Redemption - Ruth 3-4

© November 24th, 2024 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Ruth

I’m now middle-aged, so I find myself beginning to observe that things aren’t the way they used to be. I remember things from my younger years that simply don’t exist anymore. I remember when gas cost less than a dollar. I remember when I could buy a can of pop for 50 cents, I remember a time without cell-phones, and I even remember a time without the internet. But one other thing I remember that just doesn’t seem to exist anymore are the bottles of pop that occasionally had a coupon for a free bottle inside the cap. It was always fun to open a new bottle and discover your next bottle would be free! You simply brought in your winning bottle cap, and at the counter you could redeem it for a free bottle of pop! Ahh, memories!

You may wonder why I mention this as we study Ruth. Ruth is a story of redemption, and I was thinking about things we redeem in modern life. While redeeming a bottle cap for a free bottle of pop is a far cry from the redemption Ruth experienced, the two do have a connection in my mind. Ruth’s redemption is about something far more significant than a bottle of pop. It’s even more significant than a home and a family. Her redemption was much greater than she deserved, and much greater than she would have ever dared to dream. The same can be true for you and me as well.

Ruth’s Proposal

We pick up today in the concluding act of the story of Ruth. In the first act, we saw Ruth and her mother-in-law in Moab, and they ended up returning to Bethlehem empty-handed and empty-hearted. Naomi was bitter because she felt abandoned by God. In the second act, Ruth took action and headed out into the fields to glean behind the harvesters in an attempt to provide for her mother-in-law and herself. The second act focuses on a series of coincidences that weren’t coincidences at all. They were to remind us of God’s provision for His people. We saw that God was working behind the scenes even when Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz didn’t see it. The second act closes with Naomi coming to her senses and recognizing that these so-called coincidences were actually the hand of God, and her faith in the Lord was restored. At the end of chapter 2, however, we are reminded that Ruth continued to live with Naomi. She still had no husband and really had no future prospects. Which leads to the final act of the story in chapters 3 and 4.

We pick up with Naomi giving instructions to Ruth.

One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.” 5 “I will do everything you say,” Ruth replied. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law. (Ruth 3:1-6, NLT)

Naomi’s instructions to Ruth seem somewhat ambiguous. It doesn’t seem readily apparent that she is telling Ruth to seek a marriage proposal. It sounds more like she was setting Ruth up for a date. But apparently, they felt that Boaz, a man of character, would understand what was going on and would treat her appropriately and with honor. So Ruth headed down to the threshing floor to execute their plan.

The threshing floor was where the grain was separated. The harvesters would cut the stalks of grain, then at the threshing floor, they would lay them out on the floor and lead oxen over the grain, crushing it under their feet. The result was that the kernels would be separated from the rest of the plant. The harvesters would then use a kind of rake to pick everything up off the ground and toss it into the air. As they did, the chaff would be blown far away, the kernels would fall almost straight back to the ground, and the stalks would be blown just a short distance away. This allowed them to harvest clean grain and collect the stalks for use as straw for their animals. It was a pretty ingenious approach to an agricultural problem that still exists today!

Harvest was always a time of celebration, even as it was a time of hard work and long days. So, Naomi knew that Boaz would have a large meal and then sleep at the threshing floor for the night. This was for two reasons: first, it enabled them to be ready for work at dawn the next day, and second, it provided a measure of protection for their freshly harvested grain. Sleeping with the grain would prevent people from stealing the fruits of their labor.

Ruth watched from a distance until Boaz fell asleep, and then noted where he lay, which was near the grain pile. So after dark, when it was clear that everyone was sound asleep, she crept in, uncovered Boaz’s feet, and then lay down next to him. People have proposed all sorts of scandalous reasons for Ruth’s actions, but I don’t think they are valid. I think Ruth uncovering Boaz’s feet served two simple, but important purposes. One was that by uncovering his feet, it would ensure he would wake up cold in the middle of the night, presenting an opportunity for Ruth to speak with him privately. Second, it would serve as a unique metaphor for Ruth to make her request.

And in the middle of the night, Ruth’s plan worked as she had hoped. Boaz woke up, searched for his covering, and discovered there was someone lying next to him that wasn’t before. He asked who it was, and Ruth told him it was her. Then she made a request of him.

I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” (Ruth 3:9, NLT)

The statement “spread the corner of your covering over me” is not just an allusion to the covering she had removed from Boaz’s feet. She uses the same language Boaz had used in the field to describe Ruth’s position in Israel. Boaz had told her that she had sought shelter under the wings of God. Ruth was now asking Boaz to provide the shelter he had proclaimed.

