We heard last week that Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem in Judah because the Lord had blessed that area with better crops and more food. Naomi was still bitter about what had happened to her and Ruth, but was hoping that some relative of her husband, Elimelech, would have sympathy and help them. Ruth was simply eager to start “gleaning” for leftover crops in the Bethlehem area, as the barley season had begun, and she could help Naomi and herself in this way with at least some food. She wor...
We heard last week that Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem in Judah because the Lord had blessed that area with better crops and more food. Naomi was still bitter about what had happened to her and Ruth, but was hoping that some relative of her husband, Elimelech, would have sympathy and help them. Ruth was simply eager to start “gleaning” for leftover crops in the Bethlehem area, as the barley season had begun, and she could help Naomi and herself in this way with at least some food. She worked hard in the fields, following the reapers, and then was noticed by Boaz, a “worthy man” and a relative of Elimelech, as she came to one of his fields.
Boaz had heard of Ruth and how kind she had been to Naomi, her mother-in-law and his distant relative. Boaz then talked with Ruth and invited her to stay and work in his fields. He would make sure that the young men and young women working for him would keep her safe and could even provide water for her when she was thirsty (Ruth 2:8-9). It was very hard work and could be dangerous. See the concern that Naomi mentioned in Ruth 2:21.
Ruth was amazed at the kindness and “favor” of Boaz and bowed down to the ground in respect for him and asked why he was being so kind to a foreigner like her (Ruth 2:10). Boaz explained that he had heard of how much she had helped Naomi and had even left her own father and mother and her own country in order to continue to serve her. Boaz also saw that Ruth had come to trust in the Lord, the One True God, and prayed that Lord would bless her, as she had “taken refuge” in Him (Ruth 2:11-12). Ruth then expressed again her gratefulness to Boaz for his kindness and the “comfort” and hope he had given her, though she was even less than one of his own servants (Ruth 2:13).
Then Boaz even invited Ruth to eat some special food with him and the reapers - a very unusual action for most Jews, at least as practiced in later times. He even provided enough food for Ruth to have extra to share with Naomi, and he told the reapers to leave a little extra for Ruth as she gleaned so that her gleaning would be more successful (Ruth 2:14-16).
Boaz clearly cared about his workers, even eating along with them, and he cared about women in a public way and even a non-Jewish woman. This is almost like a prediction of what God’s own Son, Jesus, would do much later when He came into the world as the compassionate Redeemer for all. Jesus provided “barley” food in abundance in some of His miracles. (See John 6:1-15.) He associated with all sorts of people, even those labeled as “sinners” by the Jewish authorities (Luke 15:1-2). He talked with and shared the Good News with a non-Jewish Samaritan woman in public, and people of her village, even though His own disciples were shocked by it all. (John 4. See especially, v.7-9, 25-30, 39-42.) And as we will see, Jesus actually came from the family line of Boaz and Ruth, who became Boaz’s wife.
Ruth continued gleaning that day and then “beat out” what she had gleaned and had an amazing “ephah” of barley (about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters). Naomi was amazed when Ruth returned home and thanked God for the man who “took notice of her” and helped her. When Naomi found out that it was Boaz, “a close relative,” she was finally realizing that the Lord had not abandoned her or Ruth and His “kindness had not forsaken the living or the dead.” God was still caring for them, even though they had had tragic circumstances (Ruth 2:17-20).
When Ruth also told Naomi that Boaz had advised her to stick with his reapers and women for the whole harvest, Naomi joyfully agreed. Boaz was going to continue to be of help to Ruth and Naomi, his relatives. That is what Ruth did through the barley and the wheat harvest which followed, and she was a great help to Naomi, through the blessing of Boaz, as she continued living with her (Ruth 2:21-23).
By this time, Naomi realized that it was time for her to help Ruth, and herself, by advising Ruth to let Boaz know that she would be willing to marry him. To understand what follows, one needs to know about some Jewish cultural laws and traditions which are briefly described in the Old Testament. Frankly, I do not fully understand them myself because not a lot is said about them and they do not always seem to be followed.
