Ruth 2:2–23

The two women, pressed by poverty, looked for relief through the national poor law. But it was not Naomi, the older woman, an Israelite by birth and upbringing, who took the first step. It was Ruth, the younger, a convert from idol worship to the service of Jehovah. Barley harvest had begun, so she volunteered to glean in the barley fields, even though she was a "stranger" in Bethlehem. Her mother-in-law agreed.

When someone harvested his crops, he might leave a sheaf behind in the field. He was not to go back for it. He was to leave it for a stranger, a fatherless child, or a widow. This comes on top of the command in Leviticus 19:9-10: owners were not to reap the corners of the field, but to leave them for the poor. Ruth was blessed by taking advantage of this law in the field of Boaz. … So God showed His gracious care for people who were oppressed. Israel had to remember that they themselves were once in the land of Egypt.

Until now Ruth's faith rested on the work of grace God had done for His people. But her faith needs an object, a personal object, and she cannot fail to find it. Ruth does not yet know the mighty man spoken of in verse 1, but she hopes to meet him on the ground of grace. … Although she is poor and without rights, she knows she can count on the Lord's resources.

Nothing proves energy of soul more clearly than this. In any difficulty we are not only resigned, but ready to take up any small opening offered to us. We can humble ourselves to it. We can tell everyone, and our own souls too, that God has not forgotten us, and that what is right in front of us is quite enough to meet our needs. … Ruth sees there is no opening for her but gleaning, and to gleaning she gives herself; and this was the Lord's opening for her.

Her path is clear, as faith's path always is, but she does not choose her path by her own will. We often treat the result of our own thinking, or what our natural hearts want, as the path of faith. But faith never acts except in full dependence on the Word of God.

Early in the morning she went out humbly as a poor stranger. She would gather a gleaner's portion of grain wherever the chance came. Yet she went with firm trust that the God of Israel, under whose wings she had come to take refuge, would guide and protect her. … To outward appearance, Ruth by "chance" chose the field of Boaz, but to faith it was by God's arranging and directing.

In a spiritual sense, gleaning is the believer taking hold of the blessings to which God has given him a title. … Paul can say with complete confidence that believers are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Yet this did not stop him praying for a special work by the Holy Spirit in the inner man, so that the saints might grasp the breadth and length and depth and height of all these blessings.

"Happen"; if it should so happen; it happened to Ruth that she gleaned in the field of Boaz.

We should have called it "a chance happening," "a coincidence" perhaps, but it was in reality one of those Divine over-rulings which alter the very course of our lives. They come to all of us, to reader and writer alike.

Early in the morning she went out humbly, as a poor stranger, to gather a gleaner's portion of grain wherever she found the chance. Yet she went with a firm trust that the God of Israel, under Whose wings she had come to take refuge, would guide and protect her. … To all appearances, Ruth chose the field of Boaz by "chance." But to faith it was God's own devising and directing that sent her to the field of a godly and gracious man. He was her mother-in-law's kinsman by marriage, and she soon found favour in his eyes.

Providence does not guide believers; it controls circumstances and enemies. The Holy Spirit is the One who graciously guides Christians. We still deal with outward things, and there the providence of God works.

When we are in a tight place, the clearest proof of spiritual energy is this: we are not only resigned, but ready to take any little opening offered to us, and to humble ourselves to it. … Ruth sees that gleaning is her only opening, and she gives herself to gleaning. This was the Lord's opening for her. Very humble, unnoticed work, no doubt. But He does not see as man sees, and He led her by the right way. For He "teaches the humble His way," and so "her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz." … Unless we take the humble opening put in front of us, we shall never reach the place of satisfaction.

It was not rented out to anyone else, thank God. It belonged to Boaz. It was a place where Boaz got his rights, where he was everything. It is the place where Christ's claims are fully acknowledged. There was a chief reaper too, and I have no doubt he pictures the One who carries on the work down here now — the Holy Spirit. But the field belonged to Boaz, and Ruth is among his reapers now.

He was a blood relation of the man who left Bethlehem in Judah for a foreign country. But though he was a kinsman by birth, he had no part with Elimelech in his disastrous choice to go down to Moab. Boaz did not leave the land. He stayed in it and kept his inheritance whole, while Elimelech forfeited his. These two marks were the essential qualifications of a Kinsman-redeemer under the law of the Lord.

Ruth lost nothing by holding to Naomi. Because of it, "her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz." And he was a man of tender heart, for he spoke kindly to Ruth and comforted her. But not only that: he was a mighty man of wealth, and the field he had power over was fully enough to satisfy her need.

Boaz was a godly man of substance and standing in Bethlehem, whose riches strengthened his moral and spiritual character instead of spoiling it. He was courteous, considerate, and generous to the poor. His recorded words and actions both show his deep-rooted faith in God. There lay the secret of his strength.

As he enters the field he says to his reapers, "The LORD be with you." "The LORD bless you," they reply. What beautiful greetings between master and servants. Boaz was a good master. There were no strikes among his workmen. Nobody put their heads together to grumble about long hours, hard work, or low wages. He greets his servants kindly and they answer him with blessing. There is nothing but good feeling and agreement between them. Oh, Christ is a blessed Master! "My yoke is easy," He says, "and my burden is light."

His name, "in him is strength," reminds us at once of the One of whom he is the type. He is "a mighty man of wealth," or valour, as the word more naturally means. He reached His place as the Lord of the harvest and the generous Giver through the conflict in which He was the Victor over the "strong man." He reached the place of wealth by the path of poverty. He laid aside the riches that were His by right, so that He might have joined to Himself those objects of His love and grace.

