Ruth 3

Tragedy can get your attention, challenge you, and deepen your thoughts about your relationship with the Lord. I will always remember the phone call I received one night.

At the other end of the line was a young man in our church who had just become a surgeon. His wife, an internal medicine doctor, enjoyed a successful career in our community. Together, you would think that if anyone could save a life, they could. But that night, they could not.

Their new daughter, who had been sleeping between them, stopped breathing during the night. Somehow, the doctors were awakened that something was not right. Instantly, they both tried all their medical techniques to revive her, but nothing worked. Suddenly, the happiness of life ran headlong into the stone-cold reality of loss. That is when they called me.

That pastoral call was one of the toughest ones I have ever made. How do you console the unconsolable? You share some Scripture, pray, tell them you love them, and embrace them. The funeral for little Emily was another challenging endeavor I led. How do you give hope in a seemingly hopeless situation? You point people to our great God, who always loves and works in our lives, even when tears blur our eyes and even when our finite minds cannot fathom what has just occurred. Paul, who faced his share of victories and tragedies, wrote in Romans 8: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28).

The Lui family chose to live in light of Paul’s divinely ordered promise. I am sure the heartbreak of losing their first child never left them, but it did not shipwreck their faith. They stayed close to the Lord and each other. They stayed in the Word instead of straying from it. They continued to love the Lord they knew loved them, and in due time, the Lord blessed them with children.

Not every saint handles tragedy like this. Naomi did not. Famine drove her and her family out of Bethlehem to Moab. Within time, she lost her dear husband. Within time, her two sons, her pride and joy, married Moabite women, but in short order, she stood over their graves with her two daughters-in-law. Within time, she, a God-fearing woman, headed empty-handed and destitute back to Bethlehem while challenging her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab and hopefully experience the “hesed” or loving care of God Almighty (Ruth 1:8).

The problem was that Naomi did not sense God’s loving, protective care over her life. She worried and wondered if God’s hesed had permanently left her. It is a question I am sure the Lui family asked many times. Perhaps you are asking it right now. This is a question that the short book will answer definitively.

At the end of chapter one, we encounter a bitter saint who thought God was not for but against her because of life’s losses (Ruth 1:13). At the close of chapter one, however, hesed, the primary Hebrew word of the book, surfaces in the actions of Ruth. She promises to give up all family and friends in Moab, travel to the land of her enemy, and forgo ever getting married again so that she can love Naomi in her brokenness.

In chapter two, God’s hesed, or loving, loyal care for His saints, suddenly emerges in the darkness of Naomi and Ruth’s sad situation as Ruth just happened to glean in the field of a well-off, highly respected, and family member named Boaz. It did not take Naomi long to connect the divinely ordered sovereign dots in her depression. Here was a relative of her late husband (Ruth 2:1), who could, according to the dictates of the Mosaic Law, give both of them a better future by marrying Ruth. However, would he fulfill the Law? It looked like he would after she learned how much food he allowed Ruth to bring home on the first day. It was enough to feed them for weeks. What a blessing beyond what was anticipated from a poor woman gleaning after the gleaners.

With a divinely ordered flash of insight that broke through her depression and darkness, Naomi stopped and saw all of this as the hesed, or the loving care of the Lord who had not forgotten her or Ruth in their loss (Ruth 2:20). On the contrary, God had worked marvelously through their adversity to bring blessing for that ultimately is what hesed calls for. It is just Naomi’s time to see it, and with that insight, she is now back on track, trusting God’s perfect leadership in her life and Ruth’s, too.

Maybe you can relate. Adversity has taken its toll on your spiritual walk, leaving you wondering where the God of love, protection, and provision is. In due time, as the Lui family experienced along with Naomi and Ruth, you will see that God’s loving care for us never leaves and is always working to bless us. What should we do as we begin to see His holy hand moving profoundly so that He may bless us after a time of test?

