Ruth Day 20: 16-18

16: And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her.

Spill the details! Ruth fills Naomi in on all that has happened.

17: saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”

How could I forget? That’s what I get for not re-reading the chapter before writing yesterday’s post (insert face palm here). The reason that Boaz gave Ruth the barley was so that she would not go back to her mother-in-law empty-handed. It was a signal to Naomi. This answers my question from yesterday about Boaz’s knowledge of Naomi’s involvement. You can always learn something new even when you read something multiple times, especially in regard to the Bible.

18: She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

As we will see in the next chapter, Boaz wastes no time in setting this redemption thing in motion. He goes through the proper channels and redeems Ruth.

This reminds me a bit of the Gospel. For one, Jesus left His home in heaven to come live among men just as Ruth left her home in Moab to live with Naomi in Bethlehem. Jesus also didn’t take His sweet time to plan our redemption. Genesis 3:16 is referred to as the “protoevangelion,” which means “first Gospel.” The plan for our redemption was in motion from the beginning. God wasted no time in getting His plan in motion. When the time was right, Jesus came to earth as a man to take our sins upon Himself and die on the cross, bearing the punishment for our sins. Then He rose from the dead to show His power over death. Now all who believe will be set free and their sins wiped clean! I get excited every time I think about it!

Anyway, I apologize for the error on my part regarding the meaning of the barley. I can’t believe I missed it when it was right in front of my eyes! It’s good to know that our Savior does not make mistakes! God bless and see you tomorrow!

Ruth Day 19: 3:14-15

14: So she lay at his feet until morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Rumors. If you’ve every watched Veggie Tales, the rumor weed song pops into my head when I think of this. It is to protect her dignity that she leaves before she can be recognized. If you questioned their chastity, she laid at his feet until morning so I’m pretty sure nothing happened. I find it interesting that he says “the woman” here. My Greek and Hebrew are rusty which is why I haven’t brought the languages up during this study, but I am curious as to why Ruth is referred to in this way.

15: And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

Growing up I used to think that Boaz gave her the barley as an excuse to be out so early in the morning. If anyone were to ask why she was up, she could say that she needed barley for breakfast or something like that. Recently I heard a sermon where the pastor mentioned that it could be because he wanted to give Naomi a sign that he had accepted their request and would get it taken care of that day. My only question regarding this is; did he know that Naomi had put Ruth up to this? On the one hand, Ruth most likely did not know the customs so it would be obvious that Naomi had put her up to this. On the other hand, we are not told of Ruth mentioning anything about Naomi during their conversation. Either way he gifts her with barley

This section is a little short, but still interesting. We see how Boaz looks out for Ruth’s dignity and that both of them were respectful towards one another. Tomorrow we will look at Naomi and Ruth’s interaction that morning.

We should seek to honor one another and to look out for each other’s well-being. We can all guess that temptation was there, but they chose to remain pure. I’m sure that we’ve all faced temptation in whether it be the same as Ruth and Boaz, although most likely a different scenario, or some other temptation. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Ruth Day 18: 3:10-13

(I apologize, apparently I scheduled this for the 19th and not the 18th)

10: And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after younger men, whether poor or rich.”

We learn from this that Boaz is older than Ruth, most likely noticeably older since he mentions her being able to go after younger men, but choosing not to. Boaz’s first response also is that she be blessed by God.

11: “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.”

Remember that she is a Moabite? Although she is of a different people group, she has earned recognition from the Israelites and has been seen as a worthy woman. Remember how Boaz was referred to as worthy when he was first introduced? Boaz is now telling Ruth that he accepts her request.

12: “And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.”

Boaz shows again that he is a worthy man by not claiming her immediately, although he is willing, but instead stating that there is someone closer in relation to her that must be spoken with first.

13: “Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until morning.”

Boaz is following the law in that the relative closest has the first opportunity to redeem. He is willing to let the closest relative redeem her if that relative wishes, but if not he will quickly seize the opportunity. Although he tells her to lie down until morning, we can assume it is for her safety since it is dark and that nothing intimate happens. The Bible tends to bluntly mention when people are intimate with each other. Seeing as Boaz and Ruth are both mentioned as worthy is another pointer that they were respectable towards each other.

We can see how each acted in a worthy manner, although I wouldn’t recommend using this old custom in your life. We can see how Boaz is willing to redeem Ruth just as Christ is willing to redeem us. In order to do so, Christ needed to die on the cross, bearing our sins, and then rise again showing His power over death.

Ruth Day 17: 6-9

6: So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.

Ruth is obedient and she trusts her mother in law.

7: And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

Just as Naomi had commanded, Ruth waited until Boaz had gone to sleep and uncovered his feet.

8: At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!

