Greetings. In our series on the book of Ruth we have come to part of the story where Ruth has come under the protection of a man name Boaz, in whose field she has been gleaning. And Naomi is excited about this man Boaz, because he can (if he wants to) redeem them and make them his own, preserving their name and securing provision for them. And so she begins to play the role of matchmaker. Look at…Ruth 3:1-6 ESV-- 1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you,...
Greetings. In our series on the book of Ruth we have come to part of the story where Ruth has come under the protection of a man name Boaz, in whose field she has been gleaning. And Naomi is excited about this man Boaz, because he can (if he wants to) redeem them and make them his own, preserving their name and securing provision for them. And so she begins to play the role of matchmaker. Look at…
Ruth 3:1-6 ESV-- 1 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.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.
Wash, Anoint, & Put On— Now keep in mind that Ruth had (like every widow did), gone through a period of mourning over her husband’s death, not wearing perfume and wearing mourning clothes. But now the time of mourning was over. Naomi tells her to wash, anoint, and put on. And so she does.
Imagine being Ruth at night-- Now just imagine being Ruth; wrapping yourself in a cloak and sneaking out of Bethlehem eastwards toward the threshing floor. And she’s moving stealthily, trying to hide her face from anyone who might recognize her. And, approaching the threshing floor, she enters quietly without making herself known. And Boaz and his men are threshing. And after they are finished, they begin turning in for the night, grabbing some dinner and going to bed. And verse 7 says...
Ruth 3:7 ESV-- 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. {And the reason she lays at his feet is to demonstrate her dependence on him.}
Cold Feet— Now I think that most of the men in our congregation are taller than their wives. And usually that is helpful, but not always; especially when it comes to how your wife makes the bed because the end of the bed doesn’t really matter too much for your wife. She rarely, if ever comes into contact with it. However, for tall guys like me, there is always a danger of my feet sticking out the bottom. And many of you guys know exactly what I mean. You can’t sleep like that. You gotta have those feet covered! My wife will reserve a little material to tuck under the foot of the bed, but not much. When I make the bed, I like to get a lot more of the end under that mattress to ensure that my feet aren’t going to get exposed. Because few things are more uncomfortable than having your feet exposed while you’re trying to sleep. And men, if you wake up to exposed feet, what do you do? You try to bend a little to kind of suck those babies back in. Especially on some of the nights we have been having lately. Now verse 8 says...
Ruth 3:8-9 ESV— 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, {the Hebrew is actually “bent forward”. And this makes sense. The night is getting colder and his exposed feet are getting more uncomfortable. So he is startled and bends forward. And what does he see?…)} and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant.
Shipkah and ‘ Amah-- Now in the English we kind of lose what is going on. For us “servant” is “servant”. But in Hebrew there are actually two words for servant. There’s “‘amah” and then there’s “shipkhah”. Now remember that before Ruth called herself a servant in 2:13; she called herself a “shipkhah”, which was a slave-servant with few rights. She didn’t have to take that title, but she did out of humility and respect. But notice that here she no longer calls herself “shipkhah”. She calls herself “‘amah”, which is a maidservant who could enjoy the privileges of being in an Israelite household (e.g.,Ex. 20:10) and could give birth to an heir (see Gen. 30:3–4, 9). And so she (like many girls do today) is dropping her guy a hint. “I am no longer shipkhah. No,.......I am ‘amah. You can claim me. I have that right. Now remember that verse from Ezekiel 16 we just read a few moments ago?...
Ezekiel 16:8 (ESV)— 8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.
The Talith & Prayer— In that culture every man would wear a prayer shawl called a “Talith”. And the word TALITH contains two Hebrew words; TAL meaning tent and ITH meaning little. Thus, you have LITTLE TENT. Each man had his own little tent. Six million Jews could not fit into the tent of meeting that was set up in the Old Testament. Therefore, what was given to them was their own private sanctuary where they could meet with God. They would pull it up over their head and pray and chant privately to God. And so the Talith became known as their prayer closet! That’s right. When Jesus talks about going into your closet to pray, he is not talking about a literal room in your house; He is referring to the Jewish custom of going into your Talith to pray secretly, as opposed to those who want to make their identity known while they pray publicly.
