Ruth at the Threshing Floor

A home for Ruth. Naomi said, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” (3:1). Security means a safe, settled home with a husband. From bitter to hopeful. In chapter 1 Naomi said God had brought her home empty. Now she is making plans for Ruth's future. God's kindness in chapter 2 changed her heart. Our relative. “Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative?” (3:2). God's law said a close relative could redeem, or buy back, what a family had lost (Leviticus 25:25). Ready like a bride. Naomi told Ruth, “wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment” (3:3). Ruth was no longer dressed as a sad widow. She was getting ready for a new beginning. Wait for the right time. Ruth was to wait until Boaz “has finished eating and drinking” (3:3). She would speak to him quietly and privately. He will tell you. “And he will tell you what you should do” (3:4). Naomi trusted Boaz to act as a good and godly man. Ruth obeyed. “All that you say to me I will do” (3:5). What this means for you. God works through people who love us. Listening to wise, godly advice is one way we trust Him.

Security (3:1). The Hebrew word is manoach (say: mah-NO-akh), a place of rest. It echoes Naomi's prayer in 1:9: “The Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.” Now Naomi acts on her own prayer. A changed Naomi. The woman who said she came home empty is now planning a future. God's hesed (say: HEH-sed) through Boaz in chapter 2 brought her back to hope. A legal request. Naomi's plan rests on God's law. A goel (say: go-AYL), a family redeemer, could buy back land (Leviticus 25:25). Deuteronomy 25:5-6 also provided for a dead man's brother to marry the widow and carry on his name. Ruth would ask Boaz to act as goel. Winnowing at night (3:2). Boaz was “winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.” Farmers tossed the grain into the evening breeze. The owner often stayed the night to guard the heap. Washed and anointed (3:3). Ruth set aside the clothes of mourning. Washing, anointing and the best garment were the way a bride prepared. Ruth was ready to ask for a new life. Discretion. “Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking” (3:3). The request would be private, so that no one could shame either of them if the answer was no. Obedience (3:5). “All that you say to me I will do.” Ruth's trust in Naomi is the same loyalty she showed in 1:16. Application. God's plans are never against His Word. When godly people guide you, test it by Scripture and then obey with a willing heart.

Naomi was not sad and bitter anymore. Now she was thinking about Ruth. She wanted Ruth to have a husband and a safe home. Boaz was their close relative. In God's law a close relative could help a widow's family. He could buy back their land. He could marry the widow and care for her. So Naomi's plan was a good and honest plan. Ruth trusted Naomi and said yes right away. She said, “I will do everything you say.” Ruth was humble and obedient. God was working through Naomi's love and Ruth's trust.

Naomi wanted a safe home for Ruth. She asked God to help. Ruth listened to Naomi. God cares about our homes too.

She obeyed. “So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her” (3:6). Quiet and humble. “She came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down” (3:7). At his feet was the place of a servant. Ruth was not proud. She came humbly. Midnight. “Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled” (3:8). Boaz woke and found a woman at his feet. Who are you? “I am Ruth, your maidservant” (3:9). Ruth said her name plainly. She did not hide. Her request. “Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative” (3:9). To spread his wing, the corner of his cloak, over her meant to marry her and protect her. Under his wing. In chapter 2 Boaz said Ruth had come under God's wings (2:12). Now Ruth asks Boaz to be the one God uses to cover her. A redeemer. “You are a close relative” means you can redeem our family. Ruth asked for more than food. She asked for a family and a future. What this means for you. Many Christians see Ruth at Boaz's feet as a picture of how we come to Jesus: humbly, honestly, asking Him to cover us.

The threshing floor (3:6). The goren (say: GOH-ren) was an open, hard floor where grain was threshed and winnowed. Ruth obeyed Naomi's instructions exactly. At his feet (3:7). Ruth uncovered his feet and lay at them. The feet were the place of a servant or a person asking a favor. It was humble, quiet and respectful. Boaz himself will praise her character. Midnight (3:8). Boaz woke with a start and found a woman at his feet. He did not shout or shame her. He asked, “Who are you?” “I am Ruth” (3:9). Earlier she called herself a foreigner and less than a maidservant (2:10, 13). Now she calls herself amah (say: ah-MAH), a servant who could become a wife. “Under your wing” (3:9). The word is kanaf (say: kah-NAHF), the same word Boaz used in 2:12 for the wings of God. Spreading the corner of a garment over a woman was a pledge of marriage and protection. “You are a close relative” (3:9). Ruth names Boaz goel. She asks him to marry her and to redeem Elimelech's line, not just to help her personally. Boaz as the answer. Boaz prayed that God's wings would reward Ruth (2:12). Ruth now asks Boaz to be part of God's answer to that prayer. Application. Many Christians see here how a sinner comes to Christ: humbly, at His feet, asking to be covered. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Ruth went to the threshing floor that night. She did just what Naomi said. She waited until Boaz was asleep. Then she quietly rested at his feet. The feet were a humble place, like a servant's place. Ruth was not trying to trick Boaz. She was asking him a big question in a humble way. When Boaz woke up, Ruth told him who she was. She asked him to cover her with his cloak. That meant, please marry me and be my family's helper. Ruth was brave and honest. We can come to Jesus humbly and ask Him for help too.

