Ruth 3-4

Intro to Handout

-We’ve been looking at the book of Ruth as a case study for how to study, interpret, and apply OT narrative

-We’ve got this diagram at the top that helps us understand the basic structure of narrative

**walk through the diagram**

-The Exposition for the book of Ruth is found in 1:1-4 with the backstory of her family moving to Moab

-The Conflict is really summed up in 1:5, showing us the problem the must be overcome in this account

-The Rising action follows with Ruth’s choice to stay with her mother-in-law, and then Naomi’s bitterness against Yahweh

-The rising action continues in chapter 2, with Ruth just happening to go to glean in the field of Boaz, a wealthy, kind, distant family member

-All of this is meant to pique our interest and continue to build out the plot

**go through and summarize the Principles/Questions to ask**

So, this brings us all to the close of the account, which will include the climax and then how the account ends

Ruth 3

**The narrative slows down here**

Vs. 1

-Naomi deems herself responsible for Ruth’s well-being

-Ruth has given up everything to come and be with Naomi and take care of her, and so Naomi feels obligated to respond in kind and take care of Ruth

-Daniel Block in his commentary notes that a covenant was a mutual agreement between two people, and so Naomi feels responsible towards Ruth in a similar way that Ruth feels responsible towards Naomi

Vs. 2a

-Naomi’s plan revolves around their rich, kind relative Boaz, who has clearly shown great kindness and care towards them

-Although Boaz has been incredibly kind and compassionate, he has not initiated any move towards Ruth in redeeming her

-This may be out of respect for her being a widow

-Perhaps she’s still mourning the loss of her husband

-But for whatever reason, he’s not moving forward, so mother-in-law Naomi deems it time for her to push this snowball downhill so to speak

Vs. 2b-3

-She notes that Boaz will be winnowing barley this evening

-This usually takes place soon after the barley and wheat are harvested

-The harvesters would take the stalks up to a hill usually

-And they’d have a place where they would beat the stalks, often with some kind of stick

-This would force the heavier kernels out of the stalks

-And then the wind up on that hill would cause some of the lighter, worthless stuff to blow away

-Naomi tells Ruth to wash, perfume herself, and put on her “best garments”

-Now, that translation, “put on your best garment” is probably not a great translation

-More than likely it didn’t have as much to do with dressing up really nice — think about it, why dress up really nice when you’re going out in the dark anyway — as much as dress appropriately for warmth, or even maybe urging her to put aside her mourning clothes if she was still wearing them

-She was to go out there, but not make herself known until Boaz was done with the festivities that often accompanied winnowing and he lay down

Vs. 4

-When this happened, she was to go over and uncover his feet and lie down

-Now, there are plenty of questions regarding this text

-Many scholars think that this indicates some kind of immoral act, that Ruth here is being commanded to seduce Boaz

-I won’t go into the exegetical reasons due to time sake, but suffice to say, it seems best not to take this passage in this way, but to simply take it at face value as her going and laying down at his feet

-This may seem extremely odd to us as modern readers

-But remember, we are OT Israelites and therefore would understand this as what it is

-Ruth here is making a proposal of marriage to Boaz, asking that he would redeem her

-Now, this was a risky proposition!

-He could very easily reject her

-She is a Moabite after all, which is a people who were cursed by God and often looked down upon in this culture

Also, this is risky to go out in the middle of the night to the threshing floor, for she could have been caught and maybe hurt or taken advantage of by someone (as was indicated by Boaz back in chapter 2)

-Or, in his sleepy state, Boaz could have mistook her intentions as possibly trying to seduce him, which he could have then either committed immorality with her, or shooed her away

So the whole thing is pretty risky, which adds to the suspense of the narrative

Vs. 5-7

-Ruth obeys her mother-in-law and goes to the threshing floor

-Boaz has enjoyed the festivities, and is ready to go to sleep, having been well fed and full

-Ruth waits quietly until he’s asleep, then goes and uncovers his feet and lays down there by his feet

Vs. 8-9

-So Boaz turns over in his sleep, and is startled to find there’s a woman lying there!

-He asks who it is

Ruth identifies herself in a humble way — “Ruth your maidservant”

-It’s interesting to note, as one commentator pointed out, that she really turns the focus back on him

-It’s not important who Ruth is, the better focus is who Boaz is!

-He’s the close relative, the family redeemer!

-This is extraordinary initiative on Ruth’s part, similar to the Syro-Phoenician woman we looked at back at the beginning of the month!

-She’s a nobody!

-She’s poor

-She’s a widow taking care of another widow

-She’s a Moabite

And Boaz is rich

-he’s important

-he’s an Israelite

And yet, she boldly throws herself on his mercy, proposing that he redeem her

-This is a great moment of suspense for us, the readers

-How will Boaz respond to this brazen act and even more brazen request?

vs. 10-11

-Boaz responds kindly and compassionately

-He blesses her by the name of Yahweh

-And he notes that she has shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning

-What does he mean by that?

