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Ruth 2:10-11
Ruth 2:10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed to the ground,
and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes
that you have regard for me,
even though I am a foreigner?”
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Notice then the story thus far: Ruth has gone out to a local field in order to glean/scavenge grain so that she and Naomi can eat.
When Boaz (the owner of the field) arrives from town to check on the progress of his workers, he sees an unknown woman on his land. Therefore, he asks his young field watcher who she is and why she is in his field.
The young watcher informs Boaz that she is the young Moabite woman that they have all heard about, who returned with Naomi from Moab.
The next thing Ruth knows, the field owner is heading straight for her. Her heart sinks. She knows he is coming to run her off his land.
However, instead of running her off, this landowner actually tells her not to go glean in any other field. Instead, she is to stay in his field, where he will insure her safety. Not only that, he moves her from last in the gleaning line to actually standing with his own workers (something no gleaner was allowed to do). Finally, he tells her that whenever she is thirsty, his servants will actually serve her.
In our text this morning we get to watch Ruth’s response to Boaz’s overwhelming kindness.
Verse 10
Notice at once that Ruth’s first response to Boaz’s inexplicable and overwhelming kindness is purely physical. She is shocked, confused, and overcome with emotion. Therefore, her legs give out and she drops to the ground in a heap. Why? Remember, everything is at stake here. If Ruth fails to glean, she and Naomi do not eat. And just when she thought everything was lost and that she was about to be run off, this landowner, who she has never met before, shows her extraordinary kindness and makes her all but equal to his own workers. Therefore, Ruth is utterly dumbfounded. Not only that, right after telling us that Ruth fell on her face, verse 10 goes on to tell us that she bowed to the ground. However, verse 10 isn’t being redundant here. Falling and bowing aren’t the same thing. Instead, the author is masterfully unfolding Ruth’s emotions step by step so that we can grasp their intensity. Notice then, verse 10 tells us that Ruth falls, she bows, and finally she speaks in response to Boaz’s kindness. In other words, it takes all three of these acts (shown to us in dramatic sequence) to depict Ruth’s state of mind at this point in the text FN#1. Notice then the picture: as Ruth is dropping to the ground, she regains a bit of composure. As such, she turns her dropping to the ground into a low bow. In other words, the text shows us Ruth’s head and heart catching up with her body. Simply put, Ruth is not a book of flat, stock characters. Instead, it is a book about real people going through real life situations. Importance: it is obvious that Ruth is completely blown away by God’s hand at work in her life. In fact, it seems clear from the text that she has still not made the connection that all of this is in fact God’s hand. In other words, we are watching Ruth learn a very important lesson about the God she now follows (a lesson that we are also learning with her through the events of this book). YHWH is not just the one true living God; nor is He like the indifferent and temperamental pagan gods of Ruth’s past. Instead, YHWH is the God who cares for each and every one of His children (from the least to the greatest, even a former foreigner FN#2). Thus, even though Ruth does not understand the what or why of this turn of events, she is coming to learn the who behind all of it. In fact, it will be the natural witness of Boaz and Naomi that will reinforce this connection for Ruth (2:12, 20).
Next, notice Ruth is finally able to speak. However, remember Ruth is too overwhelmed to be overjoyed. Think about it: every fear she has had (for her safety, her success in acquiring enough food to live, of being harshly treated and run off) has just been resolved, unexpectedly and inexplicably in an instance. Therefore, the first words out of her mouth are words of sheer bewilderment.
As such, the first thing that Ruth says is not thank you but why? Importance: remember, even though Boaz knows who Ruth is (his field watcher told him- v 6), Ruth has no idea who Boaz is or that he is a close kinsman of Naomi (Naomi is going to have to fill Ruth in on that later- 2:20). In other words, Ruth is missing the key bit of information that explains the landowner’s unheard of kindness. In fact, with every detail of what Ruth says, we hear her struggling to make sense of what has just happened. Notice then Ruth asks, why have I found favor in your eyes? Importance: first, the word here for favor is the very same word that we often find translated as grace. In other words, it carries with it the notion of something that is undeserved and unearned. As such, in Ruth’s very word choice we hear her struggling to understand what could have caused this landowner to show her this kindness. Not only that, Ruth’s bewilderment is compounded by the degree of favor that Boaz has shown her. Thus, Ruth continues by saying, why have I found favor such that you have shown this regard/care/consideration for me. Simply put, Boaz has not merely been nice to Ruth or understanding of her situation. He has not simply granted her wish to continue gleaning. Instead, Boaz has inexplicably given her extraordinary and uncommon provision.
