Ruth 3

I watched a movie this week called The Swimmers. It’s a true story about 2 sisters from Syria with Olympic aspirations, but the war hits too close to home, and they hear about how certain European countries have open borders for refugees. In some places they are even creating villages for people to live. This creates hope for a better future, so the sisters set out with tens of thousands to escape their war torn home. At one point they are on a raft making a near impossible trek, and the girls end up in the water pulling the raft with ropes. I won’t give any more of it away, but it’s heart wrenching. The things they endure  to make it to their destination are unbelievable. Hope in something better drove them to action.

Recap

Last week we began our story with 2 women who had lost everything. Naomi had lost her husband and her sons, Ruth had lost her husband, and they had to move back to Bethlehem in hopes of finding a way to survive. Naomi was very bitter, and looked at God as the One who had caused these things to happen TO her. 

Ruth goes to work in a field, and it just so happens that the field belonged to Boaz, a close relative of Naomi’s. Boaz immediately shows Ruth favor, giving her priority in gather leftover grains, giving her a seat at the table, and providing a way for Naomi and Ruth to eat. Our chapter last week ended with Ruth filling Naomi in on all that had happened, and to which Naomi told Ruth, “by the way, this Boaz is one of our redeemers.” 

A kinsman redeemer in that time was the relative of someone who was in trouble, danger or need, and would have the responsibility of stepping in to “save” that person. Chapter ends with Naomi, feeling hopeless and blaming God, to now a glimmer of hope flashing in her heart and mind as she sees a way out for Ruth through Boaz.

Big Idea: Our hope in the Redeemer overcomes difficult seasons, and produces in us a fight to attain that which is hoped for.

Read 3:1

Notice Naomi’s priority. She is concerned about Ruth finding rest. Ruth’s faithfulness to her mother-in-law has created a deep connection between them.

Read 3:2-5

Now, this can seem a really bizarre instruction from Naomi at face value. We have to transport ourselves through time to see why this is so significant.

The threshing floor was usually located outside of town in a place where the west wind would blow through. The people of Bethlehem took turns using the threshing floor. The floor was a flat hard area on a slightly raised platform or hill. Winnowing was the process of tossing grain into the air to finish separating the grain from the chaff. When the winnowing was done, the farmer normally stayed with the grain at night, camping out on the threshing floor to ensure that the harvest was not stolen. This is where Boaz will be. 

We don’t need to read too much into the washing and anointing of Ruth. This was a common practice done often by everyone after a long day. With that said, Naomi did want Ruth to look and smell her best. But taking a bath was normal, the anointing with oil was also a common practice, much like lotion and deodorant would be for us today. 

Now we aren’t exactly sure why Ruth was to keep herself hidden, but Naomi had her reasons. One more contextual clue for us before we watch this unfold. The uncovering of and laying at his feet.

If you remember in chapter 2 when Boaz shows favor to Ruth, she falls down at his feet in an act of humility. In the same way, laying at his feet is a symbol of humility and submission. Then, Ruth waits to see what Boaz does. These are the instructions. 

Hope for something better is driving Naomi to encourage Ruth to act on that hope. So let’s see how it plays out.

Read 3:6-9

Can you imagine being Boaz in this situation? Have you ever seen those videos of kids sleep walking and just standing next to their parent’s beds? That’s like one of my greatest fears, waking up and having a child sized human standing at my feet. Gives me waking nightmares just thinking about it. 

But this is kind of what happens. Boaz has just had a great meal, and is in a really good mood. The wording here does NOT mean that Boaz was drunk. His heart was merry because the harvest is done, he had great success, and he just had a really good meal. Think about this. Would it have been wise to be drunk and trying to protect the crop? He needed to be sober with a clear mind to stay on top of his duty. So he’s in a really good mood, finds a place between the door and the crops, and goes to sleep. 

