Ruth 2

[0:00] So we've come as far as Ruth chapter 2. So a couple of weeks ago we read the whole book.! Hopefully you've had a chance to listen.

[0:12] I don't know if you have or not. They are available if you need the messages. They are saved and shared. And then last week we went through Ruth chapter 1.

[0:24] And we saw how Elimelech took Naomi and their two sons, Bethlehem, and they went to Moab.

[0:34] And there they were hoping that they would be saved from the famine in Israel. But in fact, ironically, Elimelech and their sons died.

[0:45] And all that was left was Naomi with her two daughters-in-law. So, and then we saw, of course, Orpah return home, back to the world, if you like.

[0:58] You know, she had made a profession of, I'll stay with you, Naomi. But then in the end, she decided to go home. The safety of the world, the security of what she knew was too much.

[1:11] But Naomi was true. Sorry, Ruth was true to Naomi and she stayed. You're my people. Your God is my God now. And she even put a curse on herself.

[1:24] May I be cursed, effectively, if I do go back on my word. So, now we're into chapter 2. And with the exception of the very last verse of this chapter, it's all, I believe, taking place in one day.

[1:42] One single day. And what a day it is. What a difference this one day will make to Naomi and to Ruth. Because, you know, we've just read, the last thing we read was Naomi saying, don't call me Naomi.

[1:57] Don't call me pleasant. The Lord has dealt bitterly with me. I am bitter, effectively. And at the end of the chapter, she's in a much better place.

[2:09] A lot more hope. In fact, the end of the chapter is, she is saying, may he, speaking of Boaz, may he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness from the living or the dead.

[2:21] So, a big change for her. So, what's the difference? Well, the difference is an encounter with a man named Boaz. Boaz, whom we will see as the story develops, is a picture or a model or a type of Jesus Christ.

[2:40] And we'll talk about that. I mean, I'm sure it's obvious. We'll see some of the obvious parallels. Boaz is a very rich and capable man, ready to share and to give his wealth.

[2:53] We see him taking the initiative to show grace. And, of course, importantly, he's a close relative, meaning that he's willing and able. He's able to redeem and he'll end up being willing as well.

[3:05] So, Boaz comes into the scene. And interestingly, the author of Ruth immediately introduces him before he even shows up in the story.

[3:15] So, chapter 2 of Ruth, verse 1, says, Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

[3:30] So, he's described as a relative. The rabbinic tradition. There's always a rabbinic tradition. And that says or holds that he is Boaz is the nephew of Elimelech.

[3:45] But that's really not worth much. We don't know exactly how they're related. All we know is that there was someone closer. And he's described as a man of great wealth.

[3:59] And this was an interesting turn of phrase, actually, because the literal phrase there is mighty man of valor. Mighty man of valor.

[4:09] Which is one of those phrases that we do see quite a lot in the Old Testament. And it mostly would refer to warriors. You know, captains of armies or...

[4:22] You got it? And so, it's interesting that that phrase is being used of Boaz.

[4:32] And it could mean that he's a warrior. But we never see that aspect if he is. I think that this is intended, as our translations have rendered it, that this is meant to imply he's rich.

[4:46] You know, it's often said that money is power. Money and resources provide one with the means to make things happen. And they may be good things, and they may be evil things.

[5:02] Mighty man of valor, meaning man of great wealth. I think it's important for us to recall and remember that neither money nor power, per se, are evil things.

[5:16] And there's a text in 1 Timothy 6, chapter 10, sorry, verse 10, which is often misquoted. What it says is, the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.

[5:29] And some, by longing for it, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves at many griefs. It is the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil, not money per se.

[5:40] And I think that when you have a person like Boaz, who is generous and has a gracious heart, when he also has the resources and the money and the wealth to do what's on his heart, I think that's a wonderful, wonderful thing.

[5:55] And that's what we see here in Boaz. So, Boaz is introduced there, verse 1. Wealthy, related to Elimelech, in just the right position then to transform Naomi and Ruth's fortunes.

[6:11] What's going to happen? So, verse 2. And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Please let me go into the field and glean among the ears of grain, following one in whose eyes I may find favour.

