Ruth 2016 3A Our study f f Ruth and Nami and Baz marches nward Nw that Ruth has received prmises frm Baz, she s enjying a new spirit f ptimism in the land She has a grant f privilege and prtectin and privilege She has reasn fr ptimism And she just enjyed a full meal prbably fr the first time in a while But as we nted last week, these tw individuals are mving frward withut Nami, r s it wuld seem While Ruth has benefited frm Baz s kindness, Nami was nt a part f the cvenant with Baz Still, Ruth has attached herself t Nami S Nami s pprtunity fr rest is clsely cnnected t Ruth s situatin And speaking f Ruth and Baz, there s is an interesting relatinship t say the least He s cmmitted himself t Ruth but what are his intentins? Single men dn t establish this kind f cvenant with single wmen casually Clearly, Baz has his eye n Ruth Yet he has given n indicatin he intends t mve frward S we re searching t understand why Baz hasn t taken anther step In chapter 2 v.14 we learned that Baz had cncluded their meeting with a cvenant meal Let s return t that pint 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 2 f 14 Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Baz said t her, Cme here, that yu may eat f the bread and dip yur piece f bread in the vinegar. S she sat beside the reapers; and he served her rasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had sme left. Ruth 2:15 When she rse t glean, Baz cmmanded his servants, saying, Let her glean even amng the sheaves, and d nt insult her. Ruth 2:16 Als yu shall purpsely pull ut fr her sme grain frm the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and d nt rebuke her. Ruth 2:17 S she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat ut what she had gleaned, and it was abut an ephah f barley. Ruth 2:18 She tk it up and went int the city, and her mther-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She als tk it ut and gave Nami what she had left after she was satisfied. After the cvenant ritual, Baz invited Ruth t eat rasted grain The first thing yu shuld ntice is that Baz served Ruth Yet Baz just made Ruth a servant in his hme It was surprising t say the least that the master f the huse wuld be serving ne f his servants I m sure Ruth was shcked, thugh I wnder if thers in the huse wuld have been surprised I wnder if Baz s character was well knwn amng his servants I dubt this was the first time Baz reversed rles in this way S I suspect Baz was frequently a man f kindness and cnsideratin f thers Nevertheless, Baz is a remarkable and unusual master t say the least Next we see that he als hnrs her as well with a huge prtin f grain, s much that Ruth culdn t eat it all and had sme left ver Yu may remember the stry in Genesis where Jseph invites his brthers t eat at his table in Egypt Jseph purpsely reversed the nrms f his day by giving the yungest sn, Benjamin, far mre fd than he gave the rest f the sns Jseph did this t test his brthers hearts t see if they wuld be jealus f their yunger brther s gd frtune 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 3 f 14 Similarly, Baz gave Ruth this excess prtin fr a reasn It was nt an accident r simply a miscalculatin nr is it an insignificant detail in the stry Baz is wrking behind the scenes t bless Nami as well He expects Ruth t take the excess and share it with her mther in law But here again, ntice hw quietly he des his wrk He is wrking thrugh Ruth t bless Nami He culd have tld Ruth t bring Nami But instead, he leaves it t Ruth t transfer the blessing t Nami Immediately, Baz begins t fulfill his prmises t prtect Ruth Ruth is given shelter fr the night in Baz s hme prbably in the maids quarters It was t late in the day fr Ruth t walk back t Nami She wuld have been traveling after nightfall which was dangerus fr anyne, let alne a single wman And since Baz has assured Ruth f safety, he can t let her leave Then when Ruth arse the next mrning t cntinue her gleaning wrk in Baz s field, Baz fulfills his prmise t prvide fr her First, Baz directs his reapers t keep an eye ut fr this wman as she wrks In v.15 Baz tells his servants t allw Ruth freedm t wrk in the field as she cllected the leavings This cmmand ensures that n ne inhibits Ruth s wrk Wrkers can smetimes cmpete fr the best place in the field as they g abut their wrk Cnsideratin is usually the first casualty Or mre ften, a wrker wuld simply find the presence f a wman beggar like Ruth t be a nuisance wh gets in their way 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 4 f 14 S Baz ensures that the servants knw that Ruth has equal right t be in the field Furthermre, Baz ges a step further by giving Ruth an advantage in her wrk First, remember the law allwed widws t glean where the reaping had already happened and in the standing grain in the crners f the