Ruth traveled with Naomi (or Noömi) to Bethlehem. Naomi is her mother-in-law: Ruth was married to her son Machlon. But Machlon, like his brother and father, died in Moab.

Naomi, her husband, and their two sons had moved to Moab because there was a famine in the land. But now that the men have died and Naomi hears that there is bread again in her homeland, she decides to return.

Ruth goes with her.

When they arrive in Bethlehem, the barley harvest has just begun. And because she needs to put bread on the table, Ruth decides to go and look for fallen ears of grain.

At that time, poor people were allowed to do this; it was laid down in God's law: everything that the reapers dropped had to be left for the poor.

Ruth ends up in Boaz's field and asks if she can gather ears of grain. She is allowed to do so and spends the whole morning busily gathering them.

Then farmer Boaz comes to check on the harvest and sees someone he does not know. He hears from a

reaper that it is Ruth, the Moabite. Boaz has already heard of her. He speaks to her and tells her not to go to another field and to stay close to the girls who work for him. She may also have a drink if she is thirsty.

“Why are you so kind and caring to me, a foreigner?” she asks. “I have been told how well you cared for your mother-in-law when your husband died, and how you left everything behind to go with her to Bethlehem. May the God of Israel reward you for this. He will protect you under His wings,” says Boaz.

She is allowed to sit at the table with the staff during lunch, and she saves what she has left over for Naomi.

As she continues working in the afternoon, Boaz tells his reapers to deliberately drop some ears of grain.

When she comes home in the evening, she has brought back 30 kilos of grain. Naomi cannot believe her eyes: “Where have you been?” she asks. And when Ruth mentions Boaz's name, Naomi has a sudden realization: “He is our relative, he is a redeemer.”

Ruth continues to work in Boaz's field until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest are over.

One day Naomi says to Ruth: “I would like you to have your own family. Listen: Boaz is our relative, he is our kinsman-redeemer. Go to him tonight, and when he has eaten and drunk enough, and he is looking for a place to sleep, lie down quietly at the foot of his bed.”

I find it a bit dubious: going to a man in the dark who has probably drunk quite a lot to celebrate the end of the harvest and then lying down with him in his sleeping place... What kind of advice is Naomi giving her daughter-in-law here?

But Ruth does as Naomi says, and in the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up with a start and notices that a woman is lying next to him. Ruth says, “I am Ruth, may I stay with you? Will you take care of me, for you are my kinsman-redeemer.”

In fact, this is nothing less than a marriage proposal from Ruth. Not only because Boaz is her kinsman-redeemer by law and tradition, but also because she wants him to be.

Boaz knows that he is the kinsman-redeemer. He has already thought about it himself. But he has not taken any action because he does not know whether Ruth might prefer a younger man. He waits patiently. But he praises her for coming to him. He says that he thinks she is a wonderful woman. “But,” he warns, “there is someone else who is closer to you and Naomi, a man who has the right of redemption first. Tomorrow I will go to the city to find out if he wants it. If he does not, I will marry you.”

Naomi must have known that there was another family member who would be allowed to redeem her first. Yet Naomi prefers Boaz.

Was that why she suggested that Ruth visit Boaz at night? Before the other man could become interested in Ruth?

Boaz is a decent man; he does not seek physical intimacy with Ruth that night,

but he promises to take care of her by seeking clarity from the other redeemer the next day. “Go to sleep peacefully, tomorrow we will know more,” he says.

Early in the morning, while it is still dark, Ruth quietly leaves, because Boaz does not want people to see that she has slept on the threshing floor, as this will only lead to gossip.

He goes to the city himself and waits at the gate until he sees the other redeemer pass by.

The reaper who has not yet made himself known. No name is mentioned in the Bible.

He does not want to redeem either. Yes, he wants to buy a piece of land that Naomi still owns, but he does not want Ruth as his wife. The future children would then bear the name of Mahlon, and he does not want that.

“Then I will take Ruth, the Moabite, as my wife, and the name of Mahlon and his father Elimelech will not be forgotten,” says Boaz, “you are my witnesses,” he says to the elders at the gate and to all the people who had gathered to see what was going on.

Everyone gives him their blessing. Then Boaz goes to the house of Naomi and Ruth. What must they have thought when they saw Boaz coming?

It is good news: Boaz wants to marry Ruth!

They get married and the Lord gives them a son: Obed.

What a beautiful love story.

Obed later becomes the grandfather of David. David, the shepherd boy who becomes king of Israel.

God has arranged for Ruth to be included in the ancestry of the Lord Jesus.

Ruth and Boaz are both mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).

 

Prayer: Lord God, faithful Father, when You guide our lives, things can happen that we could never have imagined ourselves.

Lord, You took care of Ruth and Naomi when they returned to Bethlehem. Thank You for giving laws that enabled the poor to obtain food. You led Ruth to Boaz's field.

Boaz, a man who had such a good heart but no wife to care for him. You led them to each other. How You made everything right for Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. You want to care for us in the same way. Your goodness knows no bounds.

Will You spread Your wings over us, Lord?

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