I. Introduction
A. Review
1. Because of a famine in the land, an Israelite from Bethlehem named Elimelech moved his family to the neighboring country of Moab. His wife was Naomi, and they had two sons. But in Moab Elimelech died. Naomi’s sons then married Moabite wives named Orpah and Ruth. Then both of the sons died, leaving the three women as widows.
2. Then Naomi heard that the famine in Israel had ended, so she decided to return home. On the way to Israel from Moab, Naomi tried to send the two daughters-in-law back to Moab. After some convincing, Orpah agreed to return to her father’s house. But Ruth would not be convinced. She clung to Naomi, saying, “Where you go I will go. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” And so the two of them returned to Bethlehem.
3. When they had come to Bethlehem, Naomi said to the women of the city, "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD has brought me home again empty."
4. Now in order that the two women might have something to eat, Ruth began to glean in the fields of a man named Boaz, who was relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband (BTW, he was also the son of Rahab of Jericho fame). Boaz became very impressed with Ruth, for her devotion to Naomi. So he offered her protection and special favors as she gleaned in his field.
B. Ruth 3:1–18 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? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, 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.” 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.” 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. 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. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 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.” 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.” 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.”
C. Three scenes
1. On the road to Israel
2. In the field of Boaz
3. At the threshing floor
D. Ruth 3
1. Naomi’s plan
2. Ruth follows the plan
3. Boaz’s response
4. Ruth reports to Naomi
II. Naomi’s plan – This is sort of strange, so let’s walk through this.
A. 1 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? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were?”
1. She’s talking about Ruth getting married.
2. Ruth 1:8–9 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!”
B. 2b See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
1. Naomi’s point was that Boaz would be in a secluded spot where he and Ruth could talk privately under cover of darkness – maybe for the sake of protecting privacy.
C. 3a Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor,
1. She was to make herself most desirable.
D. 3b but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
1. Ruth was to be neither seen nor heard by Boaz. Rather, her presence was to remain a secret until exactly the right moment.
2. Naomi left nothing to chance. Her plan was carefully designed to initiate a situation favorable to her goal of getting Boaz and Ruth together. Wait till Boaz is full and in a good mood.
3. Her next words are tantalizingly ambiguous.
E. 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.”
1. Sometime later, after Boaz was sound asleep, Ruth was to go there, uncover his feet, and lie down.
2. Though there are potentially suggestive aspects to the language of this scene, it is pretty clear that nothing inappropriate happens, or was intended to happen.
3. It’s inconceivable that three godly people – Naomi who had the idea, Ruth who implemented it, and Boaz who reacted to it very positively – thought that an immoral act was fine.
F. When we try to figure this out, the fact is that there are a lot of things we just don’t know. This is over 2000 years ago and we don’t understand some of the cultural issues going on in this story.
1. Clearly, all three of them knew things we do not know.
G. However, this clearly signified to Boaz a proposal of marriage.
III. Ruth implements the plan
A. So, Ruth not only agrees to do what Naomi said to do, she went through with it.
B. And when she says to Boaz, “Spread your wings over your servant,” it might sound strange to us, but there was no question as to its meaning in the context of ancient Israel.
1. It refers to spreading the corner of one’s garment over another, which is a euphemism for marriage, as we see in Ezekiel 16:8.
C. And though it seems clear that Ruth did nothing immoral, it is surprising that Ruth takes the initiative with Boaz, instead of waiting for him to make the first move. This is not at all ordinary.
D. But there are also some things we do know:
1. We know that the barley harvest was about to end, so Ruth’s regular contact with Boaz was about to end. So, it might have seemed to Naomi and Ruth that their window was about to close.
2. We know that Boaz is much older than Ruth. We can see this in v.10. First he calls her “my daughter,” and then he goes on to say, “You have not gone after young men.”
a. Now when a young woman is interested in an older man, sometimes she must take the initiative, because he might be embarrassed to even think of her in that way, or to put her on the spot by expressing interest.
3. We know that some men hesitate when it’s time to act. That hasn’t changed in 3000 years.
4. We know that Boaz was a kinsman redeemer for Ruth.
E. And that brings us to the Levirate law in the OT.
1. In ancient Israel, it was almost as if you continued living through your children after you were dead. leaving children to carry on your possessions (esp. land) and your name. But if you had no children to carry on, not only you yourself died at death, but your name died with you. And this was considered a terrible thing.
2. On the threshing floor, Ruth said to Boaz, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” What did she mean by saying, “You are a redeemer”?
3. Well, Deut.25:5-10 says that if a married man died childless, it was his widow’s prerogative to marry her husband’s brother, and their first child would be considered the child and heir of her original husband, so that his name and estate would not be removed from the earth.
4. If that brother agreed to become her kinsman redeemer, it was considered an act of faithfulness to one’s dead brother, to his widow and to the whole family.
