Daily Devotional • Februrary 26
A Reading from Ruth 2:1-13
1 Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man of the family of Elimelech whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” They answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 6 The young man who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now without resting even for a moment.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.12 May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” 13 Then she said, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”
Meditation
Blessings have now begun to become manifest. The two women are so poor, they must scrimp for food. Ruth sets out to glean from the fields of others. Gleaning is one of the commandments in the early Old Testament (Leviticus 19:9) by which poor people were allowed to take and keep part of the grain and fruits during harvest time. God commanded the harvesters not to gather the crops at the edges of their fields, nor go over a field a second time, so that the poor and the foreigner (both of which describe Ruth) may glean what is leftover so that they may have food.
In Ruth’s case, it is not only a matter of hard work. It is dangerous, for she is a young woman alone in the midst of young men. The owner of the field notices her and asks others who she is. The owner is Boaz, whose name means “swift” or “strong.” Compare this name to the names of the sons of Naomi: “Mahlon” means “man of sickness” and “Chilion” means “coming to an end.” We don’t know anything about these two sons other than their names, but the author of Ruth makes a point.
Boaz is one of the finest men in the Bible, truly chivalrous. His greeting to his reapers is the first time we read in the Bible: “The Lord be with you.” He has been told about Ruth and Naomi (note that in this place she is not called Mara), and is impressed with Ruth’s quiet but immovable devotion to her mother-in-law. He addresses Ruth and provides for her needs without making the gleaning a gift, which would have undercut her dignity, and sees to her safety. What Ruth said to Naomi at the beginning of their journey is now being fulfilled: “Your God shall be my God.” There is more to come.
David Baumann is a published writer of nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. In his ministry as an Episcopal priest, he served congregations in Illinois and California.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Durham, North Carolina
The Diocese of Magwi – Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan
