The story of Ruth ep. 2 - Gathering grain

But then Boaz saw an unfamiliar face among his harvesters, a young woman who didn't seem to be from their town. So he took aside the overseer of his servants in the field and curiously asked him, Ruben, who is this young woman? She doesn't look familiar. Whose daughter is she? Hi kids! Welcome back to our new adventure with Ruth. Remember what happened in the last episode? Eli-Melech, along with both of his sons, Malon and Kilian, died. So Naomi and her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, were all left without husbands. How unfortunate! What a tragedy! Ruth and Orpah were so young. All their plans were shattered by this unexpected turn of events. Because of this, Naomi decided to return to her home country, Israel. At first, both Ruth and Orpah wanted to join her. But after some time, because Naomi insisted, Orpah returned to her family. But Ruth, Ruth could not be convinced to go back to her family. Instead, she held on tightly to her decision to join Naomi on her journey back to Israel. Naomi and Ruth left Moab and traveled all the way back to Israel. When they arrived in Bethlehem, it was the beginning of the barley harvest season. The two women had absolutely nothing and had to work hard to support themselves. At that time, it was very difficult for a widow, whose husband and children had died, to survive. It was usually the man who supported the household. So the man worked and brought home money to pay for everything the family needed. But neither Naomi nor Ruth had husbands to help them. So they were left to do the work on their own, alone. But not quite alone. God was with them. That is exactly why Ruth followed Naomi. Naomi was old, so the heavy burden of caring for her now fell on Ruth's shoulders. But Ruth didn't complain at all. This is where she wanted to be. She could have been with her family in Moab and have her family care for her. But no, Ruth wanted to come with Naomi back to Israel, a foreign land for her. And she was ready to work hard, not only to support herself, but also her mother-in-law. One day Ruth said to Naomi, Mother Naomi, please let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor. Naomi responded, Go ahead, my daughter. Said and done. Ruth found a team of harvesters working in a field. So she entered the field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, a rich man living in Bethlehem, who was from the clan of Elimelech. One day Boaz came to the fields to check how the harvest was progressing. The Lord be with you and help you, he greeted the harvesters in his field. May the Lord bless you, his servants responded. But then Boaz saw an unfamiliar face among his harvesters. A young woman who didn't seem to be from their town. So he took aside the overseer of his servants in the field and curiously asked him, Ruben, who is this young woman? She doesn't look familiar. Whose daughter is she? Ruben answered Boaz. Master, uh, I don't know very much, but it seems she is a Moabite girl. Her name is Ruth and she came with Naomi from Moab. She came to me this morning and asked permission to gather the grain left on the ground behind us. The overseer continued. She has remained here from morning till now and she has been working really hard. Boaz's heart was touched when he heard her story, especially since he had also heard that Naomi had returned home from Moab. Seeing that Ruth was so hardworking and hearing good things about her from his servant, Boaz said to Ruth. Listen, my daughter, stay here in my field to gather grain for yourself. Actually, you may come here all season and stay with the women who work for me. Boaz continued. Watch the field where the men are harvesting and follow along after the women. I have warned all my servants not to bother you. And when you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars my servants have filled. Astonished by the kindness that Boaz had just shown her, Ruth bowed down with her face to the ground and responded. Thank you so much for your kindness. You welcomed me to your property with your servants, even though I am only a foreigner here. Thank you. Boaz answered her. I have been told of all that you did for Naomi. Your mother-in-law after your husband died. I have heard how you left behind your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with the people you did not know before. Boaz continued. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Overwhelmed by these words, Ruth answered Boaz. You are very kind to me, my Lord, for your words have touched my heart and have given me hope, though I do not have the standing of one of your servants. Ruth continued to gather grain and at noon Boaz invited her to have lunch with him and with his other servants. Ruth ate with them and at the end, she put together the leftovers for her mother-in-law Naomi. When she finished eating, Ruth went back to work. Then Boaz gave his servants the following command. Let Ruth gather grain in my field and do not stop her. In fact, pull out some stocks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up and don't rebuke her. Ruth worked hard, gathering grain until evening and then returned home to Naomi, tired but excited at the same time. She was so eager to tell her everything that had happened to her that day. As soon as she entered the house, Ruth showed Naomi how much grain she had managed to gather and even brought her some of the food that was leftover from lunch. Amazed at what she saw and heard, Naomi asked Ruth, My daughter, where did you gather all this grain today? Blessed be the one who took care of you. Ruth told her about the field she had worked in and said, The name of the man who owns the fields where I work today is Boaz. Then Naomi rejoiced, saying, Blessed be the Lord who continues to be kind to us. Naomi continued, This man is a close relative through Elimelech. More importantly, Boaz is of those who have a right of redemption over us. Now, what was this right of redemption? Back in the day, in Israel, when a woman lost her husband, the man who was her closest relative could take her as a wife. He would take care of her and the family's land, thus redeeming the family and the inheritance of the one who died. What a coincidence, right? Ruth ended up in the field of Boaz, one of Naomi's relatives. Or was it not a coincidence? Was it all planned by God? Oh, yes. God didn't leave Ruth and Naomi alone, just like He never leaves us when we seek Him. After Ruth told Naomi all that had happened to her during the day, Naomi encouraged Ruth to continue working in the fields of Boaz. She was safe there, and that was no small thing. But beyond the opportunity and safety provided by Boaz, Ruth was actually finding shelter under the wings of the God of Israel. This was the safest place to be. Ruth continued to gather grain in the fields of Boaz until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. One day, Naomi told Ruth, My daughter, I want you to be well and happy. Now, Boaz is one of our closest relatives. Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you, and do the following. We will find out in the next episode what Naomi was about to ask of Ruth. But until then, let's take a look back at what we can learn from Ruth and Naomi's experience. What were the chances that Ruth would end up in the fields of Boaz, who was Naomi's relative? What were the chances that Boaz would notice Ruth and remember Naomi? Or that his heart would be so touched when he heard her story? Behind Boaz's decisions was God himself, who had planned all these coincidences in detail. God saw Ruth's heart. He saw that she had left her family and her people to find shelter under the wings of the God of Israel. God saw that Ruth did not complain, but instead she worked hard with enthusiasm to support herself and her mother-in-law, Naomi. And despite her difficult circumstances, Ruth did not complain at all. Let me tell you another interesting fact that I didn't mention at the beginning. When Naomi and Ruth first arrived in Bethlehem from Moab, the whole town became very excited. People recognized Naomi and tried to find out from her everything that had happened to her during the time she was away. But Naomi responded to people saying, It certainly wasn't easy for Naomi, losing her husband and her two sons all at once. And it wasn't easy for Ruth either. She became a widow so early, and then she left behind her parents and her country. When she arrived in Bethlehem, she worked so hard to support herself and Naomi. Yet we don't find a single passage in the Bible where she complains. How do you respond to problems? Do you act like Naomi or like Ruth? This is the choice each of us has to make. We can complain and get stuck in our problems, or we can move forward with courage. Even when we go through hardships, we can choose to remain positive, doing our best to move forward. Remember, God will take care of us. Behind many coincidences is God's hand at work. Open your eyes to see that you are under the shelter of God's wings. We invite you to check out the Ruth original song on our DG Bible Songs channel on YouTube, where we frequently post Christian songs and animations for children.