150830 Boaz Claims Ruth

Let’s go back a few verses and pick up the story.

Ruth 3:14-18 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.”

As our story progresses we can see the hand of God. In the beginning it seemed that all kinds of wrong things had happened. Famine had come to the land of Israel and Elimelech had taken his wife, Naomi, into the land of Moab along with his two sons. In the course of time Elimelech died, his sons married Moabite wives, and within ten years they died leaving three widows. Naomi became very bitter and returned to the land of Israel unable to see how God could be guiding in such a calamity. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth, set out to take care of her by gleaning in the fields. Coincidently Ruth ended up in the field of Boaz, one of their kinsmen redeemers. It is often hard to see how wrong things can turn out to be right. But Ruth and Naomi were well on their way to God’s plan.

We almost never think of “bad” experiences that have happened as having come from God. The Bible doesn’t say, “we know that for those who love God good things work together for good.” What the Bible does say is, “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) “All things” means “everything” and I mean everything that comes into our lives goes by God first, meets with his approval, then visits us!

After the two widows arrived in Israel they were in great need and…

Boaz had extended his protection over Ruth. Let’s go back even further to Ruth 2:8-9. Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. ⁹ Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.

Of course there was great danger for a single woman, and a foreigner at that, going out into the fields alone. She could almost surely expect to be attacked or “hit on” at the very least. Boaz’s offer of protection is very clear. He not only offered to protect her but he extended the protection to his young men who worked for him. They were told not to touch Ruth. He added to that including her in the lunch break and in the water that was drawn for his workers.

Ruth came home from that experience and after a discussion with Naomi, her mother-in-law…

Ruth responded by approaching him in the night. Let’s look at Ruth 3:6-12. 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.”

Ruth, as previously described, was a righteous woman who had put her faith in the God of Israel. She had committed herself to take care of her mother-in-law and do right in the situation where she found herself. After discussion with Naomi, Ruth went to the threshing floor at night, waited for Boaz to go to sleep, and lay herself down at his feet! Not just at his feet but under the cover with his feet! Now we have to ask ourselves…

What could have gone wrong? After having spent the night let’s see what Boaz had to say in 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.”

What could have gone wrong? One, Boaz could have been offended by her open display of affection and accused her of wrongdoing in the face of all his workers. Two, Boaz could have given in to temptation and committed sexual sin with her. There would’ve been little she could do about it. Three, Boaz could have promised her more than he could produce. Let’s see…

What did go right? Read on in Ruth 3:15-18. 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.”

Not only did Boaz not touch her, reject her, or committed himself to her, he had her stay there till morning and instructed his crew to say nothing, he also provided her with a gift of food to take back to her mother-in-law. Naomi could see the hand of God in what would happen. You see…

God’s unseen hand guided Boaz. Let’s look at Proverbs 16:1-3. The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. ² All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. ³ Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Boaz had certainly committed his life to the Lord and was a righteous man. He could not have known for sure what might happen but he did trust God. Let’s look at a poem called…

THE WEAVER

My Life is but a weaving
between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the under side.

Not til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

He knows, He loves, He cares,
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives His very best to those
Who leave the choice with Him.  By Benjamin Malachi Franklin

There is an unseen hand guiding the lives of people who trust God. And that hand guided Boaz that day. I am sure he had lain awake all night thinking about what to do and so, leaving God in charge, he went to Bethlehem and joined the men…

Sitting in the gate. Let’s turn to Ruth 4:1-4. Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. ² And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. ³ Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

For the first time reader this part of the story is very interesting. Boaz could have taken Ruth to be his wife and at the same time told his other redeemer take the land and the inheritance. That would have been wrong on several levels. It would certainly have violated God’s instruction regarding a kinsman redeemer.

Boaz sat down at the gate that morning. There were others there as it was a common meeting place. Kinda like the barbershop or the beauty shop in our day. Soon after arriving at the gate the redeemer, mentioned by Boaz, came by. When presented with the possibility of redeeming Naomi’s property he jumped at the chance! And we think ourselves, “This is not the way it’s supposed to go.” You see Boaz is supposed to be the redeemer. Boaz had been there that morning…

Waiting on God. Let’s read on Ruth 4:5-13. Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” ⁶ Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”  ⁷ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. ⁸ So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. ¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” ¹¹ Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, ¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.” So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Boaz had a card to play in his discussion with the redeemer. “When you redeem the property you will also marry Ruth the Moabitess.” Immediately, the redeemer saw that this would not be a good thing. Such an arrangement would have confused his genealogy by linking it to Naomi's. His inheritance, which he would pass on to his descendants, would have been that this would not be a good thing legally compromised. To our intense satisfaction the redeemer could not take on the role. Now Boaz would be allowed to redeem Naomi’s property and marry Ruth.

At this point in the story something strange happens. With the marriage Ruth moves to the background and Naomi comes to the foreground. The property, including Ruth, belonged to Naomi. You see, the story was always…

Looking at eternity. The lineage Boaz shared with Naomi not with Ruth. Let’s look at Ruth 4:14-22. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! ¹⁵ He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” ¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. ¹⁷ And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. ¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, ¹⁹ Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, ²⁰ Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, ²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, ²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

I wish we had time to go into all the generations leading up to the day that Boaz fathered Obed. Suffice it to say that Perez was the son of Judah and had been conceived in sin. Yet God had included him in the family line of the Christ! After that, Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab the prostitute. Again, God had guided in that! Boaz and Ruth became the grandparents of Jesse who was the father of David the king! This story teaches us that God is the God of all the earth. The lineage from Abraham to Jesus is filled with imperfect people.

Unlike most other religious literature the Bible presents people the way they really are. As someone once said, “Warts and all.”

We need to remember that God is really in charge. In the beginning God put everything into place for his glory and honor. The Bible tells us that he holds all things together and accomplishes everything according to his will. On a day-to-day basis we seldom see the hand of God but he is there at work! The story of Ruth teaches us that God is the God of all people and is never taken by surprise. We often think that what we do day-to-day is not of interest to God. In all things he works together for the good of his people. If you are his child he is going to guide you even when you don’t see him. Have you trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior? Today could be the day of salvation!

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

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.