Shavuot is celebrated fifty days after the omer offering, a count that marks the beginning of the barley harvest as day one and goes through the wheat harvest.  Shavuot is also considered the time when Yahweh delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai.  We find in Exodus 19:1 and 19:11 that in the third month on the third day that Yahweh returned to Mount Sinai to deliver the law to Moses.  These Scriptures and the account given in Jasher 82:6 are why many references put the delivery of the law at the Feast of Weeks.

In the New Testament when the disciples were gathered for the Feast of Weeks the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. They went forth that same day and taught a multitude from the Scriptures. Three thousand brethren were baptized that Pentecost. (Acts 2)  There is a book named after the account of a blessed woman which brings to light some of the features of the Feast of Weeks.  The story of Ruth is a time-honored tradition for the Feast of Weeks.

Ruth 1:1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion--Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. 3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.

Naomi didn't have it very easy.  They moved from Israel and the safety of the land that Yahweh protected.  Not only were they strangers in the land of Moab but they worshipped differently than the Moabites.  The Moabites are the descendants of Lot.  Elimelech Naomi's husband was attempting to provide for his family and so he moved his family to an area that he most likely felt would provide for his family.  Elimelech means "my Elohim is king".  Naomi unfortunately lost her husband.

Verse 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. 5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Naomi's sons both married which would of provided for Naomi a home and perhaps enough to live but both of Naomi's sons died.  Ruth is mentioned here as Naomi's daughter-in-law.  Ruth means "friendship" in Hebrew.

Verse 6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that Yahweh had visited His people by giving them bread. 7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. 8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. Yahweh deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 "Yahweh grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. 10 And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people." 11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 "Turn back, my daughters, go--for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, 13 "would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me!"

Naomi hears that Yahweh is blessing His people and decides due to her terrible hardship to return to the land of Judah.  She asks her daughter in-laws to return to their families because she would no longer be able to provide for the women. Naomi was too old to provide the daughter in laws with any sons.  She tries to get them to move on.  Yahweh is guiding Ruth and so Ruth shows her love for Almighty Yahweh.

Verse 14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. 15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her deities; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your Elohim, my Elohim. 17 Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. Yahweh do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." 18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.

Ruth puts her trust in Yahweh.  She also makes it clear that she doesn't want to return to the pagan ways of her upbringing.  She goes forward willing to stick through the hard times with Naomi.  She says that even at death she wished to be buried where ever Naomi is buried.  The amazing thing is that Ruth would give up all that she knows to follow Yahweh and to be with Naomi.  This shows the dedication of a truly righteous woman.

Verse 19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20 But she said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 "I went out full, and Yahweh has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Yahweh has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

This would have been around the time of Passover that they enter Bethlehem.  This shows the importance of a name.  Naomi wanted to be called Mara meaning "bitterness".  Naomi means "my delight" and she didn't know how she lived up to such a name.  She lost her Husband and two sons and here she is returning with her daughter-in-law a Moabitess.  The people of Bethlehem recognized Naomi and were excited to see her.  Elimelech and Naomi spent at least ten years in the land of Moab.

Chapter 2 Verse 1 There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

Ruth receives Naomi's permission to glean the fields behind the reapers.  It is law that the corners of the fields were to be left for the poor.  This was one way that Yahweh made sure that even the poor wouldn't go hungry.  Leviticus 23:22, "And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not make clean riddance of the corners of your field when you reap, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest: you shall leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am Yahweh your Elohim."  Ruth was blessed because she is able to glean in a relative's field.  Boaz is a relative of Elimelech.

Verse 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "Yahweh be with you!" And they answered him, "Yahweh bless you!"

Boaz did not treat his servants poorly.  We see here that he greeted them in Yahweh's name.  Also he must have been fair to the reapers because they returned his greeting with a request for Yahweh's blessing on Boaz.  Boaz was a respected master of the reapers.

Verse 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, "It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

The supervisor of the reaper defines Ruth in relationship to Naomi.  Since Naomi was married to Elimelech this may have served to inform Boaz of Ruth's relation.

Verse 7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house." 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." 10 So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before.

Ruth asks Boaz, "why have I found favor in your eyes?"  Boaz lets her know that he has been told of her hardship.  Ruth was also important to Boaz because she left her own people to some extent to follow Yahweh.  Boaz saw Ruth's sacrifices for Yahweh and her mother-in-law Naomi and was very pleased with her.

Verse 12 "Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given you by Yahweh Elohim of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." 13 Then she said, "Let me find favor in your sight, my master; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants." 14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.

