When the Redeemer Notices You - Ruth 2:5-23 (Session 3)

Ruth 2 moves fully into the growing relationship between Ruth and Boaz.

Ruth is a widow, a foreigner, and poor. She has no inheritance in Israel and is gathering leftover barley simply to survive. Then Boaz, a wealthy landowner from Bethlehem, notices her.

In this session, Glenn and Steve explore how the romance between Ruth and Boaz also illustrates the believer’s relationship with Jesus Christ. Ruth is the outsider with no ability to change her circumstances, while Boaz is the wealthy kinsman who sees her, protects her, provides for her, and begins drawing her closer.

Boaz tells Ruth to remain in his field, commands his workers not to harm her, gives her access to water, invites her to eat with his servants, personally serves her food, and instructs his workers to intentionally leave extra grain behind for her. Ruth receives far more than the minimum the law required.

The passage also explores Ruth’s status as a foreigner and the biblical truth that God does not show partiality based on race, nationality, social standing, or background.

By the end of the chapter, Naomi recognizes that Boaz is more than simply a generous landowner. He is a close relative and a potential kinsman-redeemer.

The romance is beginning, but so is a much larger picture of redemption.

Scripture: Ruth 2:5–23
Series: The Book of Ruth — An RTTB Study

Questions discussed in this session are: 

•  What does the Bible teach about race and nationality? 
• How should we take care of the least advantaged in our midst?
• Can we trust in the providence of the Lord? 
• How much does God notice of our lives?
• What benefits does Christ give us?  

Transcript

The Romance of Ruth and Boaz

Speaker 2 0:14

Music . Welcome back to Reasoning Through the Bible . We're working our way verse by verse , through the book of Ruth , which brings in some ideas of Kinsman Redeemer and , as we're going to learn today , we're in the middle of chapter 2 , and this is a very romantic story and today we're going to find out a man and a woman fall in love and we're going to find out some things about love between a man and a woman and we'll be able to see what love looks like . We're going to find some very fun things today . We have here in Ruth , chapter 2 .

Speaker 2 0:50

Ruth is a widow and she's lost her husband . So she's poor and she's out following along behind the reapers collecting bits of barley grain enough to just subsistence . So remember , she's a foreigner , she's from Moab . She's poor , in destitute , no way of helping herself , but she's out following what the Mosaic Law allowed , which was to follow behind the reapers . She's getting barley , which is the lowest quality grain and it's just barely enough to subsist on . She barely has no way of getting herself up out of her own circumstances . She's just barely getting by . Along comes this wealthy landowner , boaz , in verse 5 , he says to the servant who is in charge of the reapers , who's young woman is this he notices her .

Speaker 2 1:44

He notices that she's young . He notices her and he says who is this ? Do you think he's taking an interest in her ?

Speaker 1 1:51

This is a very romantic story and this is where the romance starts he's noticed her .

Speaker 2 1:56

And what does the servant say in verse 6 ?

Speaker 1 1:59

He tells her that this is the young Moabite woman who had come back with Naomi .

Speaker 2 2:04

So , as we've said all along this story yes , it's a romance , but it's also a picture of our salvation in Christ . We are the figure of Ruth , in the sense that we're poor , we're foreigners , we're destitute , we have no way of helping ourselves , and Christ is the Boaz figure , he's the wealthy man from Bethlehem and he comes to us . So who notices who first ?

Speaker 1 2:30

Boaz . Boaz notices her first ?

Speaker 2 2:34

Who notices us first ? Is it Christ , or do we come to Christ first ? Christ notices us first . Yes , romans chapter 5 says God demonstrates his own love towards us and that while we were yet sinners , christ died for us . So Christ reaches out to us first . Now keep in mind again she's a foreigner , and in most cultures foreigners are discriminated against , or at least people don't go out of their way to help them .

Speaker 1 3:00

It's also referred to in the New Testament at 1.2 , and that said that Christ has come to seek the lost .

Speaker 2 3:06

What does the Bible teach about whether a person's race matters to the Lord ? Are we separated because of our skin color ? Where we were born ? Does all that matter to ?

