Ruth 3:1-18
1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncovera his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade 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 corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turnedb himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the cityc of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the vaild that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
RUTH CLAIMING THE PROTECTION OFBOAZ
(vv. 1-18)
The time had now come for Naomi to give pertinent advice to Ruth.She seeks security (or "rest") for her daughter-in-law, reminding her that Boaz is their relative (vv. 1-2).She knew that Boaz was winnowing barley in his threshing floor, and would be sleeping that night at the floor.Therefore she told Ruth to wash and anoint herself, be clothed in her best garment and go down to the threshing floor, but wait until Boaz had laid down to sleep before uncovering his feet and lying down at his feet(vv.3-4). These instructions may seem strange to us.
However, Naomi knew of two laws in Israel on which she based her advice to Ruth. Leviticus 25:25 is explicit that an inheritance might be redeemed by the nearest relative who was able to redeem it.The property had belonged to Elimelech, but through his poverty it had been sold.If Naomi had the money for it, she could redeem it, otherwise a near relative could redeem it.
The other law pertained to a man of Israel who had died without children (Deuteronomy 25:5).His brother was to marry the wife of the deceased to raise up children for him.The word "brother" was used for any close male relative. Since Ruth's husband (an Israelite) had died, then Ruth, though a Gentile, could be brought into the congregation through a relative who had the right of redemption.Ruth did as Naomi told her, thus lying down at the feet of Boaz (vv.6-7). This is a picture of the godly remnant of Israel in the latter days virtually creeping to the feet of the Lord Jesus, in total submission to Him, yet to boldly claim His protection.
The time of harvest was a wonderful time in Israel when the crop was good, and the harvest is often spoken of in scripture as the gathering in of people by the grace of God, whether the wheat gathered into the barn, which speaks of heaven (Matthew 13:30) or whether (in the tribulation period) the bringing of Gentiles into earthly blessing by way of great suffering (Revelation 14:14).Usually the harvest emphasizes the blessing of Gentiles, and the vintage the blessing of Israel (Revelation 14:17).
At midnight Boaz was awakened and startled to find a woman lying at his feet (v. 8).When he questioned her, Ruth responded, "I am Ruth, your maidservant.Take your maid servant under your wing, for you are a close relative."The wing speaks of protection, which Israel had for centuries ignored, that is, the protection of their true Messiah, who wept over Jerusalem, saying, "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37).All that was necessary was for Ruth to be willing, in order that she would have the protection of Boaz.
How it must have moved the heart of Ruth to hear the response of Boaz, "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" (v. 10).The Lord Jesus deeply values the faith and love of those who have a single eye for Him.Boaz was evidently a wise man who, though he loved Ruth, did not press his love upon her, but waited to find out if she loved him.Now the answer was plainly before his eyes.Ruth did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.There are popular, new movements that attract many people who fail to see in Christ the real answer to their needs. Some of these movements favor the "poor,"Out of sympathy for the poor, because of their poverty, they champion a cause that seems praiseworthy, but leaves out the Lord Jesus.Other movements are "rich," promising wealth and ease to those who will follow, but again do not recognize Christ. In fact, the antichrist will be such a leader, claiming even to be "God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3). But the godly remnant of Israel will not be deceived by him, for their hearts have been drawn to the true Messiah of Israel.
Boaz gave Ruth every encouragement, telling her not to fear, for he would do all that she requested, for all the people of his town knew that Ruth was a virtuous woman (v. 11). However, he told her that though he was a close relative, there was a closer relative than he, who therefore should have the opportunity of redeeming the property of Naomi.Boaz would give him the opportunity the next morning, and promised Ruth that if the other relative would not perform the duty of a close relative, then Boaz would do it (v. 13).
At the word of Boaz, Ruth laid down till early morning, rising before it was light.Then Boaz told her not to let it be known that a woman had come in to the threshing floor (v. 14).Why not? Because the matter was to be thoroughly personal between Boaz and Ruth.Others who did not know the facts might be inclined to interpret Ruth's presence in the threshing floor with suspicion of wrong doing in spite of the words of Boaz that all the people knew that Ruth was a virtuous woman.
The grace of Boaz was further seen toward both Ruth and Naomi in his giving Ruth six measures of barley (already threshed), which she carried in her shawl (v. 15). This would not be a light load, but with her heart so affected, it would not seem heavy to her.
When she came to her mother-in-law, Naomi did not ask the same question as in chapter 2:19, "What have you gleaned today," but rather, "Who art thou, my daughter?" (KJV). Some translators have changed this because it did not sound right to them, but Naomi wanted to know if there was any change in Ruth's relationship to Boaz.In other words, was Ruth to have a change of name? Ruth then told Naomi all that had taken place, and also of the kindness of Boaz toward both her and her mother-in-law in giving them food.
The faith of Naomi in Boaz had been so long awakened that she was confident that Boaz would not rest until he had made a complete settlement of this matter. Ruth then could "sit still" and depend fully on the faithfulness of Boaz. Believers today also need such advice in reference to many problems which can never be ironed out by their own wisdom or work."Be still" (Psalms 46:10); "Stand still" (Exodus 14:1); and "Sit still" (v. 18) are words to often keep in mind.When Ruth had put her affairs in the hand of Boaz, then in faith she could leave them there, and depend on him to do the very best for her.Let us have such confidence in our Lord.