Ruth 3
The overarching theme in Ruth has been the sovereignty and providence of God in our redemption. Suffering is never wasted in the life of a believer… God is always working behind the scenes for outcomes beyond our imagination.
Much like our own lives, the story of Ruth is a rollercoaster of ups and downs and unexpected twists and turns.
A woman named Naomi moves with her husband and two sons from Bethlehem to the foreign and unfamiliar land of Moab to flee a famine.
Her husband passes away, her sons grow up and marry Moabite girls, but then her sons pass away, leaving Naomi with her two daughters in law, one of whom is Ruth.
When Naomi decides it’s time to leave Moab and head back to Bethlehem, Ruth insists on coming with her.
Mother in law and daughter in law end up back in Bethlehem together, hungry, husbandless and impoverished.
But in God’s grace and providential care, He leads Ruth to glean in the field of a wealthy man named Boaz who just so ‘happens’ to be what was called a kinsman redeemer––That is, a male relative who could rescue or redeem a destitute widowed woman in the family.
Ruth 3:1–18 (ESV):
3 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
This is a subtle way of suggesting that it’s time for Ruth to get married, settle down and have children. And Naomi wants to help with that. She has a plan.
Many of us need to hear Naomi’s advice.
If we are facing uncertainty in our future… if we are sitting on the precipice of a new season… it’s much more biblical to take action than it is to sit and wait for things to happen.
We see this over and over in the New Testament, especially in the book of Acts, when Paul and others would begin heading in the direction that seemed best to them based on the wisdom and wise counsel the Lord had given them, and then trust the Lord’s providence to kick in and guide them where He wanted them to go.
We talked about the analogy of teaching my kids to ride a bike… and how in order for me as their dad to steer them, they need to get moving.
It’s easy to get paralyzed by indecision.
You can fast and pray… seek wise counsel… but eventually we need to…
Make a move.
We must simply choose a direction that seems best, that doesn’t go against God’s moral will, and trust that His secret will (that is, His providential will) will kick in as we move.
That’s what Naomi encourages Ruth to do.
2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were?
Last week we established that Boaz was what was called a Kinsman Redeemer (Hebrew: go’el).
That is, a male relative who had a responsibility to help a vulnerable family member in need.
For example:
They could bail them out of poverty if needed.
They could redeem a person from slavery and purchase their freedom.
They could avenge murder on their behalf.
They could continue a family line through levirate marriage.
This is also why Boaz becomes for us a picture of Christ as our Kinsman Redeemer.
Jesus bailed us out of spiritual poverty
Jesus purchased our freedom from slavery to sin by His own death on the cross.
He avenged the evil one by crushing the power of Satan
He transferred us into a new family… brought us from darkness into light… brought us from death to life…
That is the broader implication of all of this.
But for now, let’s zoom back in on the situation between Ruth and Boaz.
Naomi has a plan for Ruth to make herself available to Boaz as someone whom he could redeem and take as his wife.
Naomi implies that Ruth had been around Boaz along with the other young ladies.
There’s no indication in the text that Ruth and Boaz had spent any exclusive time together. No romantic dates, no long walks at night…
I wonder whether we’ve overcomplicated our dating game in our culture. Dating today is almost like pretend marriage. It’s like a test drive for the real thing. And unfortunately, many dating couples today both inside and outside the Church tend to test drive just about everything, if you know what I mean.
Two thoughts on that:
It is incredibly hazardous for your soul.
When your dating relationship is a miniature marriage, breakup feels like a miniature divorce. Even if you’re not crossing any big moral lines, just the level to which dating couples tend to intertwine their lives often reaches a level of intimacy and codependency that should be reserved only for marriage.
Second, consider this: Is that level of exclusivity and commitment even necessary in order to discover whether someone is suitable as a spouse?
I’d suggest, no. Ruth, was able to determine that Boaz was an honorable man and a worthy husband for Ruth even without the radical and exclusive commitment of modern dating.
Think about it: It’s amazing what you can discover about someone just by hanging out in close circles of community together. In a moment, we are going to see that Boaz had seen everything he needed to see of Ruth’s character in order to marry her… just by observing her in group settings.
See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak
Nothing wrong with beautifying yourself BUT…
Remember, this comes after Ruth has already shown herself to be attractive in the most important ways, which we saw in the preceding chapters.
She’s a woman of character. A hard worker. Self-motivated. A God-seeker.
She’s a woman who was willing to leave everything behind in order to follow the true God. She’s proven herself loyal in the way she followed her mother in law Naomi.
Boaz knows all of this.
