RUTH 3...
Verses 1-2 tell us Naomi WANTS Ruth to HAVE security.
According to the customs of the day, we can’t say that Ruth and Boaz were “dating” in the way we think of “dating” in our modern culture. They were not paired off as a couple with one-on-one time with each other; rather, they spent their time together in the context of a group - the men and women who worked for Boaz in the harvest.
From Jesus’ perspective for us, there is much in the “dating game” that works AGAINST forming healthy, lasting relationships.
For many people, dating means the continual making and breaking of casual romantic relationships - patterns that TEACH us more how to END relationships than how to CHOOSE wisely & MAKE them LAST.
Today, “dating” is a superficial way to get to know someone. Each person in a dating relationship tends to put on a mask for the other. For example, many women have been deceived into thinking a man is a good, nice man because he is nice to them in a dating relationship.
Of course he is! Often, he’s nice because he WANTS something in that dating relationship. A better gauge to measure the man or the woman is to see how they ACT TOWARDS OTHERS in a group setting - because sooner or later, that is HOW they are going to treat you.
So over the period of the harvests, Ruth and Boaz got to know each other pretty well - by seeing what kind of people the other was around a larger group, not by dating in the way it is traditionally thought of today.
And Naomi KNEW that Ruth could BEST & MOST HONORABLY be taken care of if she was married, so she suggested that she appeal to Boaz for marriage.
The Hebrew word for security is (manowach) speaks of what a home should be – a place of rest and security.
Some debate that Naomi & Ruth “plotted to trap” Boaz . . .that is NOT true. Naomi’s suggestion to Ruth WAS rooted in a peculiar custom in ancient Israel - the meaning behind the Hebrew word goel.
Naomi reminded Ruth that Boaz was their family GOEL.
According to Leviticus 25:48, a Goel/Kinsman-Redeemer WAS also responsible to BUY a fellow Israelite out of slavery.
Numbers 35:19 tells us that THE GOEL was ALSO to be the “avenger of blood” to make sure the murderer of a family member answered to the crime.
Leviticus 25:25 tells us that THE GOEL was responsible to buy back family land that had been forfeited.
Deuteronomy 25:5-10 tells us that THE GOEL was responsible to carry on the family name by marrying a childless widow too.
So as FORWARD as it may seem to us now, it WAS the PROPER way in that day and time in Israel. Also Almighty God WANTED to insure the family name/bloodline did NOT perish.
These God-given commands/protections SHOW us how IMPORTANT it was to God to preserve the institution of the family in Israel - and that it is also important to Him today.
Verses 2-5 tells us Naomi instructs Ruth in the PROPER way to petition Boaz to exercise his responsibilities as her goel.
“In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.”
Naomi, in her advice to Ruth, showed a keen knowledge of male behavior.
She instructed Ruth to make herself pretty and smelling good (anoint yourself, put on your best garment), and to leave Boaz alone while he ate (do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking).
Uncover his feet, and lie down…Some might think this was a provocative gesture, as if Ruth was to provocatively offer herself sexually to Boaz.
This was NOT how this gesture was understood in that day. In the culture of that day, this was understood as an act of TOTAL SUBMISSION.
Ruth came to claim a right.
Boaz WAS her GOEL, her kinsman-redeemer, and she had the RIGHT to expect him to marry her and raise up a family to perpetuate the name of Elimelech.
But Naomi wisely counseled Ruth to not come as a VICTIM DEMANDING her rights, but as A HUMBLE SERVANT, trusting in the goodness of her kinsman-redeemer.
What Ruth’s actions said to Boaz, “I respect you, I trust you, and I put my fate in your hands.”
“He will tell you what you should do”…Of course, this was a situation that had the potential for disaster, if Boaz should mistreat Ruth in some way.
But Naomi and Ruth had WATCHED & GOTTEN TO KNOW Boaz, and they KNEW he was - a good man, a godly man, one to whom Ruth could confidently submit.
In some Christian marriage relationships today, some husbands WISH they had a wife who submitted to them the way Ruth is being told to here.
But these husbands NEED to FIRST search their hearts and lives and ask this of themselves…“Do I provide the kind of godly leadership, care, and concern that Boaz showed towards Ruth and others?”