The first necessity for every servant of the Lord is the presence of the Lord. So we find Boaz greeting his reapers with the beautiful desire "The LORD be with you" (v. 4). And in the same spirit we read in the gospel day, "And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them" (Mark 16:20).

Now notice the closeness between the master and the servants. It is beautiful; there is perfect communion between the Lord and the reapers, and it is most blessed to see the way He comes in and out among them.

The relation between Boaz and his reapers is all too rare in a world where selfishness in the master and suspicion in the servant are the rule. This must always be the case where men leave God out. The gulf between "labour and capital" will only widen until the reign of grace takes hold in the hearts of men. How useless are labour laws and efforts for universal prosperity, when they never reach the root of the evil — the sin and selfishness of man's heart. Nothing will reach it until He comes, of whom Boaz is the type.

Employers may not think of this, but they ought to serve their servants. That does not mean being subject to them. It means caring about their proper welfare and treating them kindly and fairly. Consider the character of Boaz in Ruth 2:4. His relationship with his servants was excellent, for he first recognised his Master in heaven.

A stranger goes out to glean in the field. It is Ruth, the Moabitess. How like a sinner who first goes out to hear the word of life — to glean a few ears of blessing. As a Moabitess, in herself she was an alien from the commonwealth of Israel; without God, and without hope. But something had drawn her from the house of death to the field of Boaz. It is so with the sinner, whose heart the Spirit of God has touched. Lost and guilty in himself; a stranger to God and peace; yet he is drawn to the place where the servants of Christ are reaping the field.

This poor stranger girl shrinks from every curious glance and feels her isolation deeply. She need not think she is unnoticed. Boaz marks her at once, and his questions show his real interest. And let us not forget for a moment: the eye of our Lord falls at once on every poor soul who is looking for help… He was thinking about us when we least thought of it. Even before we turned to Him, He had turned in mercy to us. He knew, and could tell apart the touch of faith from all the pushing and pressing of the careless crowd. Trembling soul, His eye of love is on you now.

The servant calls her the "Moabitess." That name would at once mark her out as separate from the daughters of Israel. But alongside what declares her foreign birth there is mention of a faith. That faith led her to follow the widowed Naomi back to the land of Israel, instead of returning to her father's house with its false gods. In addition the servant tells of her wish to glean, and of her diligence in the lowly task with its small reward.

"Whose young woman is this?" Here let us say a word to those who are "set over the reapers." No doubt "the servant that was set over the reapers" speaks first of the Holy Spirit of God. He is always acquainted with everything that enters any assembly of God's people. He knows every heart and those who are His, and He watches with jealous care over the coming of the stranger into such a gathering. But in a second sense "the servant" pictures the elders in the assembly who "care for the flock." If our Lord, the divine Boaz, were to ask you "Whose young woman is this?" about any newcomer, could you give as clear and concise an answer about that person's history as this servant of old did?

"Whose young woman is this?" he now says. Boaz had his eye on the stranger. He marked the stranger and asked about her, and the servant can tell him all about her… The Lord often gives His servant full knowledge of what is going on in a soul, just so that He can meet that soul's need by His word through the servant… Look at the tenderness of the Lord; do not judge the tenderness of the Master by the roughness that is often in the servant.

With touching grace Boaz places all his riches at the disposal of the stranger from Moab. By the letter of the law, she was not to enter the congregation of the Lord until the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3). His fields, his maidens, his young men, his wells, his corn — all are at Ruth's disposal. He says nothing about her origin, her being a stranger, or her poverty. No word of reproach for the past, no threats about the future, no claims on her for present payment; everything is given in sovereign, unbounded grace.

Ruth, too, appears — most sweet and blameless, no doubt, because of the working of divine grace in her. But she was still a daughter of Moab, and the Lord forbade Moab to enter His congregation to the tenth generation for ever.

A Moabite, says the law of Moses, "shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation they shall not enter the congregation of the Lord for ever" (Deuteronomy 23:3). Yet Ruth chose to be identified with Israel, and the Lord accepted her. Truly, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God."

Ruth's decision was firm and beautiful. She was not interested in Moab's "gods." She wanted the God of Naomi. There was no one in Moab to attract her heart like Naomi did, and she saw clearly that this was because of Naomi's God. On top of that, she would be content to live with a people who had the same God. This was unusual for a Moabite woman, but God knows how to produce unusual cases.

The servant of Boaz, set over the reapers, also has his place in Ruth's progress in gleaning. He is nameless and little seen. Yet he is behind everything, acting for Boaz and controlling every reaper in the fields of Boaz. What is more, he brings Ruth into touch with Boaz, talking with Boaz about Ruth. The servant too is in perfect agreement with the mind of Boaz. He tells Boaz the truth, but says nothing to her discredit. He even acts ahead of the mind of Boaz by encouraging Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz. Surely this is a striking picture of that great Person, the Holy Spirit. He has come from the glorified Christ, in the name of Christ, to represent the interests of Christ.

Here may we say a word to those who are "set over the reapers" — in other words, to those who are elders in the Church of God... Suppose our Lord, the true Boaz, asked you about a newcomer to the local gathering: "Whose young woman is this?" Could you give as clear and exact an answer about that person's history as this servant of old did? One fears that in many cases we take too little care. We do not find out the past history of a stranger who comes in, as the servant did here.

The famine was one link in the chain of circumstances that brought Ruth the Moabitess into the line of the King.

We learn that God was working through all the failure of His people, with Messiah in view, and that Christ was always His object. Here in Boaz and Ruth we come to the direct line of His ancestry. God lifts a poor widowed Moabite stranger up to share this blessed privilege, and from that we learn how entirely everything is of grace... Most clearly of all, it was grace that raised poor Ruth out of the dust, and lifted her from the rubbish heap, to set her among princes.