field Essentially, widws culd btain the leftvers That wuld give a wman enugh t eat daily, but it wasn t easy wrk r particularly fulfilling A wman wuld have t bend ver all day picking thrugh ld stalks n the grund t find a gd ne here r there And she cmpeted with ther widws Think f it like an Xtreme Easter egg hunt, where the lser has a risk f dying f starvatin But fr Ruth Baz tells his servants she is welcme t glean in the standing grain even befre it s been cut dwn by the reapers Obviusly, it s ging t be a lt easier fr Ruth t gather grain under thse circumstances Nw s she s guaranteed t find success and plenty f it everyday In fact, I imagine the servants wuld have had t encurage Ruth t venture int the standing grain t gather it since it was against the rules nrmally I dubt Ruth wuld have dared t d it n her wn And that s the pint Baz is fulfilling his prmise t prvide fr her and secure her rest In sense he s ding the wrk fr her, r at least he s made her wrk far easier Frm Ruth s perspective, she s put in the time and effrt and she s seeing a reward 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 5 f 14 But in reality, she s being carried alng by Baz s kindness, experiencing a degree f success far beynd her abilities Baz has taken away her wrry, uncertainty and fear...but nt her need t serve in the wrk Ruth will still wrk, but she s ging t find her wrk easier and the rewards f that wrk t be even greater withut fear f failure Baz is blessing Ruth behind the scenes, making these accmmdatins withut taking away Ruth s dignity in the wrk But what a jy this wrk will be fr Ruth! But Baz ges even a step further He instructs his servants t purpsely pull ut sme f the grain previusly cllected and bund by the gleaners and leave it fr her They were t surreptitiusly scatter this grain n the grund where it wuld be easily fund by Ruth Once again Baz is ging well beynd anything required t assist Ruth in the gleaning Yet he s ding it withut leading her t feel uncmfrtable because f his charity S each day fr abut six weeks, Ruth ges ut int the fields and enjys a buntiful harvest It wuld be like a fisherman ging ut day after day and n matter where he drpped his hk, he caught smething every time She must have lked frward t each day f wrk It culd be hard at times, certainly, but it was rewarding all the same And each day brught it s wn reward We remember last week hw Baz pictured the Lrd s call fr us t serve Him And here see again hw Baz pictures what it s like t wrk fr ur Master 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 6 f 14 Ruth s wrk in the field is a picture f the Church wrking t serve the Lrd Wh brught us int a relatinship thrugh His cvenant He called us all t serve Him, and He tld us that the wrk will be easy and jyful Ruth saw her wrk achieve unexpected bunty, s it will be in serving the Lrd Yu and I have been called t make Christ s pririties ur pririties T wrk in His field, nt in the wrld s field, s t speak And He says if we devte urselves t that pursuit, it will be such easy wrk What kind f wrk are we talking abut? Literally, anything and everything It s nt just thse f us in full-time ministry r missinaries r even church vlunteers We re als talking abut mthers wh serve Christ in the hme Fathers wh serve Christ leading their families Gdly children representing Christ in their schls Gdly men and wmen representing Christ in all levels f sciety Funding ministries with their persnal resurces Praying fr the needs f thers Giving time and attentin t thse wh are lnely r hurting Serving in the wrk the Lrd assigns t each f us... As we d this wrk, the Lrd is preparing the field t ensure we are ging t reap sme kind f harvest And He literally instructs His servants t help us Just as Baz s servants fllwed Ruth arund and made her wrk easier, s d the Lrd s servants What servants are we talking abut? 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 7 f 14 Wh des Jesus have fllwing us, thrwing grain in ur path s t speak? The writer f Hebrews says that the Lrd s angels were created fr this very purpse Speaking f angels he says: Heb. 1:14 Are they nt all ministering spirits, sent ut t render service fr the sake f thse wh will inherit salvatin? The angelic realm is wrking behind the scene t make sure ur wrk is prductive and easy T ensure we gain results far beynd what we culd accmplish n ur wn And just as Baz s servants helped Ruth withut her knwing it, angels wrk utside ur ntice as well We can see them r even hw they wrk, but we can see the result When yu step ut t serve Christ...when yu make a cmmitment t fllw His wrd r take n sme new challenge... Expect Him t shw up Yu wn t see the help cming befre yu take that step And yu may hesitate t step ut because yu can t see it, but that s why we call it faith Like Ruth, there culd be n