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Crazy week!! Can you say, "rollercoaster"!? Frustrations and joys in continual succession. I know, life is that way in itself, but it kinda feels like a bit extra going on rn... Not going into details, but it's not easy breaking up with someone who lives in the same building. Thus, the frustration. The joy has come in the reconnection with an old friend. It will be 29 yrs. as of February 28 since being in person. Also a touch of sadness this afternoon (Sun.) as I went to the Vet with my daughter to pick up her cat's remains. Kyra was 15 1/2, she is dearly missed.
We have all taken chances in our lives. Some have worked in our favor, others not so much. Take Kyra, for example. In the Summer of 2007, we took a chance at taking in a young stray cat that was found by a lifeguard at the neighborhood pool my kids frequented. That turned into a wonderful period of animal companionship for all of us. On the other hand, the last vehicle I owned did not turn out so well*. (Pro tip: Unless you have the money, never buy an uninspected vehicle) ;p
Today's passage from Ruth, presented by a Special Guest Preacher, explores the chances taken by Ruth and Boaz. Our guest was Professor Jim Critchlow from Gordon-Conwell Seminary in Mass.*
Ruth 2
New International Version
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field 2 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. 5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” 6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” 8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” 10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” 11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.[a] 18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[b]” 21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
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I know, it looks long, but we'll break it up into "bite-sized" pieces, I promise --
To start off, Prof. Critchlow mentioned about admiring Pastor Matt's coverage of Ruth 1 over the past 2 weeks. He then reiterated 2 of the major points -- 1) God reveals himself in the deep places of our darkness, hunger, and emptiness. 2) God brought the Savior into this world through a Moabitess. This week's message digs deeper into those truths via short bits of the chapter, alternated with brief vignettes of his personal life which relate to each. Now that we have an idea of where we're going, let's begin the journey --
In order to better appreciate this story, it's important that we cover a few contextual facts. The first being that the word, "Bethlehem" literally means, "house of bread". Bethlehem was the major source of food for the authorities in Jerusalem and other nearby towns. It was the place of God's provision for the region in terms of grain. Secondly, it had been around 10 yrs since Naomi and her family had left for Moab. (I'll take the Profs. word on that one) Finally, the barley harvest took place in the Spring, so this would have been late March/early April when the women had arrived.
Ruth 2:1-7 -- Boaz is the Kinsman-Redeemer -- The societal structure in Ancient Israel was made up of 3 major groupings. First, the Family. Immediate households. Secondly, there were Clans. These would be extended family, including cousins, etc.. And finally, the Tribes. As we know, there were 12 of these in Israel*. This first bit of the chapter tells us that Boaz was the "kinsman-redeemer" of the Clan. "Goel" is the original Hebrew. He was in charge of this part of the Trible, and as such, held the responsibility of keeping the Clan in tact. If anyone were in trouble, he was the man to see in terms of family needs. Having a tough time financially?? He's got you covered. Get sent to jail?? He's got your bail. Those kinds of things. As Alimelech's widow, Naomi qualified for help from Boaz. Now Boaz was an admirable man. He can be described as worthy, wealthy, God-fearing, and gracious.
Now let's look at Ruth's chance in this moment of desperation to find provision. As we read in verse 2, she volunteered to go out and gather from the edges of the fields. This was a normal thing travelers or the needy had the freedom to do. Not only has she risked everything by coming to Bethlehem with Naomi as a widow and foreigner; but now she's risking her very life to go out and about by herself!! To her mind, she was simply helping herself and her mother-in-law survive. But watch what God does in her brave act of faith...
Verse 3 tells us that she " 'happened to come' to the part of the field owned by Boaz". (ESV) Interesting, right?? This shows us that God led her to the best source of provision available!! How do we know?? Just look at verse 4. Boaz " ' happened to go out' to the field and greet his men. Hhhhmmmm... Coincidence?? I think not...
Now, we know that Ruth had adopted other Jewish practices, so it is only reasonable to think that her wardrobe was included in this. She would have had a head covering, but no veil, signifying widowhood. Regardless of this, she was recognized as a Moabite to the other workers. They had heard about Naomi's return to town along with her daughter-in-law. Bethlehem wasn't large, so news traveled fast. The significance of this is proven in the repetition of her country of origin throughout the passage. These were sworn enemies of Israel, and here was Ruth, daring to go among them to get food!! But they didn't berate or attack her. Let's see why...
Verse 7 sees the foreman telling Boaz that she had asked polite permission to gather grain there; and what's more, she had been working steadily all day long!! This was clearly out of the ordinary or it wouldn't have made such an impression*.
At this point came Prof. C's first vignette -- His father had been a Fighter Pilot from WWII through Viet Nam. His plane was large and cast an equally large shadow, as did his Service Record. Jim desired to follow in his father's footsteps, but impaired vision didn't allow for it. He did, however, end up attending West Point later on to fill a different role*. God was spreading His "wings of protection and provision" over Ruth.
Ruth 2:8-13 -- Boaz kept Ruth Safe and Secure -- While it was typical for women in that time to retrieve water and gather wood for the fires, Boaz did things differently. In his household, (or at least in his grain field), it was the men who did these things. This made it all the more dangerous for any strange women to be in the area alone. But a foreign woman?? Yikes!!
