Ruth 2:4-6
Ruth 2:4 Now behold, In Strength (Boaz) came from the House of Bread (Bethlehem)
and said to the reapers, “May YHWH be with you all.”
And they said to him, “May YHWH bless you.”
5 Then In Strength (Boaz) said to his young servant boy, who watched over the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 So the young servant boy who watched over the reapers answered and said, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with My Pleasant One (Naomi) from the fields of Moab.
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Now remember, Naomi and Ruth have arrived in Bethlehem impoverished, widowed, and destitute. Not only that, Naomi is convinced that God has rejected her as His child.
However, just as Part 2 of the book was getting underway, the author pulled us aside and given us some inside information. You see, God has not abandoned Naomi. Instead, she has a relative in town, whose name is Boaz (In Strength).
However, no one in the account is thinking about Boaz. Instead, to try and help their situation, Ruth has gone out to the field to glean/scavenge any grain she can find left behind by the reapers. But gleaning is not safe (especially for a foreign woman). Therefore, she promises Naomi that she will first get permission from the landowner. Not only that, she also promises to go behind all the native gleaners so as not to present them with any competition.
By the end of our last passage, Ruth was busy gleaning. However, she has inadvertently wandered into Boaz’s field. But Boaz isn’t even there and even if he was, Ruth wouldn’t know him.
In out text this morning everything is about to change, sort of.
Verse 4
Notice at once the scene as verse 4 opens: we are standing on the outskirts of Bethlehem in one of the large surrounding fields (a portion of which is owned by Boaz). Not only that, by God’s hand, Ruth just happens to be gleaning there. However, as of yet, Boaz is not on site. Notice then just as we are beginning to wonder, how much longer are we going to stand here and watch grain gleaning, the author startles us by shouting “Hey look!” (behold) Boaz has arrived from town! In other words, Boaz has just come from Bethlehem to check on how the work in his field is going FN#1. Important: verse 4 opens by alerting us that the resolve to all the drama and expectation that has been building is about to begin. Therefore, the author wants to make sure that you are paying attention.
Next, notice just as we have seen a picture of Ruth’s heart (her conversion, commitment to Naomi, the risk of gleaning she is willing to take), verse 4 now turns to show us Boaz’s heart/character. Notice then, Boaz does not pass by his workers without greeting them; nor does he merely find the foreman to discuss the day’s business. Instead, he stops to greet all of his workers. Not only that, in a book that is all about names, Boaz does not give some generic non-descript blessing/greeting. Instead, he specifically greets his workers with the covenant name of God (YHWH) FN#2. Importance: Boaz’s greeting gives an unassuming but direct glimpse into his heart. Notice then what this greeting tells us: first, he is a man whose heart is turned to YHWH (thus it is YHWH who fills his words and thoughts); he is a man whose character and compassion for others reflect YHWH’s own heart (thus he greets his workers with kindness and a blessing); and finally, he is a man who (like Naomi- c.f. 1:8) gives constant and natural witness to YHWH (both in word and deed). Simply put: verse 4 quietly gives us a snapshot of a man who is a genuine believer and follower of God. Importance, in a book that is all about names, the author has just alerted us that YHWH is the strength of In Strength.
Next, notice that the workers immediately respond to Boaz’s blessing with a blessing of their own FN#3. Importance: at once, verse 4 confirms our understanding of Boaz’s heart and constant witness. Notice then, just as Naomi did not have to explain who YHWH is to her two Moabite Daughters-in-law when she blessed them (1:8); instead, her constant witness had already made Him known to them; so too Boaz’s workers are not surprised by his greeting nor do they awkwardly fumble for a right way to respond. Instead, Boaz’s witness/greeting is normal for him and thus something they expect. As such, they know right away how to respond in kind. In other words, Boaz’s heart for YHWH and his natural witness are known by all those around him. Notice the result: by the end of verse 4 YHWH’s servant, In Strength (Boaz) is on the scene. Not only that, the author (giddy with excitement) keeps shouting to you (with every detail of the verse) “Look, the Strength of YHWH has arrived”
Verse 5
Notice at once, after the greetings and small talk are done, Boaz notices a new face in his field. Notice then who he asks about this unknown woman: verse 5 tells us that he asked his young servant boy who watched over the reapers. Importance: it is unlikely that the servant Boaz is talking is the foreman or senior worker, who is in charge of his field. Instead, the Hebrew here indicates that this servant is a young boy (probably a teenager), who is old enough to have responsibility and yet too young to do the full work of an adult. Therefore, he is set to keep watch over the field, bring water when needed, signal breaks, and alert the men if there should be any trouble FN#4. Notice then: as the over-watcher it would be his job to know who is in his master’s field. Next, notice what Boaz asks this young servant: however, first notice what Boaz does not ask: Boaz does not ask, who the young woman is? Why? Bethlehem is a small town. If this woman were someone’s daughter or wife, Boaz would know her. Instead, he asks, whose young woman is this (to whom does she belong). In fact, the word that Boaz uses here for “young woman” is commonly used to denote a young female servant FN#5. In other words, Boaz’s word choice reveals his assumption that Ruth is someone’s servant girl. Notice then the point: Boaz wants to know who is sending their servant girl to work his field instead of their own. In other words, Boaz is ready to send someone to run Ruth off. So over all, I’d say that this deliverance starting off swimmingly.
