Boaz lets Ruth eat with him and his servants and makes sure she has enough food while she works in his fields. This is a picture of the life and abundance that will come to Israel when she meets her Messiah (Ex. 3:8; John 10:10).
Ruth 2
15 When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not embarrass her.
16 You shall also untie some of the bundles, and let her glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and she beat out what she had gleaned; it was about an ephah of barley.
Wealth and abundance
Boaz instructs his servants to release Ruth and deliberately drop grain so she can gather it. Israel’s unbelief in our time is wealth for the nations and the world (Rom. 11:12). But in the future, Israel will still fulfill its destiny and be fully restored. All the promises made to Israel will then be fulfilled.
Not ashamed
Ruth is a picture of faithful Israel, and that is why Boaz says: “Do not put her to shame.” Of unbelievers, it is said that all who are incensed against Him will be ashamed (Isaiah 45:24). Of believers, it is said that those who trust in Him will not be ashamed (Romans 9:33; 10:11). God gives the believer what they need, according to His riches (Philippians 4:19).
An ephah of barley
Ruth threshes the stalks, and her yield that day is approximately an ephah of barley. An ephah is a unit of measure, primarily used for grain. According to the handbooks, an ephah is approximately 36 liters. It was foreigners and the poor who gleaned, and an ephah as a daily yield is a huge amount. Here, too, it represents the abundance that will be Israel’s share.