With Ruth it is different. She represents the faith of the remnant, which makes no claim of right, but comes to glean in the fields of divine mercy. So she is called the Moabitess here, her Gentile origin shutting her out from any legal claim to a portion in Israel. And yet God had made provision for exactly such people: "you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner" (Leviticus 23:22).

First she was marked by a spirit of humility and subjection. She says to Naomi, "Let me go," and to the servant, "Let me glean." She did not act on her own, apart from those who were older and more experienced than she was. She did not despise guidance and counsel. She did not suffer from an unbroken will, leading her to do what was right in her own eyes.

Secondly, Ruth was marked by diligence. Verse 7 says she "has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest." Verse 17 says, "So she gleaned in the field until evening." Is there not a great lack of diligence among believers in the things of God? We are diligent enough in the things of this world. But the things of the Lord too often get only the odd moments of our lives.

"So she gleaned in the field until evening." She does not stop her work until the day has ended. She had continued from the morning (see v. 7). She made a good beginning, as many do. But, unlike most, she made an equally good ending. It is easy to start, but much harder to keep going.

Boaz took a personal interest in the welfare of all the workers, as he always did. The "house" was a temporary shelter where the workers could rest a while from the great heat.

He is mentioned twice (vv. 5-6), but his name is not once given… He was "in charge of the reapers." He directed them in their work. He said to one, Go there; to another, Come here; to another, Do this. They were all under his orders and obeyed him. Now the Lord Jesus is having His great harvest of grace reaped, and the Holy Spirit is the one in charge of the reapers.

The servant told him it was Ruth, and what she had done "from early morning until now" (Ruth 2:5,7). So he knew where she had come from, and who she was. And the Holy Spirit, who is set over the servants of Christ, knows full well every sinner brought to Christ: who they are, and where they came from.

Spiritually, gleaning pictures the believer taking up the spiritual blessings that God has given him a title to. In the history of Israel God gave that nation an absolute title to the land… Still, God said, "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you." They had to take possession.

And now Ruth hears the voice of Boaz. What tender words! He did not drive her from his field as a worthless Moabitess. Oh, no! His words speak such a welcome to her desolate heart as a stranger. A precious picture of Him who would not break a bruised reed, nor quench a smouldering wick.

They are words to encourage the true seeker in his or her search for real satisfaction... Meanwhile Ruth acknowledges that she is in a place of special favour, and her position is one of grace.

Boaz is a rich and powerful man, yet he stoops to speak to the poor foreign widow. He kindly encourages her to keep gleaning in his field. "Do not go to glean in another field," Boaz says. And the word of God is enough for the Christian. There are the fields of philosophy, of criticism that questions the Bible, of evolutionary science, and what not. Let us hold to our Bible as God has given it to us. Never mind the taunt of not keeping up with the times. The Bible was, is, and always will be strictly "up-to-date." David says, "I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation" (Psalm 119:99).

There are other fields and other young women, but they are strangers to Boaz. Whether we are young or old in the path of faith, we do well to heed the warning of Boaz. The world has many an attractive field and can offer very pleasant company at times. But the world's fair fields and the world's empty company are not of Christ... We must deal with people of the world in business and the affairs of this life. But it is not in that circle that we can enjoy sweet fellowship and make spiritual progress. This can only be found in our "own company," the company of the Lord's people.

His grace breaks her down completely. What does he do? He puts everything at her disposal, and the moment a soul trusts Christ, He puts everything at its service. The whole range of Scripture blessing is at your disposal when you trust Him. You have only to drink of the streams of that fountain of living water. His own death and resurrection have opened it up for your thirsty soul.

"Do you not hear, my daughter? Do not go to glean in another field." That first word welcomes whatever she has already gleaned. It is also a clear command to continue where she had begun. Disciples may try to send the seeking soul away, but the Lord never does. The search may look like a failure, and discouragement may follow. It may have gone on a long time. Still the first word is, "Do not go to another field." Many things tempt a soul to do this. There are other and easier ways of getting peace — reformation, happy feelings, religious profession. And thousands of substitutes are offered in place of the simple way of God.

"Do not go to glean in another field," says Boaz, "but stay here." And, my young believer, stay with Jesus. Do not go looking for pleasure in another field. Do not be lured to the dance, the concert, the world's parties, or its false pleasures. Are you drawn to Jesus? Hold on to Him with purpose of heart... This tender warning is needed all the more in our day. So many seem to be with Christ one day and with the world the next.

"Close by my young women." Others besides ourselves are working in the fields of grace. It is rare that a soul cannot get help from those further on than itself. Ruth is to follow those who belong to the household of Boaz. His authority gave her freedom from all interference. If there are only a few in the narrow way, we can find enough companionship with that few. Faith cannot imitate, but it can follow the faith of those who love Christ. It is always dangerous when a soul loses its taste for real fellowship with those who have a heart for the Lord.

As a "stranger," Ruth would no doubt have been timid and shy. Boaz spoke to her with friendly words of encouragement and consideration, speaking like an older man rather than a master.

His grace breaks her down completely. What does he do? He puts everything at her disposal. The moment a soul trusts Christ, He puts everything at its service. When you trust Him, the whole range of Scripture blessing is yours. His own death and resurrection have opened a fountain of living water for your thirsty soul, and you have only to drink from its streams.

Boaz also invited Ruth to drink from the vessels of water that his young men had drawn. The young men picture those who have spiritual energy. They minister the fresh, refreshing Word of God to bless the Lord's people. May we take advantage of such ministry.

