Humble Daughter

Today we will continue looking at Ruth 2 but focusing on Ruth instead of Boaz (see “A Worthy Man” for the focus on Boaz). As I thought about this passage and Ruth, one of our friends stood out in my mind. She is a hard-worker and humble. On mission trips (or anywhere), there has never been a task beneath her or that she complained about. She has always been willing and ready to work and serve, and she’s an encouragement to those around her. She has been a godly example to me. She’s someone I want to serve with. Maybe you have someone like my friend in your life.

Ruth exemplified these character traits in Ruth Chapter 2. Let’s study!

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”

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. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

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. 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. 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.” 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.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 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.” 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. [1]

In Chapter 1, we saw Ruth as a woman whose love for her mother-in-law led to a commitment to go wherever Naomi went, to accept Naomi’s people as her own, and to serve Naomi’s God. Now in Chapter 2, they are in the area of Bethlehem, but still need to provide for themselves. Ruth does not waste any time. She takes the initiative to find work to support herself and Naomi (vs 2). We will come back to Ruth’s work in a moment.

In verse 3, Ruth sets out to glean in the field after the reapers, and “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz” (vs 3, emphasis added). This is easy for us to read over and miss the impact of what God is doing. To Ruth, it may have seemed like she happened to come to Boaz’s field, but this was no coincidence. God’s sovereignty brought Ruth to Boaz’s field as part of His ongoing plan to provide and care for Ruth and Naomi. More importantly, it was also part of God’s bigger plan of redemption as He orchestrated the lineage from which King David would come and later, in the fullness of time, the promised Messiah Jesus (Galatians 4:4-5). God is always purposefully at work, always sovereign in every detail, in every minute of every day.

Let’s return to Ruth gleaning in Boaz’s field. When Ruth took the initiative to find work, she didn’t hold out for a 9 am – 5 pm, Monday through Friday, light work in an air-conditioned office job. She sought work gleaning in the wheat and barley fields. She had to bend down to pick up the grain (my back aches thinking about it). She worked from morning to night and, as the supervisor observed, with only a short break. When she had finished gleaning, she beat out or threshed what she had gleaned. We know she wasn’t taking her time gleaning because she gathered about an ephah of barley on this first day which was a sizeable amount.

Ruth worked hard and her hard work impressed the supervisor which in turn impressed Boaz. Her attitude also impressed the supervisor and Boaz. If you read “A Worthy Man” last week, you’ll know that gleaning was commanded by God as a way to provide for the poor, so in a sense, Ruth had a right to glean. However, Ruth didn’t assert herself when she came to Boaz’s field. She didn’t march out in the field and start gleaning or demand a prime gleaning spot. She humbly, kindly, and properly asked if she could glean and gather (vs 7). Again, we might gloss over these details, but God used Ruth’s right attitude, actions, and words to draw the supervisor’s attention which in turn got Boaz’s attention. God is in every detail.

Boaz approaches Ruth, and Ruth’s response reveals more of her humble character. We do not read of Ruth ever complaining about her husband dying, trekking across the desert with Naomi, their poor estate, or having to work. She didn’t question any of the hardships she had endured. Instead, she humbly (note her posture) asks Boaz why she had found favor in his eyes (vs 10) and recognizes that she is not even one of his servants nor an Israelite (vs 13). She understood that she didn’t belong, yet she was receiving kindness and blessing. Ruth’s words in verse 13 are words of gratitude.

There are a few more things we learn about Ruth in this chapter. Her love and care for Naomi were so obvious that it had been told to Boaz (vs 11). Ruth had made God her refuge (vs 13) revealing her commitment to the God of Israel. Additionally, when Boaz invited her to join in the meal, she ate until she was satisfied (she appreciated what she was given), but she wasn’t greedy, and she saved some to share with Naomi (vs 14, 18).

We see over and over how Ruth demonstrated a humble, servant’s heart. We usually read the story of Ruth and focus solely on Boaz as the kinsman redeemer and how he foreshadows Jesus. This is right, but I think Ruth also reflects the heart of Jesus.

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.[2]

Philippians 2:4-8

Reflection

1. God is sovereign over every detail and purposefully at work in each of your circumstances. Your words and your actions impact others. Prayerfully purpose to view your day in light of these truths. Begin your day praying for the known aspects of your day that God would use them for His glory and for others to see Jesus reflected in your words and actions. Pray for wisdom and a humble attitude for when the unknown pops up in your day. End your day, reflecting on specific ways God was sovereign and at work throughout your day.

2. Ruth didn’t live with an entitlement mentality. She was willing to work and to work hard. She was satisfied with what she received. She was willing to share what she had. Even something that was her right by Levitical Law, she humbly asked for. She was grateful when she was shown kindness and blessing. Is there an area that you have been behaving as if you were entitled? We can exhibit entitlement in words and actions, but it can also be between us and God. We think there is something we deserve that we aren’t getting.

3. Ruth ate and was satisfied and then shared with Naomi. This made me think in spiritual terms. Are you feasting on God’s Word? Are you spending time fellowshipping with God? Are you satisfied in God alone or are you looking to other people and things to satisfy what only God can? And are you sharing the Bread of Life, Jesus, with others (John 6:35)? Write out at least one thing you can put into practice this week to feast on God’s Word and fellowship with Him, to identity where else you look for satisfaction, and who you can share with (this might be sharing the Gospel with an unbeliever or sharing what you learned in your quiet time with a brother or sister in Christ).

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Ru 2:1–23. [2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Php 2:4–8.