Ruth 3

A very good morning to you all. Please join me in Ruth chapter 3.

Ruth 3 · chapter mention

!

In Ruth chapter 1, verses 1-5, the narrator established for us the conflict for the story.

Ruth 1:1–5

There we read,

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab.

This was east of Israel.

He and his wife and his two sons.

So they flee away to find food.

The name of the man, verse 2 says, was Elimelech, and the names of his wife, Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Malon and Chilion.

They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah.

They went into the country of Moab and remained there.

But Elimelech, verse 3, right into the story,

the husband of Naomi died, and she was left with her two sons.

These took Moabite wives.

The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other, Ruth.

They lived there about ten years.

And both Malon and Chilion died.

So that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

So we have these three widows left, and the story is centered at this moment on Naomi,

who has just about everything taken away from her.

But she hears that the famine is over in Bethlehem,

and she decides to return to her hometown.

Her daughters-in-law, who seem to have great affection for her, begin to accompany her.

But she pleads with them to return to their families.

And Orpah does so back to her family and to the gods of Moab.

But Ruth, in chapter 1 and verse 16, says,

Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.

For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge.

Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

And this is, as I have suggested, perhaps the moment of Ruth's conversion.

Maybe it had happened prior to that, but there's certainly this declaration

that she will commit herself to Naomi, but also to her people,

and of most importance to God, to Yahweh, the one true and living God.

I've told you that the overarching theme of this narrative is the providence of God,

his sovereign working of all circumstances for the good of his people.

That we get to witness it in the lives of the characters of this drama.

And it serves us so beautifully to see it all unfolded, right?

We can see how all the details work out, and perhaps it encourages us in our lives.

We see a little hint of God's providential work at the end of chapter 1.

Now, remember that Naomi and Ruth have no means of provision,

but we see in verse 22 that Naomi returns,

and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her,

who returned from the country of Moab,

and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

So, the harvest is coming in.

The provision is being collected.

And that sets us up for the next scene.

At the beginning of chapter 2,

Ruth makes a plan and asks Naomi's permission

to take advantage of the gleaning laws

so that they might have food.

The gleaning laws allowed for people who did not own land

to gather what was left behind by the harvesters, right?

The little mistakes that were being made,

the things that were being dropped.

They were meant to be left for those less fortunate.

Ruth finds herself in the field of a man named Boaz,

who is carefully introduced as a relative of Naomi's

in chapter 2 and verse 1.

He takes notice of Ruth,

and he generously grants her the ability

to continue gleaning his field through the harvest,

and he gives her protection.

He feeds her.

He invites her to a meal,

and even instructs the harvesters

to leave plenty for her sake,

leave behind things for her to gather.

And Ruth responds in chapter 2,

beginning in verse 10 and following,

by falling on her face,

bowing to the ground,

and saying to Boaz,

Why have I found favor in your eyes

that you should take notice of me

since I am a foreigner?

But Boaz answers her,

All that you have done for your mother-in-law

since the death of your husband

has been fully told to me,

and how you left your father and mother

and your native land

and came to a people

that you did not know before.

Your great kindness has been told to me,

and so he's being kind in response.

And then verse 12 says,

He says to her,

The Lord repay you for what you have done,

and a full reward be given you

by the Lord, the God of Israel,

under whose wings you have come

to take refuge.

And then Ruth replies,

I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord,

for you have comforted me

and spoken kindly to your servant,

though I am not one of your servants.

And then chapter 2 concludes,

So she, Ruth,

kept close to the young women of Boaz,

gleaning until the end

of the barley and wheat harvest,

which would have been

about a two-month period of time.

And she lived with her mother-in-law.

So beginning in the final verse of chapter 1

to the final verse of chapter 2,

we see that God has provided,

He has been providential

in His care for Naomi and Ruth.

He has not done so

apart from human agency.

All three characters,

Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz,

are presented making decisions

and acting,

but we ought not fail to notice

that God is the primary character

that the narrator intends for us to see

orchestrating the care

of these two widows.

Now, they have temporal provision,

but how long will this last?

How are Naomi and Ruth

to be cared for long term?

The space between chapter 2

and chapter 3

should leave us asking this question.

It was certainly on the mind of Naomi,

as we shall see.

Now, remember,

there's nothing for them as widows, right?

There's some things in the law

that are going to be a help to them.

How is it that they're going to survive long term?

It's a question on the table.

