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RUTH Chapters 3, 4 This Is Already Our Last Study of Ruth. While This RUTH Chapters 3, 4 This is already our last study of Ruth. While this book is very short, it gives us much insight into many important questions about life, such as where God is, in difficult times, and why sometimes He waits so long before He acts. Also, it is through two faithful women, that we learn so much about God’s workings in the believers’ lives. Naomi and Ruth, both teach us how to be patient and hopeful, in hard times. Throughout the tragedies of losing their husbands and being reduced to poverty, they did not believe that God had forsaken them. They often spoke of Him so reverently. Right in the midst of their ordeal, when Naomi told Ruth that it would be better for her to stay in Moab because she had nothing to offer her, she pronounced these words: The LORD deal kindly … (Ruth1:8), "The LORD grant that you may find rest (Ruth1:9). She was not mad at God for her situation. Ruth responded in like manner and said: Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:17) These women knew their God well, and when the time was right, He responded to their faith. When He replied, He acted in wonderful ways and with great blessings. We have seen that when Ruth went out to find food, the Scriptures said: And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz,(Ruth 2:3). Of all the fields outside of Bethlehem, God directed her to the one which belonged to Boaz, the man who was going to marry her and support her and Naomi. Then, the next verse begins with the words: Now behold - or as the Hebrew would have it: would you believe that, or have your heard such a thing - Boaz came from Bethlehem. Boaz came at the very same time as Ruth. God prearranged their meeting, and He still works in the same way for those who trust Him. But while this is a beautiful love story, it is one which speaks of the greatest encounter anyone could have in his lifetime; the one when he or she meets the Saviour, our Redeemer the Messiah. This is who Boaz typifies, and where the whole story brings us. This is where we find the depth of the Book of Ruth as it brings us right near our Saviour. The place of the book of Ruth in the Scriptures is like a hope rising high in an arid wasteland. After the chaotic history in the Book of Judges, the name of David is the very last word mentioned in the book of Ruth. This links us to its sequel, Matthew 1:1, the opening words of the New Testament calling Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Today we are coming to the best part of Ruth, yet. We are going to see the workings of redemption and we are finally going to look for this wedding that we were awaiting, since we have seen it coming from the very beginning. 1 Let us consider Chapter 3, which begins with so much love; this is the love that we are often asked to have for one another. Ruth 3:1 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? As Ruth sought to support Naomi at the beginning and did all along, Naomi also desired the best for her daughter in law. We see here a true mutual love. The love between these two women is a great example of the love for the brethren, that we find in the Body of the Messiah. It is at this point in the story where Naomi, who realized that it was the end of the harvest time and that Ruth may not see Boaz anymore, that she devised a plan to have Ruth and Boaz meet, and even marry. Let us see how this happened in Ruth 3:2-4 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 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. 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. And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do." Exactly what Naomi was asking Ruth to do is a matter of much debate. But, judging from Ruth’s explanation and Boaz’s response later on, this seems to have been part of a custom at the time, where one would ask a redeemer for marriage. In this story, Ruth literally asks Boaz to marry her. So Ruth did as Naomi asked her to do. She observed where Boaz went to lie down for the night, and there she went and uncovered his feet, which must have awakened Boaz, even scared him. This is what we read in Ruth 3:8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. The word startled in the Hebrew speaks of one who is afraid and trembling, just like when Mount Sinai shook when God descended on it, where the same word was used. So it was some experience for poor Boaz. The phrase in verse 8, And it happened at midnight, is found only in one other place, both of which speak of judgment and redemption; the other mention is in Exodus 12:29: And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt… All the firstborn of Egypt were struck, except those whose house had the blood of the lamb on the lintel and doorpost of the house. Similarly, Ruth came to her redeemer and took shelter in Boaz, who is a type of the Messiah. It is in the following verse where we understand the reason why Ruth uncovered his feet. Ruth 3:9 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." Ruth asks Boaz to take her under his covering or wings; She was plainly asking Boaz to marry her. We see here that it is not always the man who should ask for marriage! But, just before, Boaz uses the same expression, when he blesses Ruth. Ruth 2:12 2 "The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." But now Ruth is asking Boaz to be these wings. We see three individuals in the redeeming of Ruth; God provides Boaz, the redeemer, and Ruth seeks refuge in Boaz. This typifies the biblical marriage. This image is also found in one other prophet, the one who speaks of divorce. Malachi 2:16 "For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,”… A man who divorces his wife, is seen as guilty of covering her with violence. But, when God covered Israel with his wings (Ezekiel 16:8), He never forsook her. When Boaz takes Ruth under his wings, it is a type of the Messiah covering each and every believer with His covering; no one can ever remove it. This marriage in the making here, is very much like the relation between Israel and God, which is depicted as a marriage. In Ezekiel 16:8, God spoke of the same kind of love and protection over Israel and said: When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness…. Here the hebrew word for wings is the same word as in Ruth. As we move deeper into the text, we will see that this wedding speaks of ours also, the one which will take place in heaven. But what was the basis of Ruth’s demand? One does not just ask someone to marry them, inadvertently. The reason is found in the word relative. It is a new Hebrew word here and the first of ten mentions in Ruth. The word is goel, or redeemer. This word occurs twenty-one times in this book. But in this verse, it is the first time it is used in the form of a noun. Here begins the story of the Redeemer. Now, let us see how Boaz reacted to all this commotion in the middle of the night. As soon as he hears Ruth’s demand for marriage, he forgets his fears right away and responds with great excitement. Perhaps, as if it was a dream come true. We remember that he had an eye on her. He had told his servants to take good care of her, to even throw some grains on the ground, without being noticed, so that she could find them. We have seen that he invited her to eat and served her himself.
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