Hope on the Threshing Floor - Ruth 3:1-9 - March 10, 2013
Series: From Heartache to Hope – The Redemption of Ruth - #7
This morning we continue in our series on Ruth which I’ve called “From Heartache to Hope – The Redemption of Ruth.” This is the seventh message in our series and, as we’ve begun to see, Ruth’s story is an incredible journey that takes her from the depths of despair to the heights of hope; from the darkness of death to the light of life. Hers is a story of great misery and sorrow, as well as a story of amazing grace and joy and redemption.
Chapter 2 ended with Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi, having been richly blessed by the loving kindness of a man named, “Boaz.” Boaz has permitted Ruth to glean in his fields behind the harvesters. He has provided plentifully for her and has invited her to continue gleaning in his fields through to the end of the harvest. And we’ve discovered that Boaz is a man of integrity who seeks to honour God in all he does, and so not only does he provide abundantly for Ruth, but he also acts to ensure her safety in the harvest fields. These are the same fields that Ruth has gone out into hoping to find favor, but where she ends up discovering something even better - amazing grace.
As we start chapter 3, a period of some time has passed between the events of chapter 2 and those we will read of today. The harvest is drawing to a close. Day after day, week after week, Ruth has been going to the fields, working hard from sun up to sun down, and, as each day draws to a close, taking home the bounty of her labours. Life has been difficult, but through it all God has been good. Blessed be the name of the Lord, for in Naomi’s own words, “He has not stopped showing His kindness to the living and the dead.” (Ruth 2:20, NIV)
So let’s open our Bibles to the 3rd chapter of the book of Ruth. Ruth, chapter 3, and we’ll begin reading in verse 1. “One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
“I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet. “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”” (Ruth 3:1–9, NIV84)
Now this is perhaps the most difficult passage in the book of Ruth for us to understand because it’s so far removed from our own customs. If we read this from the perspective of our North American mindset, we’re going to be left thinking that Naomi is pimping out her daughter-in-law in return for grain, that Ruth is prostituting herself to get ahead, and that Boaz is a dirty old man taking advantage of the situation. What started out as a beautiful story of love and grace, suddenly appears to become something seedy and scandalous.
Let me assure you that if we approach this passage from the mind set of our own culture, we will miss the point of what is taking place here entirely, and in having done so we will then miss seeing what God is doing. In order to understand these verses rightly, we need to try to understand them in light of the culture of the day.
So let’s start with verse 1. Naomi says to Ruth, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?” Now she’s not trying to find a sugar daddy for Ruth. The word that the NIV translates as “home” is actually a Hebrew word meaning, “rest.” It encompasses ideas such as peace and security and a pause from the constant demands of life. That word “rest” is a word that means “a place to settle down” and call home.
The truth is that Ruth has had a difficult time the last while, what with the death of her husband, the leaving of family and friends behind her as she moves to a foreign country with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and as she embraces a new people, with different customs, as well as worshipping a God she was just beginning to know. On top of all that there is the daily toil of gleaning in the fields. But through it all Ruth has been such a rich blessing to Naomi, that Naomi’s desire for Ruth, is that she would find just such a rest as that – a place to settle down and call home; the blessing of a family of her own.
Turn with me for a moment to chapter 1. Chapter 1 verse 9. This is as Naomi is setting out to return to Bethlehem from the land of Moab and she is saying good-bye to both of her daughters-in-law. She leaves them with these words saying, “May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” (Ruth 1:9, NIV84) This has been her prayer for Ruth all along, but far better for Ruth to find this rest amongst God’s people, than back in Moab amongst a people who do not know God.
And folks, there is a rest that the Bible speaks of that we can know today, as well. It’s not a rest that you can find out in the world, far from God. It’s a rest that can only be found in Jesus. Listen to His words: “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30, NIV84)
Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? And for these two widows, who have felt the heartache and hardness of life, a rest such as Naomi speaks of probably sounds pretty good as well, and so this is what she prays for Ruth. But what Naomi is discovering, is that she might be the very means through which God works, to answer her own prayer. See, love acts in the best interests of the one who is loved. Naomi looks around at how they are living, and like many even today, desires something better for Ruth, the daughter-in-law, who has become a daughter to her.
Sometimes, we miss seeing God answer prayer, because while we’ve prayed for something, and are waiting on God, He’s waiting for us to step forward in faith and obedience and to partner with Him in answering that prayer. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you’re aware of a family that is short of food. There is nothing wrong with praying that God would provide for that need. But is it not just possible, that if God has allowed you to become aware of that need in the first place, that God may be choosing to use you, maybe alongside of others, but choosing to use you, to help meet the immediate needs of that family?