But now, before we can read the chapter before us,

we need to understand a few things

about the laws concerning the redemption of property,

which you can read about if you'd like to

in Leviticus chapter 25,

Leviticus 25 · chapter mention

and the laws about leverate marriage,

which is a Latin word

from which we get the term brother-in-law.

It actually means brother marriage.

It's found in Deuteronomy chapter 25.

Deuteronomy 25 · chapter mention

So, redemption of property laws

and leverate marriage laws.

Now, rather than reading from these two chapters

and then me laboring to explain the laws to you myself,

I came across a tidy little summary,

and so I'm going to read that tidy little summary to you,

which I just believe is going to serve us better this morning

than my long explanation would.

So, three points,

kind of summarizing these two categories of law.

So first,

when an Israelite family became very poor

and had to sell their land to survive,

the nearest male relative,

the kinsman, redeemer, they were called,

had the responsibility of rescuing them from poverty

by buying their land back

and restoring it to the family.

This was called redemption of property.

Secondly,

if they'd become so poor

that they had to sell themselves into slavery,

a rich relative had to rescue them

by buying their freedom.

And this, too,

was called redemption.

You can read about that further

in Leviticus 25.

Finally,

if a man died leaving his widow without children,

this is the situation that Ruth and Naomi

had found themselves in,

their nearest male relative

had to step in and marry his widow

and enable her to have children

so they could inherit their father's property

and keep it in the family,

which was this third kind of redemption.

So there's a little summary of Old Testament law

going on there.

Again, Leviticus 25

and Deuteronomy 25,

which helps us,

sets us up, right?

So with that arsenal of knowledge,

let's read Ruth chapter 3

Ruth 3 · chapter mention

and consider it together.

Before I read it,

let me remind you, beloved,

that this is God's word to us

written for his glory

and our good.

And so we do well to listen to it

in order to believe its promises

and obey its commands.

Then Naomi, her mother-in-law,

said to her,

My daughter,

should I not seek rest for you

that it may be well with you?

Is not Boaz our relative

with whose young women you were?

See, he is winnowing barley tonight

at the threshing floor.

Wash therefore and anoint yourself

and put on your cloak

and go down to the threshing floor,

but do not make yourself known

to the man

until he has finished eating

and drinking.

But when he lies down,

observe the place where he lies.

And she replied,

All that you say, I will do.

So she went down to the threshing floor

and did just as her mother-in-law

had commanded her.

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk

and his heart was merry,

he went to lie down

at the end of the heap of grain.

Then she came softly

and uncovered his feet

and lay down.

At midnight,

the man was startled

and turned over

and behold,

a woman lay at his feet.

He said,

Who are you?

And she answered,

I am Ruth,

your servant.

Spread your wings

over your servant,

for you are a redeemer.

And he said,

May you be blessed

by the Lord,

my daughter.

You have made

this last kindness

greater than the first

in that you have not gone

after young men,

whether poor or rich.

And now,

my daughter,

do not fear.

I will do for you

all that you ask,

for all my fellow townsmen

know that you

are a worthy woman.

And now it is true

that I am a redeemer.

Yet there is a redeemer

nearer than I.

Remain tonight

and in the morning.

If he will redeem you,

good,

let him do it.

But if he is not willing

to redeem you,

then as the Lord lives,

I will redeem you.

Lie down until the morning.

So she lay at his feet

until the morning,

but arose before one

could recognize another.

And he said,

Let it be known

that the woman came,

let it not be known

that the woman came

to the threshing floor.

Important distinction.

And he said,

Bring the garment

you are wearing

and hold it out.

So she held it

and he measured out

six measures of barley

and put it on her.

Then she went

into the city.

And when she came

to her mother-in-law,

she said,

How did you fare,

my daughter?

Then she told her

all that the man

had done for her,

saying,

These six measures

of barley he gave to me,

for he said to me,

You must not go back

empty-handed

to your mother-in-law.

She replied,

Wait, my daughter,

until you learn

how the matter turns out,

for the man

will not rest,

but will settle

the matter today.

Well, this chapter

largely develops

the story

for what will happen

in the next chapter.

It's really setting us up

for this final scene

in this narrative.

But there are some matters

that are worth paying

careful attention to

this morning

rather than

piling the two chapters

together.

So we're going to do so

and we're going to do it

in the following outline.

I'm a little proud

of this outline.

Are you ready for it?

