"May I continue to find favor in your eyes..." -The Story Of Ruth

She had never tasted death so bitterly before. The mournful days would come and settle heavily like raised beads of cold sweat upon her fevered brow, as she lay awake beneath stars, weeping almost angrily at the loss of the only thing which kept her young, kept her at peace- her husband, Elimelech, and her two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. How she rejoiced in the happiness they once brought to her. She let the fresh images of her sons’ weddings be carried by remembrance through her tired mind, and even still, reflected on them gladly when in the company of her two daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. They were without doubt, something like her own daughters, for the maternal bond like cord between them held them together in the midst of their trial- where death relentlessly stole from them not once, not twice, but three blistering times the lives of those they loved most dearly.

But there came a season when the very worst of their mourning had, at last, subsided. Naomi gave gentle instruction to her two daughters-in-law, encouraging them to pack their things and return home, where they would be more fit to move on with their lives, for the Lord had provided for them food and aid when it was of most needed. But when Naomi declared she would remain in the land with her people, Ruth became concerned. She loved her mother-in-law, dearly, and could not help but be fixed to her side. Naomi pressed Ruth’s return home further.
“Go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show kindness to you, as you have shown kindness to you dead and to me. May the Lord grant that you will find rest in the home of another husband.” But Ruth only shook her head and clung to her friend’s arms.
“I will go back with you to your people,” Ruth said, while tears of distress traveled down her cheeks. How could she withhold her love for her mother-in-law, the woman who had cared for her deeply, and remained with her through the death of her husband? She would not seek happiness in anywhere but with her. But Naomi said again, “return home, my daughter. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husband? Return home.”
“But it is not another husband that I seek, it is only that I continue with you. And if the Lord wills I marry another man, then it will be so in the land of your people. You see, where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” At this, they wept together, overcome by emotion and most earnest love for one another. And Ruth left with Naomi.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the barley harvest was beginning to take place. In search of food, Ruth approached Naomi and said to her, “let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” When Naomi consented, Ruth went into the fields and began to glean behind the many harvesters that were going about the same way. The sun beat down hard on her aching back, arched over to sweep from the ground, the dried grain trickling from the overflow of the bags of the other workers. But this field where Ruth worked belonged to a man named Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband. When Boaz arrived for the first time since the barley harvest had begun, he smiled joyfully at the harvesters, calling out to them “the Lord be with you!” And in return, a triumphant shout from the workers rang, “the Lord bless you!” While arms and hats tossed high into the air in exclamation. Ruth only smiled at the diligent and jubilant group, then continued with her own work. Boaz caught notice of her not long after, when he looked about and saw that she was the only woman in the fields. Her hair was let down and cascaded wildly about her shoulders and back, like silk brunette waves. Her clothes were tattered and worn with work, and the hem of her wraps was fraying at the constant brushing of the dusty ground beneath her. Her face, scared with fatigue and the soil of the earth, gleamed with tiny beads of sweat along her cheeks and forehead. Even still, Boaz took notice of her, and found her profoundly beautiful. Wondering who she was and what brought her to his fields, he pulled aside the foreman of his harvesters and asked him, “whose young woman is that?” and pointed her to at a distance. The foreman smiled at his master’s curiosity and replied, “she is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” Thanking his servant for the insight, Boaz went to talk to Ruth.
She was in the center of the field, working farther behind the others there, and humming a bright tune to herself so as to keep from growing more weary. Boaz approached her and said, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” His kindness overwhelmed her. His generosity touched her. In submission and humble gratitude, she knelt at his feet and with her skirt, brushed from his sandals the dust that had gathered on them. In a near whisper she looked up and asked, “why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me- a foreigner?” Boaz placed a strong and gentle hand on her head. “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband- how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Ruth looked to the ground. “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said, “you have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant- though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.” With that they parted, and Ruth returned home in high spirits for the night.

When Ruth came in through the doors of the house, Naomi was waiting for her quietly by the window. With a glad embrace, Ruth kissed the cheek of her mother-in-law and exclaimed, “the Lord has blessed me on this day!” Naomi held the hands of her daughter tight in her own and asked, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” In reply, Ruth explained where she had been working that day, and told her about Boaz. At the sound of his name, Naomi’s eyes glowed with brilliance and familiarity, embracing again her daughter. “The Lord bless him!” she exclaimed, her voice crackling with gentle age, “he has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead. You see, that man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.” Ruth, overjoyed and after much conversation with her dear friend, left and fell asleep in the quiet of her room, gazing upon the reflected angular shapes of pale moonlight while in prayer to her Father, thanking Him for the blessing that day had brought to her so unexpectedly.

For several days, Ruth returned to Boaz and his fields, working diligently and hopefully behind the other workers as they gleaned and harvested. One evening when Ruth returned home, she found Naomi sitting in her chair and looking at the ground thoughtfully, her brow wrinkled and her eyes troubled. Ruth inquired the reason for her distressed look, bending down on her knees to eye level with her mother-in-law, who rocked gently back and forth in the creaking chair. Naomi cupped the face of her beautiful friend in her hands, and smiled warmly saying, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” Ruth did as she was instructed, for she trusted earnestly the wisdom of Naomi, and washed and perfumed herself as though fit for a wedding celebration, clothed in fine linen and adorned her hair with bits of lavender. She looked breathtaking.

When Ruth arrived at the open doors of the threshing floor, she held her breath and closed her eyes, whispering a silent prayer, “if it is my further service he desires, Lord, then may it be so.” Then, she entered quietly and stood at the back of the room. She could see Boaz there for he was alone on the floors, having just finished supper. When he rested contented against a large pile of grain, Ruth approached him timidly, knowing he could not see her in the darkness of the room and his eyes were heavy with sleep. When his breathing was deep and he no longer seemed to be awake, Ruth came near him slowly and kneeled, uncovering the blanket from his feet. She lay down on the floor just as Naomi had told her to do. It seemed such a strange way to answer her question. She glanced upward from where she lay, but no sound came from Boaz. Not long after, something startled him and he woke, noticing the woman laying at his feet. “Who are you?” he asked, and blinked his eyes repeatedly to adjust to the dim, amber light which shone from a lone candle in the room, nearly gone. “I am your servant, Ruth” she replied, “spread the corner of your blanket over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” Boaz smiled warmly at her devotion, saying, “The Lord bless you, my daughter. This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Lie here until morning.” And so she remained in submission to Boaz, that night, and for the rest of their lives as not merely servant and master, but one.