Justice in the Margins

What Ruth and Boaz Teach Us About Biblical Justice, Dignity, and Caring for the Vulnerable

Scripture: Ruth 2; Deuteronomy 24:17-22

When you think about a margin, you may picture the blank space around a sheet of paper.

Many of us learned in school not to write in the margins. Those who remember using typewriters may remember setting the margins before beginning to type. Teachers often used the margins of our papers to leave corrections, suggestions, or words of encouragement.

But in the Old Testament, margins had another purpose.

God told His people to leave margins around their fields.

Those margins were not wasted space. They were part of God’s provision for people who were vulnerable and in need.

God’s Provision in the Margins

In Deuteronomy 24:17-22, God gave Israel specific instructions about harvesting.

When farmers harvested their grain, they were not to go back and gather every stalk they had missed.

When they harvested olives, they were not to go over the branches a second time.

When they gathered grapes, they were not to strip the vines of everything that remained.

What was left was for the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.

God intentionally built provision for vulnerable people into the life of His community.

The margins mattered.

Who Lived on the Margins?

Life in the ancient world could be especially difficult for people without family, property, financial resources, or social protection.

A widow had experienced the grief of losing her husband, but her loss could also leave her without financial security and protection.

An orphan had lost the people who would normally provide care and security.

A foreigner lived away from his or her homeland and might not have the family relationships, property, or community connections that others enjoyed.

These were people who could easily be overlooked, exploited, or forgotten.

God did not forget them.

Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly calls His people to remember and care for those who are vulnerable.

Ruth Knew What It Meant to Live on the Margins

Ruth’s story gives us a personal picture of these Old Testament laws in action.

Naomi had experienced tremendous loss. Famine had driven her family from Bethlehem to Moab. Then her husband and her two sons died.

Naomi decided to return home.

Ruth, one of her daughters-in-law, refused to let Naomi make the journey alone.

Ruth left her own homeland and went with Naomi to Bethlehem.

When they arrived, both women were widows. Ruth was also a foreigner.

They needed food.

They needed security.

They needed hope.

Ruth went into the fields to glean behind the harvesters.

She was literally gathering food from the margins.

Boaz Noticed Ruth

The field where Ruth gleaned belonged to Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband.

Ruth did not initially understand the significance of that family connection.

But Boaz noticed Ruth.

He had heard about what she had done for Naomi. He knew she had left her homeland and remained faithfully beside her mother-in-law.

Boaz told Ruth to stay near the young women working in his field.

He instructed the men not to bother her.

He made sure she had water to drink.

Then he went beyond simply allowing her to glean. He instructed his workers to deliberately pull some grain from their bundles and leave it where Ruth could gather it.

Boaz did not simply notice Ruth’s need.

He responded.

“Why Have I Found Favor?”

Ruth was surprised by Boaz’s kindness.

She asked:

“Why have I found favor in your sight?”

Ruth 2:10

She knew she was a foreigner. She knew she did not have the position or security that others around her possessed.

Yet Boaz treated her with kindness, generosity, and respect.

He protected her dignity while helping provide for her needs.

That is an important part of this story.

Justice and Dignity

The practice of gleaning was not simply about giving someone food.

The person in need was able to enter the field, work, gather, and provide.

The owner of the field recognized that everything he possessed ultimately came from God and that God’s blessings were not intended to benefit him alone.

There was generosity.

There was responsibility.

There was work.

There was provision.

And there was dignity.

Biblical justice is concerned not only with what people need but also with how people are treated.

When Kindness Leads to More Kindness

Boaz showed kindness to Ruth partly because he had heard about the kindness Ruth had already shown Naomi.

Ruth had refused to abandon her grieving mother-in-law.

Boaz responded by refusing to ignore Ruth.

One person’s faithfulness became part of another person’s generosity.

Acts of justice, mercy, and kindness can lead to more acts of justice, mercy, and kindness.

We do not help others because we expect something in return.