I will tell you what Naomi did. Loyal, sacrificial love moved her to give up the one person who had stuck with her in her old age, Ruth. How did she propose to give her up? By playing a matchmaker to a degree. If you think watching a show like The Bachelorette is fun and exciting, but it has nothing in relation to the love story we encounter in Chapter 3. Here, we have a godly mother-in-law who has moved from darkness and destitution to light and the prospects of provision because God has permitted her to see suddenly and understand how lovingly He has been working behind the scenes to bless His saints.

Now, what would she do? What would Ruth do? What would Boaz do? All of them will do what you should do when you suddenly understand how God’s loving hand has never left you but is working to bless you: you courageously and sacrificially go forward while patiently waiting for God to fulfill that blessing. We watch this motif unfold in the tension and suspense of this tremendous passage. Six chronological narrative panels develop this concept.

The Concern (Ruth 3:1)

Realizing that Boaz’s generosity toward Ruth and her demonstrated that he was a man devoted to hesed, Naomi surmised he, a bachelor, would probably be open to sacrificing his well-ordered life to obey the Mosaic Law, by marrying Ruth, a somewhat distant family member. What did Ruth have going for her? Not much by Israelite standards: She was a Moabitess, a descendant of Israel’s ancient enemy. She had been barren for over ten years (Ruth 1:4), and in a culture that placed a premium value on having children, this reality was not a favorable draw. In a culture where fathers typically negotiated marriages, she had no one to speak up for her. She did not have a dowry. Socially, she did not have connections in town to speak of. Financially, she did not have anything to offer.

However, Naomi looked past all these deficiencies because she knew God Almighty’s lovingkindness was at work in the life of this young Moabitess. She had grit and godliness. She had loyalty and love. She had obedience and courage. Yes, she possessed the characteristics that any man worth his spiritual salt would desire. So, Naomi courageously stepped out to position Ruth for a potentially life-changing event in light of what looked like the sovereign blessing of God.

¹ Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? (Ruth 3)

The Hebrew word for “security,” manoah (מָנוֹחַ ), literally refers to a resting place. We encounter it in Genesis 8:9, where Moses talks about how the dove could not find a place to land during the Noahic flood. Naturally, this word eventually came to denote the family home. It was where a person found rest, protection, and provision. Obviously, Naomi looked at her old age and realized nothing worse could happen to Ruth than for her to be a childless widow in a foreign land. So, she, who knew the Law of Moses concerning widows, courageously and selflessly set a plan in motion to position Ruth to become the husband of Boaz. I say courageously because Naomi had no idea how Boaz would respond. I say selflessly because Naomi could have enjoyed Ruth’s loyalty, care, and friendship until she died. However, her loyal love for God’s unfolding plan and Ruth moved her to turn loose of her daughter-in-law by placing her near the man who could give her a great life.

The next panel introduces us to the matchmaker’s plan:

The Command (Ruth 3:2-4)

First, let us read what Naomi proposed and then reevaluate and offer some salient observations:

² “And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. ³ “Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴ “And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.” (Ruth 3)

As a kinsman, Boaz, the bachelor, was possibly divinely positioned to fulfill his obligation to the Law by marrying the widow, Ruth. So, what did Naomi propose to perhaps set up a future marriage?

First, she did some recon work and knew precisely where Boaz would be that particular night. He was not always on the threshing floor, but he would on this specific evening. Smart woman. I am sure you have heard the saying, “Let go and let God.” That is far from biblical. When God moves profoundly and purposefully in your life, you, like Naomi, cannot sit idly by. However, like Abraham, Moses, or Joshua, you must courageously move out in faith for what it appears God is promoting. This counsel is a significant statement that Naomi’s tragedy is moving toward triumph because she sees the loving hand of her loyal Lord at work.

Second, Naomi told Ruth to get cleaned up and put on her best clothes, which were probably inexpensive given that she was dirt-poor. However, the idea was to at least look her best for the mission at hand.

