The Book of Ruth 2 - Favor
Think about an area of your life when you went through a time of struggle. For example, did you ever take a challenging class? If so, you might’ve asked the teacher for extra help. That teacher showing up daily to help you was a way of showing their favor. You might not have deserved it, but that teacher still showed up for you.
The same can be said for the favor God showed Ruth.
Ruth 2
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2 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.” 3 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. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” “The LORD bless you!” they answered. 5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” 6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi.
The word favor is used three times throughout this chapter because it is such a big part of this story. Favor is the thread that ties this whole chapter together as part of the overarching story of God’s redemption.
Redemption, like favor, is unearned.
Faithfulness
Ruth was faithful even when she didn’t know what to do or where to go. She just went. She knew she had to take care of Naomi. She was faithful to her mother-in-law’s care and made sure she did all she could. Ruth was a Moabite, so it would’ve been tough to find a field where she would have been allowed to go, so she went into this job not expecting much and even thought she would be unwelcome.
Ruth steps out in faith to find food. During this time, it wasn’t always easy for women to take this step, and it was also dangerous. But God sent her to the right field and provided Ruth with direction. Being a Moabite woman in a strange land made Ruth an easy target for anyone with bad intentions.
Sometimes we don’t know where we’re supposed to go because we don’t see a clear path or an open door.
Being faith-filled sometimes means stepping out, doing what you know is needed, and putting the rest in God’s hands.
It’s a step of faith. She’s saying, “I’ll go and we’ll see what happens.”
The Journey
Noami, Ruth’s mother-in-law, stays back. She didn’t have the energy or mindset to do what was needed. So, Ruth goes alone.
During the journey, she comes across a field and starts to work in it, not knowing whose field it is. It was Boaz’s. Verses 1 and 3 introduce Boaz as a relative from her husband’s side. God led her to this field owned by someone who was relationally connected to her!
In Verse 4, Boaz arrives, sees Ruth, and takes notice. This is very uncommon, especially since he was an Israelite, and she was a Moabite. These two typically wouldn’t be in this place together.
Ruth 2
7 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.” 8 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. 9 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.” 10 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?” 11 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. 12 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.” 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
Gleaning
Ruth is working hard. Besides taking a short break, she’s been out working all day. There is a law in Deuteronomy 24:19 that one was to leave fallen grain and barley on the ground for foreigners, the fatherless and the widow, and the poor and needy to pick up so they could collect to eat. This was called gleaning.
Gleaning for women was potentially dangerous. The men in the field aren’t there to protect her, but Boaz arrives and acts as her protector and provider. He refers to her as “daughter.” He wanted to make sure she knew they were related, and his intentions were pure. He assured her with words and actions that he was going to make sure she was taken care of because he genuinely cared about his family. He was intentional with his instructions to stay close to the other gleaning women and to remain on his field only.
Boaz goes out of his way to protect her. In Verse 10, we see Ruth's deep humility and gratitude in response. Her reaction is based on him showing favor and blessing.
Do we respond to God’s blessings the same way Ruth did to Boaz?
We don’t deserve to be given anything from God, yet He blesses us with so much.
He calls us sons and daughters, freely pouring out His blessings even though we are undeserving. We would all do well to have the same heart and attitude as Ruth here.
Boaz saw her character and the loyalty she showed Noami and God. Boaz’s response was one of recognition of her faith. “May the Lord repay you. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord… under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Boaz is used as God’s instrument to carry out His blessing, to show His favor, and to be a picture of His redemption to those who come to Him by faith.
Favor isn’t earned. It’s grace freely given to someone else, and the giver of grace finds the person worthy of receiving it.
Ruth 2
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
Favor
In one day, Ruth collected about 30 pounds of grain. For reference, an average man gleaning a field all day would gather between 2-3 pounds. Boaz lavished his favor on Ruth, providing her with everything she needed to collect over 10 times more than the usual amount. This is the result of having favor.
Ruth and Boaz have very different ideas and expectations of what favor looks like. In Verse 2, Ruth hopes to find a field owner who will show her enough favor so that she can stay. Boaz is not only accommodating but also protective, giving her an abundance of care.
What kind of expectations do we have when we pray for God’s favor, and what expectations should we have?
We should always come to God in humility but not be afraid to ask Him for the big things. He wants to show us favor, and we see this through Ruth.
Ruth 2
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20 “The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ ” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
A guardian-redeemer was someone who was obligated to care for family members in need. That responsibility fell to the next closest relative to the man who passed away, leaving a widow and her family in need. It was costly to be a guardian-redeemer. There were a lot of personal sacrifices that would have to be made.
We are all like Ruth. We need a redeemer who will pay for our sins. Jesus did that for us.
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The same can be said for the favor God showed Ruth.
Ruth 2
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. 2 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.” 3 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. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The LORD be with you!” “The LORD bless you!” they answered. 5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” 6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi.
The word favor is used three times throughout this chapter because it is such a big part of this story. Favor is the thread that ties this whole chapter together as part of the overarching story of God’s redemption.
Redemption, like favor, is unearned.
Faithfulness
Ruth was faithful even when she didn’t know what to do or where to go. She just went. She knew she had to take care of Naomi. She was faithful to her mother-in-law’s care and made sure she did all she could. Ruth was a Moabite, so it would’ve been tough to find a field where she would have been allowed to go, so she went into this job not expecting much and even thought she would be unwelcome.
Ruth steps out in faith to find food. During this time, it wasn’t always easy for women to take this step, and it was also dangerous. But God sent her to the right field and provided Ruth with direction. Being a Moabite woman in a strange land made Ruth an easy target for anyone with bad intentions.
Sometimes we don’t know where we’re supposed to go because we don’t see a clear path or an open door.
Being faith-filled sometimes means stepping out, doing what you know is needed, and putting the rest in God’s hands.
It’s a step of faith. She’s saying, “I’ll go and we’ll see what happens.”
The Journey
Noami, Ruth’s mother-in-law, stays back. She didn’t have the energy or mindset to do what was needed. So, Ruth goes alone.
During the journey, she comes across a field and starts to work in it, not knowing whose field it is. It was Boaz’s. Verses 1 and 3 introduce Boaz as a relative from her husband’s side. God led her to this field owned by someone who was relationally connected to her!
In Verse 4, Boaz arrives, sees Ruth, and takes notice. This is very uncommon, especially since he was an Israelite, and she was a Moabite. These two typically wouldn’t be in this place together.
Ruth 2
7 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.” 8 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. 9 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.” 10 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?” 11 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. 12 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.” 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
Gleaning
Ruth is working hard. Besides taking a short break, she’s been out working all day. There is a law in Deuteronomy 24:19 that one was to leave fallen grain and barley on the ground for foreigners, the fatherless and the widow, and the poor and needy to pick up so they could collect to eat. This was called gleaning.
Gleaning for women was potentially dangerous. The men in the field aren’t there to protect her, but Boaz arrives and acts as her protector and provider. He refers to her as “daughter.” He wanted to make sure she knew they were related, and his intentions were pure. He assured her with words and actions that he was going to make sure she was taken care of because he genuinely cared about his family. He was intentional with his instructions to stay close to the other gleaning women and to remain on his field only.
Boaz goes out of his way to protect her. In Verse 10, we see Ruth's deep humility and gratitude in response. Her reaction is based on him showing favor and blessing.
Do we respond to God’s blessings the same way Ruth did to Boaz?
We don’t deserve to be given anything from God, yet He blesses us with so much.
He calls us sons and daughters, freely pouring out His blessings even though we are undeserving. We would all do well to have the same heart and attitude as Ruth here.
Boaz saw her character and the loyalty she showed Noami and God. Boaz’s response was one of recognition of her faith. “May the Lord repay you. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord… under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Boaz is used as God’s instrument to carry out His blessing, to show His favor, and to be a picture of His redemption to those who come to Him by faith.
Favor isn’t earned. It’s grace freely given to someone else, and the giver of grace finds the person worthy of receiving it.
Ruth 2
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.” When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
Favor
In one day, Ruth collected about 30 pounds of grain. For reference, an average man gleaning a field all day would gather between 2-3 pounds. Boaz lavished his favor on Ruth, providing her with everything she needed to collect over 10 times more than the usual amount. This is the result of having favor.
Ruth and Boaz have very different ideas and expectations of what favor looks like. In Verse 2, Ruth hopes to find a field owner who will show her enough favor so that she can stay. Boaz is not only accommodating but also protective, giving her an abundance of care.
What kind of expectations do we have when we pray for God’s favor, and what expectations should we have?
We should always come to God in humility but not be afraid to ask Him for the big things. He wants to show us favor, and we see this through Ruth.
Ruth 2
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. 19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said. 20 “The LORD bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.” 21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ ” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
A guardian-redeemer was someone who was obligated to care for family members in need. That responsibility fell to the next closest relative to the man who passed away, leaving a widow and her family in need. It was costly to be a guardian-redeemer. There were a lot of personal sacrifices that would have to be made.
We are all like Ruth. We need a redeemer who will pay for our sins. Jesus did that for us.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
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