Ruth 3: 1 – 18
This Is My Land
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? 2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” 5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. 7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.” 10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. 12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
I remember a song that went something like the following words, ‘This is my land, this is your land, from California to the Gulf Stream waters. This land is my land, this land is your land. This land was made for you and me.’
So why the song? Well, our Holy Adoni Yahweh Is the actual owner of the land of Israel, and as having leased it to His people for their inheritance, with the consequence that the Israelites themselves merely had only the recognized use of the land.
We as sinful human beings take things for granted. It seems that many people think that someone else’s property belongs to them. They have the motto ‘what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is mine.’
In Israel because of this the present possessor could not part with the family portion perpetually or sell it at will. It was to remain forever in his family. If therefore the situation arose that any one was obliged to sell his inheritance on account of finding himself in poverty, and actually did sell it (although all that he could sell was the use of the land), it was seen as the duty of the nearest relation to redeem it, by acting as goël (redeemer). However, even if it was not redeemed, it still returned to its original ‘owner’ at the next year of Jubilee, without compensation, for what had been bought was merely the use of the land. Consequently, at least in theory, (land purchasers would often later find a way round it by absorbing the land into their own land, ‘adding field to field’).
Furthermore there was also an old customary right, which had been confirmed to some extent by The Great and Holy Adoni Yahweh in the Law of Moses, for the widow of a family member to require that a near kinsman (in the Mosaic Law a natural brother) beget children through her in order to perpetuate the family name. This was the custom of Levirate marriage. Such a custom is evidenced in Genesis 38 where Judah was seen as responsible to see that the wife of his dead son was impregnated by one of his other sons, whether older or younger than the widow, so as to produce seed for the dead son. This would preserve his name in Israel and provide an heir for his inheritance. This son was then the legal heir of any landed property that the deceased father had.
It would appear from the Book of Ruth that these two customs had become interconnected so that to ‘redeem’ the land was to take on responsibility for bearing children through the widow of the deceased man. Indeed, to fail to do the latter was seen as bringing a certain level of disgrace on the one who refused, for we learn in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25 verses 8-10 that the widow would loose his shoe and spit in his face and he would forever afterwards be known as ‘the one whose shoe had been loosed’.
It is clear from what follows that Elimelech, and of course his sons on his death, had ‘owned’ land near Bethlehem, land which would now be offered to the near kinsman for him to ‘redeem it’ on behalf of the dead man, with it then being recognized that he would beget a son through Ruth in order to perpetuate the name of the dead. It was these customs which were the basis for Naomi’s actions in this chapter.
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?
Harvest being over Naomi now decided that it was time to act. She had no doubt observed with interest Boaz’s continued generosity towards Ruth, and it had encouraged her to think that he might not be averse to marrying her. So she approached Ruth informing her that her intention was to ‘seek rest’ for her so that her future might be secure. She then gave instructions to Ruth about what she ought to do.
2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
She reminds Ruth that the man who had been so kind to her was in fact their kinsman, knowing no doubt that Ruth would recognize the significance of that fact. Furthermore she knew where he would be that evening, for the harvest having been gathered in it would now be necessary for it to be threshed. Thus she knew that he would be in charge of the winnowing in the threshing floor. The threshing floor would be in an open area of ground where the ground had been beaten down and where it would be affected by the steady wind that blew at that time of year. The grain would be piled on the threshing floor and would then be tossed up into the air by winnowing-forks so that the wind could blow away the chaff, leaving the ears of grain to fall again to the threshing floor. Thus the ears of barley would be separated from the chaff. The winnowing would be followed by feasting in celebration of the gathering in of harvest.
3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
Now this fact should be a ‘no-brainer’. If you want someone to take notice you should go all out, should you not? Should you be reminded to take a bath and fix yourself up all nice and pretty? I don’t think so.
Ruth was therefore to wash herself, and anoint herself with oil and then dress and go down to the threshing floor. There she must wait patiently and unobserved until Boaz had finished eating and drinking. As mentioned above this eating and drinking would probably be part of the celebrations because the harvest had been safely gathered in. It was not to be interrupted. What Ruth was about to do must not be done out in the open.
4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.”
Once he laid himself down to sleep Ruth was to mark where he lay down (darkness would be approaching), and when the time was right she should go onto the threshing floor, lift up his robe where it covered his feet (Boaz would be using his robe as a kind of bedcovering) and should then lay herself down there and put that portion of the robe over herself. This was seemingly a recognized act by which she would be claiming the right of levirate marriage. It certainly indicated that she was seeking his protection. Boaz would then tell her what she should do. It would be in his hands how he responded to her plea.