Speaker 1 3:19

God . No , in fact , it says that at one point that God is a respecter of no person , meaning no status , no race or anything . There is nothing that shows one better over the other . There's not one of those areas that God recognizes over the other in relation to salvation .

Speaker 2 3:41

And there's several passages that prove this . Here's a quote there cannot be June or Greek , circumcision or uncircumcision , barbarian , scythian , boneman , freeman , but as Christ is all and in all , that says that in Galatians 3.28 . There is neither June or Greek , there is neither slave nor free , there is neither male nor female , for you are all one in Christ Jesus , it says in Galatians 3 . There is no partiality with God , it says in Romans 2 .

Speaker 1 4:09

So there is no standing , at least in the Bible , that one race of people is any better than the other , and I think too , glenn , is that this concept of race has kind of come up by its man's way of dividing up people into different categories . We're all imagers of God and created in His image . I'm sure there's a session that we can have in regards to that . But this difference of races and things that man has created again in order to divide people into different categories , I don't think God sees us in those type of categories . The main categories that are seen are believers and non-believer . Those are the two categories that God sees .

Speaker 2 4:52

We're the one that messes it all up by separating people by race , but God doesn't , in those verses that we quoted , show them . So back to the romance . Bo as notices her . Whose young woman is this and the servants already know who this is In verse 7, . How long has she been working All ?

Speaker 1 5:11

day , since the morning .

Speaker 2 5:14

And it talks about a house . There's little shacks . They had what a lot of people call summer houses , which were in the field . There's a small little tiny building . You kept the tools in it and sometimes you'd sleep there if you didn't want to walk all the way back to the house , if you were working the fields .

Speaker 1 5:30

A place to get out of the out of the sun , to take a rest .

Speaker 2 5:33

She's diligent , she's going about her business , she's working . One of the key points in this book is that Ruth is an outsider , she's a foreigner , she's helpless and poor , and the Christ figure , bo as , takes notice of her and redeems her . This romance is the fun part . This tells us that Ruth is a hard worker as far as being what she's supposed to do . Verse 8 , bo as tells her to stay and glean in this field . Do you think he's interested in her ?

Speaker 1 6:03

Absolutely , and gives her that instruction Don't go anywhere else , just stay here . So in other words , he's taken and providing for her .

Speaker 2 6:11

Verse 8 , bo , as said to Ruth , listen carefully , my daughter , do not go into glean in another field . Furthermore , do not go on from this one , but stay here with my maids . Well , what's he doing there ? He's bringing her into the fold . Bring her into the fold . What does the Holy Spirit do with us ? He draws us in .

Speaker 2 6:30

Do you think he's interested in her ? He's not just taking notice over or being nice to her , he's interested in her , he likes her . And he says at the end of verse 9 , have I not charged the young men not to touch you ? What's he doing there , protecting her ? He's protecting her Because there's people out there , probably hired workers , and he's commanded them don't molest this woman . Be nice to her , protect her . Who is our protector ? Christ is our protector . Are Christians supposed to notice the poor and the disadvantaged ? That's one of the commandments in the New Testament .

Speaker 2 7:05

Glacier 2.10 , remember the poor . Those of us who are in leadership positions have the responsibility to take care of the least advantage and to make sure that everyone is treated fairly . We have an obligation to do that , just as Boaz did . He was in a leadership position and he made sure that everybody treated people fairly . He didn't run her off . He didn't say well , ignore you . I , you know , or I got to let you be there , so I'm just going to ignore you .

Speaker 2 7:32

No he makes sure that she is protected , and if the leaders don't take care of the disadvantaged , who will ? So he's showing kindness to Ruth , protecting her , taking notice of her . God's people are under his protection . He takes care of its own . So , steve , if you can start at verse 10 and read through verse 13 .

Speaker 1 7:51

Then she fell on her face , bowing to the ground , and said to him why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me , since I'm a foreigner ? Boaz replied to her all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me , and how you left your father and your mother in the land of your birth and came to a people that you did not previously know . May the Lord reward your work and your wages be full from the Lord , the God of Israel , under whose wing you have come to seek refuge . Then she said I have found favor in your sight , my Lord , for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maid servant , though I am not like one of your maid servants .

