Ruth 3

CHAPTER 3THEME: On the threshingfloor of BoazIn this chapter we’re on the threshingfloor of Boaz. It’s obvious that Ruth was not claiming what she had a right to, and so Naomi takes over. As we shall see, she is a regular matchmaker. Ruth stands in a most unusual position. And to understand what is taking place in this chapter, it’s necessary, I think, to understand the third of the Mosaic laws that we encounter herewhich is so strange to us. We have seen two of them already, and now we’re introduced to the third. Also we must understand the threshing floor of that day and the significance of it. To understand that is essential. Now if you think the laws we’ve looked at so far were unusual, you just look at this one: “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house” (Deu_25:5-9). Now I think you’ll agree, friend, that this is an unusual law! As far as I know, the little Book of Ruth gives the only illustration of it in Scripture, but it must have been enforced many times because it was put in force when a man died childless. Now here’s the situation. Suppose there is a man living in the hill country of Ephraim, known today as Samaria. Suppose he has several sons. One evening one of the boys gets down the lantern, polishes it up, trims the wick, and that night when it gets dark he lights the lantern, and he starts down the road whistling. One of the brothers says to the others, “I wonder where in the world he’s going.” The others say they don’t know. So late that night they hear him coming down the road whistling again.

He comes in, and he doesn’t say anything. They don’t ask anything, but they’re wondering. The second night he does the same thing and, believe me, they’re curious by now. So they make a few inquiries the next day. The third night when the boy takes off and then returns, his brothers are waiting for him. They say to him, “Where have you been?” “Oh,” he says, “I’ve been down the road.” And they say, “We understand that there’s a new neighbor moved in down there.” He says, “Yes, there is.” And one of the brothers says to him, “We understand that they have a daughter.” And he says, “Yes.” They ask, “Is it true that you’ve been down there to see her?” And he says, “Well, I’ve been trying to put the good neighbor policy into practice so I’ve been down there visiting with them, yes.” Well, they say, “We’d like to ask specifically, have you been to see the girl?” So he says, “Well, to answer specifically, I have.” Then they say, “We want to be personal.

Are you interested?” And he says, “Yes, I am, to be very honest.” And they say, “Well, we’ve taken a good look at the girl, and we don’t like her. We feel like we ought to have a family huddle because if anything happens to you, it means that one of us will have to marry the girl.” According to the Mosaic Law she could claim one of them, you see, if she’d had no children. That was the provision. And the boy says, “Well, I’m going to marry her because I asked her tonight to marry me and she has agreed to it.” “Well,” they say, “we feel like you ought to go through the clinic. We hope you’re healthy, because we’re just not going to marry her. We’re not interested in her.” Now suppose this boy goes ahead and marries the girl, then he takes sick and dies, or he’s gored by a boar, or a tree falls on him, or he drowns in the Jordan River, or he’s killed in battle.

What about that? Well, she is a widow now, and she can go immediately and claim one of these brothers. And, believe me, he’s going to have difficulty turning her down. Now suppose he just stands to it and says, “I warned my brother. I told him not to marry this girl, and I just don’t want to marry her.” Then she can bring him into court. If he refuses to take her to wife even in court, she can step up to him, take off his shoe, and spit in his face!

Friends, that meant he was disgraced, and a man is not apt to go that far. So you can see, here is an unusual law which puts a childless widow in a most unique position. It changes her position altogether. She now can claim one of the brothers. In fact, that’s her duty to her dead husband. Well, frankly, I can well understand that this is something that tied the families together in that day. It made every member of the family interested in who brother Isaac was going out to see since the other brothers were always involved in a situation like that. This law was God’s provision. And there were two objectives He had in mind that are obvious here, and there may be others. The first is that He wanted to protect womanhood. You can understand that if her husband died and left her with a farm and a vineyard and a flock of sheep, she would have difficulty. So she could claim immediately a brother or the nearest kinsman, and he’d have to make this decision. The law was to protect womanhood. Now I’ve heard the criticism made that the Bible is a man’s book. Well, my friend, when anybody makes that statement, it is evident he hasn’t read the Book very carefully. Sometimes you wonder if the man has a chancehe doesn’t have a chance here, that’s for sure. Now the second reason for this law is that God wanted to protect land rights. God not only gave to the nation Israel the land of Palestine, He not only gave to each tribe a particular section of that land, but He also gave to each individual family a particular parcel of land. Each family had their own land. As we have seen, a family could lose their land. But in the Year of Jubilee it would automatically return to the original owner. However, a widow might go out and marry some stranger who would gain ownership to the property.