[6:26] And she said to him, Go, my daughter. So she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

[6:39] So in those couple of verses, we are reminded that Ruth is a Moabitess. We are repeatedly reminded of that, actually.

[6:53] Right the way through to the end of the chapter. Right the way through to the end of the book, in fact. Ruth is a Moabitess. And even though she has come to receive the God of Israel, she said to Naomi, My God is going to be your God, or your God is my God.

[7:12] She's never sort of called her a proselyte, or certainly she's never part of the assembly of Israel. She's always Ruth the Moabitess. And I think that that speaks, though, to how God doesn't desire to make everyone culturally identical.

[7:31] God, if you think about it in the end times, right, at the end of time, we read how God has every tribe, nation, and tongue praising him. Even the nation of Moab, right?

[7:44] That's one of the nations. And I think that's important for us to remember. She is a Moabitess. She remains a Moabitess. Even though she forsakes the gods of Moab, and she forsakes the idolatry and sin, she retains the cultural background.

[8:01] And then we see Ruth taking the initiative in terms of finding a solution to their problems. They came back to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

[8:15] We read that at the end of the last chapter. And she says, Go, let me glean. Let me glean. Gleaning is God's welfare plan.

[8:27] Gleaning is established in the law of Moses. And there's three different texts that we could look at. A couple of them in Leviticus chapter 19 and chapter 23.

[8:39] And then there's one in Deuteronomy 24 as well. And the one in Leviticus 23 is verse 22. And it says this. On the subject of gleaning.

[8:51] It says, That's Leviticus 23 verse 22.

[9:11] And the principle there is, Don't seek to wring every last drop of value out of your land.

[9:24] Don't seek to... It's almost a... Yeah, don't try and strive to get every last bit of value. Leave the corners unroofed. Leave the edges untouched.

[9:37] If you drop a bit, leave it. Don't go back and pick it up. If you forget a sheaf in the field, Don't go back for it. Leave it. And I think that there's two reasons this is commanded actually. Not just one.

[9:48] Obviously, one reason is welfare. As we read in that verse there. Leave them for the needy and the stranger. Which of course, Ruth is both of those things.

[10:01] Leave them for those who have no other means. It is a system that God established to avoid the need for the indignity of begging.

[10:13] And it provided the opportunity for people to work and receive provision through their labour, even though they didn't actually have any provision themselves.

[10:24] So it's welfare. That's one. But I think that there's a second reason as well, which is at the end of that verse. And that's this. I am the Lord your God.

[10:37] I am the Lord your God. Why is that there tagged on the end of the law of gleaning? Well, because I think that for those who have the fields, for those who have wealth, like Boaz, there is a need to remember God's provision.

[10:53] We are but dust. We read last week, or I reminded us last week, about what Moses has said about the land of Israel, how God waters it. He causes the rain to fall on the mountains.

[11:06] You don't have to irrigate the land. It says that God's eye is always on the land. And if you've got food, it's because of God's blessing. It's because of God's provision.

[11:16] We only have anything because the Lord allows it. And we may think that we have riches if we are, you know, if we're able to fill our cupboards with food, we may think, well, then we're okay.

[11:29] But actually, I am the Lord your God, is the remembrance. And so we follow the law, and we remember that God is our provider, and we don't have to try and strive to get the most out of what we have.

[11:46] I was reminded of a little story, actually. I have no idea where this came from. And I couldn't find out, but there's a story. It goes like this. The story is told of a farmer known for his generous giving.

[12:00] His friends couldn't understand how he could give so much, and yet remain so prosperous. And one day his friend said, we can't understand you. You give away far more than any of us, and yet you always seem to have more to give.

[12:15] Oh, that's easy to explain, the farmer said. I keep shoveling into God's bin, and God keeps shoveling back into mine. God has the bigger shovel. And I always thought that's very good.

[12:27] It's very good. When we are generous, and that is the heart behind the law of gleaning, is to be generous to those who don't have. We will find the Lord will, you can't out-give God.

[12:39] He will repay. So that's gleaning. Gleaning, gleaning, not gleaning. Gleaning. And Ruth has heard about this thing. And I don't know whether this was a peculiarly Israelite thing, or whether they had a similar thing in Moab.