In the book of James, James writes these words: “Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15–16, NIV84) Sometimes you and I are going to pray for something that is completely beyond our ability to contribute to in any way beyond giving ourselves to faithful, fervent prayer. And that’s fine. We need those times when we’re asking for those things that are so far beyond anything we could possibly conceive of doing ourselves, that they can only be “God things.” Other times though we will pray for things that we can partner with God in as we seek His blessing on others. And as we do that, as we step forward in faith and obedience, and do what we can, we become partners with God in His ministry of grace.
Now Naomi has prayed that God would grant Ruth the blessing of a rest that encompasses peace, and hope, and security, and family, and now she’s beginning to see how God might be choosing to answer that prayer in the person of Boaz, and so she gives Ruth some very specific instructions.
Ruth is to get herself all cleaned up and smelling nice, keep in mind she’s been working hard in the fields every day, and then she’s to put on, what some translations call, her “best clothes.” And because Naomi’s hope, is that Boaz will want to marry Ruth, some commentators think that Ruth is putting on a wedding dress here. But there’s no support in the text for that idea at all - just like there isn’t textual support for the idea of Ruth putting on her “best clothes,” either. She and Ruth arrive at Bethlehem empty handed, they’re scrambling to make a living, they probably don’t have any “best clothes.”
The Hebrew word used here simply refers to clothing in general, but is, at times, used to refer to a cape, or a cloak type of garment that often doubled as a blanket when sleeping. Now keep in mind that Ruth has been mourning the passing of her husband for some time, and the custom of the day dictated that during a time of mourning, you wear mourning clothes. So what Naomi is probably getting at is this: it’s time for Ruth to take off her widow’s weeds and to put on her normal clothing once again.
And we’re probably with Naomi right up to about this point. It’s what happens next that we struggle to understand, isn’t it? Ruth is to go down to the threshing floor. And the threshing floor is just a hard packed section of ground where the stalks of grain were laid and then beaten to separate the grain from the stalks. After being beaten, it was tossed into the air where the wind would carry the lighter straw away, while the heavier kernels of grain fell to the ground. So the threshing floor would be located outside to take advantage of the wind. When the wind died down, later in the evening, the threshing would come to an end, the workers would have a meal together, and then lie down to sleep around the pile of grain so thieves couldn’t come and make off with it as they slept.
This is where Ruth is to go, and she’s to wait for Boaz to lie down to sleep, at which point she is to uncover his feet and lie down there herself, and wait for whatever happens next. This probably seemed awfully strange to Ruth, but to her credit, Ruth does exactly what Naomi instructs her to do. Boaz is sleeping when she comes to him.
And we can’t fool ourselves here. This is a rather compromising situation that Naomi has asked Ruth to step into. Unfortunately, harvest time was often a time of debauchery. It wasn’t uncommon for prostitutes to come out to the threshing floor at night. This was to Israel’s shame, but it was so rampant a problem that it’s even mentioned in the book of Hosea.
However, Naomi has come to appreciate Ruth’s character, and she herself knows that Boaz was a well-respected, God fearing man, who sought to do what was right in God’s eyes. So she’s trusting that Ruth won’t compromise her own virtue, and that Boaz won’t take advantage of Ruth.
Now quietly, so as not to disturb others lest someone get the wrong idea, Ruth goes and uncovers Boaz’s feet and then lays down and waits for whatever is going to happen next. Verse 8 tells us that sometime after that, Boaz awoke suddenly, startled, and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
It’s dark, he hasn’t seen Ruth all evening – she’s hidden herself from him, probably by having worn that cloak type garment we talked about earlier, and he has no idea who this might be or why they might be there at his feet, and so he calls out into the darkness asking a very sensible question, “Who are you?”
And Ruth replies, “I am your servant.” And her choice of words is very interesting. When she first introduced herself to Boaz back in chapter 2 she uses a word describing herself as a foreigner. The word translated “foreigner” has very negative connotations such as if we called someone a “pagan” or a “heathen.” According to the Law, a foreigner, who is an outsider by definition, wasn’t eligible for marriage to a Jewish man.
The word that Ruth uses in chapter 3 though, is a different word. It conveys a higher social standing than “foreigner” does, and it’s a word that indicates that Ruth no longer sees herself as an outsider amongst the people of God. Back in chapter 1 we read how she spoke to Naomi saying, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16, NIV84) She has become part of the Jewish community, she has become one of their people. She has taken refuge in the God of Israel and has placed her faith in Him. But Ruth is still humble, and the name she calls herself by, while socially higher than a “foreigner,” is still a lowly name. She is aware of the great gulf that exists between her poverty and Boaz’s wealth. They are worlds apart.
And there is a picture here of what is true of those who are now in Christ as well. In the book of Ephesians Paul writes of what we once were apart from Christ and then of what we are now in Christ saying, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, [that’s what we once were] but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” (Ephesians 2:19, NIV84) This is what we are now – through faith in Jesus we have gone from being foreigners amongst God’s people, to becoming fellow citizens and members of His household with them.