And so, you see, God protected that property. The nearest of kin had to be the one to marry her in order to make it possible to retain the title of the property in the nation and in the tribe and in the family. Now it seems to us like a very strange law, but apparently it was one that worked in the land of Israel. In the case of Ruth, she’s a widow without any children, and the property which belonged to her husband has been lost because she and Naomi are poverty-stricken. She has a perfect right to claim Boaz since he is a near kinsman. And as Naomi has already indicated, he is a kinsman-redeemer. The fact of the matter is, this man Boaz is sweating it out. His hands are tied. He cannot claim her for his wife.

It’s Ruth’s move. She has to claim him as her husband. A little later on we’ll find out that there happens to be another kinsman who is actually nearer than Boaz, and Ruth could claim him if she wanted to. Boaz doesn’t know which one she’ll claim. Therefore, Boaz must wait until Ruth makes the move. Because Ruth is not making the move, Naomi takes charge and tells Ruth, “You’ve got to let this man know that you want him as a kinsman-redeemer.” Now we’re going to see a very strange procedure. In order to understand it, it is necessary to understand the threshingfloor of that day. You see, God made a wonderful provision for these people. Since they were an agricultural people, a great many of the laws pertain to agriculture. The Mosaic system was not only for the people of Israel, but also it was for that land. It was adapted in a very particular and peculiar way to the land which we know as Palestine.

Therefore, we find here a law that relates to the threshingfloor and the practices of the day. Customarily a threshingfloor was located on top of a hill to catch any wind that was blowing in order to blow away the chaff. It was in the opposite position from a winepress which was located at the bottom of a hill, because it was easier to carry the grapes downhill than to lug them uphill. The winepress, you’ll remember, was the place where Gideon was, as he was threshing grain. The reason he was down there threshing was because he was hiding it from the Midianites who had impoverished Israel. The angel of the Lord appeared to himdon’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humorand addressed him, “Thou mighty man of valour” (Jdg_6:12).

And there’s Gideon down at the winepress, scared to death, when he should be up on top of the hill. You can imagine his frustration as he pitches that grain up into the air, and with no wind blowing down there at the bottom of the hill, the chaff and grain come back down around his neck. I think he was very discouraged. Then when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Thou mighty man of valour,” I think Gideon looked around to see to whom He was talking. When he didn’t see anybody else he turned to the angel of the Lord and said, “Who? Me?

You don’t mean to tell me that you think that I’m a mighty man of valour. I’m one of the biggest cowards you’ve ever seen.” Friend, that’s what he was. But thank God, He can use a coward who is dedicated to Him. And when this man was dedicated to the Lord, he could overcome the Midianites with only three hundred men. What an encouragement that ought to be to many of us today. Although the story of Ruth also takes place during the era of the judges, apparently it was at a time when Israel had returned to the Lord.

Remember that while Naomi was still in Moab, she had heard that the famine (which was God’s judgment) was over. Israel had probably returned to an era of tranquility, and the threshingfloor was in its proper place at the top of a hill. But now let’s look at the threshingfloor. The clay soil was packed to a hard smooth surface, and ordinarily it was circular with rocks placed around it. When I was in that land, I saw several places, especially in Samaria, where they had these threshing floors. The people were cutting the grain, not threshing it, when we were there in the spring; so we didn’t see the threshingfloor in operation. But there it was on top of a hill. They still do it the same way.

After the grain was all cut, it was taken to the threshingfloor. In the late afternoon a breeze would come up. It would blow until sundown and sometimes until midnight. Now as long as the breeze would blow they would thresh. Sheaves of grain were spread on the floor and trampled by oxen drawing a sled. Then the people took a flail and threw the grain up into the air so that the chaff would be blown away and the good grain would come down on the threshingfloor.