-I believe he’s referring back to 2:11 when he blessed her for leaving her people and homeland to be with Naomi

-And this act, boldly proposing marriage to Boaz, shows even greater kindness, because she is foregoing other suitors (younger men), in order to marry a man of noble character who will take care of her and Naomi

-She could have gone after younger men, perhaps someone who was more attractive, or even someone who was more likely to be able to give her a child

-Now, Boaz is not necessarily someone who’s old and decrepit, considering he’s obviously still able to work in the field when he needs to

-But Ruth has obeyed her mother-in-law, chosen a kind man of character, and Boaz recognizes this

Vs. 11

He has no problem moving forward with her, because she too is a woman of virtue, and that’s evident to the whole town through what she has done for her mother-in-law

Vs. 12-13

-Just when we as the readers breathe a sigh of relief, Boaz introduces a complication into this seeming happy ending we were about to end up with

“There’s a relative closer than I”

-Now, what we would immediately recognize as OT Israelites is that this closer relative gets the first chance at redeeming Ruth and the piece of land that belongs to Mahlon (as we’ll see comes into play next chapter)

-So in order for Boaz to be able to marry Ruth, this closer relative must be willing to forego his right of redemption first

-He swears to her that he will take care of this first thing in the morning

-If this guy wants to redeem her, then that’s his right

-But if not, then Boaz will redeem her

-So he tells her to lie back down until morning, when he will go get this taken care of promptly

-Just when we think we’ve got to the resolution, this gets brought up and we’re once again in suspense

Vs. 14-15

-Ruth leaves early in the morning, seeking to protect her reputation and that of Boaz

-He sends her off generously to her mother-in-law with some food, in keeping with his kind and noble character

Vs. 16-18

-Ruth tells Naomi of what transpired that night, how Boaz had responded favorably to her, but there is someone in line to redeem her ahead

-She also shows her the barley he sent to supply for herself and Naomi

-Naomi is confident that Boaz will take care of the matter quickly like he has promised, and they will not wait long to hear of the results

-Which brings us to the final chapter of our the book of Ruth

Ruth 4

**the narrative is slow here**

-We are now arriving at the climax of the account, the make or break moment that the narrator has brought us to

Vs. 1-2

-In God’s providence, the unnamed family redeemer that is closer than Boaz happens to come by the gate where Boaz is waiting

-He invites him to sit down to discuss this matter of community importance

-The city gate was often where these kinds of matters were discussed

Vs. 3-5

-Boaz here appears to 2 legal customs in Israel that are laid down in the Law

-The first is found in Leviticus 25:25-30, which stated that a family could never permanently lose their land

-The Land was a gift from God, and was sacred

-This was also to prevent people from being taken advantage of, and a few wealthy elites gaining all or most of the land

-The land was to be redeemed by a near family member so that it could stay within the family

when Naomi and her family left Israel to go to Moab, they may have sold the land or may have just left it

-But either way, it was up to a near family member to buy it back and redeem it

-Boaz here is informing this other relative that he is first in line to redeem this land if he wants it

-This seems like a good proposition to him, and so he’s ready to redeem the land!

-As readers, our heart sinks

-But Boaz is a calculate man, and is not done

Vs. 5

-He informs this relative that with the land comes Ruth the Moabitess, whom he ought to marry and perpetuate the family name through giving her a son

-This is found in Numbers 25:9-11, which we’ve already discussed at length in previous weeks

Vs. 6

-Now, marrying a Moabite widow probably does not sound very appealing to this guy

-Furthermore, if he gives Ruth a son, that son will inherit the land anyway and this man won’t be passing on his family name through that son, but someone else’s

-With this, the proposition is not something that sounds appealing any longer, and he is happy to defer to Boaz and allow him to take up this right

Vs. 7-10

-We are informed as to the legal action that was taken place to confirm and make this official

-the unnamed relative takes off his sandal and gives it to Boaz in the presence of witnesses to make

-Boaz claims to all those nearby that this is now an official, legal act on his part that he is the family redeemer and will redeem the land, as well as marry Ruth the Moabitess as his wife to continue the family name of Elimelech and Mahlon so that their family line will not cease to exist

And with this, the climax has been reached and resolution brought to the conflict that started all the way back in 1:5

-Naomi has been provided for through her daughter-in-law Ruth and the kinsman redeemer Boaz

-Instead of being afflicted and destitute, she is now blessed and taken care of

VS. 11-12

-The response of the witnesses is fascinating

-First, they confirm that they are indeed witnesses

Then, they go on to give 3 blessings, and their blessings end up being far more prophetic than they realize

-The first bless Ruth by asking Yahweh to make her like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel

-this is incredible that they are asking God to bless this foreigner is Israel like He did the two wives of Jacob

-This is quite a blessing!

“May God use you to build up like he did Rachel and Leah!”