Ruth based this request on the fact that Boaz was a family redeemer. This is a foreign concept to us, but in ancient Israel, God had made some special provisions in the law. The land that was given to the tribes of Israel was supposed to be a permanent inheritance. If people fell on hard times, they might sell their land, but they weren’t actually giving up ownership, but merely the rights to use it. Every 50 years there was supposed to be a year of Jubilee when all land would return to its original family owners.

God had made a provision for families in need to get their land back sooner, however. Family members were to help redeem the land (or in some cases, the people, if they had sold themselves into servitude) as a means of preserving and protecting the family.

25 If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and is forced to sell some family land, then a close relative should buy it back for him. (Leviticus 25:25, NLT)

Similarly, if a man died without having a son, then his brother was to marry his wife and father a child with her, making that son the heir of the dead brother. This was called the law of levirate marriage. It is these laws that Naomi and Ruth seem to have had in mind as Ruth talked to Boaz. Elimelech had probably sold the rights to his land before he left Israel, so they were asking Boaz to buy it back and marry Ruth as well.

But these laws only apply to Israelites. And truthfully, they don’t seem to apply in Ruth’s situation. Had Boaz so desired, he could have easily argued that he was not obligated to redeem Ruth or Naomi. But that isn’t what he did. Instead, Boaz seemed genuinely pleased that Ruth would desire him to redeem her. He remarked that he was much older and so he didn’t think she’d be interested in him. He also remarked that he would be delighted, not because of her age or her beauty, but because of her character. Boaz told her that everyone in town knew that she was a virtuous woman. This was significant, because she had earned a good reputation for herself in just three short months! Boaz respected Ruth’s character and consistency. He assured her that she would be taken care of.

But…there was one small hurdle to overcome. Another man was more closely related than Boaz, so he should have the first right of redemption. Boaz, clearly desiring to be with Ruth, could have ignored or overlooked this reality and simply agreed to marry Ruth. It is unlikely that anyone would have kicked up much of a fuss if he had done so. But like Ruth, Boaz was a person of character. He trusted God enough to do what was right, even though he might have wanted to charge forward with his own plans.

Boaz assured Ruth that he would take care of things, and then he sent her home with more grain, telling her she shouldn’t return to Naomi empty-handed. The Hebrew doesn’t actually say empty-handed, though. It just says empty. This was a play on words, recalling how Naomi had returned home declaring herself to be empty. Boaz told Ruth that she was not to go home that way. She may need to wait, but she was not empty at all. In fact, she was far from it.

The Aftermath

When Ruth arrived home, Naomi was curious to hear how everything went at the threshing floor. Ruth showed her the grain Boaz had given her and told her what he had said. Naomi told Ruth not to worry, but to just wait. She said that Boaz was an honorable man and that he would take care of everything.

This is a reminder that sometimes faith requires action, seizing the opportunities God has put in front of you, but other times it requires patience, waiting to see how God will answer your prayers. Wisdom and discernment help us to know which response is appropriate when.

After the conversation between Naomi and Ruth, the writer turns our attention back to Boaz, who headed to city gate to meet the other family-redeemer. The city gate was the gathering place in the city, and the place where important business was transacted. In short order, the other man arrived, and Boaz asked him to come speak with him at the gate. It is interesting to note that this man is not given a name in the story. In fact, the writer says that Boaz called him kind of a nonsense name, akin to “Mr. So-and-So”. I believe this is an intentional choice on the part of the author.

The reason is because of how this man responds to Boaz’s request.

And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.” The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.” 6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.” (Ruth 4:3-6, NLT)

Boaz explained the situation and began his sales pitch. He offered the man the chance to redeem the land that belonged to Naomi’s husband. In so doing, he would take care of Naomi, and he would essentially end up owning the land when she died. The man agreed, as this seemed like a good deal to him.

Boaz was shrewd, however, and had left out one important detail. “Oh, and of course, you also need to marry Ruth and provide Naomi with an heir.” This detail caused Mr. So-and-So to change his mind. He declared that doing so would endanger his own estate.

It’s possible he said this because he had a wife at home and knew that coming home with a new wife would at the very least endanger his safety. But his rationale indicates he was only interested in helping if it meant he would benefit financially. If he provided an heir through Ruth, then he wouldn’t end up inheriting Naomi’s land when she died. All he would do was take care of Naomi’s family and end up having to give the land to the child born to Ruth. He wasn’t interested in that. So he passed on the offer, and allowed Boaz the opportunity to redeem instead. I suspect Boaz knew the kind of man this was, so he expected this was how it would go.

So they made the transaction official, and Boaz redeemed Naomi’s land and took Ruth as his wife. The writer tells us that God enabled Ruth to conceive a child, which seems insignificant, but remember she had been married for 10 years in Moab and had not had children. Almost instantly, she and Boaz conceived, clearly God’s blessing. They named the child Obed, and Naomi was truly overjoyed.