5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her.
Please take note of what our Precious Holy Spirit wants to be clear for all of us, that Ruth was not self-seeking. She was obedient to the customs of her new people. So she went down to the threshing floor.
7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
There would be a good number of people present for the threshing, and all these would join in the feasting, and then seek out a place to sleep on the threshing floor, probably a little merry from the wine. Boaz in his turn, once he had eaten and drunk also sought out a place to sleep, and he chose to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Observing this, Ruth gave him time to settle and fall asleep, and then approached him softly, uncovered his feet, and laid herself down under that portion of his robe.
8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet.
By this time it would be quite dark, and thus when Boaz awoke, and was conscious of someone lying at his feet he was a little apprehensive. Turning he noted that it was a woman. Not being able to tell who the woman was in the dimness it seemed to him quite out of place.
9 And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.”
So he asked, quite startled, ‘Who are you?’ And Ruth replied ‘I am Ruth your handmaid.’ She then requested him, acting as a near kinsman, to cover her with the corner or ‘wing’ of his robe as a sign that he was taking her under his protection.
10 Then he said, “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
This verse helps prove my point that Boaz was significantly older than Ruth, possibly a couple of generations. This verse reminds me of a TV show. I was channel surfing and came upon this program called ‘Beauty and the Geek.’ It caught my interest so I watched the show. On the episode I watched, unbeknown to the beautiful woman, the guy who I would say wasn’t bad looking, was a successful businessman. He was a multimillionaire. He owned the restaurant that he took this lovely woman to on a date. The employees were happy for their boss and they did everything possible to make his date go well. Again, the woman did not know any of these facts. Now apparently this dating had been going on for awhile and the guy was going to propose marriage to this gorgeous woman.
To put a monkey wrench into the situation the show’s producers then placed this handsome guy into the equation. This so called handsome guy was an unemployed model. The woman was then given the choice on who she would like to go on a trip with. Who do you think she picked? I can almost hear the outcome. Yep, she chose the unemployed model. The show’s host then informed the woman on what she just missed out on. You could see that not only the rich guy who really wanted the relationship to develop into something special but also his employees. No matter how they all tried to smile, you could read their faces.
I think to a large degree this is why Boaz was so impressed with Ruth. He knew that she was young and beautiful and she could have foolishly pursued love in all the wrong places and people. She chose Boaz and when we read the rest of this chapter you will see how this man is moved to make things happen for both of them.
11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.
He then assured her that as far as it lay within his power he would do what she had requested, because she had a reputation among all the people of Bethlehem as being a worthy woman.
The next words I believe help us understand that Boaz had been thinking about Ruth and how he could be a part of her life. He knew that there was someone else that was a nearer kinsman.
12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.
And now look at how he guards his heart. If this other guy catches wind of how beautiful Ruth is, oh well, there is nothing that he can do but you will see that it isn’t going to be him to spill the beans.
13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.”
So, he kind of says, ‘in the mean time how about you stay right here with me.’
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
To protect Ruth’s honor and I think to keep the matter secret about what he was about to do in confronting the near kinsman, Boaz did not want any rumor mill going around about this beautiful foreigner.
15 Also he said, “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.” And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
I have already told you how much an ephah was, so instead of having Ruth carry the load home, he should have hooked up a horse and wagon to take all the grain home with her.
16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her.
I can imagine Ruth groaning under the weight of the grain that she brought home. Naomi heard the noise and wanted to know what was all the racket. So, Ruth filled her in on what had happened.
17 And she said, “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
Naomi was wise to understand how much Boaz wanted Ruth. She advised Ruth to stay hidden away until Boaz was able to deal with the matter with the near kinsman.
I think that you will agree that this is a great love story. Well, let me tell you another one which is even more special. You see the love and desire that Boaz felt towards Ruth, our Precious Holy Ghost points out to us that this is how our Great and Wonderful Holy Lord feels about us. He wants to woo us because He loves us. If we come to Him then He will flow lavish gifts upon us. Some of you might now be asking, ‘like what?’. How about a new heart that brings forth love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and self control for starters.
Don’t be like that foolish woman on the TV show that picked with her eyes and not with her heart. Give your heart to Jesus, you will never, never, never be ashamed that you made the wrong choice.
