Ruth 3

Tragedy can get your attention, challenge you, and deepen your thoughts about your relationship with the Lord. I will never forget 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’s 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’s 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, it has nothing to do with 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 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 Moabites. 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 (ָמנוֹ ַח ), 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 circle back 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 possibly set up a future marriage?

First, she had done 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 particular 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 tells Ruth to get cleaned up and put on her best clothes, which were probably not that costly 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 startledandbentforward;andbehold,awomanwaslyingathisfeet.9 Andhe 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 predictable 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%3LS