Verse 6
Next, notice the young man’s reply: However, first notice the repetition: for the second time in back to back sentences, the author tells us that this servant is the one the one who watched over the reapers. Why? The reason is not to provide information. Instead, it is repeated to underscore the official weight of the report that Boaz receives. In other words, the author wants you to be clear that the servant who Boaz asks, and the one who now replies, is the one who has been given the official job of watching over Boaz’s field. Not only that, notice the young man has done his job. He saw Ruth wander (unbeknownst to her) into his master’s field. Therefore, he went and found out who she is. As it turns out, he knows her- or at least he knows of her (Bethlehem is a small town and Naomi’s arrival with Ruth created quite the stir- 1:19). The result is that he was satisfied and thus gave her permission to glean in his master’s field FN#6. In other words, Boaz is informed that Ruth is there legitimately. Importance: notice at once the quiet hand of God: if God did not have this young man in place; if the boy were negligent and failed to vet Ruth; if he had never heard of her; then Boaz seemed poised to run Ruth off. However, verse 6 reminds me that God is Lord of the ordinary FN#7.
Next, notice the young servant’s report: he tells Boaz that she is the young Moabite woman who returned with My Pleasant One. Important: notice the Gospel in the definite article: that is, notice the concrete indication that God’s hand has been at work all along: notice, the servant does not merely say that she is a young Moabite woman. Instead, he says that she is the young Moabite woman. In other words, Ruth’s story is already well known in Bethlehem FN#8. Thus, even though Boaz does not recognize her by sight, the servant who let her glean in Boaz’s field knows her story and knows that Boaz will also know it. Not only that, notice the contrast and foreshadowing: the servant goes on to say that Ruth is the Moabite, who came with Naomi from Moab. In other words, Ruth has arrived with Naomi from the fields of pagan Moab impoverished. However, she is now gleaning in the fields of YHWH’s land and YHWH’s provision is beginning to bear fruit.
Bottom line: a teenage boy, the town’s gossip about poor Naomi, and a young girl who just happened to wander into the right field- these are the very means that God has just used to set the course for the whole of Biblical history. And yet, to everyone in the field, it’s just another Monday morning. Nonetheless the message is clear: God’s hand is never not at work for His children (not then, not for you and me today).
Footnotes
1] Boaz has arrived from Bethlehem, The House of Bread. That is, he has come from a place that proclaims in its very name YHWH’s provision. Notice then the drama: is In Strength bringing that provision with him? What will it look like? Will it simply be assistance; or will it be true deliverance; or will it be something much more?
2] Notice: while we might argue that this greeting was just a customary, polite greeting among God’s people and therefore it does not really tell us that much about Boaz’s heart, it is significant that this blessing occurs only 4 other times in the whole Old Testament (all of which are from a time later than the book of Ruth- I Sam 17:37; I Sam 20:13; I Chr 22:11,16). If it were a common custom, we would expect to find it occurring more often. In turn, this is the only place in Old Testament Scripture that this blessing is in the plural (i.e. given to a group of people). Finally, it is the only place where it is used as a greeting and not a formal blessing/prayer. The result is that this greeting seems intentional, deliberate, and a particular manner of Boaz, rather than simply a normal and expected custom among God’s people of the day. Thus, as was the case with Naomi’s blessing of her two daughters-in-law (1:8-9), we see again here, that in a book about names when the author uses God’s specific covenant name, it carries with it significance.
