Some thoughts on Ruth 2:
\nRuth sets out to glean, but not until she asks permission from Naomi. She gleans behind the reapers, so after they have harvested what they want, she gathers what’s left behind. She’s determined to provide, but respectful of both Naomi and the land owners.
\nShe sets out at some personal risk. Boaz’s and Naomi’s comments indicate that some of the men in the fields would not be so kind to a lone woman working in their midst. yet she still goes out.
\nBoaz, even before he knows who she is, has heard of her and is impressed with her loyalty and work for Naomi. Once he knows who she is, he guarantees her protection and makes sure that she has grain to glean.
\nShe is surprised that Boaz would take notice of her.
\nNaomi calls Boaz one of their ‘redeemers’.
\nI see a parallel between Ruth \/ Boaz and Jesus’ parallel of the sheep and the goats. Boaz recognizes Ruth’s work when Ruth doesn’t seem to think it’s a big deal, much like Jesus’ recognizing the sheep for their work for the poor that they didn’t think was a big deal. Neither Ruth or the sheep did what they did out of duty. They did it because it was who they had become. The sheep had been adopted by the shepherd and had become like them, Ruth now adopted in to Naomi’s family, belonged to her and identified herself with Naomi. As we saw in Ruth 1, it wasn’t a matter of duty or obligation but of identity, and her work to care for the two of them was done in the same way. It wasn’t any thing extraordinary, it was simply who she was.
\nThen, much like shepherd rewards the sheep, Boaz rewards her for her work by protecting her and providing for her. Not as a payment any more than the shepherd was paying the sheep in Jesus’ parable, but because that is who Boaz was as well. He owed her nothing, yet gave her much because of who he was, exactly like Jesus does for us because of who He is. All that the good that we might do, as impressive as it may be even to the Lord, does nothing to earn us any blessings. We receive because of who he is instead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"