And Boaz said, "When you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink." How like the words of Jesus! "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink" (John 7:37). The prophet also cried out about Him, "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" (Isa. 55:1). And in the last words of Jesus we hear again, "Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price" (Rev. 22:17). Precious grace!

This friendly and gracious advice touched the young woman deeply. She felt herself completely unworthy of such favour.

Like Mephibosheth, when David showed him grace, she was humbled. She did not doubt the grace, much less refuse it, but she confessed her complete unworthiness. True humility does not doubt. How strange that questioning the sincerity of grace shown to us has been thought the mark of a lowly mind. It is never put that way, but the result is the same: God is doubted and the soul goes unblessed. That is not humility but pride.

This friendly and gracious advice touched the young woman deeply. She felt herself completely unworthy of such favor. For other acts of bowing low to show reverence, according to Eastern custom, see 1 Samuel 25:23-24 and 2 Samuel 1:2.

In turn, Ruth opens her mouth. "Why," she asks, "have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" I love this "why". It shows the deep humility of this young woman. "I have no right," she says in effect, "to such favor." She is not concerned with herself except to confess her unworthiness, but how she values him! "You took notice of me when I was nothing to you!"

But as we well know, the riches of grace do not dim the brightness of truth. In fact, it is grace that calls the truth out. There is no need for Boaz to remind this stranger of her lowly origin. She confesses the truth herself, but it is the grace of Boaz that draws the confession out of her. She falls on her face before Boaz, putting herself out of sight as she realises the greatness of the person she is standing before, one to whom she owes every blessing. By her question, "Why have I found favor in your eyes?" she owns that there is nothing in herself to deserve such grace. And she owns that by nature she has no claim on Boaz, for she confesses "I am a foreigner."

Ruth confesses she was only "a foreigner." But there was much more to it than that, though she may not have known it herself. The law of Moses said, "An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation they shall not enter the assembly of the LORD forever." It said further, "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever" (Deuteronomy 23:3, 6). What then could she have expected from Boaz but to be rebuked and driven out of his field? And that same stern law, which cursed the Moabites and shut them out of blessing, curses us all and shuts heaven against us. The law given by Moses condemns the sinner. But thank God, the grace and truth which came by Jesus Christ save the sinner who trusts Him.

His reply shows how well he knows her history, which he interprets as far more than loyal kindness to her bereaved mother-in-law. She has come to find shelter under the protecting wings of the God of Israel, and you cannot separate her devotion to Naomi from that. Has the heart not often asked our Lord a similar question? Is His answer not found in this: He has marked our path, and seen the beginnings of that faith which He now rewards? And is the faith itself not the fruit of His own sovereign grace? He knows those whom He has drawn to Himself.

Grace is marked by two things: first, grace is always undeserved; and second, it is always unconditional. It is impossible to work for grace, pay for it, or deserve it. We can never insist that God turns to us in grace. Like Ruth long ago, we can only say: "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" Mephibosheth said the same thing to David: "What is your servant, that you should look on a dead dog such as I?" This should be our attitude as we think about God's grace towards us.

The servant had given witness to the poor Moabite woman; now the master himself declares what he has found in her... the one she was bowing down before takes it on himself to bring her character to light, for he knew everything... In Ruth Boaz sees the work of love, the fruit of faith; her care for Naomi, a picture of the afflicted, distressed people of God, had not escaped the master. Yes, this poor daughter of Moab was a true Israelite with no deceit in her. Also as a true daughter of Abraham she had left her land and her family and had made her way to a people unknown to her.

She has owned the truth, "I am but a stranger," and Boaz seems to say you can tell me nothing about yourself that I do not know; "It has been fully shown to me, all that you have done" (v. 11). She has no lingering fear that one day something from her past will come out and make Boaz take back the gifts of grace. Set free she can say, "You have comforted me," "You have spoken to the heart" (margin). Nothing so touches the heart, so wins the heart, or so comforts the heart, as learning, in the presence of the Lord, that He knows everything about me and still loves me.

Like Abram, the father of all who believe, Ruth was leaving the land of idols for the land of Jehovah's promise... Indeed, by leaving her father and mother for the truth's sake (2:11), Ruth showed one of the marks the Lord said set His true disciples apart (Matt. 10:37; Luke 14:26).

Ruth had left much, and she had not taken up her present position lightly. She had weighed up the cost, and decided to leave father and mother and the land of her nativity for a people which she had not known before. But Boaz had not overlooked this, and he wishes her a full reward and repayment from God... So perhaps you, my reader, are still not fully persuaded about the Christian pathway. Yet as you seek knowledge and light in these matters, you are enduring much persecution. Let me tell you: the blessed Saviour knows all about it. And when you finally make Him your choice, you will be more than satisfied. He Himself will be a complete reward.

Ruth confesses she was but "a stranger." But there was far more to it than this, though she herself may not have known it. The law of Moses said, "No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever." It said further, "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever" (Deut. 23:3,6). What then could she have expected from Boaz but to be rebuked and driven from his field? And that same stern law, which cursed the Moabites and shut them out from blessing, curses us all and shuts heaven against us too. But thank God: if the law given through Moses condemns the sinner, the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ save him when he trusts that gracious Saviour... Though by nature a cursed Moabite, her faith had saved her; though condemned by the law, she was justified by faith.