Speaker 2 8:39

Ruth describes herself in verse 10 as a foreigner . As a foreigner , she's not a child of Israel . She's not a child of the covenant , she doesn't have an inheritance there . She's not one of God's chosen people of Israel . Yet Boaz notices her In verse 11 , how much does he know about her ?

Speaker 1 8:59

Everything , everything that you've done has been reported to me .

Speaker 2 9:03

Does God notice when we do something sacrificial ? Does he notice when people do things ? Remember , ruth left Moab and she didn't know the consequences would be , but she didn't know how she'd be treated . Ruth was taking care of Naomi not because she wanted to be seen . She was taking care of Naomi because it was the right thing to do . Here , boaz sees this and recognizes it and rewards her for it , just like Christ notices our good works and he knows what we do in secret . John 1 , verse 47 , he meets Nathaniel and says Behold in Israelite , in whom there's no deceit , so he knows about what we're like . In this case , the verse we didn't read was up in verse 9 , he gives her water . He not only allows her to glean , but he gives her the benefit , he gives her sustenance .

Speaker 1 9:52

He gives her access to everything that is there along with his other servants . So she thinks of herself there in verse 10 , describes herself as a foreigner . That's her initial status . But then , towards the end of the verses that we read , she refers to herself as a maid servant . So she's recognizing that her progression .

Speaker 2 10:13

She starts out as a person of Moab . She's not a child of Israel . At the end of verse 13 , she calls herself a maid servant , though I am not like one of your maid servants . So she describes herself . I'm not one of yours . Do we all start out as children of God ? Are we born God's children or all people God's children ?

Speaker 1 10:36

No , that's a mistake that's often quoted . We're all God's children , but we're not God's children until we come to know Him and we come to believe in Him , and then we become God's children .

Speaker 2 10:50

What type of relationship with God do people start out with Separation ? We are not God's children when we are born . Because of what ?

Speaker 1 10:59

Sin Because of sin Sin .

Speaker 2 11:00

We start out as foreigners to God . There's a sometimes in some circles , popular teaching that's been called fatherhood of God , brotherhood of man , and what it teaches is that all people are God's children and God's the father of all people , and that all people are brothers and sisters under God . The Bible does not teach this . The Bible teaches both here in this . Parable in Ruth is a good illustration of this . We start out as foreigners not known to God . We start out as sinful people separated from God . The Bible teaches that all people start out as sinners . All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God . We start out under God's wrath because he's a just God . He's not our father until we become into a relationship with Jesus . We are then adopted into the family and that's exactly what this story is telling us here . Ruth realizes . She says 13 C I am not like one of your maid servants , I'm not one of yours . That's how we view ourselves under God , if we're truthful .

Speaker 1 12:06

There's a key thing between verse 10 and verse 13 , between calling herself a foreigner and then calling herself a maid servant in verse 12 . When Boaz is speaking to her First , he says May the Lord reward your work and that your wages be full from the God of Israel , under whose wing you have come to seek refuge . So it again gives us that picture that Ruth has declared , that that's the God that she's following , that's the God she has committed to , that's the God that she has placed her life into for refuge .

Speaker 2 12:43

Now can she over own go make herself part of God's thing ?

Speaker 2 12:48

No , because , she has to be brought in by a redeemer , and that's what this story is about . But now back to the romance here . He notices her . He says , oh , who is this young woman ? And then he tells her follow along , I'm protecting you . I've commanded the harvesters to kind of watch over you and not touch you . And then come over here and get a drink . They've drawn some water , you can have some . Next we're going to learn what some people have called the sacred romance . We have here a romance and we're going to learn about the sacred romance Starting in Ruth 214 .

Provision and Protection

Speaker 2 13:27

At mealtime . Boaz said to her come here , that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar . So she sat beside the reapers and he served her roasted grain and she ate and was satisfied and had some left . When she rose to glean , boaz commanded his servant , saying let her glean , even among the sheaves , and do not insult her . Also , you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean and do not rebuke her . So what's he doing ?