As long as the wind would blow, they would be there on the threshingfloor. When the wind died downwhether it be at sundown, nine o’clock, midnight, or whatever time it wasthey held a great religious feast. And at this season of the year all the families came up and camped around the threshingfloor, which meant there were many people present. After the feast was over, the men would sleep around the grain. Since the threshingfloor was circular, they would put their heads toward the grain and their feet would stick out like spokes. They slept that way to protect the grain from marauders or thieves who might break through and steal. It was a time of feasting and thanking God for an abundant harvest. Several of the feast days of Israelthe Feast of Firstfruits and even Pentecostwere identified with that threshingfloor. They would sing psalms praising God for a bountiful harvest. You can imagine them up there on that hill at night, looking out into the heavens and singing many of the psalms. When reading the psalms, note in particular how many of them deal with this particular religious feast. With an understanding of the law of the kinsman-redeemer as it applied to the widow, and with the scene of the threshingfloor in mind, let us move on.

Ruth 3:1

All during the harvest season Naomi had been watching out the window each afternoon and had seen Ruth and Boaz coming into Bethlehem. It had been about six weeks. Now the barley was gathered, and the wheat was gathered. Naomi notices that Ruth is very modest and is not making any claim upon this man at all. She also notices the obvious, that he is in love with her. And so Naomi asks Ruth if she should seek rest for her. And the rest, of course, is marriage. “Shall I seek a marriage for you?” You remember that at the very beginning she urged each of her daughters-in-law to stay in the land of Moab and find rest in her husband’s house. So now she says she will seek rest for Ruth.

Ruth 3:2

She says, “This man Boaz is your kinsman-redeemer. You have a right to claim him. In fact, Ruth, you must claim him as your kinsman-redeemer. I want you to go up to the threshingfloor tonight and let him know.”

Ruth 3:3

She tells Ruth to wait until the religious feast is over. Naomi says, “Now, Ruth, it’s up to you to claim this man as your kinsman-redeemer.” Ruth has been doing nothing in the way of claiming him, so Naomi is going to give her some very definite instructions. She tells her to do four things. I have felt that here is a picture of the sinner who comes to Jesus Christ. These are four steps that are essential for the sinner. The first one is this: Wash thyself.

If you and I are going to come to Christ, we’re told that it’s “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Tit_3:5). That’s the reason our Lord said what He did to Nicodemus. “You may think you’re a fine, religious man, and you are, but you need a batha spiritual bath. You need the washing of regeneration.” And our Lord said to Nicodemus, “…Ye must be born again” (Joh_3:7). And, friend, if you are ever going to be fit for heaven, you must be born again. You must experience the new birth. Someone asked John Wesley why it was that he always preached on “ye must be born again” (for that was his favorite text). “Well,” he said, “I’ll tell you.

The reason that I preach on ‘ye must be born again’ is because ye must be born again.” You cannot get into heaven, friend, you cannot be saved until you have become a new creature in Christ Jesus. You and I are not fit for heaven until we have been born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit. So Naomi tells Ruth, “You’ve been working hard out in the field. Wash thyself therefore.” Now that’s the first step that she is to take. Now the second thing that Naomi tells Ruth to do is to anoint herself. After Ruth’s first husband died, I suppose she put on widow’s weeds and made no attempt to make herself attractive. But now Naomi realizes somebody is interested in Ruth, and so she tells her to get out that little bottle of perfume that she’d packed away and to use it generously. I can even suggest to you the name of the perfume that she used"Midnight in Moab." And I want to tell you, that was an exotic perfume! And so Naomi says, “Anoint thee.” Now that corresponds also to our Christian experience. When you and I become children of God, we are babes, I grant that. But also we are brought to a full-grown status where we can understand divine truth. And there is something said to the believer about the anointing that he has. You and I have an anointing of the Holy Spirit. John tells us in 1Jn_2:20, “But ye have an unction [anointing] from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” That is, the Spirit of God is the one who can teach us all truth, and all of us need the teaching of the Spirit of God.