Any beautification of her exterior is just icing on the cake, as they say.
Step 1…
and go down to the threshing floor,
A threshing floor was a flat, circular area of hard-packed earth or rock, that was out in the open breeze.
After a harvest, they would bring sheaves of grain to the floor and it would either get trampled by animals, or grinded up by a milling device of some kind in order to break the husks off of the grain.
Then they would toss it up in the air with a winnowing fork, and the wind would blow away the chaff, and the valuable grain would be collected.
The chaff would discarded or even burned.
In the New Testament, this would become symbolic of the judgment of God when He will separate the righteous from the wicked.
Matthew 3:12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand… He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
So from our theological vantagepoint, this was not just a convenient location for Ruth to find Boaz. This was a significant and symbolic location.
Next step…
but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
Now, obviously this seems like a strange tactic to our western minds.
But rest assured: This gesture was symbolic, not seductive.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
Wings could also be translated garment or blanket… but ‘wings’ has a nice metaphorical meaning, doesn’t it? It has the connotation of protective care.
“Even to the present day, when a Jew marries a woman, he throws the skirt or end of his talith over her, to signify that he has taken her under his protection.” (Clarke)
10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
Translation? He’s pretty stoked.
11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
A worthy woman. The Hebrew hah-yil means virtuous, moral, full of integrity…
Guys, these are the qualities you want to be attracted to, and the sort of qualities you want to affirm in the women of your life.
Ladies, these are the qualities you want to lean into to make yourself attractive to the right kind of guy!
1 Peter 3:3–4 (NLT): 3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. 4 You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
Many husbands wish their wives would be submissive and reverent the way Ruth is to Boaz… but we need to ask ourselves the question… are we being kind, honorable and compassionate, and humble towards our wives the way Boaz treats Ruth?
Ephesians 5:25 (ESV): 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
And let’s be honest: many wives wish their husbands would treat them the way Boaz treats Ruth… and yet if that’s you, you should ask yourself, ‘do I treat my husband with the respect and reverence Ruth shows to Boaz?
Ephesians 5:22–23 (ESV): 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.
Ruth and Boaz’ relationship is a metaphor of the gospel. That’s the whole point of the story.
Are OUR marriages accurate representations of the gospel?
We can’t control the way our spouse treats us, nor are we responsible to… but we can certainly make sure the way we treat our spouse reflects the love of Christ.
12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.
In other words, there was another guy who apparently was a closer relative and therefore, next in line to redeem Ruth. So Boaz had to check with him first.
13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Notice that Boaz is not trying to hide anything. He’s not trying to manipulate the situation for his desired outcome… He’s going to be proactive, but he’s going to do this above board and let the Lord determine the outcome.
This is so instructive for us. This is where we find a healthy balance to the ‘make-a-move’ mentality.
Sometimes we are tempted to do more than simply be proactive… we want to force things to work out… whether relationships, or jobs, or pregnancies, moving from one place to another, or any other plan. It’s good to be proactive… but we don’t want to force it.
And notice, Ruth doesn’t protest. She doesn’t say, “Oh, c’mon, nobody has to know about that other guy! Let’s elope!”
She doesn’t do that. Could you imagine the faith and trust in the sovereignty of God this would have taken? For all Ruth knows, by the end of the following day she could be married not to Boaz but to the other guy!
Yet, she waits and trusts the Lord to determine the outcome.
14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
So they’re trying to protect each other’s reputation.
We never want to put someone in a position that compromises their character or reputation.
They didn’t break any rules here, but they know the mere appearance of Ruth and Boaz emerging from the threshing floor after a long night could give the wrong impression.
So they discreetly move along.
15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
As we’ve been doing, I want to close by zooming out and looking at the broader and profound implications of our own redemption.
In this chapter, Ruth seeks the covering of Boaz. Not just his blanket, but his protective care and loyalty.
When we are joined with Christ, our souls are safely covered by Him, protected by our loyal Savior forever.
Charles Spurgeon: “There is no joy in this world like union with Christ. The more we can feel it, the happier we are. When a soul is redeemed, it is not merely delivered, it is married––united forever to the redeemer.”
Psalm 91:4 says of Christ, “He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.”
Just as Boaz would change Ruth’s identity through their union, so too when we are joined with Christ by faith, we are clothed with a new identity.
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Just as Boaz would redeem Ruth from physical poverty and destitution, Christ has become our Redeemer from our spiritually impoverished state caused by our sin.
Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
Finally, just as Ruth was able to boldly and fearlessly approach Boaz for redemption, we can boldly approach the Lord to find all that our souls need.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.