Number one,

a plan.

Number two,

a proposition.

And number three,

a promise.

Yes, it alliterates.

I think preachers

are really happy

about alliteration

because we read

a lot of really good

commentaries

written by brilliant men

that alliterate things

so we feel like

maybe a little smart

when we manage

to pull it off

on our own.

Okay, so number one,

a plan.

And we see this

in verses one

through five, right?

Naomi

says to Ruth,

my daughter,

should I not

seek rest for you

that it may

be well

with you?

So at the end

of this harvest period,

she asks this question

and she has a plan

to follow it.

I want to take

the longest pause

from our narrative

at this point.

Maybe the most

helpful,

relevant piece

for us today

at this point

other than just

understanding the story

for what will happen

in the next chapter.

I want us to think

a little bit together

about rest.

Naomi says to Ruth,

my daughter,

should I not

seek rest for you

that it may be

well with you?

When she pleads

with Ruth

and Orpah

to return

to their families,

this is what

Naomi says

to them,

the Lord grant

that you may

find rest,

each of you

in the house

of her husband,

right?

Implying that there

should be another

husband for them

having been

widowed.

In the Bible,

rest indicates

completeness

or wholeness.

Think about God

resting on the

seventh day.

The world has been

created and it is

as it should be,

right?

Everything is good,

good,

good,

and very good.

Recall

Naomi's words

upon her return

to Bethlehem,

right?

There are people

who are recognizing

her.

They're saying,

isn't this Naomi?

Which means

pleasant.

And she says

in chapter 1

and verse 20,

do not call me

Naomi,

call me

Mara,

which means

bitter.

For the Almighty

has dealt

very bitterly

with me.

I went away

full

and the Lord

has brought me

back

empty.

It's a picture

of a woman

not at

rest.

So both of them,

Naomi and Ruth,

as we see them

at the beginning

of chapter 3,

are not

at rest.

But Naomi

loves her

daughter-in-law

and doesn't

want her

to remain

this way.

Now,

I am not here

arguing,

please hear me

carefully,

that any

unwearied woman

cannot be whole.

That's not at all

what I'm trying

to say to you

this morning.

You most certainly

can and should

find your full

satisfaction

in the Lord.

The narrator

in recording

Naomi's comments

is speaking

of Ruth's

temporal wholeness

in a day

when her

well-being

depended on

provision

and the

prospect

of progeny,

of offspring.

But I believe

he is also

tapping the

larger rest

narrative

that we find

in the Bible.

It's so very

cool as we read

through these

narratives

to understand

that this

scripture

ultimately has

a single author,

right?

By the spirit,

these men

are led

along with

the words

that they

record for

us.

And it

taps this

higher idea

of rest.

Naomi wants

Ruth to

find rest.

Where is she

going to find

that rest?

She's going to

find it

from a

redeemer.

Typologically,

right?

We're having

things set up

for us

in this

narrative.

I do not

think that

this is the

central theme

of Ruth.

I do want

to be clear.

I don't

think that

Boaz as

the kinsman

redeemer is

the primary

point,

right?

I think the

central theme

is the

unfolded

providence

of God,

but we

should not

miss what's

happening here,

right?

It is a

significant

thing that

is going

on and

we'll develop

it further

next week.

A couple

of other

texts for

you just

as we

stop for

a moment

and think

about this

idea of

rest,

of wholeness,

of completion.

The prophet

Isaiah says

in Isaiah 57

and verse 20,

but the wicked

are like the

tossing sea

for it

cannot be

quiet and

its waters

toss up

mire and

dirt.

The state

of the soul

of the wicked

not at

rest.

rest.

And this

theme goes

on and

on and

on in

the scripture.

We come

to the

New Testament,

Matthew 11,

Matthew 11:28

verse 28,

and following,

Jesus says

there,

come to

me,

all who

labor and

are heavy

laden,

and I

will give

you,

you know

the word,

rest.

Rest from

what?

This life

is work.

We labor

each and

every day.

Just because

we're Christians

doesn't mean

that we

stop working.

Of course,

there are

things to

be done.

God's

providence

comes to

us through

human agency.

We have

things to

be accomplished.

give us,

what is

resting?

Our souls

are at

rest if

we are in

Christ.

No longer

like the

wicked,

tossing

seas.

No longer

working to

be accepted

by God,

rather

resting

in

completed

work,

work that

Christ

has

accomplished

for us.