As we said last week, Ruth's story of fleeing her homeland for an uncertain future holds echoes of Abraham's journey of faith. It also holds similar blessings. It was not only the fact that the story of Naomi's return with Ruth had spread quickly that gotten the attention of those in the village; but Ruth's humility and gratitude that impressed them. Look at Boaz's speech in verse 12 -- "May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” -- Powerful, isn't it!? Obviously, most people don't talk like that today; but to gain someone's respect like that, and, in turn, their protection is truly remarkable*.
Prof. C. shared his second story at this point. He spoke fondly of the West Point Chaplain who took him "under his wings" and provided a peaceful refuge from the rigors of military training and a new environment. This man not only introduced him to his future wife, but married them, and inspired Jim to enter the ministry. He and his wife are going on 45 yrs.+/- in March.
Ruth 2:14-16 -- The Fellowship Meal -- Many cultures in the World consider the sharing of meals as the very height of hospitality and acceptance. Ancient Israel was no exception. Boaz invited Ruth, the Moabitess to dine. And not just at a "random" table with the other woman workers; but at the Head Table!! What!!?? Yep, not just a stranger, but a widowed woman, foreigner and her people were sworn enemies of Israel to boot!! Does Boaz hesitate?? Nope, this is his field, Ruth is his family via Naomi, he cares not about the opinions of others!! Boaz offers the best bread and wine to her in recognition of who she is and what she's done for Naomi. Her bravery, faith, humility, and gratitude inspired him from generosity to largess. Further proof of God's hand at work through Boaz.
Vignette number 3 introduces the Professor's wife, Melody. They are sitting home one night, reading. She's reading from Revelation, and he most likely from the Old Testament. Something in the passage strikes her. She poses a question to Jim. "Do you really think we get crowns in Heaven??", she asks. Now, at this point, she has studied the Bible extensively. He had not. He answers multiple times with replies that she's unhappy with. Finally, one red, hard-cover Holy Bible strikes Jim's head with significant force!! LOL This brought him to a radical change in his life, as he never wanted to be wrong about anything in The Bible again!! He proceeded at this time to enter the Seminary and, "study his brains out", as it were. (my words, not his) He desired to "show himself approved" according to 2 Tim. 2:15.
Ruth 2:17-23 -- Ruth's kindness to Naomi -- Verse 17 tells us that by the end of the day, Ruth had gathered "an ephah's" worth of grain. This is equal to an entire bushel of grain!! That's 35 pounds of barley!! She had gone out in the morning looking for provision for one day and came home with enough for an entire month!!
The passage goes on to Naomi's questioning where Ruth had gotten that much grain. Ruth strategically saves Boaz's name until the end of the conversation. Now mind you, Prof. C. really didn't go into the reasons for this; but I think it was related to the fact that the source didn't matter as much as the fact that her brave actions and humble and grateful attitude brought God's provision to their midst. What the Professor did end with was the point that God is faithful to all who trust Him.
Pastor Matt finished off the service with the idea that it's God's kindness that brings His faithfulness to bear. We can live abundantly in the freedom of Christ's love and provision if we only take our eyes off of ourselves and focus on Him. Start identifying ourselves by His standards rather than the World's view of our identity being strictly bound to our accomplishments, ethnicity, or talents. We have freedom as Sons and Daughters of God to live in identity with Him and His love, sharing Him with the World as His Ambassadors.
May each of us strive more and more everyday to live in God's identity rather than our own...
-- God Bless!!
Footnotes --
My uninspected vehicle was a 1992 Chevy Blazer, small model. I tell you this, not because the make or model matters, but simply to share a moment of God's blessing in the midst of trouble. One of the items on the "laundry list" of problems my truck had was that part of the rear axle needed welding. (if I recall correctly) Anyway, the man looked at it, gave us a quote, and told us to bring it to him for service. He was in the city on business and lived in a nearby town. So we do that, and when we go back to pick it up, the work had cost double the amount quoted!! This man was either a Christian, or had simply the kindness of heart to keep to the quoted price. And on top of this, he was on crutches and had major medical bills to pay!! When we promised to pay the full amount, he refused, saying, "No, you're all set. You clearly need the money more than I do." I cried as Rich thanked him...
Professor Critchlaw teaches Old Testament classes at the Seminary. One of the courses offered is an OT Survey. They partner with area Churches to provide this class to the public on occasion. I actually took the class a couple of years ago as taught by the author of the curriculum herself, Dr. Carol Kiminski. Look for listings under Thriving in Ministry. It's an intense experience, but well worth it!! (at least it was intense when I took it)
Twelve Tribes -- in case anyone needs more on this, go to Genesis 30.
Ruth worked all day -- most people who picked from the edges probably just took what they needed for the day and moved on. Ruth stood out in her efforts by giving her best efforts to the work in order to gain the notice of the other workers, and by extension, Boaz. Many times we hear the expression, "God helps those who help themselves." I think this story is an excellent example of this. We can't just sit back and pray about our situations. We need to give God something to work with.
West Point training was brought out, but not the eventual position.
Boaz's speech/respect/protection -- Having been married once, and in other committed relationships twice later on, I have received a certain amount of this. I can honestly say that I haven't always appreciated it as much as I should have. Lessons have been learned, and I look to the future with new perspectives.
Music -- as always, no rights are mine...
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