[12:56] I happen to believe it must have been an is-right thing, since it's in their law. So perhaps he's heard about it from the only one. But either way, Ruth says, please let me go and glean.

[13:08] In the eyes, the following one, in whose eyes I may find favour. You know, it's interesting that although the law required gleaning to be left, it didn't mean that all landowners were favourable to the poor coming on that land.

[13:24] And this is quite early in the barley harvest too. So, you know, they're going to be working in the field. Are they really going to want, are they really going to want gleaning to come in while they're still working?

[13:39] Hence the need for grace. And so she goes then, and it says that she happens to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz. And your, I think the NASB has got a marginal note there saying, literally it says, her chance chanced upon.

[13:57] Her chance chanced upon the portion of the field belonging to Boaz. And I do think the author is using a little bit of divine sarcasm there. It isn't chance. This isn't probability.

[14:08] This is God's providence. And we talked about that in the first session. A key point to this book is how God is working through all these things. There's a grand design.

[14:21] You know, and it's easy for us because we sit here able to see if you like the end from the beginning of this story. And not only the end of the story, but the end of the Bible. And the end is Jesus Christ.

[14:32] And so we can see that whole design. But for Ruth, wow, she just happened to chance on the field of Boaz. But we've talked about that before, so we'll move on.

[14:43] So verse 4 then, reading from verse 4 of chapter 2. And it says, Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, May the Lord be with you.

[14:56] And they said to him, May the Lord bless you. And then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, Whose young woman is this? And the servant in charge of the reapers replied, She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

[15:11] And she said, Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has remained from the morning until now. She has been sitting in the house for a little while.

[15:24] So now Boaz comes onto the scene. That mighty man of valor whom the author already introduced. But we get a glimpse of his faith in God here.

[15:34] And also the shared faith with his servants. And, you know, it's an interesting little exchange that's added there. May the Lord bless you and may the Lord be with you.

[15:47] Because it adds nothing to the story. It doesn't advance the plot or the narrative. But what it does do is give us an insight into how he was as an employer, how he was as a man of faith, and how his servants were as well.

[16:02] And it's such a refreshing thing to read because, you know, this is the time of the judges. This is the time when the majority of Israel is just doing whatever they think is best.

[16:14] But Boaz is a man of faith. He's part of the remnant of believers that God always preserves. But what I think it also does is it allows us to see how the foreman there, the sort of the master of the servants, if you like, knew that Boaz was a good man.

[16:38] He knew that Boaz would permit this stranger onto the field, even to rest in the house. The foreman knew that she would be welcome. And I think that's remarkable.

[16:50] But there is a question there that's even more remarkable. And that is, after the reapers, among the sheaves. Now, in order to understand that, I do want to just outline my understanding, at least, of the ancient harvest approach.

[17:04] And there's five steps. Once the grain is ripe, there's five steps. The first one is reaping. Generally done by the men. They've got their sides. And they will hack down the standing grain.

[17:19] Second step, then, is to bind the grain into sheaves. And the binding would normally be done by the women that would be following after the men. And then the third step would be to gather those sheaves, once it's all been cut and bundled, and to transport them to the threshing floor.

[17:36] And then the fourth step is the threshing itself. Threshing or thrashing is the most time-consuming part. And that's where you are beating or trampling or otherwise removing the edible part of the grain out of the straw.

[17:50] So sometimes you would tread it. Sometimes you would beat it. Lots of different ways of doing it. But it took, yeah, the majority of the time. I think the most time-consuming part was the threshing.

[18:02] And then the last part was winnowing, which is where they sort of flip it up into the air, let the wind blow the chaff away, and then you're left with just the grain on the floor.

[18:14] So five stages. The reaping, the binding into sheaves and the gathering. And Ruth seems to be asking to be, to glean among the sheaves, which means that the sheaves are being bound up but they haven't yet been gathered in.

[18:33] So the workers are still in the field. So it's quite unusual, I think. As I said, normally my understanding of how the law was intended to work is that the gleaning would be done after the field is empty, everything is chocked, everything is bundled up, everything has been removed to the threshing floor.

[18:53] Yeah, and certainly the law didn't require this kind of thing to be done. But it was granted. And the foreman knows his master well enough to know that he would want to bless the poor foreigner.

