Ruth 2:1
Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
Sermons
A Kind KinsmanC. Ness.Ruth 2:1
Boaz a YeomanW. M. Taylor, D. D.Ruth 2:1
The Rich KinsmanS. H. Tyng, D. D.Ruth 2:1














Ruth 1:21
Ruth 1:21. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. It seemed, indeed, a via dolorosa, this path homeward. How expressive the words.

I. LOVE MAKES LIFE FULL. Why, I thought they went out poor? Yes. Seeking bread? Yes. Yet Naomi's description is true and beautiful. We are "full" when we have that which makes home, home indeed, and we are poor if, having all wealth of means, we have not love. Well, indeed, has it been said that "the golden moments in the stream of life rush past us, and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone." We never know how empty life is till the loved are lost to us.

II. THE LORD IS THE DISPOSER OF ALL EVENTS. "The Lord hath brought me home." We talk of Providence when all goes well with us, when the harvests are ripened, and the fruits hang on the wall. But we must not limit Providence to the pleasant. The Lord "takes away" as well as gives. It is said that, in the order of reading at the family altar, when the late John Angell James was about to conduct worship after a severe bereavement, the Psalm to be read was the hundred and third. The good man stopped, tears rolled down his face; and then, gathering up his strength, he said, "Why not? It is the Father!" and he read on, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

III. THE FULLEST HOME MAY SOON BE EMPTIED. Yes! We too should feel it so. A husband and two sons gone! What converse there had been! what interest in each other's pursuits I what affectionate concern for each other's weal and happiness! and what a wealth of love for Naomi, the center of all I We feel at such seasons that death would be blessed relief for us. The thought comes across us, "I have got to live;" to live on from day to day, attending to the minutiae of duty, and coming here and there so often on the little relics of the dead. Home again! That has music inb it for the school-children, who come back to the bright home; but to the widow, oh, how different! Home again, but how empty! Yet we may learn, even from Naomi, that rest and refreshment come to hearts that trust in God their Savior; and we may learn too what mistakes we make. Naomi said, "Why call ye me Naomi, seeing that the Lord hath testified against me?" Natural enough; but life was still to have a pleasant side for her. - W.M.S.

I. GOD NEVER WANTS HIS INSTRUMENTS OF SUCCOUR UNTO THOSE THAT TRUST IN HIS MERCY. Some relation (either natural or spiritual) God will raise up to relieve His in their deepest extremity.

II. SOME RICH MEN MAY YET BE RELIGIOUS MEN. Though indeed they are rare birds, yet riches and religion are not inconsistent things.

III. It Is A BRAVE ATTAINMENT TO BE RICH IN THIS WORLD, AND TO RE RICH IN GOOD WORKS TOO. So Boaz was. Boaz did not make gold his confidence, but was rich in faith (James 2:5), and rich to God (Luke 12:21).

(C. Ness.)

In these early days, especially under the rule of the judges, when hostile inroads on the chosen people were so frequently made by unfriendly neighbours, the man who had great possessions was in a manner compelled to be also a military leader, and so we may very justly combine the two meanings, and speak of him as a valiant man and a wealthy; or, as Dr. Morison has paraphrased the expression, "a strong and substantial yeoman."(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

All that the appointed kinsman could do for the estate and body of his impoverished relative the Lord Jesus as our goel does for our souls and our everlasting state. In His humanity He is our nearest kinsman. In His Deity, he is perfectly able to supply all our wants, and to defend us from every danger and oppression. As the promised goel, the Lord Jesus has a special relation to Israel as a nation, and a particular personal relation to every believing soul. He is the goel, the Kinsman Redeemer of the nation of Israel. He is the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations are to be blessed. God gave the land of Canaan unto Abraham, and unto his seed for ever. It was to be their permanent possession. But the children of Abraham have been long since cast out of their inheritance. Their land has been taken from them, and they have been wanderers and exiles on the heart. Yet God ordained that this land should not be sold for ever, because it was His land. It was Immanuel's land. And Immanuel is their kinsman according to the flesh, who is to restore again that land to the seed of Abraham. His feet are in that day to stand upon the Mount of Olives. But the Lord Jesus Christ is also our goel, our Kinsman Redeemer — to fulfil the great duties of a Restorer to us. He restores that which He took not away. He has redeemed our lost estate. He has brought life and immortality to light, and given us a kingdom which cannot be moved. He has redeemed our persons from bondage and condemnation. We may go to Him just as freely and hopefully as the impoverished Jew went to his kinsman, perfectly sure that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This gracious character of our blessed Saviour is brought out in many points of view in the history of Boaz. When Naomi returned to Judah with Ruth, she found a goel already prepared for her. He was "a mighty man of wealth," perfectly able to meet all their wants, and to restore them to their happy condition again. And such a kinsman has been provided for us. We need not say, "Who shall ascend up to heaven to bring Christ down from above?" He is already prepared to be a Saviour for us, before we are born. We have nothing to do but to receive Him, trust in Him, and obey Him, as our gracious Lord. Like Boaz, He is "a mighty man of wealth." All things in heaven and earth are His. And if we are His, all things are ours. He can enrich His people with every conceivable blessing. No good thing can they want while they have Him for their friend and portion. The name of this rich kinsman of Naomi's was Boaz, which means strength. In this name we may find a memorial of our Divine Redeemer. Jesus is our strength and our salvation. He is the power of God unto salvation for us. What mighty works He has done for us! What works of mercy is He still willing to accomplish! He is our Kinsman Redeemer. We see Him in His lowly human, suffering form, wearing our nature, and bearing the burden of our sins. We see Him in the unsearchable riches of His grace as God over all, and in the triumphs of His obedience as the Lord our Righteousness, possessing unlimited wealth to be applied to our needs. We see Him of infinite might, exalted above the heavens, angels, authorities, and powers being made subject unto Him. We see Him fully provided for us, waiting to be gracious to us, and ready to receive the poorest and the most wretched of His kinsmen who come to Him.

