Ruth Meets Boaz

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. The thunderous finality of the stone being rolled shut on grave hollowed out Naomi's soul in way she had not thought was possible. Her sons were buried in darkness with their father. Naomi wished she could throw herself into that tomb. 00:00:22 Speaker 2: Each of you go back to your mother's home, the families who can still make another marriage match for you. Hurry go now before we are too much further out of the territory. 00:00:34 Speaker 3: Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be married. May the Lord punish me, and do so severely. If anything but death separates you and. 00:00:57 Speaker 2: Me, then I guess it's all to Bethlehem we got. 00:01:02 Speaker 1: The two widows finally crossed the threshold of Bethlehem, a town of white stone buildings situated on a ridge overlooking hill after hill of farmland, mostly wheat and barley. 00:01:16 Speaker 3: Wait, your Naomi, is that you You've been away for so long, but now you've returned. 00:01:25 Speaker 2: Don't call me that Naomi means pleasant, Call me mar for the almighty has made me very bitter. 00:01:39 Speaker 4: Faithfulness is often forged in the smallest things, in a step, in a vow, in a field, shello, my friends from here in the holy land of Israel. I'm l Exstein with international fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. What does loyalty look like when the world has offered or do nothing but loss? When all that remains is a fractured life? Where do faithfulness and hope find their footing? In Ruth chapter two, a young widow steps into the fields of Bethlehem. She carries the weight of a promise, bound not by blood, but by a covenant of love. She doesn't know it yet, but these fields are more than soil and crops. They're the stage for something divine. And here's the question that we must wrestle with. When life leaves us with only scraps, do we still gather? Do we still believe that in the ordinary the extraordinary weights? 00:02:42 Speaker 1: Ruth tripped as she hurried along the path as fast as she could, without running or looking frightened. She caught herself and straightened, but then winced at the cruel laughter chortling from the field behind. 00:02:55 Speaker 5: Her, where are you going, little moabidis? All you widows were desperate for a new husband. 00:03:03 Speaker 6: Ah An israelie man. 00:03:05 Speaker 2: She can seek her claws into like got dogs. 00:03:08 Speaker 1: He is no, she belongs with some uncircumcised dog of her own kind. 00:03:16 Speaker 5: I can think of a better use for her while she's here, though, Come back and you could be my concubine. I'll even give you a peruta for your trouble, so you don't have to beg behind us all day. 00:03:28 Speaker 1: She fought the urge to wipe the hot tears streaming down her flushed face under the veil. She didn't want to give the men the satisfaction of knowing that their comments not only wounded her, but also terrified her. She kept one foot in front of the other, trying to distance herself from the cheering men working the field. It had been much of the same in the first two fields she tried. She had heard that the widows, orphans, and poor were permitted to glean along the harvesters or at the core of the fields according to the Hebrew laws, but so far she had only been met with contempt and ridicule. Ruth reached the bottom of the hill, out of sight and earshot of the horrid men and finally allowed herself to wipe away her tears. She cried out in frustration, what am. 00:04:18 Speaker 3: I going to do? Where will I go? 00:04:23 Speaker 1: Ruth had left a still despondent Naomi at their crumbling farmhouse that morning. The neighbors had been generous in bringing food initially, but Ruth had to think of a more permanent solution for their poverty stricken state, and certainly one with more dignity than waiting for handouts, and so Ruth asked Naomi for her leave to go and glean in the fields near by, as stipulated by the law. Naomi gave her a half hearted response, but that was all the encouragement Ruth needed. But now Ruth was running out of options. She feared what the men would do to her if she returned. Feeling defeated, she trudged up the next rise and gazed out of the rolling hills before her. The soft golden barley bobbed and swayed on the gentle breeze that rose up to meet her face. It dried the tears on her cheeks, and she sighed and leaned into its gentle touch. When she scanned the fields again. She decided to head toward the one to the right of the path, the direction the breeze had blown from. She quickly found the workers in the field. She was encouraged by seeing the other women and a few children gleaning about a hundred paces behind the harvesters, carefully hunting for scraps of grain in the stubble left behind. She tentatively approached the harvesters hacking the lush barley stocks ahead of gleaners with their iron sickles, and quickly identified the foreman. 00:05:55 Speaker 3: Please, master, may eye gleaned behind your workers. 