Rut 2:7 | KingComments | STEP | Then Boaz appears. The words he and his reapers exchange in greeting, prove the good relationship between them. Boaz comes from Bethlehem to his field. His blessing for his reapers is that the LORD will be with them. It is reminiscent of the words “peace be to you” which the Lord Jesus says to His disciples when He appears in their midst after His resurrection ( ). They do everything under His supervision and blessing. In their turn the reapers wish Boaz the blessing of the LORD. Thus, all the workers of the Lord Jesus wish Him blessing from God (cf. ). In practical terms, this greeting between an employer and his employees is rare in a society where the boss is generally governed by selfishness and the subordinates by suspicion. All kinds of regulations can limit evil a little, but never exclude it, because the root of evil remains. Only when the Lord Jesus will reign righteously and the relationships with Him will be experienced immediately in a new way of thinking, will the situation be as it is here, in the field of Boaz. Yet both employers and employees who know the Lord Jesus are called to deal with each other in the spirit of this greeting ( ). Then Boaz asks about Ruth. His eye is on her (cf. ). He notices her as a new one on his field. He pays attention to her, but doesn’t show this directly to herself. He does not ask who she is, but whose she is: “Whose young woman is this?” Boaz is no longer a young man. In any case, he is a lot older than Ruth, because he addresses her a little later as ‘daughter’. He is still not married. So, he asks whom she belongs to, whose she is. In veiled terms he asks if she is already married. This fits in perfectly with this history, which is primarily a love story. From a spiritual point of view, the question can also be asked to us: ‘Whose are you, whom do you belong to?’ If the things of the world control our life, we are belong the world and not to the Lord. The servant tells Boaz who Ruth is, and reports on her activities. She is someone who has left the land of Moab and who wants to be dependent on grace. As proof of the latter, the servant cites her statement with which she asked him to glean of the ears. She did it in the humblest way, she did not demand work. She longed to glean Bethlehem’s food and gather it. She asked for a place close to the sheaves behind the reapers. In spiritual terms this speaks of the desire of a young believer to read (glean ears) in God’s Word and to see the coherence of the different verses (gather). To this end, the young believer will like to be close to believers who have already discovered this coherence, and he will like to learn from them. Therefore, he will like to visit meetings where God’s Word is explained and he will like to read comments that show him the coherence in God’s Word. Boaz talks to his servant about Ruth. The servant who is in charge of the reapers is a picture of the Holy Spirit. He speaks to the Lord Jesus about us (cf. ). When someone comes in humility to receive blessing, the Lord sees it, He notices it. The servant testifies of her that she has focused entirely on her work. Therefore, he mentions that she is someone who “has been sitting in the house for a little while”, which probably indicates sitting in a hut in the field to find rest and shade. Ruth did it only for a little while.

‏ Ruth 2:7

The Testimony About Ruth to Boaz

Then Boaz appears. The words he and his reapers exchange in greeting, prove the good relationship between them. Boaz comes from Bethlehem to his field. His blessing for his reapers is that the LORD will be with them. It is reminiscent of the words “peace be to you” which the Lord Jesus says to His disciples when He appears in their midst after His resurrection (Jn 20:19-23). They do everything under His supervision and blessing. In their turn the reapers wish Boaz the blessing of the LORD. Thus, all the workers of the Lord Jesus wish Him blessing from God (cf. Psa 20:1-5).

In practical terms, this greeting between an employer and his employees is rare in a society where the boss is generally governed by selfishness and the subordinates by suspicion. All kinds of regulations can limit evil a little, but never exclude it, because the root of evil remains. Only when the Lord Jesus will reign righteously and the relationships with Him will be experienced immediately in a new way of thinking, will the situation be as it is here, in the field of Boaz. Yet both employers and employees who know the Lord Jesus are called to deal with each other in the spirit of this greeting (Eph 6:5-9).

Then Boaz asks about Ruth. His eye is on her (cf. Psa 33:18). He notices her as a new one on his field. He pays attention to her, but doesn’t show this directly to herself. He does not ask who she is, but whose she is: “Whose young woman is this?” Boaz is no longer a young man. In any case, he is a lot older than Ruth, because he addresses her a little later as ‘daughter’. He is still not married. So, he asks whom she belongs to, whose she is. In veiled terms he asks if she is already married. This fits in perfectly with this history, which is primarily a love story.

From a spiritual point of view, the question can also be asked to us: ‘Whose are you, whom do you belong to?’ If the things of the world control our life, we are belong the world and not to the Lord.

The servant tells Boaz who Ruth is, and reports on her activities. She is someone who has left the land of Moab and who wants to be dependent on grace. As proof of the latter, the servant cites her statement with which she asked him to glean of the ears. She did it in the humblest way, she did not demand work. She longed to glean Bethlehem’s food and gather it. She asked for a place close to the sheaves behind the reapers.

In spiritual terms this speaks of the desire of a young believer to read (glean ears) in God’s Word and to see the coherence of the different verses (gather). To this end, the young believer will like to be close to believers who have already discovered this coherence, and he will like to learn from them. Therefore, he will like to visit meetings where God’s Word is explained and he will like to read comments that show him the coherence in God’s Word.

Boaz talks to his servant about Ruth. The servant who is in charge of the reapers is a picture of the Holy Spirit. He speaks to the Lord Jesus about us (cf. Rom 8:26). When someone comes in humility to receive blessing, the Lord sees it, He notices it. The servant testifies of her that she has focused entirely on her work. Therefore, he mentions that she is someone who “has been sitting in the house for a little while”, which probably indicates sitting in a hut in the field to find rest and shade. Ruth did it only for a little while.