Ruth 2:17 - Meaning and Application

Here Ruth finished her day’s work, Ruth 2:17. She did not waste time, but gleaned until evening. We should not grow tired of doing good, because in due time we will reap if we do not give up. She did not sit still or go home early. Instead, she kept working while the day lasted, doing the work set before her.

She also took care not to lose what she had gathered. She threshed it herself so she could carry it home more easily and have it ready to use. The lazy person does not even cook what he has hunted, and so loses the benefit of it, but a diligent person’s gain is valuable (Proverbs 12:27). Ruth had gathered the grain ear by ear, but when she put it all together, it was an ephah of barley, about four pecks. Little by little can become a great amount.

This should encourage steady work, because even gleaning brings profit. Mere talk brings only poverty. After she had packed her grain into as small a space as possible, she carried it into the city herself. Some of Boaz’s servants would likely have helped her if she had asked, but she did not want to burden those who had been kind to her. She did not think it too hard or too humble to carry it herself, and she was glad to keep safe what she had earned. In this way we should guard what we have worked for, what we have gained (2 John 1:8).

Then she went straight home to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and did not spend time talking with Boaz’s servants. She showed Naomi what she had gleaned, so her mother could see that she had not been idle. She also gave Naomi what was left from the good meal Boaz had provided after she had eaten enough (Ruth 2:18). If she had anything better than the rest, her mother should share it with her. By doing well outside the home, she also showed love and duty at home. Children supporting their parents is part of honoring them, as the fifth commandment requires (Matthew 15:6; 1 Timothy 5:4).

Ruth also gave Naomi a full account of her day and how God’s care had helped her, which made Naomi very glad. The little that a righteous person has is better than the riches of many wicked people (Psalm 37:16). Naomi asked, “Where have you gleaned today?” Parents should pay attention to where their children go, what they do, and who they spend time with. This can prevent many wrong choices that children make when left on their own. We are not only responsible for our brothers and sisters, in a sense, but surely for our children too, and we know what came of Adonijah, who had never been corrected.

Parents should ask questions gently. They should not frighten or discourage their children, or make them hate home, or tempt them to lie. Instead, they should praise what is good and kindly correct what is wrong. It is also a good question for us at the end of each day: Where have I gleaned today? What have I gained in knowledge and grace? What have I done or received that will turn to good account?

Ruth then told Naomi about the kindness she had received from Boaz (Ruth 2:19), and about the hope of further kindness, since he had told her to stay with his workers through the whole harvest (Ruth 2:21). Children should see themselves as answerable to their parents and those in authority over them, and they should not think it beneath them to be questioned. If they do what is right, they will receive praise for it. Ruth told Naomi what Boaz had done for her, so Naomi could find a way to thank him. But she did not repeat Boaz’s praise of her in verse 11. Humility does not push us to praise ourselves, and it also keeps us from quickly spreading the praise others have given us.

Naomi responded with prayer for the man who had shown kindness to her daughter, even before she knew his name. She said, “Blessed be he,” whoever he was, who had noticed Ruth. Then, when she learned who it was, she said, “Blessed be he of the Lord” (Ruth 2:19). The poor should pray for those who are generous to them, since that is often the only way they can repay them. Let the poor bless the ones who refresh them (Job 29:13; Job 31:20). The God who hears the cries of the poor against those who harm them (Exodus 22:27) will also hear their prayers for their benefactors.

Naomi then remembered Boaz’s earlier kindness to her husband and sons, and she joined that with his present kindness: he had not stopped showing care for the living or the dead. If we keep doing good to people, even when they seem to have forgotten our past kindnesses, it may help bring back the memory of them. She also told Ruth that Boaz was related to them. It seems Naomi had lived so long in Moab that she had almost forgotten her family in Israel, until God brought it back to her mind through this event. At least she had not told Ruth before, though it might have encouraged her as a young convert to God.

Naomi’s way is different from many proud people. Some, even when they are poor themselves, keep talking about their great relatives. Notice how one thought leads to another here, and how providence, God’s wise guidance, was working through it. Ruth mentions Boaz as a kind man. Naomi then remembers who he is, and says, “The man is near of kin to us.” That leads to another thought: he is our next kinsman, our goel, meaning the family redeemer who had the right to buy back the property. So from him they could expect even more help. He was the most likely man in Bethlehem to set them up again. God often brings things to our minds at just the right moment, and they turn out to be for our good.

Naomi then told Ruth to keep working in Boaz’s fields and not go elsewhere (Ruth 2:22). If she went into another field, it might seem like she did not value his kindness. Our blessed Savior is our Goel, the one who has the right to redeem us. If we want to receive help through him, we should stay close to him, to his fields, and to his household. We should not go to the world and its paths for what we can receive only from him, and what he has told us to expect from him.

Has the Lord dealt generously with us? Then let us not be found in another field, and let us not look for happiness and satisfaction in anything created. Business owners do not like it when those who deal with them go to a rival shop. In the same way, we lose God’s gifts if we treat them lightly.

Some think Naomi gave Ruth a quiet warning here. Ruth had spoken earlier about staying close to Boaz’s young men, but Naomi later said it was better for her to stay with his maidens (Ruth 2:21, Ruth 2:22). However, that judgment seems too sharp. Ruth mentioned the young men because they were the main workers, and Boaz had already given them instructions about her. Naomi simply assumed that, while Ruth was near the young men in her work, her actual company would be the maidens, which was proper.

Ruth faithfully followed her mother-in-law’s directions. She kept gleaning through the whole barley harvest and then through the wheat harvest as well, so she could gather food in summer to use in winter (Proverbs 6:6-8). She stayed close to Boaz’s maidens, and that later helped her build a useful connection with them (Ruth 2:23). She also came home to her mother at night in good time, as a virtuous woman should. She was for work during the day, not for idle nights and wandering company.

When the harvest was over, she did not go roaming around, as Bishop Patrick explains it. She stayed at home and kept her elderly mother company. Dinah went out to see the women of the land, and we know what shame her curiosity led to. Ruth stayed home, helped provide for her mother, and went out only to gather what Naomi needed. We will later see what honor came from her humility and hard work. Do you see a man diligent in his work? Honor stands before him.