Grace always humbles us. Ruth confesses she was only "a stranger." But there was far more to it than that, though she herself may not have known it. The law of Moses said, "No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever." It also said, "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever" (Deut. 23:3, 6). What then could she have expected from Boaz but to be rebuked and driven from his field? And that same stern law cursed the Moabites and shut them out from blessing. It curses us all too, and shuts heaven against us… Though she was by nature a cursed Moabite, her faith had saved her. Though the law condemned her, she was justified by faith.

When danger threatens her helpless chicks, the hen gathers them under her wings (Matt. 23:37). When David was fleeing from Saul, he took refuge in the shadow of the wings of his God (Ps. 57:1; see also Ps. 36:7; Ps. 61:4; Ps. 91:4).

The greeting Boaz gave to Ruth ended, "under whose wings you have come to take refuge" — the wings of Omnipotence! The Lord Jesus never emptied Himself of His Godhead. He had all divine attributes, and His power was constantly at work upholding everything. What a meaning there is in this gathering them under His wings!

In Ruth, Boaz sees the work of love, the fruit of faith. Her care for Naomi had not escaped the master — and Naomi pictures the afflicted, distressed people of God… Boaz sets his seal of approval on such love and faith. Then he offers her a reward… The reward is not what faith aims at. It serves to encourage faith.

He assures her of coming blessings. Ruth will get them because she trusted. They are not blessings of works, not of the law covenant, but of grace, because she believed.

Note this: he rewards her for her devotion more than for her service… The reward for faithful service may be great. Yet the reward of devotion, added on top of it, goes far beyond it. The fruit only matches the labour spent — unless that labour springs from true devotion. If Ruth had gone to glean like the other servant girls, she would have received her due, what her labour earned, and no more.

Did Ruth refer especially to these words of Boaz when she pleaded, "Spread your wing over your servant"? It may well have been so. The words of her lips expressed the faith of her heart: the "wing" of Boaz might be the means of the sheltering "wings" of Jehovah.

Ruth had little idea what blessings lay in the words of Boaz… Nothing at that time showed the blessings that would soon be hers with Boaz, or the far-off prospect of her relationship with Jehovah Messiah Himself.

When Jesus speaks, He speaks to the heart, for there is such grace in His words; such tenderness, such pity and compassion, such healing of the wounds of the soul.

This is how Boaz comforted the heart of Ruth. She has owned the truth: "I am but a stranger." Boaz seems to say, you can tell me nothing about yourself that I do not know. I have been told all that you have done (v. 11). No fear is left in her mind that something from the past may come out one day and make Boaz take back the gifts of grace. Set free, she can say, "You have comforted me," "You have spoken to the heart" (margin). Nothing so touches the heart, so wins the heart, or so comforts the heart, as to learn in the presence of the Lord that He knows all, and yet He loves me.

But this only bows the soul lower before Him. As it discovers and enjoys His grace, it also discovers and judges what self is. This is repentance; a most necessary exercise of the soul, and one which always goes along with learning God's grace. As a picture, Ruth passes through this exercise when she says, "though I am not one of your servants." She feels, and every new-born soul feels, "I am utterly unworthy of His grace. I do not deserve such love." She judges herself: it is repentance, self-condemnation.

Ruth is a beautiful picture of the lowliness that marks a young faith. Like Mephibosheth, when David showed him grace, she was humbled. She did not doubt the grace, much less did she refuse it, but she confesses her utter unworthiness. True humility does not doubt. How strange that people count it a mark of a lowly mind to question whether the grace shown is sincere. Of course they do not put it that way, but the result is the same: they doubt God, and the soul goes unblessed. Call such treatment by its proper name. It is not humility, but the most shameful kind of pride, which wears the clothes of poverty to prove its claim to riches.

My reader may say, I am far from being like one of the Lord's people. But can you say you have found comfort in the Lord's presence that nothing else could give you? Though your heart was sad and desolate, did you not find comfort at such a meeting? You may be afraid to say you are a Christian. But are you a gleaner? Has God put a thirst for Himself in your heart? Have you found comfort in Him when none could help? Then take courage. He that has begun a good work in you will carry it on until the day of Christ.

Boaz is not content with bringing relief to Ruth and then leaving her with a heart filled with gratitude. Even if this satisfied her heart it would not satisfy his heart. If she expected no further blessing, he had yet more to give. Boaz will not be content without the company of the one to whose heart he has spoken. So he can say, "Come here." And in a deeper way, is this not how the Lord deals with us? If He breaks down our fears, speaks to our hearts, and wins our affections, it is so that He can have our company.

At mealtime, Boaz showed further favour to the Moabite woman. Boaz let Ruth share fully with the rest, and dip her morsel of bread in the dish of vinegar or sour wine. As she sat among the reapers, Boaz himself passed her a generous helping of roasted grain. It was a double portion to mark his favour. Truly blessed are the meek; they "shall eat and be satisfied" (Psalm 22:26).

Boaz's praise does not puff her up; she is well aware that all is grace and she desires to find yet more grace. She recognizes his authority over her and declares herself to be his unworthy servant. Then he singles her out for honour by inviting her to his feast. Ruth sits at Boaz's table! What a mark of favour for this poor foreigner!

Our Lord never leaves a seeking soul to hunger. In the provision for Ruth's refreshment we see His hand of bounty, even for one who little realizes the fulness of His grace. She is welcome to dip her morsel in the vinegar. Along with her feeble understanding — her bit of bread — she receives the strength and refreshment suggested in the wine. Have we not done the same in the early days of our faith? We brought our little scrap of truth, our little glimpse of Christ. We found it made delicious and strengthening by the sense of a love which we did not bring.

At mealtime Boaz says, "Come here and eat some bread." This is enjoyment together. Sheep feed together. But notice: "he passed to her roasted grain." In the company, that was something meant for Ruth alone. It is individual attention, so delightful both to read and to experience.

