Title Boaz's Interest/Ruth 2:5-7
Contents
Lecture 11 The concern of Boaz / Ruth 2:5-7
Boaz said to the servant who had the shearers, Whose girl is this? The servant who had the shearers answered and said, "This is a Moabite girl who has returned from the region of Moab with Naomi, and he said, Let me follow the shearers to glean between the altars." Apart from taking a break at home for a while, I'm still working on it.
The text is a dialogue between Boaz and the servant with the cutters and the overseer of the workers. Verse 5 is a question asked by Boaz, and verses 6 and 7 are the words the bishop answered to Boaz.
First, Boaz asks a question.
2:5, "Boaz said to the servant with the choppers, whose girl is this?"
After Boaz came to his field, looked at the workers and encouraged them, he thought to return to his own way. However, there was one person that caught my eye. A figure he did not know stood there. All the girls working there knew because they were hired by Boaz. So Boaz asks the servant with the cutter. "Whose girl is this?"
Usually, when we see someone we don't know well, we ask, "Who is that person?" But Boaz is not asking that question. In the Bible, when asking about people, there are some cases where they ask, “Who are you?” like Boaz now asks.
Genesis 32:17, "And he entreated the preceding one, saying, My brother Esau found you and asked, Whose are you?"
1 Samuel 30:13, "David said to him, To whom do you belong?"
The question is not "Who are you?" but "Who are you?" "Who do you belong to?" It was the custom of those days to ask who you belonged to, not what your name is. "Who are you?" To the question "What's your name?", answer "Ruth" and the conversation ends. However, if you ask who the girl belongs to, you will answer such as who is your father, who is your mother, and who is your husband if you are married? In other words, these questions can be said to induce a more interesting conversation. In other words, Boaz is showing a lot of interest in Ruth. As such, the question “Who is this girl?” has several meanings.
To this, the servant with the cutters gives three answers. In verse 6, he explains Ruth's identity, in verse 7 he answers by quoting Ruth's words, and thirdly, he gives his opinion on Ruth.
2:6, "The servant with the slayer answered and said, This is a Moabite girl who has returned from the region of Moab with Naomi."
The servant is explaining about Ruth. Looking at this verse from the end, where was Ruth said to be? She was called a Moabite girl. Where are you from? Ruth is from Moab. It is not a girl who has lived in Bethlehem for a long time, but has just returned from Moab to Bethlehem. Who did you come with? I came with Naomi.
1:19, "Then the two went on as far as Bethlehem, and when they came to Bethlehem, the whole city clamored for them, saying, Is this Naomi?"
From this passage of Scripture, the people of Bethlehem already knew and knew about Naomi and Ruth. Because when they came, the whole city was in a commotion because of them. Boaz knew about Ruth, too.
3:11, "Do not be afraid, my daughter, I will do to you all that you say, and all the people of my city know that you are a virtuous woman."
All the towns knew about Ruth. Anyone who has heard of Naomi and Ruth must have wanted to help Naomi and Ruth.
In the first half of verse 7, the servant quotes Ruth and tells why Ruth is here.
"He said, Let me follow the shearers to glean from among the sheaves."
It was forbidden to follow the reapers and glean during the harvest. Because it may cause unnecessary suspicion and may hinder the harvest. In addition, the servant with the chopper could not comply with Ruth's request. Because it is not your field. You cannot freely allow it. The only thing the servant can do is tell him to wait until the harvest is over, or ask him to do it when the master comes.
But Ruth was active and adventurous. Follow the cuter and ask him to pick it up between the sheaves. History can only happen when there is such an adventure. So what happened?
2:7-8, "Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter. Do not go to another field to glean, and do not leave here. Stay with my girls. See their field and follow them."
Boaz gave permission to glean.
2:15, "Boaz commanded his boys, saying, Let him glean among the sheaves."
Ruth was adventurous. He went forward boldly and bravely, risking danger and contempt, and ready to be driven out again. You can't do anything if you say you can't because you're afraid But Ruth was brave.
In the second half of verse 7, the servant with the chopper tells Boaz his opinion about Ruth.
“Since morning, I have been working on it until now, except for a little rest at home.”
Whose house will this house be? Is it Ruth's house? Naomi's house in Bethlehem and Boaz's field must have been quite a distance apart, but there is no way they would go back to Bethlehem's house to rest for a while. The sun is very hot in Israel during the day. So, there is a simple house in the field so that the workers can eat and drink water while resting for a while. Ruth couldn't stand still in the scorching sun, so she took shelter from the sun in such a house for a while. And other than that, he said it was still going on. What are you doing going on? The Korean Bible sounds like continuing gleaning, but it is not. Because the bishop cannot allow the gleaning of his own accord. That is, they did not return and stood waiting until the harvest was over, or until the master came. We should be able to appreciate Ruth's patience.
Someone said this. "Keep your head down in front of a person who has worked at the same job for 10 consecutive years. Bow down in front of a person who has been doing the same thing for 20 years. And why is it in front of a person who has been doing the same thing for 30 years? Either way, get down on your knees." How difficult must it have been? There was a lot of anger, and there must have been a desire to quit. The people who made the pages of history went through difficult trials. However, what they were able to achieve in the end was that they did not get discouraged, endured to the end, and continued to advance even in the rain and wind, and advance even in the blizzard, and finally achieved the final victory. Who is the winner? The person who wins in the end is the winner.
Every time I go to the airport to catch a plane, I receive a lot of grace. Airplanes carry a lot of people. A lot of luggage is loaded onto the plane. Will that big plane be built in an instant? After many years of putting in countless parts and going through a lot of hands, the massive airplane is built and flies off the runway and goes up into the sky. There is a thing called atmospheric chronicity. Don't think in a hurry and go with patience. Even if there is a difficult situation ahead of us, do not be discouraged, and I hope that you will become all the saints who persevere and win the final victory.