I expect Boaz was quite startled to see a woman laying at his feet. It makes me think of how kids can startle their parents when the parent wakes up and sees their young child staring at them.

9: He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant for you are a redeemer.”

I’m guessing that it was dark enough that he couldn’t make out who she was, but light enough that he could tell it was a woman. After revealing herself, Ruth explains her intention. As mentioned in a previous lesson, a redeemer can marry a relative and have an heir to carry on the family line. Often it is a sibling who redeems a childless widow, but it can go to the next closest relative (Numbers 27:8-11; Leviticus 25:25).

I’m going to leave you guys with a bit of a cliffhanger and we’ll look at Boaz’s response tomorrow. One thing that we can think about is a comparison of Boaz as a redeemer and Christ as a redeemer.

If you want some extra reading, here is something that I found in an Old Testament overview by John MacArthur in regard to a kinsman redeemer:

Old Testament Qualification

Blood relationship
Necessary resources
Willingness to buy

And here is Christ’s fulfillment:

Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 2:16-17
1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Peter 1:18-19
John 10:15-18; 1 John 3:16

Ruth Day 16: 3:1-5

1: Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?”

Naomi is beginning to explain her plan to Ruth. It is interesting that the only time Naomi is called “Mara” is when she renames herself in 1:20.

2: “Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.”

Winnowing is the last step in grain preparation and follows threshing. It usually involves throwing the grain in the air and the wind would blow the chaff away while the heavy grains would fall down and you would gather them up.

3: “Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.”

My first thought is, “stalker,” but that isn’t the intention here. Naomi has a plan and it involves Ruth making sure that no one else knows she is there.

4: “But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”

Nothing indecent happens here, I just want to make that clear. This appears to be some sort of custom which will be explained later in the chapter.

5: And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

Whether this made sense to Ruth or not, she decided to obey Naomi.

Sometimes the things that people tell us to do won’t make a lot of sense. Although we shouldn’t obey people willy nilly, we should be willing to obey those whom they trust. We should also be willing to obey God even when it doesn’t make sense. Just as things may not make sense in the moment, we will be able to look back and see how God was working in our lives.

Ruth Day 15: Overview of Chapter 3

This is where the “fun” starts. We find Naomi to be a bit of a schemer, Ruth to be obedient to Naomi, and Boaz to be a man of God. We learn a little more about kinsman redeemers and see God’s plan in motion.

The chapter events are like this:

Naomi speaks of Ruth’s wellness (vs. 1)
Naomi mentions Boaz (vs. 2)
Naomi’s instructions (vs. 3)
Ruth’s obedience (vs. 5-7)
Boaz’s surprise (vs. 8-9)
Boaz’s response (vs. 10-13)
Boaz’s instructions (vs. 14-15)
Ruth speaks with Naomi (vs. 16-18)

The events of this chapter take place in about a 24 hour period. I say this because Naomi gives Ruth instructions during the day, Ruth completes them, and the next day Boaz sets off to redeem Ruth. No improper actions occur.

As you read, I’d like you to think about:

What do you learn about Ruth?
What do you learn about Naomi?
What do you learn about God?
What do you learn about Boaz?

I look forward to continuing this chapter with you!

Ruth Day 14: Chapter 2 Review

It’s review time again! Just like in the previous chapter I’d like you to think through the questions and figure out the answers on your own. I’ll have an answer key at the end.

What happened during the chapter?
What did we learn about Naomi?
What did we learn about Ruth?
What did we learn about Boaz?
What did we learn about God?
How can we apply what we’ve learned to our lives?

I hope you’re enjoying going through the book of Ruth with me! Over the next week we’ll learn more about an interesting encounter between Ruth and Boaz and a plot by Naomi. If you have any questions about this chapter, or the upcoming chapters, please comment or email me at rerouted.blog@gmail.com Also, if there is a book or topic that you’re interested in going through with me, let me know! I’m brainstorming ideas for my next study. I’ll also take feedback. I’m always looking to improve!

Answer Key: (Answers may vary – they don’t need to be exact)

What happened during the chapter?
Boaz is introduced
Ruth goes to glean fields
Boaz learns about Ruth
Boaz and Ruth speak and Boaz tells Ruth to stay in his field
Ruth eats with Boaz
Boaz instructs his reapers to leave extra grain for Ruth
Ruth gleans
Naomi sees all the food
We hear about a (kinsman) redeemer
Ruth relays Boaz’s instructions to Naomi
Summary of three months
What did we learn about Naomi?
She no longer feels alone
What did we learn about Ruth?
She works hard to care for her mother-in-law
She is obedient
She is grateful to Boaz and God
What did we learn about Boaz?
He is a worthy man
He is a man of God
He is kindhearted
What did we learn about God?
God shows that He is still caring for Ruth and Naomi
God’s plan is in motion
God is always working in our lives
God can use others to bless us
How can we apply what we’ve learned to our lives? (yours does not have to be the same answer as mine)
Our outlook can change how we view our circumstances
We can always try to help others
We can remember that God is always working, even when we cannot see Him
Jesus is our kinsman redeemer

Ruth Day 13: 2:21-23

21: And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”

Ruth lets Naomi know that Boaz is looking out for her. It is also interesting that Ruth is referred to as Moabite here.

