Ruth 2:23
Ruth 2:22 And My Pleasant One (Naomi) said to Companion (Ruth) her young daughter-in-law,
“It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids,
so that others do not fall upon you in another field.”
23 So she stayed close by the maids of In Strength (Boaz)
and thus gleaned until the completion of the
barley harvest and the wheat harvest.
And she lived with her mother-in-law.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Notice then, after arriving home from a day of gleaning with a 50 pound sack of grain, Ruth fills Naomi in on the details of the day.
Through the course of this conversation both Naomi and Ruth gain some vital information: Naomi learns how Ruth got so much grain (she was gleaning in Boaz’s field). In turn, Ruth learns that Boaz is a close relative of the family. Not only that, both women are beginning to see that maybe, just maybe, God’s hand is at work in their situation after all.
At the same time, we too as readers have learned some important details that we will need moving forward in the account. That is, we have been introduced to the notion of a family guardian and with it the ideas of future, inclusion, and the redemption of a family line, which are all so central to the remainder of the book.
Our text this morning concludes this second major section of the book. In doing so, it prepares us to move forward in the account and to see the deliverance that God already has set in motion.
Verse 23
Notice at once that verse 23 provides a summery/overview of what took place in the weeks after Naomi and Ruth’s conversation. Verse 23 tells us that Ruth stayed close to Boaz’s maids. Importance: remember, last week we saw that by the end of her conversation with Ruth (v 22), Naomi had regained a bit of her composure. As such, we hear her speaking (not from sheer wonder) but as the matriarch and head of the family. Therefore, she instructs Ruth to do exactly as Boaz offered and stay in his field and with his maidservants FN#1. Notice then the point: verse 23 informs us that Ruth did just that. In other words, Ruth received Boaz’s acceptance/ kindness and heeded Naomi’s authority/instructions. This is huge because it shows us Ruth’s growing engagement with her own acceptance by YHWH as well as her dutiful character.
Next, notice the text goes on to tell us that in this manner (that is, in Boaz’s field with Boaz’s maids) Ruth gleaned until the completion of the harvests. In other word, she again is careful to heed Naomi’s instruction. However, notice the lavish extent of Boaz’s kindness (and thus YHWH’s acceptance). Not only did Boaz allow Ruth to glean in his field in the first and best spot; not only did he extend this kindness throughout the entire barley harvest (a fact that we just learned during Nomi and Ruth’s conversation- v 21); Boaz also allows Ruth to continue in his field and with his maids throughout the entire wheat harvest as well FN#2. Importance: remember, the wheat harvest occurred some 4 weeks after the barley harvest and would have been in a completely different field FN#3. In other words, Boaz took Ruth with him as he and his workers went to the next harvest in another field. Notice the result: we are looking at some two months of Boaz’s provision and his interaction with Ruth. Notice the point: the extension of Boaz’s provision over two complete harvests underscores the lavishness of his kindness as well as his willingness to act as a guardian of the family. Thus, just as verse 23 has prepared us for what is to follow by showing us Ruth’s dutiful character and hard work, so too it prepares us for what is to come by showing us Boaz’s character and willingness to assist his kin. Notice the result: it is Boaz’s kindness, character, and his interaction with Ruth that Naomi is biding her time and watching before she acts on any hope that she has. In other words, verse 23 is showing us the very things that Naomi is looking for and seeing in the time between verse 23 and 3:1.
Next, notice that just before chapter 2 ends the author slides in what seems to be a random, unrelated tidbit of information: He tells us that Ruth lived with Naomi throughout the whole time of the two harvests. Not only that, he also seems to needlessly remind us yet again that Naomi is Ruth’s mother-in-law (just in case you forgot that since verse 22) FN#4. However, this last line of the chapter is neither banal nor woefully repetitive. Instead, it skillfully provides key insights that reinforce our understanding as we prepare to move forward in the account. First, it alerts us that Ruth did not bolt at the first sign of her own success. That is, Ruth does not seek a permanent position on Boaz’s staff and leave Naomi to fend for herself; she does not try to find a better living situation and abandon Naomi; nor does she hook up with some man and set off on her own. Instead, through two harvests, through the incredibly hard labor that gleaning involves, and through the slow acceptance by Boaz’s staff (“Do not insult her”- 2:15-16 FN#5) Ruth remains committed to Naomi, even though Naomi is just her mother-in-law. In other words, the author skillfully sets what Ruth is doing in contrast to what might normally be expected. As such, he underscores Ruth’s character, her genuine love for Naomi, and her commitment to the vow she made before YHWH (1:16-17 FN#6). Notice the result: as we prepare to head into chapter three and the rest of the story, the author send us on our way with a clear picture of both Ruth’s heart as well as the ongoing kindness of Boaz’s heart (barley and wheat). Importance: it is these quiet details that Naomi is watching and upon which her subsequent actions will be based. Thus, for some two months Naomi sees the persistent character of both her daughter-in-law as well as that of her husband’s relative, Boas. All the while, Ruth returns home each day with provisions and tells her mother-in-law about the events of the day. Importance: behind the heart and actions of both Boaz and Ruth is a genuine heart for YHWH, which God has in place and through which He will work His deliverance.