Third, Naomi wanted Ruth to remain hidden near the threshing floor and only come out and lie down at Boaz’s feet after he finished eating and drinking and settled down for the night. How could Ruth hide? That is simple. Large piles of grain would be stacked all over the place, and men typically reclined on them to sleep so they could be quickly awakened in case a thief showed up.

Fourth, Naomi instructed Ruth to uncover Boaz’s feet when she lay down. Why? To cause him to wake up when his feet became cold.

Would you send a defenseless young woman on a mission like this? Was it risky? Yes. However, it was worth it, for Ruth needed a way, as a widow, to quietly approach Boaz and ask him to consider being loyal to God’s Law and marry her. By doing this, she did not lose face, and Boaz would not if he decided not to be the kinsman redeemer.

I do not know what providential plan God is unfolding before you as He leads you out of the darkness caused by adversity, but I do know that you might need to devise a (crazy) plan to connect the dots that God appears to be laying out before you. How did Ruth respond to Naomi’s out-of-the-box plan based on the Law of Moses? Read on and see.

The Conformity (Ruth 3:5-6)

⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say I will do.” ⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. (Ruth 3)

What a woman. She was so loyal to her mother-in-law that she was willing to execute this plan to the letter. But once she did, it unfolded in an amusing fashion I label as . . .

The Chaos (Ruth 3:7-9)

Moreover, you thought the Bible was boring? Think again.

⁷ When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. ⁸ And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹ And he said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” (Ruth 3)

Did anything happen sexually? Short answer: no. It does seem like Naomi placed Ruth in a situation that could have gone sexually south in quick order, but it did not. Why? Ruth was a godly young woman, and Boaz was a godly older man with a fine reputation in the community. Both wanted what God wanted above all else because both of them, as we shall see, sensed the sovereign movement of God in their lives. It was, therefore, a holy moment, and neither one desired to sully it with sexual activity.

What occurred in the dead of night was as unpredictable as amusing. Boaz’s uncovered feet caused him to shiver in the cold, toss and turn on his “bed” of grain, and slowly wake up to readjust the covers. Looking down at his feet, he saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a woman. He asked what you godly men would have asked, “Who are you,” with emphasis on the “you.”

Ruth quickly piped up in the darkness, “I am Ruth your maid.” Her identifying statement drips with humility. She is just a servant, and he is the master; hence, she is below him, and he is culturally above her. Humility. What an excellent characteristic in a world with its share of bridezillas. Young men, if you are looking for a wife to be, of all the things you are considering in a woman of worth, you can do no better than to find one who is humble. A humble person is teachable, respectful, and a joy to be around. That was Ruth.

At this juncture, Ruth broke with her mother-in-law’s counsel and courageously challenged Boaz to make a decision. Interesting. Naomi told her to wait for Boaz to tell her what to do once he realized who she was, but Ruth, knowing that God’s loving hand was working overtime in this situation, could not help but step out in faith with her proposal:

“So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative” (Ruth 3:9).

Some translations, like the NIV, translate the Hebrew here to “spread out the corner of your garment over me.” Others, like the NKJV, translate the verb as “take your maidservant under your wing.” I opt for this latter reading because the verb, according to Hollyday’s Hebrew Lexicon, primarily denotes the wing of a bird:

פָּרַשׂ: qal: pf. פּ׳, פָּרַשְׂתִּי; impf. יִפְרֹשׂ, וָאֶפְרְשָׂה, וַיִּפְרְשֵׂהוּ; pt. פֹּ(וֹ)רֵשׂ, pl. cs. פֹּרְשֵׂי, pass. פָּרֻשׂ, פְּרֻשִׂים: — 1. spread out (trans.): obj. wings 1K 6₂₇, tent Ex 40₁₉; metaph. flaunt (obj. folly) Pr 13₁₆; — 2. p¹ra´ kappayim spread the hands (in prayer) 1K 8₃₈; — 3. obj. y¹dô stretch out one’s hand (to seize) La 1₁₀, obj. kapp¹h (to help) Pr 31₂₀; — 4. p¹ra´ = p¹ras: break (bread) La 4₄, break (bones) to pieces Mi 3₃.

