Free Unshaken by Francine Rivers Page B

“I’m to give you instructions from Boaz,” he said. “You are to glean among the workers. They won’t bother you.”
    She looked off toward the road down which Boaz had ridden. “I’ve never known anyone so kind.”
    “There are few like Boaz.” His mouth tipped ruefully. “The Lord brought you to his field. And may the Lord continue to watch over you.” He nodded toward the other workers. “Go and join them.”
    The women sang as they worked. “The Lord is my strength, my song, and my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him. He is my father’s God—I will exalt Him. The Lord is a warrior—yes, Jehovah is His name. . . .” Ruth quickly absorbed the words and began to sing with them. They glanced at her in surprise. Several smiled. One made a point of snapping off the heads of barley and dropping them for her. Ruth put her palms together and nodded deeply in gratitude.
    She worked until evening and then beat out the barley. She had a half bushel of grain! “Surely it is You, Lord, who has provided so much.” Filled with a sense of joy and satisfaction, she tied the corners of her shawl and lifted the grain to her back, heading home toward the city of Bethlehem and the small cave where Naomi waited.

          
    And the men were saying . . .
    “That’s the first time I’ve ever known Boaz to take such interest in a gleaner.”
    “He’s always been kind to gleaners.”
    “It took courage for her to come out here.”
    “It looked to me like she may have tried some other fields. Did you see the bruise on her face?”
    “Did you know she’s gleaning for one of our own widows?”
    “No.”
    “There are probably a lot of people who don’t know why she’s here.”
    “And that’s an excuse for throwing rocks at her? The Law is clear about gleaners.”
    “And clear about foreign women.”
    “Boaz’s mother was a foreign woman.”
    “I suggest we concentrate on our work and mind our own business.”

          
    And the women were saying . . .
    “Do you see how the men are cutting stalks and tossing them over to her?”
    “When a girl is pretty, men turn helpful.”
    “Boaz spoke to them before he left. He probably told them to give her extra grain.”
    “So even the master is interested in her. Look there. Do you see?”
    “See what?”
    “Shimei is looking at her again.”
    “Well, if you weren’t staring at Shimei, you wouldn’t know that.”
    “I don’t like her.”
    “Why?”
    “Do I have to have a reason?”
    “Well, I like her.”
    “Why?”
    “Unlike some I know, the girl works hard and minds her own business.”

          
    “So much!” Naomi exclaimed, rising as Ruth entered their dwelling place and lowered the bundle of grain from her back. The girl was smiling brightly, her eyes aglow. “Where did you gather all this grain today? May the Lord bless the one who helped you!”
    “I’ve been saying prayers of thanksgiving for the man all the way home, Naomi. His field is some distance from the city.”
    Naomi didn’t ask why Ruth had ventured so far, seeing the bruise on her cheek. She was afraid she knew the answer. “What was the landowner’s name?”
    “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
    Naomi put her hand to her throat. “Boaz?”
    “Yes, Boaz.” Ruth took the bread she had saved and handed it to Naomi. “He invited me into the shelter where his maidservants and reapers ate the midday meal, and gave me a double portion!” She held out a piece of bread. “I’ve never heard of a man in his position stooping to serve his workers.”
    Naomi took the bread with trembling fingers. She hadn’t given a thought to Boaz when she returned to Bethlehem. She had forgotten all about him. Or maybe the truth was that she had deliberately put the man out of her mind. Just thinking about him made her cringe with shame. Many years ago, he had come to her father and made an offer of marriage for her. How she had carried on