As well in the marriage relationship, many Christian wives WISH they had a husband who loved, cared, and treated them the way Boaz did towards Ruth.
But they TOO NEED TO FIRST search their hearts and lives and ask this of themselves…“Do I show the same kind of humble submission and respect Ruth showed to Boaz?”
Verses 6-7 tells us…Ruth lays down at Boaz’s feet...
“So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.”
Boaz had GOOD reason to sleep at the threshing floor. These were the days of the Judges, when there was much political and social instability in Israel.
It wasn’t unusual for gangs of thieves to come and steal all the hard-earned grain a farmer had grown. Boaz slept at the threshing floor to guard his crop against the kind of attacks described in 1 Samuel 23:1.
Verses 8-9 tell us of Ruth’s request to Boaz...
“Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”
We have ALL been startled out of a deep sleep, haven’t we?
We can well imagine that Boaz WAS startled, waking up in the night as he turned in his sleep, knowing that someone was out there but not being able to see clearly WHO it was.
But his shock quickly turned to wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD this woman was doing here in the dark, at his feet, & after midnight.
Ruth QUICKLY & QUIETLY identified herself and made a simple request. Ruth again showed great humility and submission. She presented herself as Boaz’s servant.
“Under your wing” WAS bold, because this was DIRECTLY ASKING Boaz to take her in marriage. The phrase can also be translated as “spread the corner of your garment over me.” This was a culturally relevant way to say, “I am a widow, take me as your wife.”
The spreading of a skirt over a widow as a way of claiming her as a wife was/STILL IS used among some modern day Arabs.
And even today, when an orthodox 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.
In Ezekiel 16:8, God uses the SAME PHRASE in relation to Israel. “I spread my wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you and you became Mine, says the Lord God.”
Verses 10-11 tells us Boaz’s response...
“Then he said, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.”
Apparently, there was a considerable age difference between Ruth and Boaz.
It also seems that because of this, Boaz considered himself unattractive to Ruth and had therefore ruled out any idea of a pursuing a romance between them.
This shows something else wonderful about Boaz. He had the RIGHT to force himself upon Ruth as her goel, but he did NOT. He wasn’t going to just say, “There’s a woman I want, and I have her by right.”
Boaz was kind enough to NOT act as Goel towards Ruth unless she DESIRED it.
It also shows something else wonderful about Ruth: She based her attraction to Boaz more on RESPECT than on image or appearance.
Tragically, many people fall in love with an image or an appearance, rather than with a person we can really respect.
Boaz was ALSO attracted to Ruth because of her character. We don’t really know how Ruth looked, but we do know that she was a woman of godly character. And INNER beauty NEVER fades away.
Literally, Boaz called Ruth a “HAH-YIL” woman. The Hebrew meaning is “strength; moral strength, good quality, integrity, virtue.”
This SAME word is used in a term for HEROES in the Bible: A mighty man of valor. Just a courage and strength make a man a hero.
So Ruth’s courage and strength, shown in her virtue - make her a hero, on the Proverbs 31 kind of definition of a woman of virtue.
Verses 12-13 tells us of a POTENTIAL problem: A nearer kinsman...
“Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.
Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you; good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning.”
Apparently, though Boaz was a recognized goel towards Ruth, there was another goel closer in relation to her deceased father-in-law Elimelech.
So, Boaz could NOT HONORABLY exercise his right as kinsman-redeemer unless this closer kinsman-redeemer relinquished his rights towards Ruth.
Verses 14-15 tells us Boaz sends Ruth home...
“So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.”
Boaz and Ruth were NOT trying to hide anything scandalous; it was just that Boaz didn’t want this nearer kinsman to learn that Ruth was now demanding her right to marriage to a goel before Boaz could tell him personally.
As a PROPER gentleman, Boaz did NOT send Ruth home empty-handed.
Not having any chocolates, he gave her six handfuls of grain, which amounted to more than thirty-three gallons (120 liters) of grain, more than Ruth could carry home in her shawl.
Verses 16-18 tells us Ruth tells her mother-in-law Naomi all that happened....
“So when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her. And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”
Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
This was a time of considerable anxiety for Ruth. She had claimed her right to marriage, and would be married.
The only question was TO WHOM? Would it be to Boaz, whom she KNEW, or to the STRANGER who was a nearer Goel?