RUTH 2
Read Ruth 2:1-23
In Chapter 1 we met Naomi, an Israelite woman living in exile in Moab, and her daughter-in-law Ruth. Today we meet Boaz, one of the great examples of kindness and love in the Old Testament.
Naomi and Ruth, both widows and with no close relatives, arrived in Bethlehem and had no means of support. There was no social security system in ancient Israel and people had to get by as best they could. But God, in his great mercy, had made laws for the Israelites to protect those who were disadvantaged in society. Leviticus 19:9-10 says, ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien’. Harvesting crops by hand was not as efficient as machine harvesting these days and the idea was that people in need would be able to pick up bits missed or left by the harvesters, and this is what Ruth did so that she and Naomi might not starve.
As it happened, she chose Boaz’s field in which to do this and here we see the Lord’s providence in the story. For Boaz was not only a distant relative of Naomi, he was also a kind man. Boaz soon learned who Ruth was – news travels fast in a small community especially regarding who is related to whom – and Boaz soon offers Ruth his protection.
We see here that Boaz took God’s law seriously. He made provision for the poor and needy to gather what was left over in the field after his harvesters had gone through it. But we see that he also went above and beyond what the law required. He fed and watered Ruth in her breaks from her work, but he also ordered his staff to harvest some of the crop for her and to leave it bundled up for her to collect (v16).
God has given us his word to live by; we have the Bible which sets out God’s word for us. But remember what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘You have heard that it was said . . . but I tell you . . .’ (Matthew 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43). Each time Jesus quoted a law and then he encourages us, like Boaz, to go above and beyond what is required. In Verse 43 for example, Jesus says, ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour . . .” but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’.
For Christians who wish to honour God’s word as we find it in the Bible, we are called not only to observe what the Bible tells us to do, but to go above and beyond – the law, the word, is the minimum requirement. That is undoubtedly a challenge but it is what Jesus commands us to do.