Speaker 1 13:59

He's going over and above and beyond just the normal . He's making provision for her , he's making protection for her , he's definitely showing his interest in her .

Speaker 2 14:13

All he was legally required to do was not run her off . She was gleaning . She had the legal right to glean . He's noticing her , complimenting her , telling her I've noticed what you've been doing . He tells her I've protected you . Now it gives her water . Now at mealtime . Look at verse 14 . Come here . So he's drawing her close . What is the Holy Spirit that draws ?

Speaker 2 14:39

us in that you may eat of the bread . Where'd she get the bread ? He gave it to her . They had bread for lunch . So this is lunch . And not only is he giving her bread give us this day our daily bread but what they had a sauce . That was a tasty sauce . Our translation says vinegar , but it's like a tasty sauce . So not only is he giving her basic sustenance , he's making it taste good , he's giving her sustenance , but he gives it in a way . Now she's got something that tastes good , so it's not just enough to stay alive , it's well , here's bread too . I'm going to give you tasty bread and gave her roasted grain . Well , the roasted grain , it wasn't the barley , they were just harvesting . So he's going again . Like you said , above and beyond all that she could ask , or think , and she's sitting at the table with others .

Speaker 1 15:32

She's been invited to sit at the table with others .

Speaker 2 15:35

Don't miss the end of verse 14 . She was satisfied and had some left over . And had some left over . She was full and still had some more . Now we in our culture have rarely gone really hungry , but this may have been one of the few times in her life that she'd ever been full . It says satisfied .

Speaker 2 16:00

Very rarely in those days where people , ever satisfied , have enough to eat where they were satisfied . So he fills her and had some left over . What's the correlation with that to Christ ? What does he do for us ? He not only gives us daily bread , he gives us life that tastes good . He lets us dip into the vinegar and he gives us more until we're full and we're overflowing . We even have some left over .

Speaker 1 16:30

Then what does he ?

Speaker 2 16:32

do in verse 15 ? Let her gleave it , even among the sheaves . And what does he tell his servants to do ? Drop some for now . We know Now . What do you think the harvesters are doing ? I can imagine these guys . They're looking at each other winking oh yeah , now we're supposed to leave some for her . They're all smiling .

Speaker 1 16:49

Don't be mad at her , don't rebuke her . Let her basically have free reign in the field .

Speaker 2 16:55

I can just imagine the smiles amongst all the harvesters here , because they realize what's going on . He's interested in her . We're the same way . Christians are the same . We're foreigners in a strange land , helpless and hopeless . Christ notices us and invites us to the marriage supper of the Lamb . To be reconciled with Christ is a romance . Our salvation in Jesus is a sacred romance . Being with Jesus is a love relationship a sacred romance where we fall in love .

Speaker 2 17:28

We fall more and more in love Each day . Our lover brings us gifts . He reminds us how much he loves us and how much he wants to do good things for us . Like Ruth , we find gifts that our Lord has left us special presence . Jesus loves us even though we're not very lovable . We love him because he first loved us . 1 John 419 . This is a sacred romance , and our lover leaves gifts for us . He invites us to the table , he fills us to overflowing and we have some left over . That's the beauty of our relationship with Christ . When we're lost and in need of a Savior , does Christ give us water and food ?

Speaker 1 18:06

Yes .

Speaker 2 18:07

Does Christ give us just barely enough to get by on ? No , he gives us full to overflowing .

Speaker 1 18:13

Everything that we need , as he told the women at Dewell . I'll give you water overflowing .

Speaker 2 18:19

Springing up to eternal life . So you'll never be thirsty , Steve . Have you ever been thirsty since you've had a relationship with Christ ? Not spiritually .

Speaker 2 18:27

No , not spiritually thirsty , no , he who is able to do exceedingly , abundantly , above all that we ask or think . Ephesians 3.20 . Ruth was an alien in a foreign land , just as Christians are aliens in a foreign land . Jesus reaches out to us , he notices us first . He not only provides what we need , but he gives to overflowing . How wonderful , it even gets better Look at verse 14 when they first come to the meal . Who is serving who ?