You will

find,

here it is,

rest for

your

souls.

So this

theme is

picking up

in chapter

three,

and we're

going to

see it

kind of

launch out

from

chapter

four.

The

narrative

ought to

carry our

thinking all

the way to

the New

Testament,

and the

ultimate

and the

final

Redeemer

that is

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

So

practical

application

for us

today.

If you

are already

in Christ,

you have

this

status

rest for

your soul,

you're no

longer

laboring to

be accepted

by God,

realize the

reality of

what that

means for

you,

and settle

in,

and be

at rest.

You are

God's.

You belong

to Him

because of

what Christ

has done

on your

behalf.

If you

are not

in Christ,

if you've

never placed

believing faith

in Him,

then you

are that

wicked

person

being tossed

about.

You're not

at rest.

And you

can feel it

deep down

in.

You bear

the guilt

of your

sin.

You know

that you're

not living

a life

that's

pleasing to

God.

Flee

to Christ.

Look to

His

work.

Place your

faith in

Him and

what He

has

accomplished.

And find

rest for

your weary

soul.

So we

see here

in this

text,

this temporal

thing that

Naomi is

trying to

achieve on

behalf of

Ruth and

how it

helps us

think bigger

and broader

and more

importantly

about

eternal

rest.

rest.

So she

has a

plan.

She

goes on

to divulge

it in

verse 2

and following.

The statement

again, which

we've seen a

couple of

times, is

not Boaz

our

relative.

It maintains

the possibility

that he

could be a

redeemer.

And he

is out

winnowing

barley

tonight

at the

threshing

floor.

And this

activity was

the activity

of throwing

grain up

into the

air so

it would

get separated

from that

part that

was edible

and that

part that

was inedible.

And in

doing that

and tossing

it in the

air, the

wind would

carry away

the lighter

material that

was not

edible.

And so

they're

processing

this harvest

that has

been gathered.

And we

see Boaz

as this

wonderful man

of character.

He's been

out in his

fields in

chapter 2.

He's paying

attention.

He's attending

to the work

that's going

on.

Here we see

him now

there in

the processing

place.

He's got

servants that

are there to

do this

work but

he's there

along with

them.

It was

standard that

people would

stay.

This grain

needed to be

processed.

It needed to

be stored

safely so

that vermin

wouldn't get

into it.

So they're

there.

They're going

to work

long hours.

They would

often just

stay the

night there.

They're also

protecting that

grain from

being pillaged

by others.

So he's out

there.

He's active.

He's with

the people.

He's working

in that

place.

So she

gives a

plan to

her to

wash and

anoint

herself.

So clean

up.

Likely

anoint with

perfume.

Put on

your cloak.

This would

have been a

warm garment

and go

down to

the threshing

floor.

But do

not make

yourself known

to the

man until

he has

finished

eating

and drinking.

So she's

there amongst

the hubbub of

what's going

on in the

dark.

But when

he lies

down,

you're going

to note

where he

lies down.

Remember,

it's dark.

And you're

going to go

and uncover

his feet

and lie

down.

And then

he will

tell you

what you

are to

do.

This is

an interesting

chapter.

I think it

makes a lot

of us

scratch our

heads.

What is

going on

in this

chapter?

I found

two explanations

for why

Ruth was

instructed

to do

this.

In

either

case,

we ought

not

think

this

act

as

a

salacious

act.

As

both

Ruth and

Boaz

have been

and will

be

presented

as

upright

in

character.

This

thing

that's

going

on

is in

no

way

kinky.

Everything

is above

board

that's

happening

in this

case.

There's

a lot

of talk

today

about

power

couples.

You may

have heard

that term.

People

that can

together

kick

butt

and take

names.

Not to

be

exemplified,

this

is a

couple

for us

to look

at

and to

consider

and to

be

more

like.

In

the

Jewish

tradition,

the

book

of

Ruth

directly

follows

the

book

of

Proverbs

and

it's

often

suggested

that

that

Proverbs

31

woman

is

being

exemplified

by

Ruth

as it

follows

right

along

behind

that

final

chapter

perhaps.

So

nothing

salacious

going

on

here.

The

first

explanation

is that

Naomi

knew

that

Boaz

was not

first

in line

as a

redeemer

but because

of his

expressed

kindness

toward

Ruth

thought

him

the

most

appropriate

candidate

to marry

her.

Two

months

has gone

by.

