Ruth 3:1-18 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ruth 3:1-18. Let’s go!
Ruth 3:1-9 (NIV)
1 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?
2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.
8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
On verses 1-9: Here the love story between Boaz and Ruth is about to go to another level quickly. Why would Ruth, as per Naomi’s instructions, uncover Boaz’s feet? Some try to argue that Ruth was trying to seduce Boaz and offered herself sexually to him, and that “feet” is another term for Boaz’s private parts. But considering that the threshing floor was a public area where other people were present, it’s unlikely that Ruth was trying to do anything sexual with Boaz in the middle of the threshing floor. Moreover, if Boaz and Ruth were as noble and God fearing as they appear to be in the rest of the book of Ruth, it is even more unlikely and inconsistent for either of them to try to have sex with one another before actually being legally married.
So if Ruth’s uncovering of Boaz’s feet was not sexual, what was she doing and what did it mean? Ruth placing herself at the feet of Boaz was certainly an interesting way for Ruth to propose marriage, but at its heart it was an act of submission. It was Ruth saying to Boaz, “I am your servant, ready to serve you.” And indeed that is what she says in verse 9: “I am your servant Ruth”. It’s similar to when King David sought the hand of Abigail in marriage, and Abigail bowed down with her face to the ground saying, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve you and wash the feet of my master’s servants.” (1 Samuel 25:41)
In other words, Ruth didn’t selfishly demand that Boaz marry her and redeem her as her kinsman redeemer. Instead, Ruth humbly came to Boaz as a servant, submitting herself totally to Boaz and trusting in the goodness of God and her kinsman redeemer to do what was best.
Remember that Boaz is a picture for Jesus and Ruth is a picture for the church. So let me ask you: When you approach Jesus our kinsman redeemer, do you come to Him with a selfish, impatient, self-entitled attitude and demand “Give me what I want”? Or do you come to Jesus with a humble, trusting attitude and say, “Lord, I’m at your service, and I trust You.”
Just as Ruth fell at Boaz’s feet and made herself available to him, if you really want Jesus to do His redeeming work in your life, you need to fall at His feet, make yourself available to Him and ask Him to work in your life. Just knowing that He can is not enough. You need to ask Him. As James says, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2), while Jesus says, “Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door shall be open.” (Luke 11:9)
Ruth 3:10-14 (NIV)
10 “The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.
12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I.
13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
On verses 10-14: Ruth had approached Boaz, saying “I am your servant Ruth” (v9). But here Boaz in turn serves Ruth. He protects her during the night (v13-14). Later he will give her six measures of barley to take home to her mother-in-law (v15).
What can we learn from this? What makes any relationship great is when both sides are committed to serving one another. Think about your marriage or another important relationship in your life. Who is the one doing the serving? If both of you are committed to serving one another, that is a recipe for happiness and fruitfulness in your relationship. If, on the other hand, you are mainly focused on being served, you’re not only being unfair to the other person, but you and the other person will not have a happy or healthy relationship. Watching the way Boaz and Ruth are committed to serving one another is a great example of what a healthy, happy, God-glorifying looks like.
Ruth 3:15-18 (NIV)
15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her
17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
On verses 10-18: Why did Boaz give Ruth exactly six measures of barley? It was code for Naomi. Just as God finished creating the world in 6 days and then rested on the 7th day, Boaz was saying, “I will not rest until I get this sorted out. I will let you know very soon if I can be your kinsman redeemer or not.” When Naomi hears about the 6 measures of barley, Naomi gets it. That’s why in verse 18 she says, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
What’s a lesson we can learn from this? When someone approaches you about wanting to be in a relationship, don’t delay too long in giving them an answer. Either say yes or no, but don’t leave the other person hanging too long. When you know it’s not right, end it. When you know it’s right, go for it.
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for all the powerful lessons about relationships from this passage. Like Ruth and Boaz, may I committed to serving those I love, and not just being served. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