[19:05] Well, what does Boaz say? Boaz. A mix of Boaz and Ruth. What does Boaz say? Well, he says, then Boaz said to Ruth, listen carefully, my daughter.

[19:20] Verse 8, do not go to glean in another field. Furthermore, do not go on from this one but join my young women here. That is, the women who are binding up those sheaves.

[19:32] Keep your eye on the field which they reap and go after them. Indeed, I have ordered the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.

[19:44] And so, Boaz does indeed confirm and reinforce what the foreman had presumed. Yes, stay here and reap. Absolutely. But we see here, and I want you to notice this in the text, that we see Boaz taking a, sort of, he's, he's taking a proactive move here.

[20:11] He is the one who said in verse, where is it now? Verse 4, I couldn't sit there. No, verse 5, whose young woman, whose young woman is this?

[20:23] Boaz is taking the initiative. Who is this? He approaches her to confer the blessings. And I think that we're supposed to see that.

[20:33] Boaz is, even though Ruth has come to the field of Boaz, Boaz is the one who is taking the initiative to move towards her and bless her. And actually, he gives her more than she asked.

[20:45] She only asked to be able to stay and reap. And Boaz has given her more than that. He said, you've got the freedom to go in the best places, follow and take what you need and also have access to water and also protection from harm.

[21:01] So Boaz goes beyond what she'd asked. Verse 10, then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, why have I found favour in your sight that you should take notice of me since I'm a foreigner?

[21:17] 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 and the land of your birth and came to a people that you didn't previously know.

[21:31] May the Lord reward your work and may your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Then she said, I have found favour in your sight, my Lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your servant though I'm not like one of your female servants.

[21:52] Why have I found favour? Why have I found this grace? Why are you being so kind to me? And just compare verse 10 and verse 13. Verse 10, she says, why have I found favour in your sight?

[22:07] And then verse 13, she says, I have found favour in your sight. I think a better, it's a tense, the Hebrew tense is not quite exact matched to English.

[22:19] Another way of rendering it would be, may I continue to find favour? favour. So she's saying, I have found favour and may I continue to find favour.

[22:30] And again, favour, grace, is the same word. Why have I found grace? I have found grace and may I continue to find grace. So we observe then the humility of Ruth who knows that she doesn't deserve kindness or at least he doesn't believe she deserves kindness.

[22:50] I'm not like one of your servants. Actually, I'm less. I'm a foreigner. I'm not like your female servants, he says. But Boaz says to her, I know your works.

[23:02] Boaz, of course, as we said, is a relative to Elimelech and therefore to Naomi by marriage. And if you remember, we read in the last chapter that when they returned, when Boaz and Ruth returned from Moab, there was a huge stir.

[23:19] You know, the word could be used to mean an uproar. It was a big deal. And no doubt Boaz had heard of their return. And it's actually possible that Boaz only just heard.

[23:31] We read in the text somewhat incidentally that Boaz returned from Bethlehem. He came to the field from Bethlehem. And there is actually a word, there's a couple of words in verse 11 that are, they are translated as previously in NASB.

[23:49] But the words, the words are, literally mean yesterday and three days ago. Interesting. I think there was a bit of a challenge for the translators to make sense of that.

[24:00] But what I think it's saying is actually they only came back the other day. Either yesterday, they came back to Bethlehem within the last couple of days. And so Boaz may have just heard when he went into town.

[24:13] And then he comes and there they are, or there she is rather, in the field. And he says to her, I know your works. I know the love that you've had for my aunt, if that is the relationship.

[24:26] I know how you clung to her when she had nothing to offer. And even now you're here for her sake as much as your own to find food. And Boaz blesses her in the name of the Lord.

[24:39] May the Lord reward you. May the Lord reward your work and may your wages be full. And of course what's somewhat ironic is that in the end that prayer is answered through Boaz himself.

[24:52] So the scene continues then. We're up to verse 14. And at mealtime Boaz said to her, Come here that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.

[25:07] So she sat beside the reapers and he served her roasted grain and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. And when she got up to glean, Boaz commanded his servants saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves and do not insult her.

