Page 17 - Florida Sentinel 8-16-19

Religious
A Covenant To Marry RUTH 3:1-6, 8-12, 16-18 (KJV)
SCRIPTURES
Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Be- hold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshing floor.
3 Wash thyself there- fore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
6 And she went down unto the floor, and did ac- cording to all that her mother in law bade her.
8Anditcametopassat midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daugh- ter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kins- man: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, she
said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
Background
Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem in time for the har- vest of the barley fields. The whole town was abuzz at Naomi’s return with her Moabite daughter-in-law. Naomi shared her losses with the women of the community and the story of Ruth’s care for her mother-in-law spread throughout the town. Ruth took the initiative to provide for the two of them by setting out to glean behind the reapers. It was custom as a form of charity to allow the poor, widows, or- phans, and foreigners to follow behind the harvesters to gather the leftover grain (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19).
Though God does not speak in the book of Ruth, his pres- ence is felt. Through God’s providence, Ruth happened to glean the fields owned by Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s late hus- band. Boaz was a noble man of means and he took notice of this unfamiliar young woman. He inquired of her background and learned that she was the Moabite woman who returned with Naomi.
Boaz implored Ruth to stay close to his young women and to not move to another field. He also spoke a blessing of reward for Ruth because of how she honored her mother-in-law, and left her own people to live with Naomi.
Boaz further blessed Ruth by making sure she was protected as she worked, she was nour- ished, and that she could earn a good living to take care of her household.
At the end of her workday, Ruth was excited to tell Naomi
of her success and learned that the man who blessed her was a relative of Naomi’s. Ruth con- tinued to work in Boaz’s field with the rest of the young women through the barley and wheat harvest season.
Partners In Covenant (Ruth 3:1-6)
In ancient Middle Eastern culture a woman without a hus- band had little to no public standing, was not secure, and thus needed protection. Out of concern for Ruth’s future, Naomi advises Ruth on how to secure a husband by expressing interest in Boaz, who was by marriage her next of kin (Ruth 2:20).
There are different schools of thought on Naomi’s sug- gested approach to Ruth. But the planned end result of her ad- vice was in line with the Hebrew levirate marriage custom: In order to keep the deceased man and his inheritance in the family line, the next of kin or kinsman- redeemer would marry his widow (Leviticus 25:25, 48– 49).
Naomi advises Ruth to get cleaned up, put on her best scented oil, a nice outfit, and to stealthily go to Boaz in the night. She further counsels Ruth to wait until he has retired from his work. She knew that after eating and drinking, he would be good and relaxed, so it would be a good time to make her move. Ruth followed Naomi’s counsel as the older woman is teaching the younger one how to ensure their survival by connecting with this man.
To some, Naomi and Ruth’s plan may appear forward, but in the story of Tamar (Genesis 3) we have another example in Scripture of a woman who also enacted a plan using the same custom to secure her future. Both Tamar and Ruth end up in Jesus’ family lineage.
An Interest In Covenant (vv. 8-12)
Boaz awakened to find a woman lying at his feet and dis- covered that it was Ruth. This suggestive move, to appear in a man’s presence at the threshing floor, was a bold one because she was not sure how he would receive her. Ruth asked for Boaz to spread his cloak over her for he was the nearest kinsman or next of kin. The spreading of the cloak signified the desire for ac- quisition through marriage. His relation to Ruth was not direct, but due to her connection to Naomi’s family. The love and loyalty shown to Naomi placed Ruth in a position to make such a plea. Boaz was overcome with her gesture and stated how this
act of loyalty was better than the first: Ruth could have pursued the application of levirate law with someone younger, rich or poor, or with someone out of her husband’s bloodline, but she chose him.
Boaz acknowledges her virtue and tells her that the com- munity viewed her not as a for- eigner but a worthy woman. He seeks to further protect her pu- rity by committing to do what she has asked, but there was an- other male relative who would be the actual next of kin. Upon their first meeting, Boaz spoke a blessing over Ruth because of her love and devotion to Naomi (v. 12). God’s masterful orches- tration fulfilled this word; Boaz had no idea that he would be that blessing in the beginning.
Waiting On Covenant (vv. 16-18)
After spending the night at the threshing floor with Boaz, Ruth leaves before anyone can recognize her. Boaz goes through great lengths to protect her reputation in the commu- nity because it was against cus- tom for a woman to appear at the threshing floor. He commits to meeting with the men of the community, which includes the actual next of kin to see if he will make the claim or serve as the next of kin (v. 13).
Ruth returns to her mother- in-law with her cloak filled with grain because Boaz does not want her to return to Naomi empty-handed. Naomi asks Ruth for a report of what hap-
pened just as a trusted friend and confidant would. As Ruth shares the exchange between her and Boaz, Naomi offers her next pearl of wisdom on how to manage the situation. She in- structs Ruth to sit tight and wait until she receives word of the outcome. Naomi knew that Boaz had already made the commit- ment to be the next of kin be- cause of how he already sacrificed and extended himself to protect and provide, as a good man would. She was confident that Boaz would keep his word and that the matter would be settled by the end of the day.
The book of Ruth can be seen as a picture of God’s love for us expressed through His Son Jesus Christ as our next-of- kin redeemer. We have to take the step of receiving God’s salva- tion by trusting in the finished work of Calvary, accepting Jesus into our heart, and living for Him.
The book of Ruth itself high- lights the importance of women building relationships with one another and honoring each other as important and worthy. Although in the end Ruth waited for Boaz’s decision to marry her, she expressed interest when she encountered him. The older woman provided instruction, and the younger woman fol- lowed the advice to make herself known.
When God illuminates a person for pursuit of a marriage relationship, it is best to do so with wise counsel to discern and accountability to make good choices.
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