gathering unless and until she entered the field Ruth culdn t see the miraculus prvisin f Baz s grace by staying in the huse She had t begin the wrk And s d we...test the Lrd...see if He wn t keep His prmise t make the wrk fruitful It will still be wrk, but what a jy the wrk will be And we can see the impact f Baz s grace n Ruth s first day f harvest 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 8 f 14 In v. 17 Ruth we re tld Ruth cllects an ephah f grain An ephah is rughly a bushel f grain r abut 35 liters That s 46 punds (21kg) f barley grain She prbably had truble carrying the grain hme In fact, she prbably cllected just an ephah and nt mre because that was limit f what she culd carry! I can t tell yu what the average widw wuld nrmally cllect n an average day scavenging in the field But I assure yu it was a lt less than 46 lbs! S f curse Nami was stunned t see what Ruth brught hme Nami had prbably been praying just receive a small sack r s f grain Perhaps enugh fr a meal fr the tw f them Instead, Ruth appears with weeks wrth f fd And Ruth als brings the leftver biled grain frm the previus night s dinner S nt nly des Nami have a measure f security in the raw grain But she als received the immediate jy f a meal S Ruth has fulfilled her pledge t be a blessing t Nami She accmplished this because Baz has fulfilled his pledge t be a blessing t Ruth And this is true because Baz is related t Nami and in cvenant with Ruth S we can say that Baz was the means t bth wmen receiving a blessing S then we see Nami s reactin 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 9 f 14 Ruth 2:19 Her mther-in-law then said t her, Where did yu glean tday and where did yu wrk? May he wh tk ntice f yu be blessed. S she tld her mther-in-law with whm she had wrked and said, The name f the man with whm I wrked tday is Baz. Ruth 2:20 Nami said t her daughter-in-law, May he be blessed f the Lrd wh has nt withdrawn his kindness t the living and t the dead. Again Nami said t her, The man is ur relative, he is ne f ur clsest relatives. Nami asks the bvius questins Where did yu get this and wh made it pssible? Nami understd immediately that there was n way Ruth culd gain s much grain under nrmal circumstances Smething unusual happened Ruth tells Nami the stry and when she reveals the man s name, Nami s eyes must have pened up She recgnized the name f Baz...he was a member f Nami s extended family S Nami respnds in praise t the Lrd She says may the Lrd bless Baz fr what he has dne And then Nami praises the Lrd exclaiming that the Lrd has nt withdrawn his kindness frm the living and the dead She s speaking f the wmbs f these wmen The living refers t Ruth And the dead refers t Nami Ruth has a living wmb in the sense that she is still yung enugh t prduce children And prducing children was a wman s lifeline in these days An eligible wman wh culd prduce children was still likely t find a husband Because a man s psterity was tied t his ffspring 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 10 f 14 In that sense, Ruth is the living, because she can bring life int the wrld And likewise, Nami is the dead because she is past child bearing years And therefre, Nami knws she has zer prspect f ever being married again Which made her all the mre desperate and vulnerable But nw at this mment, Nami sees the Lrd is wrking t care fr bth f them thrugh Baz s kindness It s bvius the Lrd is wrking t care fr Ruth But when Nami sees the left ver grain frm dinner, she knws that Baz is thinking f her t This is all the mre credit t Baz It s bvius why Baz might have an interest in shwing kindness t a yung, unmarried wman like Ruth But t extend his kindness thrugh Ruth t Nami is anther thing altgether It says he s truly desiring t d the Lrd s wrk f shwing mercy and kindness t the least f Israel Nami tells Ruth at the end f v.20 that Baz is ne f their clsest relatives Which leads Ruth t tell Nami mre f the stry... Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Mabitess said, Furthermre, he said t me, Yu shuld stay clse t my servants until they have finished all my harvest. Ruth 2:22 Nami said t Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is gd, my daughter, that yu g ut with his maids, s that thers d nt fall upn yu in anther field. Ruth 2:23 S she stayed clse by the maids f Baz in rder t glean until the end f the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mther-in-law. Ruth says Baz has instructed her t remain in the field until the end f the harvest T which Nami gives the mst bvius advice that any mtherin-law has ever ffered 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 11 f 14 Nami tells Ruth yu shuld definitely stay there Nt nly will it ensure a gd prvisin fr then But Nami expresses cncern fr what wuld happen t Ruth shuld she wander