[25:25] Also you are to purposefully slip out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it so that she may glean and do not rebuke her. So she gleaned in the field until evening and she beat out what she had gleaned and it was about an ether of barley.

[25:41] I'm sure you're wondering how much an ether is. Well it's about, by volume it's about 22 litres and by weight it's about 13 kilograms. So quite a bit, quite a bit for a day's work.

[25:56] So Ruth had prayed, may I continue to find favour in your sight. And she surely did. You know it made me think actually as I read this of Jesus' words in Matthew 25 verse 29.

[26:10] He said this, he said, for to everyone who has more shall be given and he will have an abundance but from the one who does not have even what he does have shall be taken away.

[26:23] The Lord blesses, the Lord gives and the one who humbly receives what the Lord offers, more is given. She's embraced and she's welcomed by Boaz and even by the reapers and she's able to sit with them and it says he, that is Boaz, served her.

[26:44] Boaz served her personally, giving her far more than she needed. And again it's a wonderful picture isn't it? You think of Jesus washing his disciples' feet, Jesus the servant of his disciples.

[26:58] Boaz served Ruth. What does he serve? Well he serves bread and vinegar and there are many who want to make this bread and wine and they want to make it into a picture of communion.

[27:12] I think it's a stretch to be honest. What was interesting as I read into this a little bit is that well the best way to picture it is it's pita bread with some kind of fermented relish.

[27:26] It may even be hummus. interesting the word that's used there for vinegar is chametz which may well be the root for the word hummus which is of course now modern day that's chickpeas but I think it's best to think of it as some kind of fermented relish rather than wine in the sense that we would think of it in communion.

[27:51] communion. But either way what you have here I think is a picture not of communion but of wonderful provision.

[28:02] Grace upon grace. Full measure pressed down shaken together running over incredible provision. And then grace is extended even more. Not only can she glean among the sheaves he commands his staff to accidentally drop some grain on the ground for her to pick up.

[28:17] And so in the end she has 13 kilograms, 22 liters of grain. Incredible stuff. So verse 18.

[28:31] And she picked it up and went into the city and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took some out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.

[28:43] That is to say the roasted grain that she had with Boaz. And her mother-in-law then said to her, where did you glean today? And where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.

[28:56] So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, the name of the man with whom I work today is Boaz. So Ruth comes home. I don't know what Naomi was expecting on this first day.

[29:09] Maybe a few scraps. Maybe enough for a small meal. But she comes home with 13 kilograms. more than she could have expected or even imagined.

[29:22] And then of course the leftovers of the roasted grain and the bread and the hummus from her meal with Boaz. Amazing. So she says, verse 20, Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, may he be blessed of the Lord, who has not withdrawn his kindness from the living and from the dead.

[29:42] Again, Naomi said to her, this man is our relative. He's one of our redeemers. And here at last, the word redeemer is used. And this is the word we've been waiting for and we see it all throughout the next chapter.

[29:55] And I think that's, we'll see it in the next chapter and obviously it comes to its climax in chapter 4. Redeemer, Hebrew word being goel. and it does need a good chunk of time to properly understand, which we won't do this morning, I think probably be next week.

[30:16] But as I said, it is one of the key points of the book and you can think of it like this. Chapter 1 is we need a redeemer. Chapter 2 is maybe we have a redeemer. Chapter 3 is Boaz committing to be the redeemer.

[30:29] And then chapter 4 is the redemption is complete. All the way through. But I think we'll get into it next week and we'll talk about the goel and the role and the laws around that because it will be a big study and it will make today quite long.

[30:44] So let's read on. Verse 21 Then Ruth the Myrbiter said, Furthermore he said to me, you are to stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.

[30:58] And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, it is good my daughter that you go out with his young women so that others do not assault you in another field.

[31:09] So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

[31:21] So as I said, most of that chapter all takes place in that one day. But the last verse there sets up a new normal for them. I believe the beginning of barley harvest through the end of wheat harvest is about three months.

[31:39] Something like end of March, beginning of April, all the way through to the beginning of July, something like that. And Ruth dwells with Naomi, it says. So Ruth is living in the house in the city with Naomi.

[31:53] Every day she's going out into the field of Boaz to glean and then returning home each night to Naomi. And what I thought was quite interesting is Boaz and Naomi don't ever meet.

[32:09] They never interact in this scene at all. Whether they did or not and it's not shared, I don't know. But I thought that was quite remarkable that you have Ruth, if you like, in the role of an intermediary. But as we come to the end of the harvest, now what?

[32:26] When there is no more to glean, what will they do? Maybe they've managed to save up enough. If she came in with 13 kilograms every day, maybe she's managed to store up enough for winter.

[32:37] But what they really need is a redeemer. They really need someone to financially invest to support them long term. What they need is that goel, and we'll see that next.

[32:49] week. So as we have some concluding thoughts, I did want to just give a couple of notes about how Boaz is seen here as a picture of Christ.

[33:01] And ultimately, his Jesus Christ role as our redeemer, our kinsman redeemer, is the biggest aspect of this. But we see a few things here.

[33:15] Obviously, first of all, we do see that he's a close relative. Boaz is a relative to me, which makes him able to be kinsman. It makes him a kinsman, I should say. Secondly, we see that Boaz has the resources to save and to provide.

[33:30] And of course, Jesus Christ has all the resources of heaven. Thirdly, we see that Boaz is a godly man. Well, Jesus, of course, was the most godly man who ever lived, being himself God.

[33:42] number four, Boaz is clearly obedient to the law, not only to the letter of the law, but to the spirit of the law, which is to trust in the Lord and to provide for the needy.

[33:56] And he absolutely does that. So he's obedient to the letter and to the spirit of the law. And Jesus Christ came in perfect fulfilment of the law. Fifthly, Boaz is cast as the ideal employer.

[34:09] And we see that in his interaction with his staff. Jesus, of course, is the perfect Lord and master. Number six, Boaz is hospitable and welcoming to the foreigner.

[34:20] And Jesus likewise received all who came to him, whether Jew or Samaritan, anyone. Boaz, number seven, was sensitive and pastoral to the needs of Ruth, protecting her, commanding that no one should touch her.

[34:35] And Jesus likewise is overflowing with grace to the humble. And then lastly, number eight, Boaz was generous to the point of excess, giving her far more than she could eat, giving her almost more than she could even carry.

[34:54] And of course, Jesus is ultimately the one who is abounding in grace and mercy, doing more than we could ask or think. So then what are our application points?

[35:05] And I guess we can maybe discuss these a little bit. Well, let me share with you what I've got and then we can discuss it. So the first one I saw here was there is in this chapter, well, I suppose I should say there is in the law of gleaning, there is a call to be generous, to not love money, to not to chase after money.

[35:36] It is good to earn money and it is good to be wise with our money and how we spend it and how we invest it and how we manage it. But I think the point of the law is that we don't seek to maximise profit and our earning potential over other priorities, such as loving God, loving others and doing the work of the ministry.

[35:57] There is a key text in 1 Timothy 6, verse 17 through 19, where Paul says this, he says, instruct those who are rich in the present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

[36:18] Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

[36:34] So for Boaz, for those who have sufficient means, the call is, and the application of the law of cleaning is, to be generous.

[36:45] The early church, of course, modelled it, we saw it in the book of Acts, where they would share what they had, they would eat together, no one was needy, modelled acts of charity and love, and the law of gleaning reminds us of God's heart, he loves to provide for the poor, and he loves to do it primarily through the generosity of his people.

[37:06] So that's one. The second one I observed was this, and I really wanted to try and get this right, because, well, I'll see what you think, right?

[37:18] I entitled it this, good works are rewarded. Because we read in this chapter how the good that Ruth had done for Naomi is noticed by Boaz with the result that he has special favour towards her.

[37:39] And that we have to be careful not to overthink or over apply it or come away thinking, well, therefore, the more good works we do, the more the Lord loves us and the more lovable we are and the more acceptable we are, because that's clearly wrong.

[37:55] Actually, we're never acceptable to God through good works and we never merit his favour and that's just one of the most foundational and fundamental teachings of the gospel.

[38:06] We never merit the grace that saves us. But there is a reward and there is a blessing for doing good. And in fact, actually, we just read it in that 1 Timothy 6 text that I read, where it said how God, oh, it said storing up for themselves a treasure of a good foundation for the future.