Maybe

they've

talked

a little

about

his

kindness

and

maybe

some

growing

affection

on

Ruth's

behalf

toward

Boaz.

The

prospect

of

Ruth

marrying

Boaz

needed

to happen

in secret

because

it was

out of

the

norm.

She

was

circumnavigating

the

normative

thing

that would

have

been

done

in the

seeking

of a

redeemer.

We

find out

there's

another

before

him.

Ruth

uncovered

his

feet

and

lays

at

his

feet

so

that

he

will

awaken

at

some

point

and

they

can

converse

on

his

terms.

Again,

so I'm

talking about

the first

explanation

of what's

going on

here.

She

uncovers

his

feet

so at

some

point

he's

going

to

get

uncomfortable

and his

feet

are

going

to

get

cold

and

he's

going

to

wake

up

and

she'll

be

laying

!

there

and

he gets

to

decide

what

happens.

So an

option

would have

been

like

who

are

you

and

why

are

you

laying

at

my

feet

get

away

is

the

thing

that

Boaz

could

have

said.

Rather

than

her

going

and

waking

him

up

in

the

middle

of

the

night

and

demanding

something

of

him

she

rather

sets

the

stage

that

he

wakes

up

and

he

can

now

figure

out

what

to

do

in

the

midst

of

this

situation.

An

ancient

Near

Eastern

proposal

tradition.

A

pastor

I

respect

immensely

said

this

matter

of

factly

and

I

looked

for

supporting

evidence

with

just a few

minutes

that I

had to

look for

supporting

evidence

and I

couldn't

find

anything

that

supported

it

at

all

so

I

like

the

former

possibility

simply

because

it's

text

driven

right

it

seems

to

all

be

found

right

here

in

the

book

of

Ruth

what

is

going

on

here

I

think

this

is

a

bold

plan

that

Naomi

comes

up

with

to

seek

the

highest

good

of

Ruth

this

is

a

way

you

can

go

properly

in

secret

speak

to

Boaz

let

him

know

what

you

would

like

to

see

happen

and

she

replies

in

verse

5

all

that

you

say

I

will

do

so

then

we

see

secondly

a

proposition

this

is

verses

6

through

12

so

verse

6

says

she

goes

down

to

the

threshing

floor

and

she

did

just

as

her

mother-in-law

had

commanded

her

right

Boaz

eats

and

he

drinks

his

heart

is

merry

he

goes

and

lies

down

at

the

end

of

the

heap

of

grain

he's

asleep

she

comes

softly

she

uncovers

his

feet

and

she

lays

down

and

at

midnight

the

man

was

startled

I'm

assuming

!

I don't

know why

for sure

but I'm

reading into

it

that

his

feet

were

cold

and

he

as

we do

sometimes

sucked

his

feet

up

underneath

his

blanket

and

startled

him

awake

and

there

was

a

woman

laying

at

his

feet

and

it's

dark

and

so

he

just

says

who

are

you

and

she

answers

I

am

Ruth

your

servant

spread

your

wings

over

your

servant

for

you

are

a

redeemer

Ruth's

response

amounts

to a

marriage

proposal

that's

what

Boaz

would

have

heard

from

her

exactly

what

she

is

suggesting

here

notice

what

she

does

so

masterfully

she

says

spread

your

wings

over

your

servant

for

you

are

a

redeemer

do

you

remember

Boaz's

blessing

from

chapter

2

reason

that I

read

it

previously

just in

case

you

weren't

paying

attention

chapter

2

verse

12

he

says

the

Lord

repay

you

for

what

you

have

done

and

a

full

reward

be

given

you

by

the

Lord

the

God

of

Israel

under

whose

wings

you

have

come

to

take

refuge

Ruth

recognizes

God's

providence

works

with

human

agency

she

is

asking

Boaz

to be

used

of

God

to

fulfill

the

very

blessing

that

Boaz

spoke

over

her

it's

really

a

beautiful

expression

love

faith

now

ladies

if

you

want

to

use

our

words

against

us

do

it

like

this

this

is a

really

good

way

to

go

about

that

let

Ruth

set

the

model

for

you

and

his

response

he

says

may

you

be

blessed

by

the

Lord

my

daughter

you

have

made

this

last

kindness

greater

than the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my

daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you

are a worthy woman. Not only does he know that it's true, but they all know that it's true,

a woman worth marrying. It is most probable that Boaz is a generation older than Ruth, which is why

he calls her his daughter. We do not know how old Ruth was, but she could have easily been married

in her teens, been Malon's wife for 10 years, and still be quite young. So Boaz really may not have

been all that old. I think I'm old enough now to say that, and also old enough to consider myself old.