(S. H. Tyng, D. D.)

People
Boaz, Elimelech, Ephah, Naomi, Ruth
Places
Bethlehem, Moab
Topics
Acquaintance, Boaz, Bo'az, Clan, Elimelech, Elim'elech, Family, Husband, Husband's, Kinsman, Mighty, Naomi, Na'omi, Relation, Relative, Standing, Valour, Wealth
Outline
1. Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz
4. Boaz takes notice of her
8. and shows her great favor
18. That which she got, she carries to Naomi

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ruth 2:1

     5671   clan

Ruth 2:1-20

     5809   compassion, human

Library
A Full Reward.
"It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done ... and how thou hast left they father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD GOD of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust" (Ruth ii. 11, 12). In this interesting narrative we have another instance of the way in which the HOLY GHOST teaches by typical lives. We have dwelt on some precious lessons
J. Hudson Taylor—A Ribband of Blue

Formation and History of the Hebrew Canon.
1. The Greek word canon (originally a straight rod or pole, measuring-rod, then rule) denotes that collection of books which the churches receive as given by inspiration of God, and therefore as constituting for them a divine rule of faith and practice. To the books included in it the term canonical is applied. The Canon of the Old Testament, considered in reference to its constituent parts, was formed gradually; formed under divine superintendence by a process of growth extending through
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Scriptural Poems; Being Several Portions of Scripture Digested into English Verse
viz., I. The Book of Ruth II. The History of Samson III. Christ's Sermon on the Mount IV. The Prophecy of Jonah V. The Life of Joseph VI. The Epistle of James BY JOHN BUNYAN Licensed According to Order. London: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking Glass, on London Bridge, 1701. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This very interesting little volume of poems, we believe, has not been reprinted since the year 1701, nor has it ever been inserted in any edition or catalogue of Bunyan's works. This may have
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Exile --Continued.
There are many echoes of this period of Engedi in the Psalms. Perhaps the most distinctly audible of these are to be found in the seventh psalm, which is all but universally recognised as David's, even Ewald concurring in the general consent. It is an irregular ode--for such is the meaning of Shiggaion in the title, and by its broken rhythms and abrupt transitions testifies to the emotion of its author. The occasion of it is said to be "the words of Cush the Benjamite." As this is a peculiar name
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of David

Appendix viii. Rabbinic Traditions About Elijah, the Forerunner of the Messiah
To complete the evidence, presented in the text, as to the essential difference between the teaching of the ancient Synagogue about the Forerunner of the Messiah' and the history and mission of John the Baptist, as described in the New Testaments, we subjoin a full, though condensed, account of the earlier Rabbinic traditions about Elijah. Opinions differ as to the descent and birthplace of Elijah. According to some, he was from the land of Gilead (Bemid. R. 14), and of the tribe of Gad (Tanch. on
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Pilgrim's Progress
FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. THE SECOND PART. DELIVERED UNDER THE SIMILITUDE OF A DREAM. WHEREIN IS SET FORTH THE MANNER OF THE SETTING OUT OF CHRISTIAN'S WIFE AND CHILDREN, THEIR DANGEROUS JOURNEY, AND SAFE ARRIVAL AT THE DESIRED COUNTRY. By JOHN BUNYAN. 'I have used similitudes.'--Hosea 12:10. London: Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Peacock in the Poultry, near the Church, 1684. THE AUTHOR'S WAY OF SENDING FORTH HIS SECOND PART OF THE PILGRIM. Go now, my little book, to every
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Ruth
Goethe has characterized the book of Ruth as the loveliest little idyll that tradition has transmitted to us. Whatever be its didactic purpose--and some would prefer to think that it had little or none-it is, at any rate, a wonderful prose poem, sweet, artless, and persuasive, touched with the quaintness of an older world and fresh with the scent of the harvest fields. The love--stronger than country--of Ruth for Naomi, the gracious figure of Boaz as he moves about the fields with a word of blessing
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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