Peter puts it this way saying, “Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10, NIV84) We start as foreigners, but receive God’s mercy, and then we are welcomed into the family of God with all the privileges, rights, and responsibilities that come with being a member of the family.
For Ruth, becoming as one of the people she was living amongst, besides granting her some small standing in the community, and a people to call her own, meant that she could also now marry a Hebrew man. So in calling herself by this new name, she is subtly letting Boaz know that she is eligible for marriage and when she asks Boaz to cover her with his garment, what she’s doing is expressing her willingness to be his wife.
In the second chapter of this book, Boaz prays a prayer for Ruth asking, that because of the kindness she has shown to Naomi, that she in turn would be “richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings,” she had “come to take refuge.” (Ruth 2:12) The word “wings” in that verse is the same word here in 3:9 that is translated “garment.” Ruth has found spiritual refuge under the wings of the God of Israel; now she is hoping to find physical refuge under the wings, if you will, of a Godly man. Boaz, like Naomi, has the opportunity to become a partner in answering his own prayer!
This is a bold move for Ruth to make. Ruth is relatively young, Boaz is much older. Ruth is new to the faith, Boaz has walked with God for many years. Ruth is new to the community and Boaz is well established. Ruth is living in poverty and Boaz is relatively wealthy. Ruth could have said to herself, “Why bother? Why even chance it? What could he possibly see in someone like me? I’ve got nothing to offer. There’s no sense in even trying.” And I think many believers today miss out on what they could know in God, and of God and His mighty power, because we’re too fearful to step forward in trust.
But Ruth steps forward in faith and hope, why? What’s the basis for her hope? Look at what she says at the end of verse 9 … “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” (Ruth 3:9, NIV84) The basis of her hope is that Boaz is a kinsmen-redeemer who can step in and dramatically change her circumstances and, in fact, her whole life.
Now you’ll remember that a kinsmen-redeemer was a man who could step in and help out a relative in a time of trouble. Specifically they could buy back family land that had been sold to pay a debt, they could buy back individuals who had sold themselves into slavery, either to pay off a debt or to make ends meet, or they could fulfill the duties of Levirate Marriage laws.
Those laws required that a brother-in-law is to marry his sister-in-law (his brother’s widow) if that brother has died without having had an heir. The child born to this union would then carry on the family name of the deceased brother and become the heir to all his property.
Naomi and Ruth are both hoping that Boaz will act as kinsmen-redeemer. But here’s the problem. Boaz wasn’t the brother of Ruth’s husband, and strictly speaking, the law of Levirate Marriage doesn’t apply to him. And while Hebrew society had expanded the custom to include other male relatives in the event that a deceased man had no brothers, that relative was not under the same obligation to act as a kinsmen-redeemer. It was merely an option if he should choose to exercise his rights. So while they may have hoped that Boaz would act out of duty on their behalf as kinsmen-redeemer – doing that which needed to be done – he was under no obligation to do so.
Which really puts Ruth in a precarious spot, because Boaz is not required to accept her, nor is he required to marry her. He can reject her and send her on her way because he owes her nothing. In fact he’s already been far more generous with her than God’s law required. He has treated her with amazing grace in all his dealings with her.
And so Ruth dares to hope, that just as she has found spiritual refuge under the wings of the God of Israel, that she will now find physical refuge and rest, in all the fullness of that word, in the godly man at whose feet she is lying. And while Ruth’s position is indeed precarious, it also holds the potential for a greater hope and joy than mere duty could ever demand, because if Boaz was to accept her as his wife, it could not be out of duty – for no such duty bound him to her. If he were to accept her, and to act as her kinsmen redeemer, it would be because he chose to accept her, chose to treat her with hesed – loving kindness; chose to make her part of his family and to shower her with grace!
And I would dare to say that there is not a one of us who would want a person to marry us out of duty or obligation. If someone is going to join their lives to ours, and to do life together with us, we want it to be by choice, we want it to flow from love.
And Scripture tells us that that is how God has welcomed us into His house, into His family – not out of duty and obligation – but by love, and from choice. Scripture says this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NIV84) And “He chose us in Him before the creation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4, NIV84) for “As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16, NIV84) “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:18, NIV84)
Last week we learned that a redeemer had to be both willing and able to redeem. In Jesus we have a redeemer who is both willing and able to do for us that which we cannot do – to redeem us from slavery to sin, to bring us from darkness to light, and from death to life. This is our hope in Christ. This is God’s grace to us. And just as Ruth looked forward to the hope of the rest that she could one day enjoy, the day will come when we will enter into the rest that God has prepared for those He has loved and chosen as well.
We’re going to continue with Ruth’s story next week but for now let’s spend a moment in prayer ….