But he sees, nonetheless, her proposition as a great kindness. Boaz is not a married man, and we don't

get the details why he certainly seems like a worthy man to be married. But to this date, we have no

evidence that he was married. And here, this worthy woman seeks marriage with him. He says that this is a

kindness greater than the first, which I suggest to you refers not to her laying at his feet, but to her

departure from her people and her devotion to Naomi. Remember again what he says in chapter 2,

all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me,

and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not

know before. I think that's the first kindness. And he's saying, and now that you're here, this is

a kindness greater than that one that you would consider marrying me.

So a proposition is made. But an astute listener to my sermon on chapter 1, or just a careful student

of the Bible, will recall the commands of God for the Jewish people not to marry foreigners. So what is

happening here? Is Boaz breaking God's law if he marries Ruth? It seems that Boaz is concerned about

God's law, so I venture to say no, it's not what's going on. But the people of Israel have been

commanded not to intermarry with foreigners, but not for ethnic purity, as some have made the case,

but rather because of the potential for idolatry. You can read in Deuteronomy chapter 7, verse 2 and

Deuteronomy 7:2

following there, God commands, you shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them.

You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters

for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me to serve other gods. Then the

anger of the Lord would be kindled against you and he would destroy you quickly. So a command given for

the sake of mercy, right, that your sons wouldn't turn away from worshiping me because then my wrath

would be due you. So Ruth, while a Moabite ethnically, was no longer an idolater, but a worshiper of the

one true and loving God. We saw that in chapter 1. I think this is why Boaz is able to entertain the

idea of marrying her. There is, however, another obstacle that stands in the way of their marital bliss.

Verse 12 says, and now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.

So again, Boaz, as a man of upstanding character, cares about God's law and he says,

I'd like to do this thing that you've asked me to do, but we must take care of this matter first.

So he makes a promise. This is the third point.

Remain tonight, this is verse 13, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, let him do it.

And I just love that Boaz sees that as proper and right. If we follow God's law, things will turn out

the way they are supposed to turn out, right? He understands God's providence. But he goes on,

if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the

morning, right? Boaz's devotion is firstly to God and God's law. So he's obligated to obey it. But Boaz's

promise to Ruth is that one way or another, you will be redeemed. He's going to go do the leg work to be

sure that this happens on her behalf. So she lays at his feet till the morning, verse 14 says, but she

arises before one could recognize another. So it's still dark. It's early, early. It's still dark.

And he said, let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. And I take this last

phrase as a command to his servants that this unrecognized woman is not to be spoken of. He

protects her reputation and his, right? Nothing improper has happened, but he wants to be sure

that no one is harmed in the process. The threshing floor could be a place of impropriety. Husbands were

away from home for the night. Listen to a judgment uttered against Israel in Hosea chapter 9 and

Hosea 9 · chapter mention

verse 1. This is Hosea 9 verse 1. Rejoice not, O Israel. Exult not like the peoples, for you have

Hosea 9:1

played the whore forsaking your God. You have loved a prostitute's wages on all threshing floors. And so

it would seem this was a practice and a thing that happened, but not so with Boaz and Ruth. And he

wants to be sure that no rumors spread, right? Once again, protecting, caring for her, even though

she's not recognized. He is then once again generous toward Ruth and Naomi. Perhaps it's been suggested

as a pledge of his promise. We don't know how much six measures of barley are. There's no specific

measure being given to us there, but it seems to be a lot. She's had spread out her garment. It's a,

it's that cloak more than likely, and it's being filled full. And she's taking it back to Naomi

because he says, you must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law. And then Naomi gives her this

final instruction. But we'll settle the matter today. So the narrator leaves us cliffhanger at the end of

chapter 3, right? Tune in next time when Boaz, the Redeemer, the stage is set for chapter 4.

What will happen with Ruth and Boaz and, therefore, Naomi? Now, you likely know the story. It's so

much better than any of them could possibly imagine at this point in the narration. You can just read

ahead if you would like to. But I do hope you'll look forward to studying its conclusion with me

next Lord's Day. And I do hope that between now and then you're resting in the completed work.

of Christ. Let's pray.