That’s the only way in the world we can ever understand the Word of God, friend. The Spirit of God must teach us. And that’s one of the neglected facts today. Right now in theological circles they are fighting like mad over the doctrine of inspiration. Now knowing that the Bible is inspired of God is very important. But you can believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the Scripture and still be ignorant of the Word of God.

Why? You must recognize that you cannot bring to this Book human intellect alone and expect to understand it. You may understand facts; you may learn certain intellectual things; but only the Spirit of God can teach you spiritual things. Paul says in 1Co_2:9-10, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit….” The Spirit of God is able to teach us and is able to lead us and guide us into all truth. How important it is to have the Spirit of God as our teacher. “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” We need to recognize that when we are born again we are given an anointing of the Spirit of God.

It’s mentioned again in 1Jn_2:27. “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” This doesn’t mean that you dispense with human learning or human teachers. You and I today are the beneficiaries of that which has been bequeathed to us by the godly men of the past whom the Spirit of God has taught. And God gives teachers to the church today. But not even the teachers nor all the wealth of material from the past can enlighten you unless the Spirit of God is your teacher. And so Ruth’s second step was important. She was to wash herself and then to anoint herself. Then the third thing: “Put thy raiment upon thee.” And I think Naomi said to her, “Ruth, remember that little party dress that you used to wear when you and my son would go out together? You looked so pretty in it. And if Boaz fell in love with you when you were wearing those black, ugly widow’s weeds, say, what’ll he think when he sees you in this little party dress? So you put on that dress now that you put away and never intended to wear again.” This is the third step for the believer. When you and I come to Christ and accept Him as Savior, we are told that He becomes our righteousness. He not only subtracts our sin, He not only regenerates us and makes us a child of God, but He makes over to us His own righteousness. Actually, it’s spoken of as a robe of righteousness. In Rom_3:22 it is described in a very wonderful way: “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference.” Paul speaks of it as a garment that comes down over the sinner, covering him, so that God sees us in Christ, and His righteousness becomes our righteousness. We stand complete in Him"accepted in the beloved" (Eph_1:6). This is the robe of righteousness that we have today. A book came out several years ago called The Robe. And there was an intelligent, dynamic young lady who was a member of my church. She came up to me one Sunday evening and said, “I’ve been reading a book, and it’s a thriller.” I asked her what it was. She said it was The Robe. I was a little discouraged when she said that. She asked if I’d read it, and I said, “Not exactly.

I have the book, and I’ve looked through it, but I have not read it in any detail. In fact, I haven’t cared to.” And she looked at me in great amazement. She said, “Do you mean to tell me that you’re not interested in what happened to that robe?” And I said, “Frankly, no. That seamless robe which Christ wore doesn’t have a romantic history. The soldiers shot craps to see who would get it, and the fellow who won it must have been some big, burly Roman soldier. That’s a semi-tropical country, and I happen to know it can get very hot there; he probably sweated out that robe in just a few weeks and then dropped it in some corner.

Then a little servant maid came along, picked it up, held her nose, and dropped it in the trash can.” This young lady was certainly shocked when I said that. She said, “That’s terrible! According to the story, that robe had such a romantic history.” I replied, “That robe had no romantic history at all. But there is one that does, and that’s the robe of righteousness which Christ puts over the sinner who will trust Him.” And you and I cannot stand sufficient in ourselves; we stand complete in Him. Rom_4:25 tells us that it was Christ “who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification,” in order that we might have a righteousness to stand before God. “For he hath made him to be sin for us …that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Co_5:21). And you and I stand clothed in that robe of righteousness, and that one really has a romantic history. Now the fourth thing Naomi tells Ruth to do is to get down to the threshingfloor and let Boaz know that she wants to claim him as her kinsman-redeemer.

