150823 God’s Mercy for Ruth

Ruth 3:1-5 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.”

The Book of Ruth is a powerful story of the providence of God. In chapter one we saw that Naomi and her family left Israel in a time of famine and moved to Moab. Elimelech (Naomi’s husband) died, her two sons married Moabite wives and soon died also. Naomi returned to Israel accompanied by our heroine — her daughter-in-law — Ruth. Naomi had returned to Israel a bitter old woman. In chapter two we saw the unseen hand of God guiding Ruth into contact with Boaz, a near kinsman, who could redeem their property and give them security for the future. Now in chapter three we see Naomi beginning to realize a hint as to what God is up to.

Now we’re going to go through chapter 3 and look at God’s hand guiding Naomi, Ruth and Boaz to the place where he can best use them. We need to remember that God really does have a plan and really does interfere in the lives of people to bring them to the place he wants them to be. We begin with Naomi’s…

Preparations and plans. We do not really know why Naomi followed the plan she did but we do know it worked. Look back at what she said to Ruth in Verses 3-5. 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.”

This is such a dangerous strategy! There are so many things that could’ve gone wrong. For a young woman, certainly less than thirty years old, to wait until the middle of the night and then approach a sleeping older man and actually lie down at his feet. We know that Boaz was a righteous man and could have easily reacted in anger at this young woman approaching him in the dark. He could have been led into temptation to commit sexual sin and there would be little Ruth could do about it. Yet, we have no knowledge of all was going on in Naomi’s mind. Was she trying to “set Boaz up” and draw him into a sinful relationship with Ruth? We are not told. We are told that she expected Boaz to tell Ruth what to do. I believe that Naomi expected the evening to turn into…

A righteous relationship. Let’s read on in Ruth 3:6-8.  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!

I can picture Ruth hanging around the edge of the crowd at the threshing floor that night. I do not believe that she wanted to expose herself too soon to Boaz’s attention. She had bathed, dressed modestly and put on perfume. She paid close attention to where Boaz lay down. “Coincidently” he lay down away from the rest of the group. Boaz had had a few drinks of wine and had eaten a hearty meal. He was tired and went to the heap of grain, to use it as a mattress, covered himself and went to sleep. There is no doubt in my mind that Boaz had thought about his opportunity to redeem Ruth and probably had rejected the idea. After all he was very likely twice Ruth’s age. He would’ve expected that she would take up with a younger man. He was a righteous man and would not have done anything to smear the reputation of Ruth in the community. Up until now he had protected her from afar. He had told his young men not to mess with her and had told her to stay with his workers because they would treat her with respect! When given the opportunity he gave…

A redeemer’s response. Let’s read on in Ruth 3:9-13. 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.”

I can picture the scene! Because of his merry heart, bleary head and full tummy he had quickly gone to sleep. Not just to doze off! Boaz fell into deep sleep fairly quickly. Then, following her mother-in-law’s advice, Ruth slipped onto the scene quietly. There may have been one or two of the workers who saw this young woman. This is a pretty risky situation! And yet she was willing to put her fate in God’s hands because she had put herself under God’s wings!

I don’t think Ruth went to sleep. I think she lay there with bated breath, her heart pounding, waiting for some response from Boaz or for the morning light and exposure to the gossip of the community.

Imagine Boaz’s response! He’s had his sleep and now suddenly when he moved his feet he encountered an unexpected form. Imagine him sitting up and saying, “Who are you?” It must’ve taken him a few minutes to realize the full impact of what was happening.

Now we can ask ourselves, “Why didn’t Naomi simply go to Boaz and ask him to become the kinsman redeemer?” I don’t know! Naomi may have believed that this older man would never consider the possibility of a lovely young woman becoming his wife. Naomi may have been naturally shy and did not feel herself to be in a good enough relationship with Boaz to have this conversation. I do believe that Naomi was pretty sure everything was going turn out okay!