What a picture of a soul simply sitting down and fully receiving the grace of God! What is the first thing I do when His grace offers me Christ the living Bread? I eat. What follows? I am satisfied. The heart is full, the conscience is perfectly purged, the soul is at rest… Then, as a simple consequence, comes this: there is something (in our case an immensity) "left," which we carry off for the benefit of others. Grace magnificently expands the heart, strips it of selfishness, and fills it with desires for the blessing of others.

As a true son of Israel, Boaz, the Bethlehemite, remembers this word of the God of Israel, and does even more than was commanded. The reapers, as we read in the story, give him a good report of this poor stranger from Moab. He greets her with kind and gracious favour, and she accepts his grace with thankfulness. She is satisfied with what her work could gather. But he goes beyond all she desired: he serves her with his own hands and gives her a place among his sheaves.

Some may see in this a picture of the Lord's Supper for those who are His own. But may I suggest instead that it pictures a Bible reading of the Lord's people around His Word. There, gathered with them, is one seeking a like portion who has not yet tasted the redemptive work of Christ. That one truly longs for soul satisfaction. As the Holy Spirit, through the lips of those gathered, unfolds the glories of the riches of Christ, that soul drinks in the truth with real pleasure and delight. As Ruth takes home to Naomi what she kept back after she was satisfied, so that soul must tell others something of this treasure it has just begun to learn.

When Ruth started gleaning again, Boaz instructed his young men to give her every help. She was to gather up the barley stalks left scattered on the field when the men tied the sheaves.

"Let her glean even among the sheaves," says Boaz. She has the right of range over all his field. There are to be no limits or restrictions on her. And the Christian has the range of all the word of God given to him, from Genesis to Revelation.

As we have already noticed, under the law Ruth had no claim and no place in Bethlehem. But there was a provision made for the poor and the stranger at harvest time. She throws herself entirely on the grace of God, who in this way provided ears of corn for those who had no right to the full harvest.

Boaz was simply acting out that gracious ordinance whose benefit Ruth was reaping. The same grace that had given him the field gave her the gleanings. They were both debtors to grace. She was the happy recipient of Jehovah's goodness.

Fifth, the reapers receive special directions from their master, so that they may be ready for their service. Boaz "instructed his young men, saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.'" People's special needs will call for special directions from the Lord. How near the servant must be to the Master! Only so, in the course of his service, will he know how to let fall a special handful, for a special need, without "reproach" and without "rebuke."

The kindness of Boaz shows further in his orders to his harvesters. They are to let Ruth glean even among the sheaves, and to let grain fall on purpose for her. Boaz could have given Ruth a large amount of grain and saved her the work of gleaning and beating it out. But he wisely left her with work to do, while he encouraged her by letting her see that her work was not in vain.

This noble Israelite clearly wanted "the stranger" to have plenty. He wanted her to have it as the fruit of her own gleaning, not of his charity.

All of this foreshadows what the believing remnant of Israel will pass through in soul when the harvest begins, and how graciously the Lord will deal with that remnant. We may also apply it on spiritual lines to a soul that seeks blessing, and to how the Lord deals in His grace with those who seek Him… We glean in His Word.

When Ruth went back to gleaning, Boaz instructed his young men to give her every help. She was to gather up the barley stalks left scattered on the field when they tied the sheaves. They were also to pull out a few handfuls from the sheaves for her special benefit.

Nothing can surpass the exquisite refinement of the words, "let fall also some of the handfuls on purpose for her." Clearly this noble Israelite wanted "the stranger" to have plenty. And he wanted her to have it as the fruit of her own gleaning rather than of his generosity. This was refinement itself. It put her in direct connection with the God of Israel, and in dependence on Him. He was the God who had fully recognised "the gleaner" and provided for her. Boaz was only acting out that gracious law, and Ruth was reaping its benefit. The same grace that had given him the field gave her the gleanings. They were both debtors to grace.

The special needs of people will call for special directions from the Lord. How close the servant must be to the Master! Only then, in the course of his service, will he know how to let fall a special handful for a special need, without "reproach" and without "rebuke." The Lord in this, as in all else, is our perfect example. On the day of the resurrection He sent a message to Peter: "Go, tell his disciples and Peter." Was He not, with infinite perfection, letting fall a "handful on purpose" for a poor wandering sheep, without "reproach" and without "rebuke"?

Knowing her need well, and her possible reluctance, Boaz orders his men to let some handfuls of grain fall on purpose for her. This is very beautiful, and shows the loving thought of our Lord. Have we not found just such handfuls of comfort, hardly suspecting where they came from? We have found some precious assurance, some view of God's love and grace. We say we found it, but it was let fall on purpose for us. The word of God is full of such handfuls of grace left on purpose for the needy soul. … When did a needy gleaner ever turn to its pages and not find just the word for himself? It shows the heart of God that He has scattered handfuls of blessing, messages of love and grace, from one end of His Book to the other.

"But," you say, "I am afraid of the day of judgment." Well then, here is a handful for you. "Whoever believes in him is not condemned." And again: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me HAS ETERNAL LIFE." Gather up that handful, beat it out, take it home, and eat it. "Has eternal life. He DOES NOT COME INTO JUDGMENT, but HAS PASSED from death to life."

The example of Boaz should teach us here. He let Ruth glean, but he made sure her gleaning was worthwhile. This is a very safe and very simple principle. God intends people to work at something. We go against Him when we pull someone out of depending on the results of patient work and into depending on the results of false generosity. … No bread tastes so sweet as the bread a person nobly earns. But those who earn their bread should get enough.