The first idea had to do with property rights. When God allowed the 12 tribes of Israel to enter and posses the promised land, the idea was that the land would stay with each tribe and the various families or “clans” within that tribe. Property rights were passed on only through males of the family, though. In the case of Naomi and Ruth, it seems as if Naomi could possess the property till she died or sold it, but then the property would pass on to some other family and be lost to the family line of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, since there were no male heirs.
There was also, every fifty years, a year of Jubilee, when property rights were reconciled in a complicated way and servants were set free, etc. Again, I do not fully understand all this, but it seems that families with no male heirs would still lose out. (See Scriptures such as Leviticus 25:8-55. In a sense, the property still remained God’s, with His people as His servants.)
To help tribes and family clans, though, God also had a plan called “levirate marriage.” (See Deuteronomy 25:5-10.) If a woman’s husband died and there were no male heirs, then a brother of the dead husband or another male relative should marry her, to keep the family line going and to keep the property within the family. There are not many examples of this actually being done in the Old Testament, and it seems as if brothers could and did refuse to carry out this responsibility, and sometimes were in trouble for failing to do so. There were a few but troublesome situations, too, which I don’t want to get into in this study.
In the case of Naomi, though, she knew that she was too old to be married and have heirs herself. However, her daughter-in-law, Ruth, could be married to an eligible relative of Elimelech and carry on the family line. All this apparently was to follow Old Testament moral standards and marriages that were not of people too closely related.
As Chapter 3 of Ruth began, then, Naomi wanted Ruth to have “rest” and “well being” by being married according to this “levirate marriage” procedure, hopefully with Boaz (Ruth 3:1). Naomi had what sounds to us as a very strange way for Ruth to indicate her willingness to marry Boaz. Landowners would often stay at the threshing floor at night, where barley was “winnowed,” probably to guard against theft or damage to the grain. Ruth was to wash and dress very nicely and go and lie down at the feet of Boaz when he had fallen asleep and uncover his feet.
Ruth was very willing to do this. Over time, she had likely come to have great respect for the kindness and trustworthiness of Boaz and knew he would make a good husband (Ruth 3:2-6). Some modern commentators try to make this event into some kind of sexual immorality, probably based on today’s very low sexual standards. There is no indication of that in the actual passage. The moral standards of both Ruth and Boaz were very high.
Ruth did what Naomi suggested, and Boaz discovered her and heard her appeal for him to be her “redeemer” and cover her with his “wings,” the protection of marriage (Ruth 3:6-9). See how the same word, “redeemer,” had been used by Naomi in connection with her relatives in Ruth 2:20. Sometimes this word is translated as a “kinsman-redeemer” with reference to “levirate marriage.”
Boaz knew exactly what Ruth was asking. He had likely been thinking about this possibility already and was attracted to Ruth and had desired to marry her, as “a worthy woman.” Two things may have held him back. He was a somewhat older man, in whom she might not be interested; and also, he was not first in line as a kinsman-redeemer for her. There was a closer eligible male relatives than he.
When Boaz heard Ruth’s request, though, he immediately responded positively. He was honored by her “kind” request, since she was not going after a younger man for a more exciting life and did not have a great concern about his wealth. He showed his own character, too, by asking the Lord’s blessings for her, no matter how this all worked out.
He also told her “not to fear.” He would not take advantage of her in any way and would only look out for her welfare as he already had been doing. He asked her not to leave right away since it could be dangerous for a women to be out by herself in the middle of the night, but to wait until just before daylight so that there would be safety and no evil suspicions about her visit. He also gave her a gift of more food for her and Naomi, as a another sign of his kindness and good intentions (Ruth 3:10-15).
Boaz also honestly explained that though he was willing to be her kinsman-redeemer, there was another kinsman-redeemer who was a closer relative and that he should rightly have the first opportunity to consider whether to settle the property rights for Naomi and marry Ruth. Boaz promised to talk with the other relative that very day and “redeem” Ruth and the family rights, himself, if he possibly could (Ruth 3:13).
When Ruth returned home early in the morning and told Naomi what had happened, and gave her the gift of more grain, Naomi was sure that Boaz “would not rest” but would get this matter settled that very day (Ruth 3:16-18). That is exactly what Boaz did, as we will hear next week - with implications for all of us still today, too!