We do it because loving our neighbor is the right thing to do.

From the Margins to the Family

Ruth’s story did not end in the field.

Boaz and Ruth eventually married.

Their son was Obed.

Obed became the father of Jesse.

Jesse became the father of David.

The foreign widow who once gathered leftover grain from the margins of a field became the great-grandmother of King David.

And generations later, Jesus Christ came through this family line.

Ruth may have appeared to be living on the margins of society.

She was never on the margins of God’s story.

Who Lives on the Margins Today?

The circumstances are different today, but people can still find themselves living on the margins.

Some experience poverty.

Some live with food or housing insecurity.

Some are grieving.

Some have been affected by incarceration.

Some are immigrants or newcomers trying to establish a life in an unfamiliar community.

Some experience discrimination.

Some struggle with mental health concerns.

Some are elderly and increasingly isolated.

Some live with disabilities.

Some have lost relationships, employment, financial security, or a support system.

Sometimes the people living on the margins are easy to see.

Sometimes they are sitting beside us and we never realize how vulnerable they feel.

The question is not simply:

“Who needs help?”

We should also ask:

“Who is being overlooked?”

Moving Beyond a Needs-Based Approach

Churches naturally want to help people in need.

But sometimes we can become so focused on what people lack that we fail to recognize what they already have.

Every person is created in the image of God.

People have gifts.

They have abilities.

They have knowledge.

They have experiences.

They have relationships.

They have creativity.

They have something to contribute.

One approach to community ministry is known as Asset-Based Community Development. Rather than beginning only with the question, “What is wrong with this community?” it also asks, “What gifts, abilities, relationships, and resources are already here?”

That changes the way ministry can happen.

Instead of simply doing something for people, we begin discovering what we can do with people.

Seeing What People Can Do

Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, became known for using an asset-based approach in its surrounding community.

The church was located near neighborhoods with very different economic circumstances. Instead of simply waiting for people to come to the church for assistance, church members went into the neighborhood and began learning about the people who lived there.

They discovered abilities and interests that could be strengthened.

Gardening became an opportunity.

Art became an opportunity.

Cooking became an opportunity.

People were not viewed simply as problems to solve or needs to meet.

Their abilities mattered.

Their dignity mattered.

Their contribution to the community mattered.

That principle should challenge the church.

Are we only looking at what people need?

Or are we also looking for what God has placed within them?

When Systems Push People Farther Out

There is another side to the discussion of justice.

Sometimes people who are already living on the margins encounter systems that push them even farther away from safety, stability, community, and restoration.

The prison system is one example that raises difficult questions.

People enter prison for many different reasons and remain responsible for their actions. At the same time, incarceration can expose people and their families to additional hardship, violence, isolation, drugs, trauma, and loss of relationships.

People affected by incarceration may already have experienced poverty, discrimination, mental health concerns, addiction, unstable families, or other serious difficulties.

If justice only punishes but never considers restoration, healing, accountability, rehabilitation, or the possibility of a changed life, people may leave the system even farther from healthy community than when they entered it.

Christians should be willing to ask difficult questions about whether our responses to brokenness move people toward restoration or push them farther away.

Justice Does Not Mean Ignoring Accountability

Bringing people in from the margins does not mean pretending wrongdoing does not matter.

Biblical mercy and biblical justice do not require us to abandon truth, wisdom, accountability, or appropriate consequences.

Boaz did not eliminate every difficulty Ruth faced.

He responded faithfully to the opportunity God had placed before him.

Christian justice seeks what is right while remembering the God-given dignity of every person.

Accountability and compassion can exist together.

Truth and mercy can exist together.

Justice and restoration can belong together.

Do We Push People Away or Bring Them Closer?

This may be one of the most important questions raised by Ruth’s story.

When we encounter someone who is struggling, vulnerable, different from us, or living outside the security we enjoy, what do we do?

Do we overlook them?

