As childless widows, Naomi and Ruth were without any means of support in Bethlehem. They were welfare widows. In the ancient world, women went from being dependents in their father’s homes to being dependents in their husband’s homes. If her husband died, the widow was often left in utter destitution unless she had sons. This was Ruth and Naomi.

I. Work (Ruth 2:1-2). Ruth asked permission from her mother-in-law to go out and glean in the fields of Bethlehem. The word glean simply means to pick up scraps. The word is applied in Scripture to God’s method of caring for the poor under the Law of Moses (Lev 19:9-10; 23:22; Deut 24:19). There was no taxpayer-funded charity and begging wasn’t permitted. Under the Law, the poor were required to work if they were going to eat.
Once harvesters went through a field, they were forbidden to go back through that field again or harvest the edges of a field. This allowed the poor to then harvest the edges of the fields and collect any un-ripe or dropped produce.
Work has been God’s design for humankind before sin entered the Garden of Eden (Gen 1:26-30; 2:15; 3:17-19) and is to be the endeavor of every believer in Jesus (1 Thess 4:11; 2 Thess 3:6-15). Work comes in many forms, shapes, and sizes. Even if one can’t work like others around him, the Christian is to keep himself busy serving others (1 Tim 5:9-10).
Paul addressed believers who had stopped working to wait for the return of Jesus (2 Thess 3:6-15). Their waiting led to sinful mischief and the expectation that others would provide for them. Six times Paul uses the words work, labor, and toil. No believer is to burden others, and Paul used himself as an example of this principle.

II. Wait (Acts 4:34-37; 6:1-7). On the day of Pentecost, thousands of Jews visiting in Jerusalem were born again. These would have lacked shelter, work, and food. Many converts to Christ living in Jerusalem would have been rejected and lost all they had to follow Him.
Some wealthy believers voluntarily sold property to support of these new Christians. Into the blessing of salvation came conflict. Greek-speaking widows were discriminated against in favor of the Aramaic-speaking widows. The office of deacon (table-waiters) was created to distribute to the widows, while the apostles were left to pray, study, and preach.
Dorcas, an early Christian woman, had a personal ministry to Christian widows in the city of Joppa (Acts 9:36-41).

III. Widows (1 Tim 5:3-16). Paul addressed an urgent matter in the early church: widows who were neglected by their families. The word widow (chera) in the Bible means a woman who is without a husband by death, divorce, or even desertion. Widows in the ancient world were vulnerable without the protection of a husband or male relative.
Paul laid down commands for the support of widows by the local church so as to not burden the church (1 Tim 5:16). To be helped, the widow had to:

(1) be devoid of personal wealth;
(2) lack living relatives. If her family neglected her, the family was worse than heathen;
(3) be 60 years or older. The average woman lived to the age of 36 years, so this was intended as a limited, exclusive ministry. Younger widows were to re-marry to avoid mischief and be cared for by a husband;
(4) have been devoted to her husband and to prayer, possess a history of trusting God, and performing works of ministry to other believers (Tit 2:3-5);
(5) have her hope fixed on God, meaning she gave a practical evidence of the new birth.