00:06:00 Speaker 1: The foreman, an older man with deep set eyes and a weathered lined face, looked up from his work and held up a hand to block out the sun beating down. 00:06:09 Speaker 5: On them moor. 00:06:10 Speaker 1: The other workers paused their work to stare. Ruth straightened her shoulders and stood tall before all the assessing eyes. After a moment, he nodded curtly to her. 00:06:23 Speaker 5: I'm not the master, but you're welcome to join the women and glean at the edges. You've a name. 00:06:30 Speaker 1: Ruth released a sharp breath. She had not realized she was holding her breath. Upon further examination, the man, though gruff seemed to be a no nonsense type. He would be tough but fair. 00:06:44 Speaker 5: Thank you. 00:06:45 Speaker 3: My name is Ruth. My husband was Malon, son of Elimelech, but since his death, I now live with Naomi, my mother in law. We've just returned from Moab. 00:06:58 Speaker 1: The man's eyes softened ever so slightly. 00:07:01 Speaker 5: Alimelech, you say, I remember Alimelech in Naomi and their two young sons too. We're of the same tribe and household. 00:07:11 Speaker 1: He paused, as if piecing together Ruth's tragic story from her widow's garments. 00:07:17 Speaker 5: You have my condolences for your losses. You can follow behind my master's harvesters. No one will bother you. We all obey his command. 00:07:26 Speaker 1: Here relief flooded over Ruth, and she bowed deeply toward the man. He nodded again, curtly, and returned to his task of overseeing the harvesters cutting and bundling the barley. The women and children watched her warily as she fell behind them and searched the stubbled ground for any barley they may have left behind. Her heart sank as she perceived their chilly reception for what it was. She was doubly marked as an outsider, even if she abandoned her widow's garments, and she was still a foreigner, vulnerable and alone. Ruth uneasily continued hunting through the cut stalks as the others forged ahead, leaving her to trail behind. Her eyes again blurred with tears, but she continued to sift through the prickly leftovers of the cut barley, head down, jaw clenched, but refusing to allow the circumstances of her new life to beat her down. Boaz savored the gentle breeze that cooled his cheeks and the back of his neck. It caused the fields of golden grain to dance and bob before him as he took in the familiar sight of his home with a content smile. He tugged on the reins and urged his donkey to follow as he descended the hill, enjoying the mild exercise of stretching his legs. After three days of travel on the old, old Faithful Beasts back, he knew the donkey was relieved to be home too. Boas chuckled as it gave an excited bray and picked up its pace. The wide expanse of the swaying crop, endless blue sky and absence of crowds was a similarly welcome balm after the clamoring and chaotic excitement of the capital city of Shiloh. The vibrant colors of the tabernacle curtains still swirled in his mind's eye, and he could almost still taste the aroma and smoke of burnt offerings clinging to the back of his throat. The smell certainly lingered on his clothes. The yearly excursions to the city flooded the senses and filled him with awe. But Boaz was thankful to be home at last, and away from the people who pressed in on one another, their voices overlapping and raised over the bleating of animals and the din of music. 00:10:00 Speaker 6: Ah. It's good to be home, ah, But it's less and less of us. Each year, fewer and fewer of the families want to make the pilgrimage for Passover. 00:10:16 Speaker 1: Boaz had left the meager group of other pilgrims who still honored the Lord on the edge of town. The vast majority of the other prominent men and women of Bethlehem had strayed from the faith of their forefathers, all become so fixated on amassing their wealth that they couldn't be bothered with God at all. Boaz knew that many in their town thought it strange that he had never married or fathered children. In fact, they also thought his faith and devotion to the Lord strange. But Boaz came from parents who were full of incredible faith. His mother, Raehab, was a woman of faith who captured his father's heart and forever changed the course of history. A little spark of hope within Boaz told him he should pursue a wife with the same faith, but that woman never emerged. He had come close to matrimony several times, but when it came down to it, neither he nor his parents could find satisfaction in the match. Parents no longer taught their children the law or the way to follow the Lord, and so their daughters loved the world and were strangers to God. Boaz instead focused on tilling and reaping the land he had been given, doing his best to honor the Lord. And to everyone else's surprise, but boazis the Lord blessed him. Despite the long years of recovery after the famine, Boaz's crops were abundant. Soon his fields multiplied and his wealth amassed in kind. Boaz stewarded all that the Lord had given him, well, even down to how he treated his servants, and allowed the poor and vulnerable to glean on the lad As he approached the edge of his field, he could see a small group of them. Now, a servant came from the direction of his house to take the donkey from him so he could go out to meet his foreman. 00:12:14 Speaker 6: Hah Malac. The Lord be with you. 00:12:18 Speaker 1: The stern foreman looked up at his master, and a rare smile tugged at the man's perpetually serious expression. 