Marry Me

Review

Today we are finishing a 3-part series on the Book of Ruth: (1) Naomi’s nightmare - the loss of her husband and both sons in a foreign country and her bitter and empty-handed return to Bethlehem. (2) The Barley Harvest - Where Ruth met Boaz, a worthy man who was kind and generous. Then, just when we expect sparks to fly, nothing happens… for a whole two-months! Ruth gleaned in the field of Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvest. Now, finally, we get to the romance.

A Midnight Proposal

Remember: As widows without children, Naomi and Ruth were vulnerable. They were bringing in the grain, but even if they had gleaned enough grain for a year, they still would have a very uncertain future. But, if somehow they could find a husband for Ruth, that would be a different story.

Ruth 3:1 ESV

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?

That is O.T. code for: “Girl, we need to get you married.” So, Naomi the matchmaker has a plan:

Ruth 3:2–4 ESV

Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 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. 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.”

Naomi is referring to the fact that Boaz is one of their kinsman-redeemers (2:20); that is, he is one who qualifies to rescue the line of Elimelech. But since he hasn’t made any moves, she figures that Ruth should make a move.

Take a bath, put on perfume, get dressed - This is likely more than getting “beautified” for a date. These are the actions of one who moving on from a time of mourning (2 Sam 12:20).

Boaz would be sleeping outside to protect the crop from thieves. Uncovering his feet would not only wake him up, it would be a somewhat forward / romantically suggestive thing for a woman to do—so you wouldn’t want to uncover the feet of the wrong guy.

Ruth agrees to do this. So, that night, after a hard day’s work and a good meal, Boaz lays down by his heap of grain and goes to sleep. Ruth approached “softly”/ “quietly” and uncovered his feet.

Ruth 3:8–9 ESV

At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

In other words, Ruth is saying: Will you marry me? This is a metaphor for marriage (Ezek. 16:8). Ruth is choosing him; but there’s more: by her appeal to the Israelite custom of redemption, Boaz recognizes this as even further loyalty to that commitment she made to Naomi.

Ruth 3:10–11 ESV

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 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.

prov 31:10 - An excellent (worthy) wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.

To her proposal, he says: Yes! But… there is a complication. I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is another redeemer who qualifies ahead of me. If he does not do it, then I will…as the LORD lives.

He told her to lay back down until morning. Early the next day, before it was light enough for any of the workers to recognize Ruth and start any nasty rumors, Boaz sent her back home. Before she left, he gave her six measures of barley.

Ruth got home and explained everything that had happened, and then we learn why Boaz sent the barley:

Ruth 3:17 ESV

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.’ ”

He used the same exact word that Naomi used to describe herself in 1:21. We see the hand of God who would not leave Naomi empty. Naomi is getting the message. So, she tells Ruth to sit tight—this isn’t going to take long!

The Other Man

Ruth 4:1 ESV

Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.

Would you look at who just happened to be walking by! (see the hidden hand of God)

The word “friend” is a Hebrew idiom which intentionally avoids saying a name. We might translate it as something like “Hey you.” The other redeemer is intentionally left unnamed in the story, so we’ll refer to him as “that guy.”

Boaz then gathers up ten of the city elders for a meeting of official business. Then, with a sly plan, he addressed ‘that guy’:

Ruth 4:3–4 ESV

Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

The nearest adult kin qualified to redeem the land of family members who were forced to sale. The idea was to keep the land in the family. Now, if a person redeems the land of a widow with no heir, they’ve not only done right by their family, they’ve also gotten a bargain. This is a good deal for ‘that guy,’ so he agrees: “I’ll redeem it.

Ruth 4:5 ESV

Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”

This changes things. The letter of the law (Deut 25:5-10) would not have required either of these men to marry this widow, but it seems that the custom was to act according to the spirit of the law. Marrying Ruth would be the right thing to do. The problem: (1) she’s a Moabite, and (2) if she ends up having a child, then the financial investment would go to her child.

Ruth 4:6 ESV

Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

And you just picture Boaz say, “Yes!!” The two of them go on to make it official. The custom was for the man refusing to redeem to take off his sandal and give it to another as a signal that he was giving up his right to redeem the property.

So he draws his sandal off and gives it to Boaz, then presumably goes off to buy a new sandal. Boaz makes a speech to the crowd: You are my witnesses that this day I purchase Naomi’s land and Ruth will be my wife!

At this point all the people at the gate speak blessing over the marriage, praying that the Lord would bless them with offspring. And he did.

Ruth 4:13 ESV

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

He Restores My Soul

Ruth 4:14–15 ESV

Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

“restorer of life” - this brings us back to the key word of chapter one (turn, return, restore). This is the same pair of words that King David would later use when he wrote: He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

seven sons - a symbol of the perfect family

Ruth 4:16–17 ESV

Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Conclusion

Trust the hidden hand of God. He brings sunrise to the worst nightmares. The LORD is the Great Redeemer, the Greater Restorer, whose hands sculpt a future you would hardly dare to imagine.

What is this story telling us about the Lord? We see the hesed of God in all three major characters. We are right to make much of Ruth, but we should not overlook Boaz. In my study this week, it was the deliberate contrast between two redeemers that most impressed me. There is one (that guy) for whom the cost is to great and he is unwilling. Yet there is one who is a willing redeemer, no matter the cost—and who is unashamed to be with the outcast ones.

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”