22: And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”

Naomi knows that it is safer for her to be in Boaz’s field, especially because he has offered protection. Ruth is referred to as Naomi’s daughter-in-law in this verse.

23: So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

As mentioned earlier in the week, the barley and wheat harvests last around three months. Ruth stayed in Boaz’s field this whole time and cared for her mother-in-law. The flip flopping of the use of men and women is most likely because she worked around both the men and women and thus the author just alternates the use of the terms.

We can learn that Ruth listens to Naomi and also takes Boaz’s offer to stay in his field. She didn’t have to stay, but she did. Sometimes we just need to listen to others and accept their generosity rather than try to fend for ourselves. It can be a hard thing to do, especially for those of us who prefer to do everything ourselves.

God is working through this. During this period of time, Ruth and Boaz will get to know each other better. We are not told whether or not there is any romantic inclination. Sometimes we want God to jump to the “good stuff” so that we don’t have to wait. It can be hard, and sometimes painful, to wait, but our waiting is for a reason. God is working even when we cannot see Him.

Ruth Day 12: 2: 18-20

18: And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied.

Ruth kept the extra food so that she could give it to her mother-in-law to eat. I imagine Naomi’s eyes being the size of saucers when she saw how much food that Ruth brought back. The city is Bethlehem. We can know this because verse 19 from chapter one says that they traveled until they came to Bethlehem. We can also know this because Naomi’s family was from Bethlehem before they went to Moab. Who else happens to be from Bethlehem? Boaz (2:4).

19: And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Naomi seems surprised by Ruth’s gleanings and seeks out more information. She recognizes that someone must have taken notice of her and watched out for her in order for her to have gleaned so much food.

20: And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”

Naomi’s first response is that the Lord bless Boaz and then she thanks God for not forsaking them. At the end of chapter one, Naomi believed that the Lord had testified against her, but now she can see that He is looking out for her and Ruth. Naomi also tells Ruth that Boaz is a relative of hers. This did not come up in the conversation between her and Boaz so we could guess that she had not known his relation to them before this point.

A redeemer in that time was a relative who could continue the family line so that it wouldn’t be broken. Often times when a woman was widowed without a child, in order to carry on the family line, the brother of the deceased would marry the widow and the first child born would be considered the child of the deceased and therefore inherit everything and carry on that family line. This can be seen in the book of Genesis when Judah’s son, Er, died. Judah’s second son, Onan, was to raise up offspring for his brother, but disobeyed and died because of that*. I’ll end the story there because it is long and complicated, but that is an example of the law that was in place.

We can learn from these verses that God is watching out for us. Everything seemed hopeless to Naomi, but in one day she realized that God was looking out for them by leading Ruth to Boaz’s field and having Boaz look out for Ruth. I also wonder that if this is the point where Naomi begins planning the events that happen in chapter three.

* Genesis 38:1-30 (This story also has an importance when going through the genealogy at the end of chapter four)

Ruth Day 11: 2:14-17

14: And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.

Boaz continues to look out for Ruth by making sure that she is fed. Not only does he feed her, but she is given enough food to be full and have left overs. (This reminds me of the miracles of feeding the 5000* and feeding the 4000** in the New Testament. Not only did the people have enough to be full, but there were baskets left over. Of course this was Jesus performing a miracle, but the same sentiment of caring for those around him is shown.)

15-16: When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “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.”

Boaz takes it another step further by telling his men to make sure that Ruth gleans plenty of grain. He did his familial duty by telling her to stay in his field where she would be safe, but he was a worthy man and a man of God, as we saw earlier in the chapter. He took it further by deliberately making sure that she was fully cared for. This also reminds me of the phrase: “go the extra mile.”

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.

An ephah of barley is about 22 liters. That is a lot of barley. Make note that this is just from one day of gleaning. Most of chapter two takes place over one day.

Boaz continues to care for Ruth, just as we are called to care for one another. He looks out for her and provides for her much more that what people would expect. He had no obligation to take those extra steps, but he chose to. His actions show us why he is called worthy and reaffirm that he is a man of God. We can learn to look out for one another by learning from Boaz. We may not be able to do anything to the extent that he did, but we should care for one another, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ. We can also learn from Ruth and her diligence to care for who she could, even when she didn’t have much. She worked hard and put Naomi before herself.

* Feeding of the 5000
Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15
** Feeding of the 4000
Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10