We see from Exodus 16, the last verse, that an omer was the tenth part of an ephah. We see too, from the same chapter, that an omer of manna per day was each person's allowance. So if barley was as nourishing as manna, Ruth by her diligence had gleaned enough in one day to feed ten people. In the eighteenth verse we read, "And she took it up and went into the city." The city may be called the place of need. How good and fitting it is when Christians do the same! They have gleaned. They have had parched grain handed to them and found handfuls dropped on purpose for them. So let them go to the places of need and carry the precious truth of Christ to souls.

There is instruction in the fact that she beats out the grain she has gleaned. Her work is not finished when she has walked the fields all day. She must now get the grain out of its husk and have it ready for food. In spiritual things, I fear, we too often neglect this beating-out process. It is not enough to gather the word of God and to see its meaning intellectually, or even to see that it applies to us. We must make it our own in practice and prepare it as our food, so that we can digest it.

These unexpected but undeniable marks of God's providential care plainly moved the older woman. Only yesterday she had said, "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me" (1:20). But today Naomi saw that He was dealing very graciously with Mara, the name she had given herself. The love of God was lifting the veil of unbelieving complaint from Mara's heart. And soon Mara the bitter would once again be Naomi the pleasant.

"Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned." Our spiritual progress and growth in grace should be visible to fellow believers, and to all... We will have something to give to others if we are like Ruth, and our ministry will be neither barren nor unfruitful. Many sit silent when believers gather, year after year, just because they have not been gleaning and threshing out like Ruth.

What she had left over after being satisfied was the parched grain that Boaz gave her at mealtime. She could not eat it all. He gave her more than she could eat, and she took it home. That is, Christ so satisfies your heart that you are full yourself, and have the overflow for souls around you. What a blessed result of meeting with Christ!

She satisfies her own hunger first, before giving to Naomi. This seems to suggest that faith must receive before it can give... The instructors who are to "turn many to righteousness" (Dan. 12:3) must themselves learn the lessons they are to teach... And so it must be with every other lesson; Ruth must have her fill before she can give to Naomi.

In commenting on Ruth 2:18, I treated the passage as if Ruth, after reaching home, ate from what she had gleaned before giving to her mother-in-law. No doubt the verse means what she had left over from the midday meal in verse 14 of the same chapter. She ate, was satisfied, and left some of what she had been given. She gave this to Naomi. The lesson remains the same, but this reading removes the charge of apparent selfishness.

In the generous supply that Ruth brought home from the fields of Boaz, Naomi saw the loving-kindness and tender mercies of the Lord. He had quickly and richly rewarded the trust of the two lonely widows in Himself. So Naomi took courage in the Lord. He had satisfied their mouths with good things for their present need. Would He not provide for the future too? Might not her faith go one step further, and trust Him to provide a redeemer for her late husband's inheritance? That inheritance was forfeited for lack of an heir when her two sons died.

Boaz is presented as "a kinsman" and a "mighty man of wealth." The word "kinsman" is used many times in the Book of Ruth. Elsewhere it is translated "redeemer" — a word that gives the true sense of the kinsman's service. The kinsman had the right and the power to redeem his brother and his brother's inheritance, if either had passed into the hands of a stranger.

A kinsman in Israel was one who did not, as Naomi told Ruth, forget his kindness to the dead or to the living. Indeed, we may add, to the poor and the oppressed too. He was to buy back the sold inheritance of his poor brother. He was to avenge the blood of his murdered brother. He was to raise up the name of his dead and childless brother. Beautiful services, showing grace in its riches, its depth and its variety. And Boaz stands as the picture of it.

Naomi recognizes in Boaz a kinsman, and sees in Ruth's experience the hand of God. The love and care of God bridge the gap between the happy past and the present. Whether with the individual or the nation, He will prove that "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

All these Scriptures, and many more, speak of the humanity of the Saviour. From them we learn that the Son of God had to become Man, just as surely as the Saviour of sinners had to be God Himself. The two themes belong together. The Kinsman-Redeemer for mankind must be, and can only be, God come as Man — the God-man Christ Jesus. His humanity proves His right to redeem, for by it He became related to us, sin apart. His Deity supplies the ability to redeem.

One interesting point here is that only the poor needed a kinsman-redeemer. The rich had no need of such a person, but the poor Israelite in dire poverty was the one who needed the redeemer's help. How true today. Jesus came to call sinners — not many of the noble, rich and wealthy, not the righteous Pharisee, not the moralist.

It was a blessed moment in Naomi's soul when she woke up to this simple fact: Boaz was a kinsman. "May he be blessed by the LORD," she says, "whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" It was like a soul discovering not only the grace that is in God, but a sinner's title to that grace, because of Jesus the Kinsman.

Ruth shows more the first enthusiasm of young faith, while Naomi shows the experience of a faith matured in the school of testing. Young Christian souls, do not carelessly pass over the experience of those who have known the Lord longer than you have. Naomi helps her daughter-in-law to know him better: "The man is near of kin to us, one of those who have the right of our redemption."

The young men of Boaz were his reapers, and the maidens the gleaners. Barley and wheat were usually harvested from early April until late June — about three months. Food for Naomi and Ruth now looked more secure. And for the lost inheritance there were now signs of its redemption on the horizon of their hope.

Nothing is more charming than how open and unguarded Ruth is. And nothing fits the mother-in-law better than her watching out for her daughter — and such a daughter. At the same time faith gives a sense of what is fitting which, in my opinion, none of us can afford to neglect. By this I do not mean the human caution that seeks its own ends in its own way. Not that. I mean the strong sense of what is proper in the sight of God and man, which clearly shines here in both mother and daughter.