If that was the end of the story, it would be a beautiful little fairy-tale ending and everyone would be happy. But it’s not the end. God was doing so much more than just providing a happy ending for Ruth and Naomi. We see the family lineage that this child was part of. Obed would be the grandfather of King David. And King David was the forerunner (and ancestor) of the King of Kings and the Great Redeemer of Israel and all mankind.

Through this strange series of circumstances, Ruth ends up as part as the family line of Jesus! This Moabite woman ends up as part of God’s plan of redemption for all mankind! The generations that preceded her are also quite telling. Boaz’s mother was also a foreign woman, Rahab, the prostitute, who was spared when the Israelites destroyed Jericho. And several generations before was his ancestor Judah, who had a child with his daughter-in-law Tamar, because he had failed to fulfill his duty as a redeemer to her. Her son, Perez, is in the family line that leads through Ruth.

How strange that God would cause the family lineage that would lead to the redemption of mankind to be filled with people with such checkered pasts. But at the same time, isn’t it wonderfully appropriate? It is a reminder that our Redeemer is not concerned about people’s pasts, but their future. He welcomes all who will seek shelter under His wings. And all who come will find the comfort, rest, and redemption they need.

Conclusion

This really is a beautiful story, and it points us to some beautiful truths of scripture. It’s a story all about redemption of a person for whom it seemed like all was lost. And it should remind us that this is how God chooses to work among His people. He provides redemption, forgiveness, and new life to all who will come under the shadow of His wings. Let’s draw some practical lessons we can learn from this passage.

First, is the value of character. Both Ruth and Boaz are held up as people of character in this story. Both did what they knew was right rather than what seemed expedient. Orpah staying in Moab was a sensible choice, it made sense. But Ruth did what she knew was right, even though it didn’t seem to make sense. Her consistency quickly earned her a good reputation, even among people conditioned to think little of her. Boaz likewise continually did what was right, rather than what was expedient. This is in stark contrast to what we see from others during the time of the judges. The refrain of the book of Judges is “In those days Israel had no king, and everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” Ruth and Boaz bucked this trend and did what was right in God’s eyes, even when it didn’t seem to make sense. This is why their names are remembered, and Mr. So-and-So is forgotten to history. We live in a world like the time of Judges—everyone does what is right in their own eyes. We need people of character now more than ever. Strive to live consistently for the Lord—it is always the best course.

Second, sometimes faith demands action, sometimes patience. Ruth is shown to be a person who was willing to do what was right, no matter what it took. She was willing to work hard, and she was willing to put herself in a position where she could be hurt in order to do what she believed was right. That itself is commendable and shows great faith and courage. But sometimes faith requires us to wait on God’s timing. Sometimes faith means letting God move the mountains instead of resorting to our own machinations to force things to happen in our timing. We have ample examples in scripture of how this can get us into trouble. We must seek the Lord’s direction, taking action when needed, and patiently trusting when that’s the right course. Both require great faith and discipline.

Third, God can redeem even flawed people.Most of the people we know about in the genealogy of Christ were deeply flawed people. They made terrible mistakes, and some even led many others into grievous sin. But past sin does not define a person. God promises that He can work with anyone who will come to and submit to Him. No one is too far gone for God to redeem them. This is good news for us, but it should also inform the way we interact with those around us. God has a tendency to surprise us with the people He uses. We must trust Him enough to believe that no one is too far gone in the hands of the Great Redeemer.

Finally, God’s plan is bigger than us. That is one of the most important lessons from the book of Ruth. The writer is such a good storyteller that we are drawn into this story of just a handful of people. But then at the end, he reminds us that even though God was working through this handful of people, He was also working on a much grander scale than any of them could have possibly imagined! This should remind us of how much higher God’s ways are than ours. We tend to only see what is right in front of us. We can only see how things affect us right now, we can’t see how God might be doing something far bigger. Often it is only later that we can begin to grasp the fullness of what He was doing. The Bible shows us that many times we don’t see the fullness of what God was doing for hundreds of years! If God is able to orchestrate events like that, shouldn’t that be ample reason for us to trust Him with our lives? Shouldn’t we believe that He knows what He’s doing, even when we don’t? The story of Ruth holds up the wisdom of God and should drive us to trust Him fully.

We have many reasons to be thankful this week, but the chief is that we have a redeemer who has set us free from our sinful past, and we have a God who orchestrates our lives on a level we cannot even imagine. The only correct response is thankfulness, praise, and humble adoration.

© November 24th, 2024 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Ruth