Book of Ruth Chapter Three Obedience

Introduction

In Chapter 1 we saw the bitterness of soul in the life of Naomi as she faced the loss of her husband and two sons down in Moab. But finally the famine broke in Judah and Naomi decides to go home. Her daughter-in-law, Ruth, commits herself to go along and care for Naomi. Unknown to Naomi is a kinsman named Boaz whom God has preserved as a husband for Ruth to raise up an heir for the family name and property. However, chapter one ends with Naomi overwhelmed by her losses and with her faith at an all-time low, she says, "The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me."

In Chapter 2 we see the mercy of God breaking through bright enough for even Naomi to see it. We meet Boaz, a man of wealth, a man of God, and a relative of Naomi's husband. We see Ruth taking refuge under the wings of God in a foreign land and being led mercifully by God to the field of Boaz to glean. We see Naomi begin to recover from her long sadness and bitter depression as she turns back to God for help. Her newfound hope causes her to say, "The Lord's kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" Chapter 2 is full of hope. Boaz is a God-fearing man in his business and personal life (vv. 4, 10–13).

Ruth has become a godly woman being sheltered under the wings of the Almighty. Naomi’s heart has begun to fill with faith and hope as she exalts the sovereignty of God. All of the darkness of chapter 1 is gone. God has turned her mourning into dancing. "The Almighty has dealt bitterly with me" (1:20) has given way to "His kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead" (2:20). Naomi had begun to see that those who “wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Today we will continue our series on the Book of Ruth by looking at chapter three and the theme of Obedience and Strategic Righteousness. Naomi and Ruth have returned from the land of Moab and resettled in Bethlehem. Naomi has faced the consequences of their mistakes and has made a decision to make some changes in her life and endure God’s conditioning. Naomi and Ruth accept their circumstances and work through their difficulties and look beyond their problems to see God as the source of their strength and blessing. What a great attitude! And what a great plan!

The question Chapter 3 answers is, “What does a godly man of integrity and, a God-fearing young woman do when they fall in love? And how does the wisdom of someone older help guide them in the right direction? The answer lies in obedience that leads to a strategic righteousness. By obedience and righteousness I mean a love for God and a zeal for doing what is good and right—a zeal for doing what is appropriate; a zeal that takes into account the plan of God for your life.

1 By strategic I mean that there is intention, purpose, and planning. You can learn to cultivate a deep down righteousness which simply avoids evil when it presents itself. But strategic righteousness takes the initiative and dreams of how to make things right.

One of the lessons we learn from Ruth chapter 3 is that hope helps us dream. Hope helps us think up ways to do well. Hope helps us pursue our ventures with virtue and integrity. Hopelessness and desperation makes you think you have to lie and steal and engage in illicit pleasures to get what you want. Hope that is based upon a confidence that God loves you and wants the best for you gives you a thrilling faith that produces a life of obedience and strategic righteousness. We see it in Naomi in verses 1–5, we see it in Ruth in verses 6–9, and we see it in Boaz in verses 10–15. And the chapter closes with Naomi full of confidence again in the power and goodness of God.

Let’s begin then with Chapter 3 verses 1-5:

Read Ruth 3:1-5

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? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 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. 4 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." 5 "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.”

I. Obedient Servants plan for the future.

Ruth continues to glean in Boaz’s field for about seven weeks, until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, around the time of Pentecost. Naomi has realized that Boaz has taken an interest in Ruth. She also sees the possibility that Ruth just might be able to find another husband in Israel. Naomi says to Ruth, "Should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?" Obviously, Naomi is talking about a position of rest and security attained through marriage.

Naomi is well-aware that she is getting older and will not always be able to protect Ruth in the land of Israel. She has already seen how sovereignly God has led Ruth to glean in the fields of Boaz and recognizes his interest in Ruth. So Naomi’s hopes for Ruth now begin to focus upon Boaz, who just might be willing to act as a "kinsman-redeemer" for Naomi’s family (verses 1-9).

A kinsman-redeemer (or Go-el as it was known in Hebrew) was a relative who could redeem a poor person’s inheritance according to Leviticus 25:25. In certain circumstances, where there was no heir, a near relative could act as kinsman- redeemer by marrying the relative’s widow to redeem the inheritance. The “catch”

2 was that a relative was not obligated to act as kinsman-redeemer. Unfortunately, if no relative chose to help, the family would probably wind up living in poverty.

Naomi suggests to her daughter-in-law that they come up with a strategic and yet righteous plan of action. Naomi tells Ruth, "Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let [Boaz] 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" (Ruth 3:3-4).

Ruth obediently does as Naomi told her. Something startles Boaz in the middle of the night, and he awakes to discover a woman lying at his feet. Ruth identifies herself and then seized the initiative, "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" (verse 9). What Ruth does is boldly ask Boaz for a pledge from him to marry her. Interestingly, this same expression is used by God in Ezekiel 16:8 to describe his relationship with Israel: "I spread the corner of my garment over you" (Ezekiel 16:8).

Ruth’s actions were completely in accord with the law of Levitical marriage, which required the initiative of the widow in seeking out the marriage. (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) God used this law to protect and provide for women in a culture that was male dominate. If a woman was left a childless widow it also left her estate vulnerable. A husband who died and left his wife with a farm and a vineyard or a flock of sheep without anyone to manage left her defenseless against others. So she was allowed to claim the nearest kinsman to be her husband and he would have to look after her.

Naomi recognizes the situation and begins to plan ahead for Ruth’s future. Ruth is obedient to carry out the plan; however, they did not manipulate the situation.

II. Obedient Servants do not Manipulate Circumstances

Boaz says, “Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman.” Boaz felt honored by Ruth’s request because she was "a woman of noble character; a term that certainly applies to the ‘Proverbs 31 woman’)".