00:12:26 Speaker 5: Master bo has you've returned, The Lord bless you. 00:12:30 Speaker 1: In return, Boaz grinned and addressed the rest of the harvesters and even the gleaners trailing behind them. 00:12:37 Speaker 6: The Lord be with you all, The Lord bless. 00:12:40 Speaker 1: Boaz nodded deeply to the group, and then clasped a large hand on the shoulder of his foreman in camaraderie. Despite their social disparity, Boaz sought to treat everyone under his care with dignity, respect, and even love. The foreman was a gruff old man, but Boaz had seen the severe man's heart soften over the years as he managed his master's fields. 00:13:07 Speaker 6: Tell me, my dear Malac, how goes the harvest? 00:13:11 Speaker 5: Very well? Master boys? As to be expected? How was your journey to shiloh Oh. 00:13:17 Speaker 7: Has to be expected? Thank you for keeping order here while I was away? Malark nodded formally. Just then that breeze picked up again, and movement of dark fabric drifting in the wind caught his attention. He gave the gleaners another look. Several of the women and young children he had seen before, but there was a newcomer, a widow, and though Boaz would never consider himself an expert in the fashions of the day, something about the subtle color and cut of her dress made him realize she was a foreigner. Even the way the others were apart from her marked the difference, and she, in turn kept her head down, scarcely looking up from her determined work of gleaning through the stubbed stalks, hunting through the already picked through patches of the other gleners. He could tell, by her movements and the faint outline of her face through the dark veil in the sun's bright light, that she was young and tenacious. Far too young to be a widow, and far too young to be in such a desperate position. 00:14:26 Speaker 6: Momak, Whose young woman is this? 00:14:29 Speaker 5: She is the young moabide woman who returned with Naomi from their territory of Moab. Naomi Thelimelech's wife, the very same. What a tragedy Liimelec and his two sons perished in that forsaken land. It's a wonder why this young girl followed Naomi here at all. Surely she would have been better off in Moab than here amongst strangers taking care of her mother in law. 00:14:55 Speaker 1: Boaz pursed his lips and studied Ruth from Afar. What kind of loyalty was this? Surely she should have returned to her people when she had the chance. 00:15:06 Speaker 5: Yeah, she arrived here early this morning. I think she had a hard time at the other farms. You know, ours is not the closest to a Limelec's property. She had a look of defeat on her shoulders when she arrived. She's a hard worker. She's scarcely stopped or taken a break since she joined us. 00:15:26 Speaker 1: Boaz nodded as he took in Mallark's words. Compelled by a compassion he could not articulate. He strode over to where the young widow was kneeling in the dirt. She peered up at him as his shadow fell before her. The thin fabric of Ruth's veil blurred his face ever so slightly, but he smiled down at her before stooping to his knees. He had deep set, pensive eyes under a heavy brow. He had a steadiness and a restraint to him that marked his status as a man of importance. Ruth knew he was the master of the vast property, and she was taken aback that such an important man would stoop to address her. But address her he did, tell me, daughter, what. 00:16:13 Speaker 6: Is your name? 00:16:13 Speaker 3: My name is Ruth. My husband was Malon, but I came here to live with my mother in law, Naomi Ruth. 00:16:23 Speaker 6: I'm Boas, son of Salmon. I remember Naomi. 00:16:28 Speaker 1: Well, Ruth and Boaz stared at one another for a moment, a moment charged with more than curiosity. Boas seemed to have something more to say, but thought better of it. 00:16:43 Speaker 6: Listen, my daughter, Ruth, don't go and gather in another field. Stay in this one. You may stay close to my servants. See which field they're harvesting in and follow them. No one here will touch you or you if you're thirsty, go and drink from the jars of water they have filled. 00:17:05 Speaker 1: Now it was Boas's turn to be surprised at Ruth's actions. Her face was obscured by the widow's veil, but she let out a bewildered sigh and fell face down before him. When she spoke, her voice was thick with emotion. 00:17:23 Speaker 3: Why why have I found such favor with you? Don't you recognize that I am a foreigner? How is it you are even acknowledging me at all and treating me with such kindness. 00:17:39 Speaker 1: Ruth's mind was racing. Who was this man who kneeled in the dirt and offered her protection, This man who not only honored the lore of the Hebrews but extended kindness as well. Boaz's heart ached at the depths of pain and scorn Ruth had undoubtedly experienced to warrant such a reaction. He suppressed the urge to reach out and help her to her feet. It was not proper conduct, and besides, he did not know if she would even receive such a gesture. There was no telling what abuse she had endured before arriving at his farm, Ruth look at me. She was surprised at how the gentle sound of her name on his lips comforted her and calmed her racing mind. Hesitantly, Ruth raised her head and found Boaz's steady, welcoming smile radiating down at her. She was surprised by how much she enjoyed the way his broad face lit up with an even broader smile, nearly closing his deep set eyes. She did not know what to say that she had not already sobbed into the ground. Ruth still did not know what she did to deserve such kindness. 