Do we judge them from a distance?

Do we make assumptions about how they arrived there?

Do we help in ways that unintentionally take away their dignity?

Or do we notice them?

Boaz noticed Ruth.

Then he made room for her.

Biblical justice seeks to bring people closer – closer to safety, provision, community, dignity, opportunity, healing, restoration, and a fuller life.

What Are the Margins We Can Leave?

Most of us do not own barley fields.

But we still have margins.

We have margins in our schedules.

We have margins in our finances.

We have margins in our homes.

We have margins in our churches.

We have margins in our relationships.

We have knowledge, skills, possessions, influence, opportunities, and resources.

Perhaps one way to apply Deuteronomy 24 is to ask:

What has God given me that does not have to be used entirely for myself?

Where can I intentionally leave room for someone else?

Don’t Just Wait for People to Come

Churches often say that everyone is welcome.

That matters.

But sometimes welcoming people through our doors is not enough.

There are people who may never walk through those doors on their own.

Jesus repeatedly went where people were.

Perhaps the question is not only:

“How can we get people to come to church?”

Perhaps we also need to ask:

“Where is God asking the church to go?”

How Can Our Church Serve?

The answer may not begin with creating another program.

It may begin with listening.

Who lives around us?

What challenges are they facing?

What gifts do they possess?

What resources already exist within the community?

What barriers are keeping people on the margins?

What resources has God entrusted to our congregation?

Where can we come alongside what God is already doing?

We do not have to solve every problem.

Boaz did not solve every problem in Bethlehem.

He simply responded faithfully to the person God placed before him.

We can do the same.

Bringing People In From the Margins

God has always cared about people on the margins.

He cared about the widow.

He cared about the orphan.

He cared about the foreigner.

He cared about Naomi.

He cared about Ruth.

And He still cares about people who feel forgotten, vulnerable, excluded, or pushed aside.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to care too.

We do not need to push people farther toward the margins.

We can help bring them closer.

Closer to community.

Closer to dignity.

Closer to hope.

Closer to restoration.

And ultimately, closer to the love of God demonstrated through His people.

Questions for Reflection

Who are some of the people living on the margins in my community?

Are there people I tend to overlook because their lives are different from mine?

When I see someone in need, do I see only the person’s problems, or do I also recognize their gifts and God-given dignity?

What resources, abilities, time, or opportunities has God given me that I could share with someone else?

Is there an area of my life where I need to intentionally leave a “margin” for others?

Are there ways Christians or churches unintentionally push vulnerable people farther away?

How can we provide help while preserving a person’s dignity?

Who has God placed in front of me that I need to notice?

Where might God be calling me to go instead of waiting for someone to come to me?

How can our church serve?

Prayer

Gracious God,

Thank You for seeing people the world often overlooks.

You saw Ruth and Naomi in their grief, uncertainty, and need. You provided for them through the faithfulness and generosity of others.

Open our eyes to the people living on the margins around us.

Forgive us when we overlook people, judge them from a distance, or become so comfortable with our own security that we fail to notice those who do not have the same protection and provision.

Teach us to practice justice with mercy, generosity, wisdom, and compassion.

Help us recognize not only the needs of others but also their gifts, abilities, and God-given dignity.

Show us where we can make room.

Show us where we need to go.

Show us who we need to notice.

And show our church how we can faithfully serve the people and community You have placed around us.

May our words and actions help bring people closer to community, dignity, hope, restoration, and Your love.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Key Bible Passages

Ruth 1-4

Deuteronomy 24:17-22

Leviticus 19:9-10

Psalm 82:3-4

Isaiah 1:17

Micah 6:8

Matthew 25:34-40

Luke 4:18-19

James 1:27

Remember This

Ruth was gathering grain from the margins, but she was never on the margins of God’s story.

God sees people others overlook.

Biblical justice notices them, protects their dignity, and asks how we can help bring them closer rather than push them farther away.

The question for the church is:

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