Bottom line: by the end of chapter two God’s love, mercy and commitment have set in place all the necessary pieces by which Elimelech’s family line will be redeemed and its future solidified. Notice then what chapter 2 has established:
Importance: it is upon these three factors that the rest of the account will be based and made possible. Not only that, through these factors, God has set in motion a deliverance that not only concerns Naomi and Ruth but which will also bring about a king for His people (David) and a Messiah for the world (Jesus, the son of David).
Therefore, as the lights dim and as the curtains close on act two of the account, we leave Ruth gleaning long days in Boaz’s field and Naomi pondering if maybe, just maybe God’s hand is behind all these matters, working their deliverance.
Footnote
1] This dynamic of Naomi’s genuine love and matriarchal authority, which has just reemerged is going to be vitally important as we move forward. It is this dynamic (love/authority) that provides the framework and emotive context for what takes place beginning in 3:1. Remember, Ruth is a book that is all about legal transactions. As such, we are being prepared to see another “official/authoritative” turn in the events of the account.
2] Notice the way the author unfolds the true nature and extent of Boaz’s kindness and YHWH’s acceptance: initially we learn of Boaz’s kindness in 2:8-9 where he tells Ruth to stay in his field and close to his maids. Then in 2:15-16 we see this already lavish kindness taken to a ridiculous level (the maids are to let Ruth have first shot at the grain and even pull some out for her after it is bundled). Next, it is not until 2:21 that we learn Boaz intended this arrangement for the entire harvest. Finally in verse 23 we learn that this arrangement was to include not only the barley harvest but also the wheat harvest as well. Importance: the way the author communicates the nature and extent of this provision to us allows our discovery to mirror that of the women. Thus, as they are coming to realize and see more fully that YHWH is indeed at work in their situation, we too are coming to realize/discover the full extent of what YHWH is doing. As such, we are allowed to share/feel their growing wonder and clarity.
3] In Bethlehem, barley was harvested from late March through late April. Wheat was harvested from late April to late May (O. Borowski, Agriculture in Ancient Israel, 88, 91- cited by Net Bible, Ruth 2:23).
4] Over and again we have seen the way that in this closing section of chapter two (19-23) the author uses these familial designations with intention (often reflexively) to show us the mindset of the women or to bring out some other factor in the text. This point holds true here at the end of verse 23 as well. As such, our note from a previous sermon bears repeating:
One might argue that alternating between proper names and familial designations (e.g. daughter-in-law) is simply a stylistic device that avoids repetition. However, while this is certainly true in part, there is more to it. In fact, there is a deliberate pattern of when names and familial designations are used that point to a deeper intention on the author’s part. In other words, there is a reason that the author chooses to use Naomi’s Hebrew name at one point and Ruth’s familial designation at another. Case in point: in verse 21 the author uses Ruth’s proper name but then goes out of his way to inform us that Ruth is a Moabite. However, this is a fact about which we are all already clear. In other words, the author’s designation is not stylistic or for mere informational purposes. Instead, in each case the way the author describes a person brings factors to the forefront that are central to the psychology at work in that point of the conversation. Thus, from mother-in-law to Naomi, from Ruth to daughter-in-law there is a purpose to the author’s choices and playfulness. Therefore, pay attention to the names and the familial designations.
5] Remember Boaz instructs his workers not to resent or treat Ruth harshly because he has given this foreigner all this special treatment. Thus, even though the workers held their tongues, one would have to imagine things were a bit tense for a while. Thus, verse 23 tells us that Ruth did not bolt even though the work was hard and the work environment was often uncomfortable.
6] Listen again to Ruth’s oath:
Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. 17 “Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the YHWH do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Simply put the author has not forgotten what Ruth vowed and he is showing you that neither has she.