A Wife of Noble Character 10 Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. 11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. 14 She is like a merchant’s ship,

3 bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day’s work for her servant girls. 16 She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. 18 She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. 19 Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. 20 She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. 21 She has no fear of winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. 22 She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. 23 Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. 24 She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. 26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. 27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. 28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: 29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. 31 Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Boaz realizes that Ruth is a Proverbs 31 woman! However, he informs her that Naomi has a closer relative. This man would have the first option to marry Ruth and redeem Naomi’s inheritance. But, Boaz assured Ruth that if this other relative is not prepared to act as kinsman-redeemer, then he certainly will be.

Ruth now has to wait until the matter was settled with the other relative. Boaz doesn’t try to manipulate the circumstances; nor does Ruth or Naomi. They simply put their truth in the Lord, follow the plan and obey God’s word. Obedient servants don’t need to manipulate the circumstances. That doesn’t mean that we sit around and do nothing, waiting for God to take care of everything. It means after we have done our best, we put our trust in God and rest in Him.

4 Obedient servants have faith in those they serve.

III. Obedient Servants have faith in those they serve.

Obedient servants believe that God will work out any plan that He inspires. If you have to manipulate and lie and hide things in order to get what you want, you will never be satisfied with the end result. Even if things don’t work out, if you do them with honor, you will preserve your integrity and morality.

Naomi tells Ruth that she has a perfect right to claim Boaz as her husband since he is a near kinsman. She shares with Ruth her plan to make Boaz aware of his responsibility as a kinsman redeemer. Naomi sends Ruth to the threshing floor where Boaz and his workers are winnowing the wheat. She tells Ruth to wait until after supper is over and everyone else has turned in for the night. Then she was to go to Boaz and claim him for her husband.

Normally, Ruth’s father or brother would have negotiated a marriage to someone like Boaz. The men would settle on the bride-price and the marriage contract, and if Ruth agreed, she was married. But Ruth has no one to negotiate for her. Naomi can’t do it. For one thing, she is a woman. For another, she is not related to Ruth. So, Naomi has to be shrewd. There has to be a way to get Ruth and Boaz together so that Boaz will take the initiative and marry Ruth.

Naomi offers advice that has worked for thousands of years. Get cleaned up; put on some nice clothes; make yourself smell good (a little midnight in Moab); and wait until he’s had a good meal and ready to relax. A lot of people are shocked to find this passage in the Bible. The writers of the Bible knew perfectly well how love and marriage work and modern science has not improved ancient courtship rituals. In the Song of Solomon, the women singers warn against arousing passion too early because they knew that desire alone is dangerous.

Naomi and Ruth both know that there is but one chance to make this work. They also know that their plan is dangerous. So Naomi urges caution as well as boldness. Naomi tells Ruth to wait until the proper moment and try not to get caught in an embarrassing situation. Because Ruth is an outsider she could easily be dismissed and her reputation ruined. There’s nothing worse than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What would have happened to Ruth that night if she had entered a room of drunken men at the end of the harvest? Having her reputation ruined would be the least of the misery she could have experienced. If Ruth was aware of the stories in Genesis and Judges, she would know the danger she faced. Ruth may even have been tempted to stay home and live by gleaning, but somehow she found the courage to take action because she believed in Naomi and she had faith in God.

While Boaz is asleep, Ruth quietly enters the threshing floor and finds him hidden away in a corner. Rather than wake him, Ruth uncovers his feet and at midnight Boaz wakes up and is terrified to find a woman lying at his feet. Boaz might have feared for his reputation.

5 Boaz asks “Who are you?” “I am Ruth,” she replies. Ruth then reminds Boaz that he is the redeemer for Naomi, and she asks that he spread his cloak over her. Ruth reminds Boaz of his obligation to the dead, but she does so in a way that will not shame him in front of others. Boaz tells Ruth is that he respects the fact that she is not looking for a husband simply out of concern for her own happiness. Ruth herself has chosen a kinsman-redeemer as the man she will marry because she knows that this will benefit Naomi. Boaz promises Ruth that he will make her his wife because everyone knows she is a worthy woman.

But now it will be up to Boaz to bring things to a conclusion. Obedient servants must be able to have faith in those they serve. It is that confidence that encourages them to follow the plan without manipulating the circumstances.

Conclusion

There are times when you have to take the initiative and take a risk to insure the future. Some people are surprised to learn this too is a part of faith. As Christians, we must have confidence that Christ is our kinsman redeemer.

Have you ever felt that you just don’t fit in? Or that you’re never right about anything? Or no matter what you do it always seems like its wrong. Naomi and Ruth must have felt some of that when they left Moab. But then they began to put more of their faith in God, and more things started to work out for them. The good news is that you are never too poor or too bad or too unworthy to come to Christ and ask for His help. Even if you’ve just come from Moab, God will still accept you and help you. You may feel like your completely different from everyone else and still Jesus will be your kinsman redeemer. When you ask Jesus to get involved in your world, He will give you wisdom and guidance, and your faith in Him will just keep growing. You will be able to quit striving and trying to manipulate things in your favor, because you know God’s love for you is real and you can trust Him.

Take the risk and make your claim on Christ as your kinsman redeemer. When you see God’s plan for your life begin to unfold and you follow his advice and trust Him to work out the details you know something great lies ahead. Learn from Ruth and Boaz and Naomi. Be obedient and follow God’s plan for your life; stake your claim on the promises of God’s word and learn to wait patiently until you experience God’s blessing. When you do things God’s way, things will always work out better for you than if you turn to manipulation and deception.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your path, just like he did for Ruth and Naomi and Boaz.

6