The Book of Ruth

God is hardly mentioned in the book of Ruth, yet He is at work in every verse. This is true of days two and three, and it is no different for day four as we focus on Ruth gleaning in the field and meeting Boaz for the first time.

We read a story filled with promises from the Lord that you may mistake for coincidences. As we study these following verses together, we recognize God’s sovereignty in the story of Ruth and Boaz and see that character and integrity matter to God.

Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

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.” 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.

Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!”

“The Lord bless you!” they answered.

Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”

The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 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.”

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. 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.”

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?”

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. 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.”

Ruth 2:1-12

Summary

It “just so happened.” Ruth chooses to glean in a field that happens to belong to Boaz. Boaz is a close relative of her father-in-law, making him a kinsman-redeemer. And on that same day, Boaz shows up and sees Ruth.

There are no coincidences in the economy of God.

On day two, we noted that Bethlehem translated as “House of Bread.” Later, the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, his name meaning “Bread of Life.” Where some may see coincidence, the believer can recognize God’s sovereign hand at work. God was foreshadowing what was to come: that one day, the tiny town of Bethlehem would become the home of Jesus.

The city you were born in, the family you grew up in, the schools you attended, and the jobs you took are all minor details of God’s bigger story for your life. Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This can bring hope to the darkest places for us: even if we can’t hear Him speaking or don’t understand why we’re facing the circumstances, we can trust that He is working. We don’t have to know every detail of the plan to trust every word of the promise.

Ruth and Boaz were obedient and known to have good character and integrity, two things that matter a great deal to God. Read Proverbs 12:22.

1. How has reading this verse convicted you about how you live your life? Would you consider yourself to have good character and integrity?