buy back land and protect relatives. 9. Ruth is repeatedly called "the Moabite" in this chapter (2:2, 2:6, 2:21), reminding readers that she is an outsider. 10. Boaz tells his workers to pull out extra stalks on purpose for Ruth to find (2:16). His generosity goes beyond what the law required. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Leviticus 19#Verse 09.|Leviticus 19:9-10]] - Leaving the edges of the field for the poor and the foreigner. - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 24#Verse 19.|Deuteronomy 24:19-22]] - Gleaning for the widow, orphan, and foreigner. - 🔗 [[Leviticus 25#Verse 25.|Leviticus 25:25]] - The family guardian who redeems. - 🔗 [[Psalm 91#Verse 04.|Psalm 91:4]] - Refuge under God's wings. - 🔗 [[Matthew 23#Verse 37.|Matthew 23:37]] - Jesus longs to gather His people under His wings. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Ruth 02 - SOAP|What Reputation Precedes You?]] ## 📂 Internal Notes