Interestingly, this is a synonym Boaz used in 2:12 to describe how Ruth’s journey to Israel placed her under Yahweh’s protective wing. The difference now is that Ruth asks Boaz to fulfill this statement by stepping up to the plate and fulfilling Mosaic Law concerning helpless widows by marrying her. You know, when God’s loyal love is moving clearly, sometimes it calls for you to become the fulfillment of that movement, even if it costs you dearly.

Levirate law required a brother to marry his deceased brother’s wife to ensure an heir would keep his branch of the family name alive. Obviously, from the book of Ruth, we learn that this levirate law extended beyond a brother in some cases, for Boaz was not the brother of Ruth’s late husband. He was just a (distant) relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, but the Law still applied to him, and he knew it. What would he do? Would he trade away his well-ordered, predictable, and quiet life for one with a Moabite woman one of his family members married when the family sinfully left Israel during a prolonged season?

Ruth was no wallflower. Far from it. She knew the Law, and her love of the Lord and His Law motivated her to challenge Boaz to fulfill the Law by becoming her goel ( גֹאֵ֖ל), or kinsman redeemer (Ruth 3:9). This law called for the closest kin to step in and purchase land his kinsman was forced to sell because of hard times. Both of these laws involved extreme sacrifice, personally and financially. Ideally, both were based on the concept of loyal, sacrificial, caring love, love that will do the unthinkable, love that will do the hard thing so that a need is met by someone equipped to do it. Ruth, a helpless and destitute family member, asked Boaz to be that man of loyal love because he was in a position to do so.

As a side note, who cannot see the gospel of Jesus here? We, like Ruth, are spiritually destitute and helpless, incapable of saving ourselves from our dire spiritual predicament because of inherited sin from Adam (Rom. 5:12-21). Boaz is the great Christ-type. He is wealthy, powerful, and generous. However, most of all, He is lovingly sacrificial and capable of redeeming those who cry out for His redemption.

As we shall see, Boaz will not let Ruth down . . . nor will he let us down in how he fulfills the image of Christ. He heard the challenge, wedded it to the Word of God, and knew in his heart what loyal love called him to do. All of this leads to what I call . . .

The Confession (Ruth 3:10-13)

How Boaz responded was refreshing:

¹⁰ Then he said, “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.

He did not feel entrapped or manipulated by two crafty women. On the contrary, he felt blessed to be in the presence of a woman of Ruth’s caliber. That is why he asked God to bless her. After all, she had shown what hesed looked like when she courageously left her people and the security of her nation to travel to Israel with little to no money to live with an old, unemployable widow, Naomi. Now, the care she demonstrated by coming to him privately at night to give him the option to follow the Law or not allowed him to save face if necessary. It also showed him she had made a tremendous personal sacrifice to lay at his feet that evening. She was equally brave when she lovingly called him to obey the Law of God. Instead of resenting any of this, he was moved by it because he, too, saw the Lord’s fingerprints all over the situation. Since he was somewhat older, he knew Ruth could have sought after any of the younger men in town, but she did not because she wanted to be loyal to God’s Word. How could Boaz not love a woman like this?

Seeing her bold faith moved Boaz not only to verbalize a divine blessing on her, but he turned and evidenced the heart of hesed by saying . . .

¹¹ “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.