Finally, to make things even more confusing, Ruth adds that all of this has been done for her even though she is a foreigner. In other words, Ruth has been given protection, placement, and provision that are never afforded even to a native gleaner. Not only that, Ruth knows, that without there being a real good reason for what Boaz has done, he will catch all kind of flak from the locals because he has elevated this foreigner above them. Simply put, none of this makes any sense to Ruth. Therefore, as verse 10 ends, we find Ruth still trying to wrap her head around everything that just happened FN#3. Importance: our passage provides a picture of God’s deliverance that we would do well to ponder. Notice then, we often think that it is the hardship that God allows us to endure that boggles our mind. However, Ruth reminds me that God’s deliverance and mercy are often every bit as confusing and unsettling. Why? In God’s sudden and unstoppable deliverance we are confronted with the awesome power of the God of all creation. It is above us and beyond us and we are not in control. As such, to experience it can be quite unnerving. Regardless, in verse 10 we are reminded that God never abandons His children (not then and not now), even when like Ruth, we don’t see it at first.
Bottom line: as the curtain closes, verse 10 leaves us with quite a scene. Ruth is overwhelmed, overcome, and face down on the ground. Not only that, she is still trying to wrap her head around all that has just happened. In the meantime, as we watch the irresistible hand of God at work, we realize that not a single participant in this account has any idea about what God is actually doing/setting into motion. To all of them, this is simply about food, fields, and grain. But God always has more in mind than we could either want or imagine.
Footnotes
1] Note the question here is if the two actions described by the text (falling on her face and bowing to the ground) are one and the same act; or are they two distinct actions as I have described them in the sermon? The way that the author breaks up these acts with intervening conjunctions (she fell and she bowed and she spoke) seems to indicate a partitive depiction of the action. That is, it seems the author is breaking up the action into distinct steps for us to observe. Furthermore, as we look beyond the pages of Ruth for the way that Scripture describes similar acts, we find that the Old Testament often describes people falling on their face or bowing their face to the ground (e.g. Gen 24:52; 48:12; I King 1:23). However, the combination of falling and bowing is used only 6 times in the whole of the Old Testament (I Sam 20:41; II Sam 1:2; 9:6; 14:4, 14:22; II King 4:37). Not only that, each time, it is used in the context of great emotion. Thus, as in our text, these other occurrences seem to break up the action. As such, we see the great emotion of the situation in the person falling to the ground. In turn, we see the deep reverence they have in their bowing low. The result is that the pattern we find with each use of this rare expression (fall and bow) holds true for our text. The author has described the great emotion Ruth feels by breaking up her action so that we can observe it step by step.
2] Notice that being a foreigner is a central component of Ruth’s understanding of her standing in her new homeland. She is the Moabite woman who returned with Naomi. In fact, her foreignness is a key factor in her confusion here in verse 10. She is baffled that this landowner has done all of this for her when she is a foreigner. However, a big part of the lesson that Ruth is learning and that we will see playout for the remainder of the book is that there are no second class believers in God’s Kingdom. Instead, her conversion has made her every bit as much a child of God as the natives around her. As such, God’s goodness, care, and covenant apply fully and equally to her. Therefore, as the book unfolds we will see that both God and His people treat her as one of their own. In other words, what Ruth is discovering right here in verse 10 will continue to be her new mode of reality- a fact that we will see when a land that forbids pagan marriage has not one hesitation about her marriage to Boaz. In turn, God will then bring about the Davidic dynasty and the line of the Messiah through her. Ruth may be baffled for now, but the reason is that this former pagan is a child of YHWH and everything has changed.
3] Notice: in Ruth’s overwhelmed confusion the centrality of her self-understanding as a foreigner is being utterly shattered. Thus, it turns out that Ruth is missing two key components necessary to make sense of what has just happened: (1) Boaz is Naomi’s kinsman and thus is looking out for Naomi by helping Ruth; and (2) Ruth is a child of God and under His care. In other words, God is not merely manifesting His deliverance in this passage, He is manifesting His acceptance. And that is a huge deal as well as a key factor in all the events of the book as we move forward. Think about it: Ruth is a book all about the future and it is this acceptance (this inclusion by grace as God’s child) that is the foundation stone upon which that entire future rests.