00:18:56 Speaker 6: I understand what returning with Naomi costume, losing your husband. For that, I am sorry. But I also understand the depth of your sacrifice in leaving your father and mother and your native land to be loyal to your mother in law, to your husband's people. 00:19:17 Speaker 3: How could I not? I promised that I would take care of her. I promised to never abandon her or her God. Naomi's people are my people, and her God is my God. Now it is in him I have placed my trust. How could I turn back now? How could I turn my back on my faith. 00:19:41 Speaker 1: It was as if the breath was stolen from Boas's lungs. The faith of this young woman to wholeheartedly accept the Lord as she had done despite her upbringing. Why Boas could think of only one other person in the whole world who had done that. Cocked her head inquisitively at the odd expression that had come over Boaz's face. 00:20:06 Speaker 6: Master Boaz, you remind me of another great woman of faith, but my mother Rayham. Her faith paved the way for the Lord to topple the walls of Jericho. 00:20:19 Speaker 1: Ruth was stunned. She did not know who Rayhab was, but she knew about the walls of Jericho, and she knew that Boaz had just paid her a wildly generous compliment. She knew he could not perceive her blush under the veil, but she blushed all the more thinking about it. 00:20:40 Speaker 6: I would give you a blessing if you would accept it. 00:20:43 Speaker 3: I will. 00:20:45 Speaker 6: May the Lord reward you for what you've done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord of Israel, under whose wings you've come for refuge. 00:20:55 Speaker 3: Master Boaz, I am amazed. I have found favor with you. You have comforted and encouraged, your servant, for that is what I am. 00:21:07 Speaker 1: Boaz smiled and inclined his head respectfully to Ruth. The pair once more stared in wordless admiration at one another. Boaz broke the silence, first, noticing that the other servants were starting to disperse for the meal, he invited Ruth to join him and the others. Ruth wondered at the camaraderie between the master and his servants. They undoubtedly revered him, and in return he spoke with such familiarity and kindness. This was a group of people who truly knew and honored one another. She then realized that this was the picture of the law of the Hebrews Naomi had described, these people living at peace and in harmony with one another. Boaz led them in prayers and fed them from the abundance of his table. He even offered in a vinegar source, a delicacy that Ruth never imagined would be extended to her as a servant. Even lower than a servant, Ruth was so overwhelmed by the familial spirit of the group that she attempted to return to her work in the field at the first opportunity she could Boaz let her leave, lightly, sensing her unease at being away from her task on behalf of her mother in law, but insisted that she take with her leftovers from their meal. But the generosity did not stop there. Boaz instructed his servants to pull out whole stalks from the bundles for her to gather. By the evening, she had almost thirty pounds of barley to take home to Naomi. When she arrived on the threshold of the worn down farmhouse, the outline of her bundle of grain filled the entryway. Naomi gaped at the sight. 00:22:56 Speaker 6: Ruth, where did you gather to day? 00:23:00 Speaker 1: Lord? 00:23:00 Speaker 2: Bless the man who noticed you? 00:23:02 Speaker 1: Ruth beamed at Naomi's words and at her level of engagement. Naomi was so numb and beaten down that hardly a whisper of an emotion flitted across her face most days. Ruth carefully dropped the bundles of grain down on the ground. Ruth was more than eager to supply the answer to her stunned questions. 00:23:25 Speaker 3: The name of the man is Boaz, Boaz said, of salmon and rayhab. 00:23:30 Speaker 1: The strangest expression came over Naomi's face. Ruth could not discern its meaning. It was as if Naomi remembered something long forgotten in the recesses of her mind. 00:23:43 Speaker 2: Boaz, you said, Boaz, Yes. 00:23:47 Speaker 3: Do you know him? He said, he remembers you. 00:23:51 Speaker 2: I suppose he is not the only one who has remembered us. 00:23:57 Speaker 1: Tears sprang into Naomi's eyes eyes, and she fumbled for the chair behind her before collapsing into it. Ruth rushed to Naomi's side as Naomi began to laugh. As she cried, Ruth couldn't help but laugh and cry right along with her, though she wasn't sure why. With this confusing joy, the light had returned to Naomi's eyes. She looked more alive and alert than Ruth had ever seen her. She marveled at the sight of her mother in law. Ruth then realized that what she was seeing was the return of hope. 00:24:38 Speaker 4: What a profound chapter of faithfulness and provision doesn't unfold with grand miracles or fury spectacles. Instead, it whispers through the rhythm of the harvest, the sweat of hard work, and the kindness of one man. It reminds us that God doesn't just move and