Ruth 3:4

And, friend, that’s a very important step for you and me. That is a step that every sinner must take. Even in the church today are many folk who have joined the church, but they really never have received Jesus Christ. They never have gone down to the threshingfloor and claimed Him as their Kinsman-Redeemer. And I’d like to ask: Have you really claimed Jesus Christ as your Savior? My friend, you do have to claim Him. The language of Scripture says to believe upon or believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. It must be an active faith, not a faith that stands on the sidelines and nods its head. It’s an active faith that claims Him as Kinsman-Redeemer. He is our Savior. Oh, what a gift! “…The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom_6:23). Under the Mosaic Law, Ruth is not only entitled to and has a right to claim Boaz as her kinsman-redeemer, but she must claim him. And not only that, it’s obvious that Boaz wants to be her kinsman-redeemer. The incident that is taking place makes possible the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth to be born in Bethlehem, for these events before us in the Book of Ruth are taking place in Bethlehem. This girl is going to obey her mother-in-law, and there’s nothing wrong with what she is being instructed to do, as we shall see. She was asked to claim him; she had not claimed him. Many people will tell you they believe in the facts concerning the coming of Christ into the world, but they’ve never yet accepted Christ. Several years ago after speaking at a State Christian Endeavor convention in Fresno, California, as I walked across the auditorium with my coat slung over my shoulder, I saw a little delegation of college fellows approaching me. I recognized one of them as one of the officers of a Christian group at Fresno State College where I’d previously spoken. He said to me, “Dr. McGee, we have a young fellow here that we would like to have you talk to.” And I said, “Well, fine. What about? What’s the background?” And he said, “Well, this fellow agreed to come to the service tonight, and we’d hoped he would accept Christ, but he didn’t, and so we just wish you’d talk with him.” So I said to him, “Do you believe the Bible?” He said, “Yes.” I was amazed.

I had a notion he’d be the kind of college boy who’d want to argue about it. So I said, “Do you believe the story about the Flood? That’s sort of ridiculous about the Flood, isn’t it?” He said that it wasn’t ridiculous to him. I said, “What about Jonah and the fish? Isn’t that ridiculous?” He said, “No, not to me.” And I said, “Well, do you believe it?” He said, “Yes.” Well, I thought I’d have a boy who’d want to arguethey generally doand I was prepared for it. Then I said to him, “Do you believe that Jesus Christ came into this world 1900 years ago as the Son of God and that He was virgin born?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you believe He performed miracles?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you believe He died on the Cross for our sins?” And he said, “Yes.” So I asked, “Do you believe He rose again bodily?” He said, “Yes.” “Do you believe that He ascended into heaven?” He said, “Yes.” Well, my gracious, the fellow believed everything that I asked him.

And what do you do then? My course in personal evangelism never told me what to do next, so I just stood there, not actually knowing what step to take. Finally I just blurted out to him, “Young man, don’t you want to take Christ as your Savior?” And he blurted right back and said, “Yes, I do.” Well, the thing that had happened was that everybody, including myself, had wanted to argue with him about the Bible, but nobody ever stopped and said to him, “Get down to the threshingfloor and accept Christ as your Savior.” And this young man in a very wonderful way accepted Christ as his Savior. We got down on our knees in that great auditorium which was almost empty, and he accepted the Lord as his Savior. All he needed was just to get down to the threshingfloor! And, frankly, I think there are a lot of folk like that today.

Perhaps you are like that. You could be a church member, but really, have you ever gotten down to the threshingfloor and personally, privately accepted Christ, claimed Him as your Savior from sin? When you trust Him, you will know what it is to pass from darkness to light. Well, now, that’s what Naomi tells Ruth to do. Now let me say that there is nothing questionable about the thing that Naomi is asking her to do. To begin with, Naomi would never have asked her to do it had it been improper. There have been those, however, who have criticized this, not understanding the threshingfloor or this peculiar law. You see, she must claim him as a kinsman-redeemer. That’s one thing. But this threshingfloor was a public place.

The harvesters were there with their families. Naomi is saying to Ruth, “Once they’ve finished the threshing for the evening and have had their dinner, and a time for praise to God, a religious service, then he will lie down. He’ll put his head toward the grain and his feet out. Now you go and put your feet toward his feet and pull his cloak up over your feet, and then he’ll let you know what to do.” All of it would be out in the public. The idea that something immoral is to take place is due to our ignorance of the threshingfloor during the harvest season.

