Ruth 2 explained: Ruth Finds Kindness in Boaz's Field

Ruth goes to glean (vv. 1-3)

Israel's law told farmers to leave dropped grain and field edges for the poor, foreigners and widows, and Ruth was all three. The story says she just happened to pick Boaz's field, which many readers take as a quiet hint that God is guiding events.

Boaz notices her (vv. 4-7)

Boaz and his workers greet each other with blessings, a sign he is a decent, respected employer. His foreman explains who Ruth is and says she has worked since early morning, resting only briefly in the field shelter.

Protection for a foreigner (vv. 8-13)

Boaz tells Ruth to stay near his women workers, orders the men not to touch her, and lets her drink from the workers' water jars, giving real safety to a foreign woman alone in the fields. He has heard of her loyalty to Naomi and prays that Israel's God, pictured as a bird sheltering its young under its wings, will reward her.

More than enough (vv. 14-16)

At mealtime he shares ordinary harvest food with her, bread dipped in sour wine and roasted grain, until she is full with some left over. He then quietly tells his workers to pull extra stalks from the bundles for her and not to shame her.

A big day's gathering (vv. 17-18)

Ruth beats the grain out of the stalks and ends up with about an ephah of barley, a large basketful and far more than a gleaner would usually collect in a day. She brings it home to Naomi along with the food she saved from lunch.

Naomi sees hope (vv. 19-23)

Naomi realizes Boaz is a close relative with a family duty to redeem, meaning to step in and rescue relatives in trouble, for example by buying back land they had lost. Christians later read this rescuing relative as a picture of Jesus, and for now Ruth keeps gleaning safely in his fields through the barley and wheat harvests.

Key verse: Ruth 2:12

Where Christians differ

Christians differ on whether Boaz should be read mainly as a figure pointing ahead to Jesus as rescuer or mainly as a human example of generous, faithful kindness, though many hold both.

Something to think about

When someone goes beyond what rules or custom require for a stranger, what do you think makes them do it?