Page 11 - STMT 2nd Edition

Both Naomi and Ruth were poor widows, and Ruth was also a stranger in

the land. So if anyone had the right to glean in the fields, it would be Ruth.

And so Ruth told Naomi she would glean in the fields, and she did so for

the remainder of the harvest.

The field in which she gleaned belonged to Boaz, a wealthy relative of

Naomi’s, and Ruth found favor in his sight. Boaz had heard of Ruth’s

selfless actions in that she had left her parents and her homeland and had

returned with Naomi (Ruth 2:11).

Boaz showed remarkable kindness to a foreigner and spoke to Ruth the

most encouraging words she could have heard: “The LORD repay your

work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under

whose wings you have come for refuge” (Ruth 2:12).

Boaz must have understood Ruth’s background and situation. In Matthew

1:5, we see that Boaz’s parents were Salmon and Rahab. His mother,

Rahab, was the harlot who had escaped the destruction of Jericho (Gill’s

Exposition of the Entire Bible, Matthew 1:5). Rahab and her family had

come into Israel as strangers and foreigners, and in time Rahab married

Salmon. So Boaz would have known what his mother experienced—being

a foreigner in Israel.

The unique marriage proposal

As the harvest season was coming to a close, Naomi wanted a better life

and security for Ruth. So Naomi conceived a plan for Ruth to approach

Boaz and propose marriage. Ruth obeyed her; and as Boaz slept on the

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