In our last study, we saw how Ruth was blessed by the gracious treatment of Boaz. Her night has begun to turn to day. But she is only one half of the duo that the story has been about. What about Naomi? Will her long night's journey also come into the day?
1. The Blessing Begins to Overflow (vv.17,18)
The first indication that it will is given in vv.17,18. Ruth worked in the fields until evening, a very long day but necessary for their survival. When she threshed what she had gleaned there, it came to an ephah - the equivalent of a month's supply for her and Naomi together. They won't be going hungry after all!
And on top of that, she is able to give Naomi a ready-made meal from the leftovers of her lunch, so generously provided by Boaz. Here again we see Ruth's loyal, affectionate care for Naomi; she wants to share her blessings and so to become a channel of blessing. That should be our desire too.
The blessing that has begun to shower upon Ruth's barren ground is overflowing into the parched ground of Naomi's life. But there is more to come!
2. The Journey Into Healing (vv.19,20)
Naomi is obviously impressed by the amount that Ruth has brought home and offers a blessing upon the man who had taken notice of her (v.19). She knows only too well that the poor and the alien had a hard time gleaning in the fields; to come home so laden means that Ruth has been treated with real kindness.
The second half of v.19 is very carefully written. Here we have Ruth explaining to Naomi about how she came to be so blessed: she tells her that she has been working in the fields of a man by the name of...Boaz!
Now, to her his name is significant - he has just helped her so kindly. But for Naomi, the mention of his name is something else again; there is a larger picture beginning to unfold and that picture involves Naomi's long journey into healing and hope.
As soon as Ruth mentions the name of Boaz, Naomi exclaims a blessing from the LORD on him (v.20). In effect she is repeating what she had said in v.19. But she goes on to bless not Boaz but the LORD himself. In particular, she cites his unceasing kindness to the dead and the living.
We'll see shortly how the Lord is showing that kindness to both the dead and the living. But for now let's just notice with great joy that Naomi is beginning to be renewed in her faith in the God of the covenant. Whereas so recently she had said that he had been treating her as an enemy (1:20,21), now she rejoices in his covenant love and mercy.
The word she uses is a very significant one. It is the Hebrew word hesed that we met before in 1:8 where Naomi prayed for Orpah and Ruth, a prayer that is beginning to be answered but not as she imagined it might.
It is a word that combines the warmth of God's fellowship with the security of his faithfulness. Through the kindness of Boaz to Ruth, Naomi has begun to experience again that warmth and that security. The shroud upon her life is being lifted by the God of grace. And she blesses him for it!
Of course, in that one moment, the long years of pain and sorrow are not erased; the past was not going to be rewritten, nor the dead raised to this life again. But what Naomi has begun to know is a resurrection in her faith. Her life that had seemed to be over when she came back to Bethlehem (remember, she came back empty – 1:21) seems now to be starting over again. And the cause of it is, simply and wonderfully, the covenant grace of God.
We may never find ourselves in such a state as Naomi was but we may find our faith gets battered by life in this world. We, too, can feel ourselves empty and in great pain. What is our hope in such situations? Only this: that he who called us is faithful and he will perfect that which concerns us. He can be trusted - period.
3. God's Grace Shown Through Others (v.20b)
But just how does God manifest his grace to us? What channels does he use to direct healing and blessing into our lives? They are many, to be sure, but perhaps we can say that principal among them are his own people, living and acting in grace.
What is it about the mention of Baoz that so lights up Naomi's heart? Just this: "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers" (v.20b).
What's one of those?! They were close relatives who had the responsibility of redeeming a relative who had sold themselves into slavery to avoid poverty or who had sold their land. And they had the duty, if they were near enough relatives, to raise-up children for a dead brother (see Dt 25:5-10).
The role of the kinsman-redeemer was tied to issues that were central to life in Israel: the family name and the family land. His role was to protect those. Naomi doesn't say what she has in mind here but her joy is that the LORD has brought into their lives, at just the right time, a man with all the potential for rescuing them from their plight. The rest of the book will be taken up with how he does so.
In many ways, Boaz is a shadow of the true redeemer who was to come and we'll come back to that another time. But he is also a clear example to us of how the LORD often works to bring his grace to others: through his people, living lives that show the teaching about our Saviour to be truly beautiful.
Is this something that we are aware of ourselves and thank the Lord for - that his grace is shown to us through others? And are we looking for ways to be such channels of blessing to others?
Conclusion
There is still a long way to go in the story before everything is resolved. Verse 21 reminds us, again, of Ruth's ethnic origin. She remains a vulnerable person on account of her ancestry. And Naomi too is aware of just how vulnerable she is (v.22).
But there is now a glimmer of light for these ladies through the ancestry of Elimelech. In fact, that glimmer is becoming a slow and steady light; the sun is not yet at its zenith but it is clearly and visibly above the horizon. In v.21, Ruth tells Naomi what Boaz has said to her about staying in his fields with his girls. He is making sure, through his kindness, that they aren't troubled by famine a second time, that they won't lose out on the LORD's blessing.
And so the chapter closes with Ruth doing the wise thing, staying close to Boaz's girls for the rest of the harvest and sharing a home with Naomi.
But we're also told that the barley and wheat harvests finish. Another turning point has been reached. What next for these two ladies? The LORD has been so gracious to them; he has reaffirmed his love for them in the clearest of ways. Does he have other plans for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them a future and a hope?
All the indications are that he truly has. And it seems that Boaz is going to play a significant part in those plans…. but we mustn’t run ahead of the story. We need to savour each small but sure indication of the mercy of God. In our own lives and in the life of the church, we must learn to cherish every intimation of grace without wanting to dash off to open the next gift. This life and the life to come will yield sufficient time to explore fully the contours and delights of that grace.