int anther prperty Remember, this is the time f Judges Remember what happened t the cncubine wh was abused by the Benjamites? Histrically, wmen have always been victimized by bad men But in this time in Israel, such abuse was especially bad r s it seems S Ruth stays clse t Baz thrughut the barley harvest and up t the next harvest Barley is harvested in the spring arund Passver And wheat is harvested abut 6 weeks later S Ruth wrks in Baz s field fr a seasn r s Until the the secnd harvest But all that while, she stayed with her mther-in-law Nami prbably is staying n her ancestral land The land hasn t been farmed since it had been abandned fr 10 years But perhaps sme f the hmes were still standing S seem t have a rf ver their heads yet they depend n Ruth s wrking in the fields Ruth s wrk prvided enugh grain t live n and it als became a surce f incme fr the wmen Fr a seasn Ruth has the jy f wrking in Baz s field Fr a seasn Ruth is blessed with prtectin and prvisin And during that same seasn, Nami is blessed as well, thugh frm a distance 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 12 f 14 But the harvest desn t last frever S Nami freseeing the harvest time drawing t a clse begins t plan fr what will happen next She knws Baz has made cmmitment t Ruth but nt t her S she begins t help Ruth cement the relatinship And her plan centers n Baz cnnectin t Nami as a kinsman Ruth 3:1 Then Nami her mther-in-law said t her, My daughter, shall I nt seek security fr yu, that it may be well with yu? Ruth 3:2 Nw is nt Baz ur kinsman, with whse maids yu were? Behld, he winnws barley at the threshing flr tnight. Ruth 3:3 Wash yurself therefre, and anint yurself and put n yur best clthes, and g dwn t the threshing flr; but d nt make yurself knwn t the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Ruth 3:4 It shall be when he lies dwn, that yu shall ntice the place where he lies, and yu shall g and uncver his feet and lie dwn; then he will tell yu what yu shall d. Ruth 3:5 She said t her, All that yu say I will d. Nami begins by telling Ruth she wants t seek fr Nami t have a mre secure future She s nt talking strictly abut financial security, thugh that s a small part f it She s talking abut btaining a husband fr Ruth This is a tw-fld strategy n Nami s part She wants Ruth t have a security that (in that day and age) nly a husband culd prvide Secndly, she knws that if Ruth btains the security r a husband, it will ultimately benefit Nami as well S Nami says t Ruth Baz is ur kinsman I ve been alluding t the significance f the term kinsman n several ccasins, and we need t explain It s a legal term cming frm the Law f Mses In Deuternmy 25, the Law prvides anther mercy fr a widw 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 13 f 14 Just like the law that required that widws had a way t prvide fr themselves, this law ensured a psterity fr tribes in Israel Here s what we read Deut. 25:5 When brthers live tgether and ne f them dies and has n sn, the wife f the deceased shall nt be married utside the family t a strange man. Her husband s brther shall g in t her and take her t himself as wife and perfrm the duty f a husband s brther t her. Deut. 25:6 It shall be that the firstbrn whm she bears shall assume the name f his dead brther, s that his name will nt be bltted ut frm Israel. If a married man dies befre he prduced a male heir, the widw f the dead man is given a means t ensure his family name lives n The law required that the unmarried brther f the dead man marry his brther s widw Then the first male sn prduced frm that marriage wuld technically be cnsidered the ffspring f the dead man When that sn was an adult, he wuld inherit the estate f his deceased father and cntinue t family name The purpse f this law was tw-fld First, it prvided a secnd chance fr the widwed wman t gain the security and rest f a husband and a sn Secndly, it ensured that the dead man s family name wasn t cut ff frm amng the tribes f Israel The name given t the man wh redeems his brther s widw is kinsman This is Ruth s situatin Ruth married a Jewish man wh later died withut a sn As such, she shuld be redeemed by her deceased husband s brther But in this case, her husband s brther has als died S the law required the nearest, unmarried male relative t assume the duty fr Ruth 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.
Ruth 2016 3A 14 f 14 Nami is thinking f this very requirement n ne evening at the end f the barley harvest She Nami gives Ruth wmanly advice n hw t trigger Baz t d the right thing by Ruth When we cme back t the study next time, we ll lk at Nami s advice and what Nami expected t see happen And as we explre these events, we ll return t the prphetic significance f what s happening 2016 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.