The Talith & Marriage— Now the Talith also has significance for marriage. Jewish weddings are sometimes performed under a prayer shawl held up during the ceremony. And in Mid East culture they cast a garment over the person being claimed for marriage. But in Numbers 15:38 the word translated for the border or corner of the tallish is a Hebrew word which can also be translated wings, as it is some seventy-six times in the biblical text. For this reason, the corners of the prayer shawl are often called wings. In Ezekiel 16:8, the Lord speaks to Jerusalem and likewise says, "and I spread my wing over thee, and covered thy nakedness,”] And this is a way of saying that they have come under the talith of God. So you have all this imagery going on. Now in light of that, look at what Ruth asks Boaz to do...
Ruth 3:9b ESV— Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
Wings of Fulfillment— Now remember Boaz had blessed her, saying in 2:12: The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:12 ESV) Well here Ruth is bringing up that same terminology. And what I think she is doing here is incredible. She is saying, “Boaz, I want you to be the fulfillment of your blessing to me. I want you to be God’s wing of protection over me.
Ruth 3:10-11 ESV— 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. {(And listen to how he gives her assurance. He says…)} 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.
A Worthy Woman-- Now that phrase, in Hebrew, is ’eshet khayil. It is the same phrase that is used in Proverbs 31:10 of the “excellent wife” . You see, Ruth fits that description; that rare quality of woman. And not only does Boaz see her this way, but Boaz’s fellow townsmen also see clearly that she is ’eshet khayil an “excellent” woman. And we remember from chapter 2, when Boaz first enters the scene, he is also called “worthy”. So they share the same qualities and are therefore a good match. But there is a problem. Although Boaz is very moved and reassures her that he will do all that she asks (v. 11), he explains in verse 12, saying…
Ruth 3:12-17 ESV— 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.” 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.” {(You see, [Boaz is concerned for propriety and for his and Ruth’s good reputation.])} 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.’”
A Sign to Naomi-- Now Boaz isn’t sending the barley back with Ruth solely for their sustenance. The fact that he gives Ruth such an ample supply was to [confirm his intentions to Naomi (v. 17).] And even in his saying ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”, he is revealing himself to be [the channel of the Lord’s recompense (Ruth 2:12) and kindness (2:20) to Naomi.] as well as to Ruth. He has heard of the new name (Mara/“bitterness”) Naomi had given herself and wants to demonstrate to her that God is not done blessing her. Now Naomi reassures Ruth...
Ruth 3:18 ESV— 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.”
In other words, Boaz is not going to waste any time. Why? Not just because He wants to help, but He is eager to enter into that marriage relationship with Ruth. And that eagerness (just like the eagerness of every man who is betrothed) is a picture of God’s eagerness to enter into a relationship with you and me. Yet sometimes we think of ourselves as Ruth did; as the slave-servant (the shipkhah). But God says, “No, you are nobody’s shipkhah. You are MY ‘amah, for I desire you to dwell in my house; to dwell in My tent; to dwell under the shadow of My wings. I want to envelop you. I sent my Son for that very purpose, that in Him you might be brought into my family. You know, there is an amazing prophecy of Jesus in Malachi 4, which says: But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. (Malachi 4:2 ESV)
The question is, have you receive that spiritual healing; are you living every moment knowing that you dwell under the wings of your Redeemer? If not, you can invite Him today. You can say, “Jesus, throw Your cloak over me. Lay claim to every area of my life. Take all of who I am; all the sin and bitterness that goes with it and make me sweet.” If that is your prayer this morning, as we sing our closing song, enter into your closet (in a spiritual sense) and lift up your heart to Him.