Ruth came to Boaz's feet. She asked him for help. We can come to Jesus. We can ask Him for help.

A blessing, not a scolding. “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter!” (3:10). Boaz knew Ruth's request was good and right. More kindness. “For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning” (3:10). Her first kindness was caring for Naomi. This one was choosing to carry on Naomi's family. Not looking out for herself. She “did not go after young men, whether poor or rich” (3:10). Ruth chose what was best for Naomi's family. Do not fear. “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request” (3:11). Boaz gladly said yes. A virtuous woman. “For all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman” (3:11). Virtuous means good, strong in character and faithful. Good name. Ruth had arrived as a poor foreigner. Now the whole town spoke well of her. Her faith showed in her life. God's grace. “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). What this means for you. Kindness that puts others first pleases God. Your life can show others that you belong to Jesus.

Blessed of the Lord (3:10). Boaz's first words are a blessing in God's name. He does not treat Ruth's request as shameful, because it was not. Hesed again (3:10). “More kindness at the end than at the beginning.” The word is hesed (say: HEH-sed), loyal, covenant love. Ruth's first hesed was staying with Naomi (1:16-17). Her last hesed was seeking a goel so that Elimelech's family would not disappear. Choosing the family over herself (3:10). Ruth could have married any young man. Marrying Boaz as goel meant her firstborn would carry on Mahlon's name and inheritance, not just her own happiness. “Do not fear” (3:11). These are words of reassurance and of promise: “I will do for you all that you request.” Eshet chayil (3:11). “A virtuous woman” is eshet chayil (say: EH-shet KHAH-yil), a woman of strength and worth. Boaz was called a man of chayil in 2:1. The same phrase describes the excellent wife in Proverbs 31:10. Two people of strong character meet in Bethlehem. The gate knows (3:11). “All the people of my town” is literally all the gate of my people. The gate was where the elders met. Ruth's reputation was public and spotless. Humility and grace. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). Application. Character is built in ordinary days, like Ruth's days in the field. Ask God to make you a person of chayil whose life speaks well of Him.

Boaz did not get angry with Ruth. He blessed her in the name of the Lord. Boaz said Ruth was being even kinder now than before. She had already been kind to Naomi. Now she wanted to keep Naomi's family going. She could have chosen any young man. Instead she asked the family redeemer. Boaz told her not to be afraid. He promised to do everything she asked. The whole town knew Ruth was a good woman. Ruth loved God, and it showed in how she lived. God wants our lives to show His love too.

Boaz said Ruth was good. He said, “Don’t be afraid.” He promised to help her. Jesus helps us too.

Honest. “Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I” (3:12). Boaz told the truth even when it might cost him. The right way. “If he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it” (3:13). Boaz would follow God's law, not his own wishes. A promise. “Then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives!” (3:13). Boaz made a serious promise in God's name. Her good name. She left “before one could recognize another,” and Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor” (3:14). He protected Ruth's reputation. Not empty-handed. Boaz poured six measures of barley into her shawl and said, “Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law” (3:17). Naomi had come home empty in chapter 1. Now she was being filled. Sit still. Naomi said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out” (3:18). Sometimes faith means waiting. He will not rest. “For the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day” (3:18). What this means for you. Many Christians hear an echo of Jesus here. On the cross He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Jesus did not stop until our salvation was complete.

A closer relative (3:12). Boaz will not take a shortcut. The closer relative had the first right to redeem, and Boaz honored God's order even though it could cost him the woman he admired. An oath (3:13). “As the Lord lives!” Boaz binds himself with a solemn oath. His word is as sure as God's life. Purity and honor (3:14). She rose “before one could recognize another.” Boaz guarded her good name and his own. Nothing in the night gave anyone a reason to accuse them. Everything would be settled openly at the town gate (4:1). Six measures (3:15). The barley was a generous gift and a pledge. It told Naomi that Boaz meant to keep his word. Empty no more (3:17). “Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.” Naomi had said, “the Lord has brought me home again empty” (1:21). God was answering her emptiness with fullness. Sit still (3:18). Faith sometimes acts and sometimes waits. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). He will not rest (3:18). Boaz would finish the matter that same day. Many Christians hear an echo of Jesus, who cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) and “is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25). Application. Do things God's way even when a shortcut looks easier. And rest in Christ, whose work for you is finished.

Boaz wanted to do everything the right way. He told Ruth about a closer relative. That man had the first right to help. Boaz would not skip over him. He made a promise in the Lord's name. Boaz also kept Ruth's good name safe. He sent her home before anyone could see her. He did not send her home empty-handed. He filled her shawl with barley for Naomi. Naomi said Boaz would not rest until it was done. Jesus is like that too. He finished everything needed to save us.

Boaz kept his promise. He would not rest until it was done. Jesus keeps His promises too. He finished His work for us.