Boaz asks a blessing on Ruth that she receives full payment for her search for safety under Yahweh's protection.  Ruth is not just blessed with the grain that she is allowed to glean but also the food that Boaz has given her.  Through all this Ruth remains humble saying that she appreciates being treated like Boaz's maidservants yet she didn't put herself on the same plain as one of them.  She even kept some of the parched grain that she couldn't eat to share with Naomi.

Verse 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 "Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her." 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

Boaz allowed Ruth to even glean among the sheaves.  This was grain that the maidservants had not yet picked up.  She gleaned an ephah of barley, which is about 9 gallons of barley. This was quite a bit of grain and would have been a handsome days work when you consider that this was just the droppings of grain.

Verse 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, "Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz." 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of Yahweh, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!" And Naomi said to her, "This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives." 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, "He also said to me, 'You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'" 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field." 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Naomi was ecstatic that one of their relatives had taken to Ruth so well.  Ruth was so happy that she would be able to glean until the end of the barley and wheat harvest.  This would give Naomi and Ruth enough food and money to make it through the year.  Yahweh had truly blessed them many times over.  Ruth's faith had brought her into a great situation.

Chapter 3 Verse 1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 "Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 "Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 "Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do." 5 And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do."

Naomi looking out for her daughter-in-law sent her to Boaz as a servant.  Ruth didn't compromise her righteousness in anyway rather she waited for Boaz to make a decision as to what she should do. She waited as a servant at his feet.  Naomi apparently hoped that Boaz would marry Ruth.  She had her clean up and wear her best clothes.

Verse 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, "Who are you?" So she answered, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative." 10 Then he said, "Blessed are you of Yahweh, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.

Boaz was very impressed with Ruth.  She didn't throw herself at the young men.  She rather followed the Scriptures as to who should take her as wife after her other relatives had died.  Boaz was a close relative to Elimelech.

Verse 11 "And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 12 "Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 "Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you--good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as Yahweh lives! Lie down until morning." 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, "Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." 15 Also he said, "Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it." And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 So when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "Is that you, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, "These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, 'Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'" 18 Then she said, "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day."

Boaz also concerned about following the law correctly knew of a relative that was closer to Elimelech than he was. Boaz was going to first bring this up with the relative to see if he would take her as his wife.  Boaz was adamant that if the relative would not marry Ruth that he was next in line and that he would definitely marry her.  Boaz sent Ruth home with six ephahs of barley to once again show Naomi that her efforts were fruitful.

Chapter 4 Verse 1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "Come aside, friend, sit down here." So he came aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 "And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it." 5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance." 6 And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it."

Boaz put together the close relative and the elders as witnesses that no wrongdoing had taken place.  The relative was more than happy to buy the land but when he found out that Ruth came with the land he was not willing to split his inheritance.  With Ruth they would keep Elimelech and Mahlon's name going but this would also mean that some of the relative's inheritance would be split among Ruth's children.  The relative then offered the right of redemption to Boaz.

Verse 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 "Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day."

So the deal was struck that Boaz would buy Elimelech's inheritance.  With the inheritance he would keep the name alive by marring Ruth.  The exchange of the sandal is interesting too because of the importance of the feet to a workingman.  This brings a whole new meaning to the saying to walk in a mile someone's shoes.

Verse 11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. Yahweh make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 "May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which Yahweh will give you from this young woman." 13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, Yahweh gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 "And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him." 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

Boaz completed his promise and married Ruth.  Ruth gave birth to a son named Obed.  Obed was the grandfather of David and as you continue down the line you find that Yahshua was born to this family.

Ruth is an example of how we should be humble in all we do willing to give up what ever it takes to follow Yahweh.  Pentecost had the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.  We pray that the Holy Spirit guides us as it guided Ruth.  The harvest of grain and first fruits is the harvest that we strive to be part.  The first resurrection is the most important harvest.  Those in the first resurrection will be in a kingdom of priests with Yahshua the Messiah.  This is why the law is so important and why the Feast of Weeks is so important.  They are all bound together into a wonderful plan of first fruits.  With the giving of the law around Pentecost and also the out pouring of the spirit maybe we to will be found worthy of the first resurrection.

We must remain humble as Ruth even when times became great she kept her obedience.  She knew that there was much more to look towards.  Ruth had endured the hardest of times but she continued searching for Almighty Yahweh. She forsook the culture that she knew for a better life under Yahweh.  Even in hard times we must stay steadfast.  Let's strive for the righteousness that Yahshua lived through out his life.  Let's look for the brightness of the future.  A brightness that will blow away the worsening tribulation we are in right now.

Rev. 20:6, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of Yahweh and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

What a beautiful plan that Yahweh has shown! Praise Yahweh!

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