In fact it was Ruth, "the Moabite," as the text touchingly reminds us, who repeats the words of Boaz to her mother-in-law. So there is a glimmer of encouragement. Happy Ruth works right through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. She does not wear the widow's sackcloth, as Rizpah did in her mourning (2 Samuel 21:10). Instead the light of a great hope grows clearer and clearer in her soul.

So Naomi backed up this advice. She added that Ruth should not risk being seen in another field (v. 22). Boaz had not said this. But Naomi's words show how often we are moved more by what people see us do than by the plain instructions of Scripture. For Ruth, the words of Boaz would be enough, and God's Word ought to be enough for us… We should obey the Lord out of love for Him, not for fear of the opinions of others.

In verse 3 Ruth gleans "after the reapers." There are those who labour in the word and doctrine. It is well to keep close to them. Then there are the maidens. Perhaps they show the inward fruits of grace in the soul — follow righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Then the young men may stand more for official service — men as distinct from women, and "young" to show the vigour the work needs.

The labours of the reapers will end the harvest, for Boaz tells Ruth, "You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest" (v. 21). What was true of the servants of Boaz will be true of the servants of the Lord. The Apostle used the glorious hope set before us to give energy to the servants in their work. "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58).

But faith is on the right track. In her words to Ruth we hear an echo of what Boaz had already said: "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted." In fact it was Ruth, "the Moabitess," as the text touchingly reminds us, who repeats the words of Boaz to her mother-in-law. So there is a glimmer of encouragement. Happy Ruth goes all through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest... with the light of a great hope growing clearer in her soul.

Naomi therefore confirmed this advice. She added a caution: Ruth should not risk being seen in another field (v. 22). Boaz had not said this. But Naomi's words show how often what people see us do affects us more than the plain instructions of Scripture. For Ruth, the words of Boaz would surely be enough, and God's Word ought to be enough for us... We should obey the Lord out of love for Him, not out of fear of the opinions of others.

The young men of Boaz were his reapers, and the young women the gleaners. The barley and wheat harvest usually ran from early April until late June — about three months. The outlook for food for Naomi and Ruth had brightened. And for the lost inheritance, signs of redemption now appeared on their horizon of hope.

The young men here, the reapers of Boaz, may well represent the "gifts" — the servants Christ specially calls. The young women Ruth was to stay close to picture believers in general.

There are other fields and other young women, but they are strangers to Boaz. Whether young or old in the path of faith, we do well to heed the warning of Boaz. The world has many an attractive field, and at times it offers very pleasant company. But the world's fair fields and the world's empty company are not of Christ... We must deal with men of the world in business and in the affairs of this life. But that is not the circle where we find sweet fellowship and grow spiritually.

And so Naomi discovers this blessed fact. At once she charges Ruth to stay close by his young women, and not to be found in any other field. For this is the way of faith on the full discovery of Christ. It takes a long farewell, a farewell for ever, of all other confidences.

Nothing is more charming than how open and natural Ruth is. And nothing suits the mother-in-law better than looking out for her daughter — and such a daughter. At the same time, faith gives a sense of what is proper, and in my opinion none of us can afford to neglect it. I do not mean the human prudence that seeks its own ends in its own way. I mean the strong sense of what is fitting in the sight of God and man. It certainly shines here in both mother and daughter.

The young men of Boaz were his reapers, and the young women were the gleaners. Barley and wheat harvesting usually ran from early April until late June. That is about three months. Food supplies for Naomi and Ruth now looked better. And for the lost inheritance, signs of its redemption were now coming into view.

It was like a soul discovering not only the grace that is in God, but a sinner's right to that grace, because of Jesus the Kinsman. And so, on discovering that Boaz is a kinsman, Naomi at once tells Ruth to stay close by his young women, and not to be found in any other field. For this is the way of faith when it fully discovers Christ. It says a long farewell, a farewell for ever, to all other confidences.

Naomi's words show that we are often moved more by what people see us do than by the plain instructions of scripture. For Ruth, the words of Boaz would surely be enough, and God's Word ought to be enough for us... We should obey the Lord out of love for Him, not for fear of the opinions of others.

Ruth was persevering. She was not diligent one day and lazy the next... Day after day she gleaned until the end of both the barley and the wheat harvest. The believers in Berea earned special praise not just for searching the Scriptures, but because they did so daily (Acts 17:11). It is easy to be diligent for one day, but to be diligent day after day calls for perseverance. Daily is a hard and testing word. It is not the one who starts well who wins the race, but the one who perseveres.

Remember that Ruth came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. That harvest started right after the feast of the Passover. She keeps serving through the seven weeks of harvest — a complete period, according to the way Scripture uses numbers — to the end of the wheat harvest, that is, up to Pentecost. And it is after Pentecost that Boaz claims her as his own.

Barley in scripture is a picture of resurrection. The sheaf of firstfruits stands for Christ raised, "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." Wheat, in turn, is a picture of manhood as God means it to be — "the second man is from heaven," "the grain of wheat" which has brought forth much fruit.

So Ruth comes into connection with Boaz, so that the grace in him may make a deeper and deeper impression on her. She stays through the barley harvest and through the wheat harvest that follows. What she gathers naturally grows more valuable. But her own position has not changed: Boaz is a kinsman — one of her redeemers — and her home, a poor one still, is with her mother-in-law.

Happy Ruth goes all through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. She does not wear the widow's sackcloth like the mourning Rizpah (2 Samuel 21:10). She walks with the light of a great hope growing clearer and clearer in her soul... Faith grows with exercise, and will soon take no refusal.