Ruth 3:7

You see, he got coldthe cloak had been pulled off him. He sat up, reached down, and felt around down there, and lo, a woman was there.

Ruth 3:9

Personally, friend, I think this is one of the loveliest things that we have in the Word of God. Do you know what she is saying to him? She is saying, “I want you as my kinsman-redeemer, and I want to tell you so.” That really changed the thinking of this man. I imagine he had been down in the dumps a little, but now he’s a shouting Methodist. Listen.

Ruth 3:10

In other words, he said, “When you came here, it was obvious you were not husband-hunting.” She had taken a very quiet, retired place. But now she is claiming Boaz as her kinsman-redeemer and, believe me, he is not reluctant to act in that capacity. And she’s doing it in such a lovely fashion. She could have taken him into court. According to the Mosaic Law, you see, she could have called the elders of the city together and told Boaz outright, “I claim you as my kinsman-redeemer,” and it would have been a legal matter. But Naomi suggested this way of doing it.

She said, “There will be no question about the legality because this man obviously wants to be your kinsman-redeemer. All you have to do is to let him know that you’re willing to claim him, that you want him as your kinsman-redeemer.” And so she goes down to the threshingfloor and in this very quiet, modest way lets him know she wants him as her kinsman-redeemer. Boaz immediately wants to claim her as his wife, because that’s what he’s been waiting to hear. This man really goes into action now because the way is clear and he is free to move; she has claimed him. Thank God we have a Savior, and our relationship to Him is a love story. He loved us and He gave Himself for us in order that He might redeem us. What a wonderful, warm experience it is to know that we have a Savior who died for us, who loves us, and lives for us today. Now notice what Boaz says.

Ruth 3:11

And I’d have you note the reputation of this foreign girl who, under ordinary circumstances, would have been an outcast in Bethlehem, an outcast because the Mosaic Law shut out a Moabite. She’d been told that a Moabite and an Ammonite could not enter into the congregation of the Lord. She’d been coached by Naomi before they came to Bethlehem that there would be no possibility of her ever getting married, and Ruth had accepted her status. I imagine that the town gossips had looked her over very carefully at the beginning. I do not know what all they had said, but I’m sure that among other things they’d said, “My, this is certainly a pretty girl who has come back with Naomi. Certainly she will be trying to get some of our young men.” But she made no attempt to do this. Instead she developed this wonderful reputation in the town of Bethlehem. Boaz continues.

Ruth 3:12

How did he know about this? Well, he had already investigated. You see, Boaz was ready to move the minute Ruth gave him the green light. That was all he was waiting on. The fact that there was another kinsman nearer than he was had tied his hands. Now this other kinsman could quite possibly be a richer man than Boaz. Suppose Boaz had said to Ruth, back during the six weeks of harvest, “Ruth, I want to be your kinsman-redeemer.” And suppose she had said, “Well, I thank you very much, but I don’t want you. I am claiming this other man when the time comes. He is a wealthier man, and I want to claim him as my kinsman-redeemer.” Poor Boaz would have really been in a bad spot. He had to wait until she gave the indication that she wanted him. Now the minute she lets him know, he tells her, “The problem is there happens to be another kinsman closer than I am, and he has priority.” In other words, he’ll have to be dealt with first.

And this other kinsman, I would assume, was a brother of Elimelech, an uncle of Ruth’s first husband, whereas Boaz was probably a cousin of her first husband. And so he says, “I want to be your kinsman-redeemer, but first I’ll have to see how this other man feels about you.”

Ruth 3:13

In other words, Boaz is not sure what he will do if the other man wants to act as kinsman, but he has a plan that he’s going to follow which he hopes will eliminate the other kinsman. And he emphasizes again and again this word kinsman. In the Hebrew it is goel, the kinsman-redeemer. He is the one to redeem Ruth’s property, because she would inherit what her husband had; and he’s the one to redeem her, you see. He has top priority. And Boaz tells Ruth to stay through the night.

He did not want her to return to Bethlehem when it was darkin that day the highways were no more safe than they are today. When we read about the period of the judges, we learn that people did not travel the main highways because they were not safe. Instead they’d take off across the fields. So what Boaz is doing is protecting this girl.

