“Finding Favor”
Ruth 2:1-17
Review
•
•
•
•
Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth are now in Judah, Naomi’s home country
Both have lost their husbands
Ruth has professed that God is now her God and Naomi’s people are now her people
And Naomi is in a bad place, believing God has left her to live out her days absent of His favor
and grace
The Book of Ruth is a romantic story.
• They are real people
• They are historical figures
• Ruth is not an allegory or metaphorical fable
• The story is told because …
o … Ruth is David’s great grandmother and ancestor of Jesus Himself
o … Ruth is a Moabite woman – banned from temple worship by the Jews in every legal
sense.
o … Mercy triumphs over judgment
o … Faith, hope, and love are indeed the greatest attributes in the kingdom of God
• Some people have a hard time with romance in God’s Word
o I can’t give a dissertation on it, but romance is all over God’s Word
o Among plenty of other passages, I would also encourage you to read…
 … song of Solomon
 … Jacob’s long love for Rachel
 … and of course, the last 3 chapters of Ruth …
Read Ruth 2:1-17
Rth 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name
was Boaz.
Rth 2:2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain
after him in whose sight I shall find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
Rth 2:3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come
to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
• V1 is a “title” – Ruth didn’t know of Naomi’s relative Boaz until she met him
o V3 repeats v1 regarding an intro of Boaz – that’s the indicator of v1 being a title of this
section
• Additionally, a lot has been made of v1 in regards to how Boaz is introduced
o “worthy man” or “wealthy man”?
 Gibbor chayil is translated the same EVERY time they’re put together, EXCEPT
right here
 Gibbor chayil = “mighty man of valor” – as in David’s mighty men. EVERY TIME.
 IOW, the man was awesome, well respected, and not to be messed with.
 He was not necessarily rich, although he did apparently own a field.
• gleaning laws
o
o
o
o
Deu 24:19 "When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you
shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow,
that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Deu 24:20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be
for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deu 24:21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it
afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.
Deu 24:22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I
command you to do this.
Rth 2:4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!"
And they answered, "The LORD bless you."
• This shows the character of Boaz
o Yehovah im! Yehovah barachhhhh!
o I wish we did this more in our culture – in and out of our “Christian” settings
• And the following needs to be comprehended in a “story-telling” kind of way
o Either Boaz related this to Jesse or David or Samuel
o Or Ruth did – in the event the older Boaz had passed
o Either way, try to see Boaz or Ruth toward the end of life, relating how they met.
Rth 2:5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is
this?"
Rth 2:6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "She is the young Moabite woman,
who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
Rth 2:7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came,
and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest."
• Now, due to the law in Deut, this was NOT the first time widows, or the fatherless, or foreigners
came gleaning.
• This happened every day on Boaz’s farm.
• So how did he come to notice her – to pick her out and ask about her?
• Probably for several reasons
o 1) According to historical accounts – secular included – Moabites were darker in skin
color than Israelites, so she stood out as a foreigner
o 2) she was likely very pretty
 Nowhere does the Bible say “Ruth was pretty”
 But in all of Boaz’s actions and even those of his foreman and hired hands (as
we’ll see when we read further), we can deduce she was quite attractive.
o 3) She was brand new – first day gleaning – maybe was fumbling around a bit?
Rth 2:8 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.
Rth 2:9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the
young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men
have drawn."
Rth 2:10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in
your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" (this will be the key phrase we
focus on today)
Rth 2:11 But Boaz answered her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your
husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and
came to a people that you did not know before.
Rth 2:12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the
God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!"
Rth 2:13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and
spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants."
• Don’t miss this:
o GOD was doing the blessing
 Boaz acknowledges that it is under HIS wings Ruth has come – not his
 Boaz saw himself as a HUGE player in the rewarding God was doing in Ruth’s
life.
 It was through his means that God was blessing Ruth.
Rth 2:14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the
wine." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was
satisfied, and she had some left over.
Rth 2:15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the
sheaves, and do not reproach her.
Rth 2:16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not
rebuke her."
Rth 2:17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was
about an ephah of barley.
• The law didn’t allow for gleaners to touch the sheaves – which was the grain before it was
bound up and taken to the barn
• Most foreigners took back just enough for the day
• But Ruth was given an ephah, which equals 7.5 GALLONS of food
Focus: Ruth 2:10
“Why have I found favor in your eyes?”
• Favor in Hebrew = chên (khane) = graciousness, favour, grace [well-] favoured.
In seeking to comprehend FAVOR, let’s focus on the two main characters: Ruth and Boaz.
First, The Character of Ruth:
• Personal story:
• Perhaps you know my wife came to Christ while pregnant with Josh, my step-son.
o I didn’t know her before Josh – she and I met at a church just after I came to the Lord at
age 21, when Josh was 2 ½ yrs old
o She was/is way out of my league, so any thoughts of me dating her were quick and
fleeting for a couple years
o For 2 years I thought of Jessica as the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but I didn’t
know her very well on a personal level.
• Our youth pastor put us together to co-lead a new college/career ministry…
o The more I witnessed her true character, the deeper I’d go into falling in love with her.
o And she had no idea.
o We became very close, but to her, I was just her best friend.
• EVENTUALLY, I got up the courage to tell her I was hoping friendship was just the beginning
•
•
o just days later we had our first date
o and the rest is history with much left to be written.
I’m no Boaz – that’s not the point at all.
o The point is I and many others of course saw the outer beauty, but it is always the inner
beauty that keeps me wanting to show her favor above all others in this world.