Up to this point, fear was the emotion Ruth knew too well. Fear of being alone the rest of her life. Fear of never having enough to eat. Fear of being unable to buy clothes, shoes, or even pay for a decent living place. Fear of how she would glean if she injured herself. Now, a man stood before her who could take fear forever off her table. Moreover, why would he do it for a barren, poor, and foreign widow? He knew she was a kin, and he knew the Law. Further, he learned from the talk of the town that Ruth was a woman of excellence. The Hebrew word, chayil חַ֖יִל) ) was used in Ruth 2:1 to denote Boaz as a man of great wealth. That is one usage. The primary usage, however, indicates a person of great capacity. If you want to read what a woman of chayil looks like, flip over to Proverbs 31, where this word describes this type of woman in detail for thirty-one straight verses. This woman possessed not only a stellar character, unlike so many today, but she was a creative, hard-working, multi-tasker who was the poster child for one who got things done. Gentlemen. That is the kind of godly woman you want to marry, and that was Ruth. Boaz knew this.

Based on this, Boaz informed Ruth he would love to fulfill his obligation to the Law, but he knew a family member was next in line before him to be the kinsman redeemer.

¹² “And now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. ¹³ “Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. However, if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning.” (Ruth 3)

What a classy man of profound, abiding spiritual principles. Here was a woman he would love to marry after being a bachelor for many lonely years, but he could not disobey the Law of God by not letting the rightful kinsman at least know of the opportunity. Amazing. This, again, is a picture of what hesed living is all about. It is loving others sacrificially, even if it costs you something of great worth. However, Boaz is not about to let Ruth wonder about his feelings toward her. If given the chance, he will sacrifice his life and possessions to care for her needs. He counseled her to remain at his feet until the morning. There was no sense in walking in the darkness back to Bethlehem. I am sure neither one slept a wink that night as they contemplated how God would move the next day.

The Consequences (Ruth 3:14-18)

No sooner did Boaz finish his promise to Ruth than we read of the following consequences:

¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Boaz wanted to guard his integrity and that of Ruth, so he made this statement. Gossip would spread like wildfire in a small town like Bethlehem, and Boaz did not want that because his conscience was clean before God. He desired to protect their godly character as a couple because nothing had happened on the threshing floor but a deep, life-changing conversation between people who loved God.

Before Boaz sent Ruth out, he made another hesed move:

¹⁵ Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

He took her cloak and filled it with barley. The precise Hebrew measurement is not given, but it could not have been an ephah. Six ephahs would have weighed over one hundred pounds. It was probably six seahs of barley, which would have weighed around 88 pounds. Ruth was one tough woman. Boaz was a man full of hesed. We see it in how he lavishly cared for the less fortunate. How do you live? Are you a hesed saint as God moves you from tragedy to triumph?

I wish I could have heard this conversation:

¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?”

After our first date, Liz was in her bathroom putting on her makeup when her inquisitive mother stopped by and said, “How did it go?” Liz responded, “I do not like him, but I know I am going to marry him.” Wow. Talk about sacrificial, loyal love for the less fortunate.

Ruth did not waste any time giving Naomi all the amazing details of the memorable evening:

Moreover, she told her all that the man had done for her. ¹⁷ And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'”

The word empty-handed is used in Ruth 1:21, where Naomi spoke about returning to Bethlehem empty-handed. Yes, it was the word that described how she used to feel when she wrongly thought God’s loyal love had deserted her when she lost her husband, sons, and secure future. Back then, depression and darkness were the order of the day as her faith wobbled; however, now that she had seen the providential hand of God so clearly at work, she knew that God was with her and Naomi to accomplish a wonderful thing. This was why she courageously and sacrificially moved forward with the threshing floor plan. Now, she knew it was time to wait on God. That is why she offered this closing remark:

¹⁸ Then she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.” (Ruth 3)

Hold tight, the godly woman says. Hold tight because God was up to something.

The same holds true in your life. Tragedy may have robbed you of the joy of knowing God’s protective and provisional love is over your life. It is there, as it was in Naomi and Ruth’s lives. In due time, God will move to show you through a series of circumstances that He is sovereignly working to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. He will do this because He loves you and wants the best. What should you do as you watch the sovereign dots start to pop up? Step out in faith like Naomi and Ruth and see what God has in store.