3] Note: the rarity of the workers’ response again underscore the uniqueness of the situation being described by the author of Ruth. Notice then, the workers respond to Boaz’s greeting with a blessing taken from the Blessing that God gave Aaron to use when blessing God’s people:
Numbers 6:23″Speak to Aaron and to his sons, saying, ‘Thus you shall bless the sons of Israel. You shall say to them: 24 YHWH bless you, and keep you; 25 YHWH make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you; 26 YHWH lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’ 27 “So they shall invoke My name on the sons of Israel, and I then will bless them.”
In turn, just as with the rarity of Boaz’s greeting, we find that the workers’ response occurs only 4 other times in all of Old Testament Scripture (e.g. Num 6:24; Ps 128:4; 134:3; Jer 31:23). Thus, in both cases (Boaz and his workers) it seems their greeting is a unique witness/expression/ adaptation that tells us a great deal about Boaz’s heart and the culture he has established in his workplace.
One more point: notice there seems to be a reciprocal nature to the blessings given in verse 4 that goes beyond mere politeness and extends to the very meaning and intent of the blessings. Thus, Boaz asks God to be with the laborers in their work of reaping (whereby they and all the towns folk will be enlarged). The workers then reply by asking God to bless Boaz (the land owner) through the bounty of his field which they are working to harvest.
4] Note: the word used here for servant (נַעַר) stresses a young, single, marriage eligible male. Thus, while it is lexically possible to take בֹּעַז (young servant) to simply mean a servant of any age, its primary use in Scripture prior to the book of Ruth underscores a young servant. In turn, we could take the verb here “watch over” (נצב – lit. to stand) to mean to be stationed over/in charge of. Thus, by wiping the words of their distinction, the phrase here could be translated “his servant who was the overseer”. However, it seems more likely (or as likely) that the author is using these words with their primary meaning in view. Thus, the servant in view here is a young man who is stationed to watch over and look after the workers. The case for this reading is strengthened by the use of the same word later in the verse (just in its feminine form- נַּעֲרָה) to describe Ruth as a young maiden (verses an older married maid). In the end, the servant in view here is probably a young teenager who is old enough to have responsibility and yet young enough not to have his labor missed. Notice then the humor: as the over-watcher it would be his job to know who is in his master’s field. However, at the same time, as a young single male, he would be the first to spot a new babe in town.
5] Note: the word here for “young woman” (נַעֲרָה) is the female form of the masculine word “young servant boy” (בֹּעַז) that we just saw earlier in this verse. In both cases the emphasis is on a young, marriage eligible persons.
6] Note: from verse 6 we see that our young servant boy has enough age and authority to give Ruth permission to glean and to satisfy Boaz, as well as the other reapers, that she is ok to follow behind them. Thus, he is probably a young teenager, who is old enough to be trusted with responsibility and yet young enough not to have his labor missed.
7] In fact, notice that God’s hand is most profoundly at work at the very point when it seems to us that all of the wheels are about to fall off.
Not only that: take a moment to notice what is at stake here and the miraculous nature of verse 6 (because I bet you didn’t really notice the profound way God worked through this unnamed lad). Boaz is about to have Ruth run off. At this moment everything hangs in the balance: Naomi and Ruth’s deliverance, the entire Davidic dynasty, as well as the line through which the Messiah will come- all hang in the balance. And on the front line, as the only one standing between chaos and redemptive history as we know it, is a young teenage boy. Now as the parent of two boys, my mouth at this point is hanging open and all I can do is just whisper “Oh no”. The fact that this boy even notice someone wander into the field, the fact that he put down his video game and walked all the way out there to check, the fact that he listened enough to his parents talking about Naomi’s arrival to recognize the story, the fact that he performed his job with utter excellence is a miracle that may well surpass the parting of the sea. Again as a parent of two boys, I can assure you that this alone provides direct proof of the existence of God. Seriously, at this moment in the text, everything is on the line. And God has his unlikely, unnamed instrument (a kid) in place and perfectly prepared. Not only that, the boy (with God’s help) performs his job fantastically. The entire rest of Biblical history owes him a debt of great gratitude. Well done son! Now go clean your room. It’s a disgusting heap.
8] I think verse 6 is important because it not only shows us that Ruth’s story is already known in Bethlehem, but that God’s people are also already treating Ruth with legitimacy. Thus the young man knows her story and knows that Boaz will also know it and be satisfied by it. As such, he gives her permission to glean in his master’s field. In other words, we are beginning to see a pattern that is the expected outworking of Ruth’s genuine conversion: she has joined herself to YHWH, her name has been Hebraized (from its Moabite original to the Hebrew “Ruth”), and she is being accepted by God’s people.