Ruth 2

Ruth 2 — God’s Hand in the Harvest
From Famine to Barley Fields

As we’ve been reading Ruth together, we’ve found ourselves completely drawn in by this small but powerful book. It’s one of those stories that we think we remember—maybe we’ve heard it in Sunday School or caught a few verses at a wedding—but when we actually sit with the text, there’s so much more. Ruth isn’t just a heartwarming tale—it’s a story of survival, quiet faith, and God’s sovereign kindness when everything seems lost.

Before we even enter Ruth chapter 2, we’re still feeling the weight of chapter 1. Naomi has lost her husband and both sons. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, clings to her with nothing to gain in return. Two women—widowed, poor, vulnerable—return to Bethlehem in the middle of crisis. In ancient culture, without male protection or provision, they were essentially without hope. But chapter 1 closes with a glimmer: “They arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning” (Ruth 1:22).

That’s not just a nice literary detail—it’s a hint that God’s already at work.

God’s Providence in the Everyday

Chapter 2 opens with Ruth heading out to glean—gathering leftover grain, a provision made possible by Israel’s law to protect the poor and foreigner (Leviticus 19:9-10). It just so happens that she ends up in the field of Boaz, a man of standing, a relative of Naomi’s late husband, and someone God has placed strategically in this moment.

Boaz walks onto the scene like something out of a movie—strong, kind, godly. “The Lord be with you!” he says to his workers. They respond in kind. He notices Ruth. He cares about her safety. He provides beyond what the law required. He is the kind of man whose life reflects the goodness and justice of God. And none of this is coincidence.

What we see here isn’t just a “love story” brewing—it’s a picture of God’s hand guiding the story of redemption through ordinary obedience and ancient laws. Ruth didn’t know what would happen. She just took the next faithful step. And God met her there.

Kinsman Redeemer: A Preview of the Gospel

When Naomi hears whose field Ruth worked in, everything clicks into place: Boaz is their kinsman redeemer—a family member with the responsibility and opportunity to rescue and restore. The Old Testament laws around this role (found in Deuteronomy 25 and Leviticus 25) may sound strange to us today, but they reveal God's justice and mercy for the most vulnerable in society.

The kinsman redeemer was meant to protect the family line, ensure land stayed within the family, and restore dignity to the widow and orphan. And in this system, we see a shadow of the gospel: Jesus, our Redeemer, enters our story, protects and restores us, and brings us back into the family of God.

Even more astounding is that Ruth—a Moabite woman from a people born out of incest (Genesis 19)—becomes part of Jesus’ lineage. That tells us so much about the heart of God. He chooses the outsider, the unexpected, the overlooked. He weaves even the most broken stories into something beautiful and redemptive.

God is Working Even When We Don’t See It

As we reflect on Ruth 2, we’re struck by how God’s faithfulness shows up in the smallest moments: in the start of a harvest, in a field “by chance,” in the generosity of a man living out God’s law. The whole chapter whispers the same truth: God is moving, even when everything feels lost.

We don’t always get the benefit of hindsight in our own stories. Naomi and Ruth certainly didn’t see the full picture yet. But God was already laying the groundwork for something greater—not just for them, but for the salvation of the world.

So we keep reading. We keep trusting. We take the next faithful step. And we hold on to the hope that even in the hardest moments, God is near, and He’s not done yet.