[38:31] And we could turn our attention to 1 Corinthians chapter 3 where there's a whole section where Paul speaks about the rewards for labour and works.

[38:42] If our works that we've done in this life survive the fire, whatever that means, then we accrue rewards. And I think that the picture here that I saw was Ruth didn't do good to Naomi because she wanted to be rewarded for it.

[39:01] She did good because she wanted to love her and she wanted to be faithful to what she heard Naomi's God commanding her to do. She did good because it was the right thing to do.

[39:13] But as a result of it, she did receive a reward. Ruth never felt presumptuous, she never felt entitled to glean, I'm the least of your servants, I'm not even like your servants.

[39:25] She never had that expectation of deserving Boaz's favour, completely humble, but she received. So I thought that was an interesting one to ponder, maybe we can chat that one through.

[39:38] Do you see that? What do you think? There's no way she would have known that she wasn't going into more property.

[39:55] That's the good intention behind it, isn't it, rather than her thinking, well, if I do this, I might meet one of the rich family members and need to marry her.

[40:06] That isn't her reasoning for going, is it? I think it's right, yeah, exactly. And the Lord does see our hearts, for sure. She definitely would have known her chances.

[40:22] going into the other way. Yeah, you know, I was actually thinking like, if Naomi had to walk those 75 miles alone, just think how vulnerable she would have been.

[40:40] I mean, I know two women are not much less vulnerable than one, but I just thought another. How old is she? I don't think. Yeah. It doesn't say, no. Is she married to quite old?

[40:53] I would say grandmother age, yeah. Yeah. And not being able to look at it as quickly as somebody's saying. Yeah, not alone. Yeah. I agree.

[41:09] I think so. I think so. I think she just wanted to bless Naomi, didn't she? I think there must have been something in Naomi that made her want to stay with her.

[41:27] And not just say, right, when you go back and I'm going to go on. There must have been something in Naomi that made her want to be with her and to stay with her.

[41:40] Yeah. Yeah, which is remarkable, isn't it? Because I think you're right, but when we look at the disposition of Naomi, who comes back saying, don't call me that.

[41:54] You know, but in her heart, you know, deep down, maybe it was the sum of the ten years, and maybe earlier on in those ten years, you know, she was a more sort of, you know, joy filled, faithful lady.

[42:08] But, you know, either way, Ruth did see, I think, I think Ruth got to know her God and knew that he was the true God. Well, last one that I had then was this, which again, we've touched on before, but I saw it again in the text, especially with that she happened, her chance chanced upon, which is just a great phrase.

[42:32] God's Naomi and Ruth, they've both been emptied, or they've become emptied in Moab and God's beginning to refill them, if you like. And God's providing them with food in this chapter, short-term provisions met, but what we know, because we've seen the end from the beginning, is there's a long-term plan here.

[42:54] God isn't providing them merely with food, he's going to provide them with Boaz as a redeemer and maintain the family. But it's more than that, he's also going to provide a king for Israel and resolve this issue about how there is no king in Israel, and everyone's just doing what's right in their own eyes.

[43:14] But even further than that, he's working out the line of Messiah to save the whole world from sin. And I thought, you know, how often we only see, when we're in the middle and when we're in our day-to-day, we seek the Lord and we think, maybe they'll provide for me today, or whatever our day-to-day needs are.

[43:34] But I just thought that God is a long-term planner. And I think we do well to remember that. Even in the poverty that Naomi and Ruth entered into, there was a plan in that, to bring about ultimate salvation for the world.

[43:52] I'm not saying that our part will be in that story quite as grand as that, but the Lord is a long-term planner. And I think, you know, however many years we've been walking with the Lord, how often it's only with the benefit of hindsight that we think, oh, that's why the Lord allowed that to happen, or that's why I met that person there and then, or whatever it is.

[44:15] And I think we do well to sort of ponder and meditate on the things that the Lord has done. I love that song that says, here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy grace I've come, and it's that sense of, this is how far the Lord has taken me.

[44:31] So that's all I had for Ruth chapter 2. It's a great book.

[44:43] I've really enjoyed it. It's and it's other foundation of course to have a short and it's close.