BIBLE STUDIES ARCHIVE.....RUTH 3

The Book of Ruth, Part 3

To quickly review the Ruth Studies 1 and 2, we find the first chapter of the Book of Ruth introduced us to Ruth and Naomi and what they do in a very desperate situation. Ruth made a commitment to leave her land and go home to Bethlehem with her mother in law after the deaths of their husbands. So they leave the land of Moab and journey back to Bethlehem.
In the second study, we see the whole scene flows into the fields of Bethlehem where Ruth gleans scraps of barley behind the reapers just to survive. In her first day on this ancient welfare program, she meets Boaz, the owner of the fields. Boaz becomes very interested in Ruth and admires her for being a Moabite woman who is willing to leave her home where pagan gods are worshipped and she comes to trust the God of Israel. Boaz heard about her love for her mother in law and he respects the integrity of Ruth. He even has the reapers drop handfuls of grain for her to glean and bring home a bounty of food for Naomi and herself. When they were face to face with one another in the fields, romance begins. Now the most interesting part is that Boaz is a relative of Naomi's deceased husband, Elimelech. Refer back to the important cultural concepts of Ancient Israel section in the first study. {Check the archive section at the bottom of the website.} Refresh your understanding of Levirate Marriage. This authorized that a widow could marry her deceased husband's next, eldest, single relative.

Let's see what happens now in Chapter 3:

This chapter takes place at the threshing floors. This is when the harvest draws to an end. The harvest is almost past. The chances now of seeing Boaz on a regular basis are almost over.

Notice in this first verse of Chapter 3 that Naomi says to her daughter in law - "My daughter shall I not seek rest for thee". She cares for Ruth as her very own daughter and this simply means that Naomi is saying to Ruth, my daughter "it's time I find you a husband who will give you a home and take care of you." Boaz is the answer to the problem. Right place, right time, how divine!!!

Verses 2 - 6 tell us this:
Naomi tells Ruth to take a bath, put on some perfume, put on her best clothes and look beautiful. She instructs Ruth to go to the threshing floors, as Boaz would be there. She tells her to wait until he has finished eating and drinking and then to watch where he was going to spend the night. Then she tells her when he is asleep, to lift the covers over his feet and lie down at his feet. Naomi is clear on saying that Boaz will then tell Ruth what to do.
Naomi realized that Ruth must make this move. Boaz knew she was a beautiful young woman and he was much older and most likely thought she would not be interested in him. This is so interesting, as Ruth is instructed to PROPOSE to Boaz. Ruth knew that Boaz could be her "kinsman redeemer". Sometimes God says to us, it's time for us to make a decision. We must at times act on the invitations placed before us.

So Ruth does as her mother in law Naomi instructs. She goes to tell Boaz she loves him and wants to marry him. By being honest and obedient about her feelings, God blesses her for it.
Ruth waits until Boaz is full with a meal and happy and watches where he lies down to sleep. She goes over to him while he is sleeping and lifts up the covers and lies down at his feet.
This was considered to be morally proper and acceptable in their society and culture to act out the proposal in this manner. It was a symbolic act that showed a desire of marriage.
We can clearly see here that in the field, Ruth gleaned for herself and her mother in law, but at the threshing floor Ruth gave of herself.

As we walk forward in our Christian lives, we should take what was willfully given us by our Lord Jesus and mature into giving of ourselves.

In Scripture we see that the threshing floor speaks of separation and sacrifice. At the threshing floor, the reapers would take the grain and throw it into the air and the wind would sift out the wheat from the chaff. This would leave the good seed on the ground to glean and harvest as the wind blows the chaff away.

If we go to Luke 22:31 we see that Jesus uses the analogy of the threshing floor when he tells Peter that Satan sought to sift him like wheat on the eve of his betrayal. In the book of Judges 6 we see that at the threshing floor Gideon was hiding from the Midianites that God commissioned him for service.

When we think about the tomb where Jesus lay, we see what Christ has done for us, so we see this place and it becomes vital that we go to the threshing floor and offer ourselves to Him, just as Ruth did with her kinsman redeemer Boaz. JESUS IS OUR KINSMAN REDEEMER. Jesus covers us with HIS Blood.

Let's reflect solidly on this. Ruth, a gentile and stranger in the land of Bethlehem, where Jesus would be born years later, met Boaz her kinsman redeemer and saw her as a "virtuous woman".

Boaz takes a gentile woman and makes her his bride. Jesus, our Bridegroom calls us to Himself, and makes us His bride.

So as the story unfolds in Chapter 3 Boaz is awakened at the stroke of midnight by the presence of Ruth at his feet. The Bible says he is shocked (verse 8) to see a woman lying at his feet and asks, "who are you?" She mentions she is Ruth and that he is the relative who is supposed to take care of her. So she desires him to spread the cover over her.

(Sometimes at the midnight hour in our lives, when all things seem like they are going wrong, Jesus covers us with HIS precious Blood and makes things right.) Boaz remarks at how truly loyal she is to her family and to the God of Israel. He states that she could have looked at any of the young handsome men in the fields, but she did not. He claims to her that he will do everything that she asks and that all those in the town respected her. Boaz then instructs her to stay until just before daylight. Boaz did not want anyone to know she had been there. Before she leaves, he fills her with a bountiful of blessings by asking her to spread out her cape and fills it with lots of grain.

Verse 15 tells us that Ruth runs home and tells Naomi of all the happenings.
Now in verse 12 there is a slight problem, but Boaz promises to take care of it. It was true that he was one of the relatives who were eligible to care for Ruth, but someone who was an even closer relative was also available. In verse 18 Naomi tells Ruth not to worry and to be patient, as Boaz would not rest until everything was settled.

This is so romantic. You can imagine what Ruth might be thinking. She loves Boaz and doesn't want to marry another relative. Another test for her to pass; as whenever there are obstacles we must stand firm on the rock and trust God to work out all the details. He is the God who "is in the process of working all things for our good according to His will" according to Romans 8:28

What a cycle of love in this beautiful love story. It is a strong and inseparable love between a mother in law and a daughter in law. It is the story of a love of a man and a woman; a story of God's love for HIS people of Israel, and a story of God's love for all people. God is victorious and there is no obstacle He cannot overcome, through His Grace, Mercy, Love and Power

He can change our lives and circumstances.
We can see here, that sometimes when the pressure of having to make a decision is placed upon us, we must seek God's will and the purpose He has for us. Our Kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ, calls us to commit our lives to Him. We are to call on Him for salvation. He loves us so much, He gives us the gift of eternal life, and so we can certainly trust Him with our daily struggles.

Watching God work in all the situations in this beautiful love story display His GLORY.
Next month, we will see what happens in the 4th and final chapter of the beautiful love story in the Book of Ruth. We will see what happened when Boaz approaches the relative who could be first in line to receive Ruth in marriage.