We now come to the romantic heart of the Book of Ruth in the
Old Testament-which is in fact the heart of our loving God. We’ve been following the life of Naomi, mostly in our imagination
of what could have been, from her childhood and marriage to the family’s move
to Moab to escape famine in Bethlehem. Last time we saw that after the death of
her sons and husband the bereft Naomi returns to Bethlehem. One of her widowed
daughters-in-law also comes with her. Ruth, the Moabite, is now the foreigner
in the land of Israel.
Naomi returned to Bethlehem hoping that she would be treated
kindly because of the command by Moses in Leviticus 19:9-10 which says, ‘When you harvest your land’s produce, you
must not harvest all the way to the edge of your field; and don’t gather up
every remaining bit of your harvest. Also do not pick your vineyard clean or
gather up all the grapes that have fallen there. Leave these items for the poor and the immigrant; I am the Lord your
God.” She planned to live by
scavenging the leftover grain at the edges of the field and survive.
As you read the Book of Ruth, try to put yourself into Naomi's sandals. She left Bethlehem as the wife of a competent husband with 2 sons, she returns a homeless widow, with only her widowed daughter-in-law as companion. How would you have felt? How would you have coped?
In chapter 2 of the Book of Ruth we learn “Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a
prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.” Cue
the dramatic music. This gives us a hint of what may take place. Older than the
Law of Moses is the tradition that a brother, or other kinsman, should marry a
widow so that the family line continues. You can see this in Genesis 38 in the
saga of Jacob and his sons. Judah’s son Er dies. “Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "Go and marry Tamar, as our
law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for
your brother." There is hope whispering on the wind…
We learn that “Ruth
the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of
grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.’” And by
coincidence, or God’s guiding, or maybe a nudge from Naomi, ”she came to the part of the field belonging
to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.” (Ruth 2:1-3)
Boaz sees the stranger gleaning. Cue the soft music. “Boaz said to his servant who was in charge
of the reapers, ‘To whom does this young woman belong?’ The servant…answered,
‘She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She
said, “Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.” So
she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now,
without resting even for a moment.’” (Ruth 2:5-7)
“Boaz said to Ruth,
‘Now listen, my daughter, do not go to
glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women...’”
This is above and beyond the Leviticus ordinance, and Ruth knows that Boaz
is singling her out. “She fell prostrate,
with her face to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor in your
sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?’ But Boaz
answered her, ‘All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of
your husband has been fully told me…May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and
may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings
you have come for refuge!’ Then she said, ‘May I continue to find favor in your
sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant,
even though I am not one of your servants.’” (Ruth 2:8-13)
It is clear that Boaz is intrigued by this young woman from
Moab who left her own family to risk life with her mother-in-law in a strange
place. The strength of Ruth’s love for Naomi makes her truly a daughter even if
not by blood bonds.
In the Biblical story we see Boaz making a special effort to see that Ruth is taken care of. “At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come here,
and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.’ So she sat
beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain…Boaz instructed
his young men, ‘Let her glean even among the standing sheaves…You must also
pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to
glean...’” (Ruth 2: 14-16) Boaz may have told himself that he was just
being a good kinsman to aid his kinsman’s widow, Naomi, by helping Ruth.
However, you can read between the lines and see his budding romantic interest
in the young widow.
Ruth does very well with her gleaning, thanks to Boaz’s
instructions. ”She gleaned in the field
until evening. Then she beat out what
she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley…Her mother-in-law said
to her, ‘Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the
man who took notice of you.’ She [said], ‘The name of the man with whom I
worked today is Boaz.’ Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘Blessed be he
by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!’ (Ruth
2:17-20) Naomi senses Boaz’s interest
when Ruth tells of her adventures. When she learns that Boaz invited Ruth to
stay with his men throughout the harvest she advises, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women,
otherwise you might be bothered in another field.” (Ruth 2:20) Naomi starts
to think about the possibilities for future stability.
In Chapter 3, Naomi decides to take concrete steps to
further the budding romance. She instructs Ruth to do something that seems, to
21st Century minds, to be both tricky and a bit risqué. Naomi says, “Now here is our kinsman Boaz…he is winnowing
barley tonight at the threshing-floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on
your best clothes and go down to the threshing-floor; but do not make yourself
known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down,
observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down;
and he will tell you what to do.’” (Ruth 3:1-4)
Ruth does as she is told. “She went down to the threshing-floor…When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and
he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of
grain. Then she came quietly and uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight
the man was startled and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a
woman! He said, ‘Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth, your servant;
spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.’ He said, ‘…I
will do for you all that you ask.” (Ruth 3:6-11) Boaz then notes that there is one potential problem, (cue the dramatic music) “there is another kinsman more closely
related than I…in the morning…If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for
you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you.’” (Ruth
3:12-13)
When morning comes, Ruth “got
up before one person could recognize another; for he said, ‘It must not be
known that the woman came to the threshing-floor.’” Boaz gives her a gift which
she takes back to Naomi “saying, ‘He gave
me these six measures of barley, for he said, “Do not go back to your
mother-in-law empty-handed.” Naomi
is satisfied with the success of her plan and replies, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the
man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”
Sure enough, Boaz heads for the city gate where business was
transacted. Along comes the other potential kinsman redeemer. Boaz proceeds to
play it cool, inviting the other man and 10 of the city elders to confer. “He then said to the next-of-kin, ‘Naomi,
who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that
belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and
say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the
elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not,
tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and
I come after you.’” Ruth 4:1-4.
Seeing a bargain, but not seeing the trap, the other man
says, ‘I will redeem it.’ It is only
then that Boaz explains, ‘The day you
acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the
Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his
inheritance.’ Just as Boaz planned and hoped, “the next-of-kin said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging
my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem
it.’” Cue the romantic theme music.
We then get a little peek into the customs of Israel. “To confirm a transaction, one party took off
a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So
when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, ‘Acquire it for yourself’, he took off his
sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are
witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to
Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired
Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s
name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off
from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are
witnesses.’ Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders,
said, ‘We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your
house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you
produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the
children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be
like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.’ (Ruth 4:7-12) This
elaborate wording and blessing was the sealing of the contract, which was not
written because writing was still a very young art. There is little likelihood that
anyone in Bethlehem even knew that there was such a thing as writing, much less
could have drawn up a written contract.
God is on Naomi's side to bring good from the disastrous events of recent years. It has not been an easy life for Naomi, but now it looks like everything is going to come out alright. The story of Naomi and Ruth reminds us that God loves us through thick and thin! Can you think of times in your life when God helped turn what seemed bad into a blessing?
“Boaz took Ruth and
she became his wife.” Naomi’s plan worked, and they all lived happily ever
after. But wait, there is more to the story that we’ll get to next time.