Speaker 1 18:55

He is serving her and he served her in the latter part . He served her roasted grain .

Speaker 2 19:00

So he is serving her . What did Christ say ? Did Christ come to serve or be served ? He came to serve . Should it not be that Ruth was the servant ? Why would Boaz be serving Ruth ? Because he's the Christ figure . Again , sacred romance . We have here just such a beautiful picture . And in verse 16 , he tells the harvesters to leave some very loving thing to do . It's very interesting to watch people fall in love . And then verses 17 to 23, . By the end of the day , ruth had gathered a little less than six gallons of cleaned barley , which was about 30 pounds . This was a lot for one young woman , just gleaning . Plus she had the bread that was left over from lunch .

Speaker 1 19:40

And this was after what she had beat out , so she had gleaned it . Then she beat it out . So this was the actual thing that she took home was roughly Anifa is roughly . You said six gallons a half . A bushel which was run ran around 30 to 40 pounds . That's quite a bit .

Speaker 2 19:57

Quite a bit for just going out there allegedly just enough of what was left over . So Naomi realizes that Ruth gathered way more than average and figures hey , something's up here . So she asks who's field did you glean in ? And in verse 20 says that it's Boaz and Boaz is a close relative . In the Hebrew the word that Naomi uses is not just saying Boaz is a close relative , but she's using this term kinsman redeemer . In the next chapter we're really going to dig through what really this Kinsman Redeemer

The Sacred Romance

Speaker 2 20:33

is . In Ruth chapter three , this chapter two is just such a great romance . It gives us this picture of how Christ loves us , he serves us , he leaves things for us and we're filled to overflowing and still have some left over .

Speaker 1 20:47

And just bringing into mind that Ruth has dedicated herself to God . And while we're seeing this analogy between Boaz and Christ and Ruth and us the us , at this point , are believers in Christ . That's the analogy . At this particular point , it gives a picture of what is available to people when they follow God , when they follow Christ , when they recognize that they were born with that separation and that there is a chasm between them and God and that that chasm needs to be filled , which is done by Christ and His sacrifice . And then , when you enter into that relationship with Christ , these are the type of things that you have . You're filled , you're provided for and you're romanced in regards to that relationship and building that relationship with Christ .

Speaker 2 21:43

Christ woos us in like a romance and again leaves things for us . It's such a great picture of a sacred romance . It's just such a shame that people mess it up with a set of rules and think that Christianity is rule keeping . It's not that at all . It's romance with a lover and you enjoy being with this lover and he gives us gifts and he does things for us and it's just so beautiful that we get to have this relationship with such a beautiful person of Jesus Christ .

Speaker 1 22:15

And a question comes up who of the characters of this story do you want to be ? Ruth or Orpah ? Exactly , cause Orpah went in turn , rejected going back to Israel and did not commit herself and went back to her family , went back to her land , went back to her God , whatever there was back in .

Speaker 2 22:34

Moab . It's not going to compare to what Ruth's going to get . Ruth ends up being the grandmother who is it , I believe of King David , and in the lineage of the Messiah , and it'll be remembered for all eternity . Here on the pages of God's holy word . The blessings just increase and increase and increase . I just find it such irony that humans mess up the story and we think that Christianity is giving something up when it's really gaining so much . We mess it up by thinking that well , it's rules and I gotta give up this fun thing I gotta do and go eat lemons and salt for breakfast , and it's just not what it's like . No , it's not . He's giving us life . We're not giving up life , we're gaining life we're gaining life , we're gaining life to the full .

Speaker 2 23:23

There's a verse in Luke where it talks about packed down , shaken down , pressed down to overflowing . That's what life is like in Christ is . It's how we can rest and we have a lover that leaves us little gifts and he loves us and he likes us for who we are . I don't have to pretend to be something else . That's what life in Christ is like . Next time we're gonna jump in with chapter three . We get to learn more about this Kinsman Redeemer and what has to happen for the Kinsman Redeemer to actually do his role . We're gonna learn more about that next time . On reasoning through the Bible .