"4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favour in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favour in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley."
Ruth 2:4-17
Theses verses also unfold the working of the kindly providence of God on Ruth's and Naomi behalf. The seeming coincidences recorded in 2 and 3 are evidence of the good hand of God upon them, and all that followed serves to underline this. The provi- sion made for them was a generous and bountiful one, and must have gladdened and encouraged their hearts. It would be a useful exercise to read, in conjunction with this passage, some of the hymns on Divine Providence in the Church Hymnary, especially words like 'God moves in a mysterious way' (RCH 31) and 'God is love' (RCH 33).
Nor is it difficult to take the words of 8 and 9 out of their context, and spiritualise them. Here is a lord of the harvest speaking to one of the reapers, 'Let thine eyes be upon the field'. Jesus said, 'Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already unto harvest' (John 4:35). Boaz's words, 'Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee' reflect the sovereign care and protection granted to His labourers by the merciful Lord of the harvest. The words 'When thou art athirst, go unto the vessels and drink...' remind us that though there are many thirsty days on the field, God has His wells of salvation, and His ample provision for all our needs. We could lay these verses over against our Lord's commission to His disciples in Matthew 10 or Mark 16:15ff. The divine provision, the divine enabling, the divine protection - is not this wonderfully reassuring? We need have no fear when we go forth to serve Him.