Ruth 3:14

Now the reason for that, again, is obvious. He did not want this other kinsman to know, because if he had any ideas about claiming Ruth as his wife, this would be something that would cause him to eliminate Boaz immediately. Boaz wants to handle this case himself, and he moves into the situation.

Ruth 3:15

In other words, he makes her a very generous gift.

Ruth 3:16

Other commentators, after whom I have read, seem to misinterpret her question. When Naomi asked, “Who art thou, my daughter?”, they say since it was dark when she came up to the door Naomi wasn’t sure who it was. Well, she at least knew that she was “my daughter.” Of course she knew it was Ruth. We need to understand the context here. When Naomi sent her, I think Ruth was reluctant to go. I imagine she had said, “Oh, I don’t want to claim him.

You told me that if I came back here no one would be interested in me. I’m a Moabite, an outcast. I don’t want to go down and claim Boaz.” And Naomi said, “Look, I know he’s interested in you, and I know he’s in love with you, and I know he wants to marry you. Therefore, you do what I say.” I think she almost had to push Ruth out of the house. So when Ruth returns the next morning, Naomi says, “Who art thou, my daughter?” Now let me put it in good ol’ American: “Are you Mrs. Boaz or not?” In other words, “Was I right?” And, of course, she was right.

Ruth 3:17

Ruth, you can just sit down there in the rocking chair and wait. From here on Boaz will be the man of action. He will take care of this case. You can rest in him. The work of redemption is going to be his work. Friend, it’s wonderful to have a Savior in whom you can rest, and know that He’s your Redeemer. Oh, what a gift He is today! He has performed all the work of redemption. You and I are invited to enter into the rest of redemption because it is finished. You’ll remember in His great high priestly prayer, He said to the Father, “…I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (Joh_17:4). Now that work was the work of redemption upon the Cross. And when He was hanging there upon the Cross, you will recall that He said, “It is finished” (Joh_19:30). And when He cried, “It is finished,” then your redemption and my redemption was finished. He paid the penalty for your sin and my sin to such an extent that you cannot lift a little finger to add to your salvation. He has done it all. Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow. H. M. Hall The work of redemption is His work, and you and I are to enter into that perfect work of redemption which He accomplished for us. And there is a wonderful peace that will come to the heart that will trust Him, recognizing that He has completed it all. Frankly, God doesn’t need your little effort and my little effort. God is not receiving anything from us toward our salvation. First of all, you and I haven’t anything to offer. You and I are bankrupt.

You and I have to come to Him to receive everything. I understand that that is the offense of the Cross which Paul talks about in Galatians, because there are many people today who like to talk about their character, their family, or their church membership.They feel that church membership is synonymous with salvation, that if you’re a member of a church in good and regular standing it means God has accepted you. There is nothing farther from the truth than that. God is not receiving your effort and my effort today. The work of redemption is His work in its entirety. He was lifted up upon the Cross as the Son of Man. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (Joh_3:14-15).

It is on the basis of His work upon the cross for you and me that God saves us. And that is the reason He came to this earth over 1900 years ago as a man. The writer to the Hebrews says, “…A body hast thou prepared me” (Heb_10:5). Sacrifice and offering God did not want. All of the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were merely pointing to the coming of Christ, given to prepare people for the coming of the Savior into the world. It’s our acceptance and our reception of Him that saves us.

He is the Savior. Actually even our faith doesn’t save us. It is Christ who saves us. Spurgeon said, “It is not thy hold on Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It’s not even thy faith in Christ, though that be the instrument; it is Christ’s blood and merit.” You see, faith merely enables us to lay hold of the salvation Christ has purchased for us.

Now today you either trust Him or you don’t trust Him. There’s no such thing as middle ground today. You’re either resting in Him or you are trying to earn your own salvation. And so Ruth 3 concludes with Naomi saying to Ruth, “The man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” And she said to Ruth, “Sit still, my daughter. There’s nothing more for you to do. When you claimed him as your redeemer, that’s all he asked you to do. The work of redemption is his work.”