It was her reputation that preceded her
o A loving mom
o A giving person
o Joyful, expressive, others-centered, hard worker…
o A student of scripture
o A forgiving person – even for those who had hurt her deeply
o A doer of God’s Word
 THESE things caused my love for her to grow immensely – far outweighing the
outer beauty
 A Christ-likeness that I very much wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
 And Jessica’s model made me want to pursue Christ more as well.
 Jessica showed me that believing is doing, believing is serving, believing is
placing others above yourself.
 And I wanted to give EVERYTHING about me to this woman, and still do.
There is a short little funny saying making its rounds on the internet…
• Most pastors would probably frown on saying it, but I’m not most pastors… so I pray you receive
it for the purpose in which I tell it.
• To all the girls who are in a hurry to have a boyfriend or get married, a piece of Biblical advice:
“Ruth patiently waited for her mate Boaz.” While you are waiting on YOUR Boaz, don’t settle
for any of his relatives: Lyin-az, Cheatin-az, Dumb-az, Drunk-az, Cheap-az, Lockedup-az, Lazyaz and especially his third cousin Beatin-yo-az.
o Now, while “waiting on your Boaz” is certainly virtuous, this little saying has a flaw.
o Ruth didn’t patiently wait.
o They met and hit it off on the same day – and things happened very quickly.
o What the little saying SHOULD have communicated is Ruth’s character – not her
patience.
o Her reputation, character, hard work, loyalty, selflessness, and love for family all went
before her – so much so that the whole town heard of it.
• (next slide) Ruth didn’t patiently wait – the connotation being she did nothing, but just waited
around until “fate” finally brought her a good man.
o No, God brought Ruth a good man because WHO SHE WAS attracted a good man!
o And the converse is true for you single MEN!
The Character of Boaz:
Let us not forget the definition of the word FAVOR:
• Grace is unmerited
• It is giving beyond what is “required”
• It is rooted in love – God’s kind of love – that only abides in the heart of the believer because
God’s spirit lives there
• Being the grace-giver is a HUGE blessing.
• Boaz did not have to give favor to Ruth
Being the owner of the field and a “Mighty man of Valor” he could have simply puffed
out his chest and try to make her take notice of HIM.
 He could have said “Hey, you don’t have a lot going for you, but you’re kinda
pretty, and obviously I’m someone who can answer some of your problems, so
as long as you do this, and that, and this and that, I might reward you.”
o After all, HE was the more prominent figure – the one who could “do something” about
Ruth’s plight if he wanted to.
o No real sacrifice on his end.
o Instead, The one who had the means to do something made the first move.
o In our world, we tend to wait for the poor or less fortunate come to us.
 Then we size them up, and wonder if we should give them anything.
 Certainly, there is some basic wisdom and common sense in that line of
thinking, but the more I read scripture, the less I see God commanding me to
size people up, and the more I see Him commanding me to give to the one who
asks – MORE even than I was prepared to give – and to do so without conditions
– EXCEPT to tell them God loves them, and without His Lordship in my life, I
wouldn’t have been moved to help.
In Ruth’s case, I think Boaz KNEW she was ripe for some idiot to promise her things just to have
his way with her.
o He therefore commanded all the other men not to mess with her.
o Many a man would give “just enough” to take advantage of her
o But Boaz clearly showed her a measure of grace unmatched.
o
•
As you know, Boaz is a “type of Christ” – the Kinsman Redeemer
• For each of us, and for the world, God knows that Satan only has to do bare-minimums to sweep
us off our feet.
o He can make the slightest of promises to keep God’s created from salvation.
o Lies, wealth, power, fame, drugs, alcohol, addictions of all kinds – they’re all tricks of the
enemy of God who “wants us” for all the wrong reasons.
• God is well aware of this.
o So He gives us more than we deserve – showering His grace upon us.
 Eph 1:7-8, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of
our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us.”
 Joh 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
 Rom 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more.
• Sometimes such GRACE and FAVOR is hard to see.
o It’s not hard to imagine Ruth responding somewhat neutrally to Boaz’s favor
 Think about it:
• She’s been working in the field for hours
• Israel is a lot like Tucson – dry and hot most of the time
• She’s working extremely hard
• She begins to think she could use a break – she could sure use a little
break in her favor right about now
• Then Boaz notices her, and gives her favor
• Many people would simply take the gifts without much fanfare
o Sort of a “Finally somebody notices I deserve some slack”
attitude.
My encouragement to you is to NEVER STOP BLESSING THE LORD FOR HIS GRACE UPON
GRACE.
 Get into the habit of acknowledging God daily for the favor He constantly gives
o Are you in a tough place?
o Are you going through a very difficult time?
o God IS faithful! He DOES notice. He ALWAYS comes through!
o Be the person who LOOKS for his grace, and RESPONDS as Ruth does
 Thankfulness, and telling people about the redeemer’s favor.
God calls on us to give this same kind of favor!
o Indeed God loves us – sinners, adulterous people running after other gods and things
not of God at all – yet loves us and lavishes His grace upon us.
o He models for us that which He commands us to be toward others.
o
•
(last slide) In closing:
• Singles:
o Patiently waiting is a good thing
o But while you’re waiting, work on being the man or woman God commands you to be.
o Don’t wait around for the perfect one to drop from the sky.
o The perfect ones don’t tend to drop, number one.
o And 2, IF you are a grace-giver and person after God’s heart, you WILL attract God’s
perfect match for you.
• Those already married:
o There is no greater lesson you can learn in your life than to play the “outgiving one
another” game with your spouse.
 It’s a crazy world we live in when we apply all the “give without conditions”
scriptures to strangers, but don’t do the same with those we love the most.
 Keep no record of wrongs
 Give unmerited favor
 And in so doing, you will honor the Lord and reap huge rewards!