storms and sees He's present and fields of grain and the courage to keep walking in the quiet resolve of someone who says, I'll stay. And this isn't just Ruth's story, it's ours too. Today I want to talk about a very important Hebrew word. That word is ressaid. It's often translated to English as loving kindness, but it really means doing kind acts that are above and beyond. It means going farther and being kind than expected. The Book of Ruth introduces us to three characters who display the trait of heresid. We've already talked about Naomi, a mother in law who treats her formally Moabite daughter in law as a true daughter. And we've met Ruth, a widow and formerly a wealthy Moabite who is now a proud member of the Chosen People. And today we find Ruth gleaning along with the poor in the field to help support Naomi. The third character who displays hesid is boas a wealthy man who helps his needy relatives and does so respectfully, showing dignity to the neediest. Now, the Jewish ages asked a question about the Book of Ruth. They ask why was this book even included in the Bible. It doesn't teach us any new laws. It doesn't tell us anything that we're supposed to do or that we're not supposed to do. But as we've seen time and time again, the sages answered their own question. They explain that the reason this story is included in the Bible is because it teaches us the importance of hessied. We not only need to be kind, we need to be kind even when it may not be expected of us. This idea is actually the basis for the organization the ministry that I lead, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. We help millions of needy people, and we try hard to do it with this very special biblical kindness, with a calling from God, with the idea and belief that we are so honored to be able to help, we do everything we do with resaid. We don't just bring hungry people food. Rather, our staff and volunteers sit with those people who receive our help and talk with them and love them and listen to them. Because people who are hungry are often very lonely as well, and because everyone needs nourishment for their spirits just as they need it for their bodies. So the Book of Ruth that we're studying right Now is not just a story for us, is an example for each one of us how to act towards people who are in need. The fields of Bethlehem seem ordinary enough, don't they a place of dirt and sweat and survival. But in the Bible, fields are rarely just. They're often where heaven and earth meet. Think of Eden, where humanity first walked with God, or the fields of Esau, where Jacob wrestled for a Birthright now, Ruth steps onto a field with a similar significance. She doesn't belong there, not really. She's a awa bite, a foreigner in a land where lineage is everything. And yet she's there not by accident, but by choice. She made a vow to Naomi, a covenant that echoed the language of Israel's own covenant with the Lord. As we've seen again and again, a covenant isn't just a promise. Rather, it's a bond stronger than blood. So when Ruth declared, your people will be my people, and your God my God, she wasn't just being kind. She was entering a sacred relationship, one that reflected the heart of God. As I said earlier, this age's marveled at Ruth's Chres said. This Chres said wasn't demanded of Ruth, but she chose it anyways. It was beyond loving kindness. It was a calling. And who would have thought that the Messiah's lineage would be tied to a foreigner, to a widow, to someone gathering scraps? But isn't that the way of God to weave his promises through the unlikely, the overlooked, the humble, this field, this moment. It's more than it seems, and so is Ruth. Ruth's faithfulness mirrors the faithfulness of God himself. When Ruth walked into those fields, she gave everything, her identity, her future, to a covenant that she didn't have to make, and she became part of a greater story, story of the Chosen People. So what does Ruth teach us? That faithfulness isn't always loud? It's often quiet, steady, and full of grit. Maybe you feel like you're just gleaning in life, scraping by showing up doing the next thing. But here's the encouragement. God meets us in the fields, Like Ruth, your small acts of faithfulness just might be paving the way for something far beyond what you can even imagine. So keep gathering, keep trusting, because with God, even the scraps are holy. Sello, my friends from here in the Holy Land. 00:30:39 Speaker 1: You can listen to the Chosen People withy Isle e Stein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog Com production is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Katina, Max Bard, Zach Shellavaga and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yiele Eckstein, edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltofianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Gotten, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwold, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland, Junior, Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvado, bre Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paul Lanier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more prey dot com productions on the Prey dot Com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.