-Second, he asks that their name and house would become famous in Bethlehem

-May God make your family famous in Bethlehem, and boy did He ever!

-Third, may your house be like the house of Perez

Now, this is one of the twins that Judah had through his incestuous relationship with his daughter-in-law Tamar

-This may seem like an odd blessing, but the nature of the Judah-Tamar relationship is not what’s being referenced here, nor their character

-It is simply that these are all Judahites, and that Perez is one of the primary descendants of Judah

-So they bless Ruth in these ways, and as we come to find out, these blessings ring far truer than probably anyone could have anticipated

Vs. 13

-We’re on to the falling action and the denoument here

-The author notes here, only his second direct reference to Yahweh in this narrative:

-Yahweh sovereignly and providentially allows Ruth to conceive and bear a son, which she was not able to do with Mahlon.

Vs. 14-16

-Oh how things have changed!

-Naomi, who was bitter against God

-Naomi, who thought she’d never have another son

-Naomi, who thought God had turned against her and afflicted her

This Naomi, is left rejoicing as the narrative closes

-It’s almost like these neighbors are rubbing it in, like they’re saying “I told you so!” to Naomi

“God has not left you without a redeemer!”

-Now, it’s interesting that “close relative” — this term is “go-el”

-This is the “redeemer” term that’s been used throughout

-But they’re not here referring to Boaz

-Look at the text!

-They’re referring to this child as the “go-el”

-So they’re not using it in the technical sense of the family member who redeems the land

-But in the sense that this child has given hope once again to Naomi

-This child has revived her!

-And her daughter-in-law!

-She’s borne you this go-el, and she’s been better than 7 sons!

I find it kind of humorous to be honest

-it’s kind of like they’re saying “remember back when you were all bitter nasty about what’s happened to you and your family? Ruth is wayyyyyy better than any amount of sons! Don’t you see how wrong you were?”

-And Naomi spends the rest of her days caring for this child that Ruth and Boaz have given her

Vs. 17-21

-So here’s where keeping the endgame in mind is so important!

-This is where the author intended to end up the whole time!

-What’s the significance of this story about these 3 nobodies?

-Well, the author has been aware of something all along that you and I as readers haven’t been aware of if you’re reading for the first time

-And obviously the characters weren’t aware of this either because this comes to fruition years after they’re dead

-But this child is actually the grandfather of King David!

-These people weren’t nobodies after all!

-They were close ancestors of King David himself!!

-And the author here closes the narrative, and invites us to come and see the beauty of God’s Providence!

-No miracles in the book!

-3 seemingly insignificant people, going about everyday, ordinary tasks

-And God providentially uses it to keep the line going until David is born!

-And so the author invites us to come and see the beauty of our God’s providential hand, and to consider our own lives

-We are a room full of nobodies

-Right?

-As far as world history goes or world events, we’re not all that significant

-And the things we often do don’t seem all that significant

-But God is sovereignly and providentially working and orchestrating our lives

Closing

I want to bring this to Christ

-Now, if you’ve ever read this story, or heard a sermon series or a lesson on Christ being our Redeemer, that’s wonderful!

-What a beautiful picture we see here, right??

I mean, we’re destitute, hopeless foreigners who have nothing

-And Christ, the hero of the story, our Older Brother comes and redeems us and makes us His family

-We are the bride of Christ

Amen and Hallelujah!

-Am I right?

If you’ve ever heard a sermon on that or lesson or made that application, you’re not wrong, and this indeed is a wonderful picture

-but i’m not here to bring that out this evening

Even though the author has put down his quill and closed the book so to speak, the story is not quite over

-Because Ruth is mentioned one more time in the story of Scripture

How do the NT writers reference this account?

-That’s always a good question to ask when it comes to Christ in the OT

-The Bible is about Jesus! Can we agree on that?

-Jesus says that the Scriptures (the OT) point to Him

-but we must be careful never to allegorize Christ and read Him into places where that’s not the intent

-Did you know that the NT writers don’t refer to this passage as Christ being the Go-el?

-Now, that doesn’t mean it’s not a good application!

-There’s nothing wrong with that, and it is a wonderful picture of Christ!

-So, how do the NT writers refer to this account?

Matthew 1:1–6 NKJV

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

Matthew picks up the quill hundreds of years later and says, “this account is not quite over.”

-Matthew’s point is this in His Gospel: the King has come

-And these seemingly small, coincidental things that happened to these 3 people, one of them a cursed foreigner, was used by God to bring about the birth of His Son

-King Jesus, who would die for our sins, be buried, be raised, and ascend to the Father

-And He alone provides salvation

So take heart, 21st century Americans

-God is in control

-He is providentially working in every aspect of your life

-He is seeking to bring you close to Him and use you to advance His kingdom

-Or He is seeking to draw you to Himself in salvation

-But let’s take time to come and behold this wondrous God, and worship Him for His providence that has brought forth our King, and provided us salvation