5. This law can be seen in the story of Tamar and the family of Judah in Gen.38, and in the question about the woman with 7 husbands which the Sadducees asked Jesus in Matt.22:23ff.
6. So, when Ruth says to Boaz, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” Ruth was asking for her rights from Boaz, staking her claim.
IV. Boaz’s response was one of delight. He was not surprised by Ruth taking the initiative.
A. Rather, he delighted that this young, godly woman wanted to marry him. And he was profoundly impressed that Ruth would be so selfless as to marry an old relative of Elimelech in order to secure a kinsman redeemer for Naomi, instead of find a younger husband. In his mind, this act was even more virtuous than all she had done to remain with and provide for Naomi when they first arrived.
B. “May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.” Ruth 3:10
C. And he was happy to marry a woman as “worthy” as Ruth. When he says that “all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman,” he uses a different word than the word used to describe Boaz in Ruth 2:1. But the meaning is similar. It is often used in a military context. Here it seems to mean valiant.
V. This scene of the story ends in 14-18.
A. 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.” 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.”
B. So, Ruth returns home and reports to Naomi. But first, something small but touching happens.
1. They are trying to be quiet and discreet. They arose before one could recognize another. And he whispered, “Let it not be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
2. But Boaz gives Ruth more barley. “You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.”
3. Boaz knows what Naomi said in Ruth 1:21 “I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.” And here he uses the same word, “You must not go back empty to Naomi.”
C. Boaz is a good man. It might have been easy to absorbed with the delightful prospect of a young wife in his old age, but he doesn’t forget about the widow who worries about her next meal.
D. He doesn’t just send Naomi some more barley. This barley is a message.
E. I’m going to take care of you. You don’t need to worry. You don’t need to feel empty.
VI. Application
A. Divine sovereignty and human initiative
1. Naomi’s knowledge of God’s sovereignty
a. Ruth 1:8 “May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.”
b. Ruth 1:9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!”
c. Ruth 1:13 It is exceedingly bitter to me that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”
d. Ruth 2:20 “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!”
2. This didn’t stop Naomi from making and implementing a plan.
a. Divine sovereignty doesn’t stifle but stimulates human initiative.
b. We believe that God can lead us in our planning. We believe he can use our plans.
c. Of course we know that He might thwart our plans, but we know that if He does, it’s only because He’s got a better plan.
d. We may feel like we have escaped from many difficult dilemmas by our own ingenuity. But the fact is, God gave us our ingenuity! And He also plants ideas in our minds; He frequently moves us in the direction of resolution. So, even when it seems like it’s us, it’s really Him. “Apart from Him, we can do nothing” (John 15:5).
e. My story of feeling alone and without help, but seeing that God was helping me all along.
B. The story of Ruth provides us with a marvelous example of how to live in poverty.
1. When Naomi and Ruth arrive back in Bethlehem, they are destitute.
2. But the two of them do not give into the waves of discouragement which could easily overtake.
3. They work hard, they try things, they take initiative, they are resourceful.
4. They know there is a God in heaven who provides. They know that valleys don’t go on forever.
5. Some people are really bad at being poor. They can’t accept it.
6. When sick in the stomach, one of my children used to scream, “This can’t be happening to me!”
7. But sometimes God allows His children to go through very dark valleys. We saw that in the book of Job. We see that again in the book of Ruth.
8. In Philippians 4:11–13 Paul says, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
9. No matter what happens, God is still on His throne. And His richness is always bigger than our poverty.
C. One of the great things about the story of Ruth is how Boaz points to Christ, our kinsman redeemer.
1. A kinsman redeemer was someone who acted as a substitute in coming alongside an impoverished close relative and took her in and provided for her and protected her and loved her when she had no one else.
2. That’s just what Jesus does for us.
3. In Ezekiel 16:4-12 God paints a very vivid picture of what He has lovingly done for His people: “On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to cleanse you, nor rubbed with salt, nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things to you out of compassion for you, but you were cast out on the open field, and you were abhorred. When I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ I made you flourish like a plant of the field. And you grew up and became tall and arrived at full adornment. When you were at the age for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became mine. I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and wrapped you in fine linen and silk. I adorned you with ornaments and bracelets on your wrists and neck. I put a ring on your nose, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.”
4. This is what Boaz did for Ruth (and Naomi). And this is what Jesus does for us.
5. Each of us is a filthy castoff, who’s been taken in by the Lord and made into His beautiful bride.
6. Have you taken refuge under His wings (Ruth 2:12)?
7. In Luke 13:34 Jesus said, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” He is willing, are you?
8. Have you asked Him to be your kinsman redeemer, and to spread the corner of His garment over you to cover your nakedness?
9. Don’t be like those who say, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,” but who don’t realize that they “are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” – Revelation 3:17