Ruth comes in, which again, so creepy. How did she know when he went to sleep? She was somehow staying hidden and spying on Boaz. But, she comes in, uncovers his feet, and lays down. Boaz wakes up and sees a human laying at his feet, and instead of kicking her like I probably would have, he asked her who she was. And her response is key. 

“I am Ruth your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” This is very similar to what we see the Lord doing for Ruth in chapter 2. If you remember Boaz says to Ruth, “the Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whos wings you have come to take refuge.” We see many times in Scripture the metaphorical wings of the Lord being referred to as a place of refuge, a place of safety and security. 

This is a proposal! Ruth is saying to Boaz, “fulfill your responsibility as my redeemer, take me under your wings of protection and security.” In other words, marry me! I mean how bold is this! Here’s a really cool contextual nugget for you. Another translation of the Hebrew word for “wing” is “covering.” During a wedding ceremony, the groom’s relatives covered the bride with the groom’s garments, indicating that from then on, she was under his protection, his “wing.”

Let’s look at Boaz’s response.

Read 3:10-13

Boaz counts it a kindness that Ruth didn’t pursue a younger man, but instead loves her late husband enough to marry into his family and keep the family line going. It’s because of this and her faithfulness towards Naomi that the people in Bethlehem consider her a worthy woman. Boaz has been talking to other people about Ruth, trying to find out anything he can about her, and all he is hearing is how worthy she is.

There’s a small problem though. No matter how much God has moved the pieces into place, there is just one more that needs to be checked. Boaz is a man of integrity, and knows that there is another relative who would be next in line to redeem Ruth. If he refused, then Boaz was next. 

Read 3:14-18

Boaz sends Ruth home, again with an abundance of food for she and Naomi, and they are left waiting for Boaz to sort out the matter of who will redeem Ruth. 

So what do we do with this? How do we take this bizarre series of events in which Ruth proposes to Boaz, just to leave us hanging until next week??

We need to consider what happens when hope enters our hearts and minds. Hope, especially when life seems desperate, is a powerful thing. 

Israel in Egypt

Israel was in captivity for 430 years in Egypt. Moses and Aaron show up, the Lord provides a way out, and they enter the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. What kept them going? Hope. Were there challenges and grumblings along the way? Absolutely, but what kept them moving? The reminder that something better was coming.

Disciples

The disciples knew of the coming Messiah, and they had heard of this Jesus performing miracles, and that He was who they were waiting for. Many of them had encounters with Him in which they dropped everything, left their lives behind, to follow Him. They had hope that this was the Messiah that would save them. Now, were some of the ideas of HOW He would save them wrong? Yes, but after living under Roman rule, they were hopeful that something better was yet to come. They faced persecution and discouragement, but they continued forward. 

It’s believed that 10 of the original 12 disciples were killed for holding fast to their faith, why? Because of their hope in Jesus and eternity with Him. 

This is a pretty general principle though, right? Hope in something better spurring us to action and compelling us to push forward even when things get hard? 

Application

Hope. Countless books written, thousands of movies with it as it’s theme. Church names, baby names, animal names. Hope is a word and a concept that is globally known, but we, we as Christians carry it with us in a unique way, every day because of Jesus. The hope that we hold on to came in the form of a baby in Bethlehem. Our hope, though, is different than those who hoped before that day. 

See they were hoping towards a Messiah who had been promised to them for thousands of years. Their hope was in what Jesus was GOING to do. We live on the other side of the cross, so our hope is found in what Jesus DID do. When we celebrate Christmas, it’s because we know the story, and we know how it ends. We look forward to an eternity with Jesus. 

So let me ask a question, in light of that hope, the hope we have in our Savior Jesus, how is your life affected? Does it change the way that you live? Does it change your attitudes or perspectives on hardship? Does knowing the end of the story give you the strength to do the hard things, to take the necessary risks, to endure the difficult seasons? 

Ruth was willing to take a risk. She had hope for something better, for a redeemer that would save her out of her current life. That hope caused her to act. That hope caused her to fight. And we’ll see next week “hope fulfilled” through a redeemer. It’s a beautiful ending.