In response to Boaz’s question Ruth identified herself and then said, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” In the awkwardness of the moment Boaz may not have gotten his wits together to the point that he would be telling Ruth what to do. So Ruth, rather than lose the initiative, blurted out what she and Naomi had been discussing. A kinsman redeemer could set everything right for them. Boaz had already commended her for her hard work and her righteous attitude. He had observed that she had brought herself under God’s wings. Now, Ruth asks for Boaz to spread his wings over her. So far as I can tell there’s only one place in the Bible besides this one where this word is used. It is found in Ezekiel 16:8 and it describes the relationship between God and the immature nation of Israel. God spread his wings over Israel, or, he spread the corner of his garment over this nation of people just as Boaz did over Ruth.

When the man hears these words from this lovely young lady he has quick decisions to make. He could’ve been tempted into a sinful sexual relationship. He could’ve woke everybody up and disgraced her. He could’ve woke everyone up and announced his intention to redeem her.

Each of these responses are possible but the third one had a problem. He had already determined that there was a kinsman closer in relation to Elimelech than he was. It would be possible that another man could legally redeem Ruth. So, Boaz explains the situation to Ruth. First, he commends her in being willing to choose him as a redeemer. He had assumed that she might go after a younger man. Quickly, Boaz assures her that he will do what she asked but first he has to untangle the family tree.

There were now two people, at least, who spent the remainder of the night in sleeplessness waiting for the coming of the morning. But it was very important to Boaz that he provide, for Ruth, a…

Protection of character. So, let’s continue to read Ruth 3:14. 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.”

Ruth lay at the feet of the man who could be her redeemer for the remainder of the night. If you ever slept out under the stars you can have some idea of the scene. As the light begins to grow stronger Ruth knows it’s time to go. So she gets up and the man who has been lying awake thinking about how to do what he needed to do quickly said to those who are awake, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” She was a young Moabite widow in a strange land and yet Boaz wanted to be sure that her character was protected. He enlisted his people in the cover-up!

Up to this point there are a lot of possibilities in this story. But the storyteller is guiding us in the right direction. As John Piper says, “Boaz is a God-saturated man in his business and personal relations. Ruth is a God-dependent woman under the wings of God. Naomi is now a God-exalting woman under the sovereignty of God.”

We can see that the plans of God will always be rightly fulfilled. Remember the words of Jeremiah found in his prophecy, chapter 29 verse eleven, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Obviously none of the characters in our story would have ever heard those words coming from the lips of Jeremiah because he would be coming on the scene hundreds of years later. However, those words clearly characterize the way God treats his people. He has plans for good and not evil he has plans for a hope-filled future for all who will put their faith in him. Ruth came under the wings of God and believed that God would protect her. Boaz lived an honorable life and protected the character of the young woman he had come to love. In order to establish his honorable intentions he instructed everyone to keep quiet about her being there for the night and he gave her…

A promise of concern. Let’s read on Ruth 3:15-17. 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.’ ”

There was no attempt by Boaz to pretend she wasn’t there. In fact, he had her come to him and he gave her a large gift of barley. Now to be honest with you I would not have been very impressed with that gift, looking back from our century. But, if you had lived through the years of famine, you would have seen that large offering of grain as a blessing from God.

Ruth with a joy-filled heart walked from the threshing floor back into the village of Bethlehem. I can imagine her whistling or perhaps singing one of the Psalms of praise. Perhaps a little like this, “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from my enemies.” And in our modern chorus we would add the words, “The Lord liveth, and blessed be the rock, and may the God of my salvation be exalted.” Yes, I believe Ruth’s heart was filled with joy and her mind was twirling around and around. She hurried on to see Naomi her mother-in-law and then they begin the process of…

Waiting on providence. We find it in the last verse Ruth 3:18. 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.”

Naomi saw the grain, felt the joy of Ruth, and rejoiced with her! Then she said something like this, “You just wait! it won’t take him very long to settle this issue! And he’ll do it in such a way that he will end up as your husband.”

The Book of Ruth tells us that God cares for all people everywhere. God included a plan for those who are not of Israel and always has. To establish his sovereignty over all people God specifically chooses people to add to the lineage of Jesus that are not socially accepted or politically correct. Boaz’s grandmother was Rahab the prostitute who helped Israel conquer Jericho. Ruth the Moabites, his wife, became the great-grandmother of King David! The point is made that God uses anyone who is willing to know his will. Are you willing to follow Jesus as your Lord and Savior? It doesn’t matter where you came from it only matters that you really desire to know God through Jesus Christ.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.