God reveals his design for mature masculinity as godly Boaz redeems, loves, and marries Ruth for her flourishing, safety, and joy.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
As we have been seeing in this beautiful little story, the book of Ruth depicts the need that women have for tenderhearted protection and provision from men, and the best character for both a woman and a man to have in that relationship.
Ruth is the godly woman who came to Israel to seek refuge under the spread wings of Almighty God.
This is the very expression Boaz used when he complimented her faith and courage in coming to Israel from her home country of Moab:
Ruth 2:11-12 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband– how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
God is pictured like a protective eagle, spreading wings over its young
Jesus himself used this same image concerning his love for Jerusalem:
Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
Naomi and Ruth were two helpless widows with no men to care for them
But God cares deeply for the widow, the orphan, the alien, the outcast
In this chapter, the same image is used of Boaz as kinsman-redeemer
For Ruth reaches out to him and asks him to protect her and care for her:
Ruth 3:9 “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
This is a beautiful picture of the way a godly husband cares for his wife… he spreads the wings of protection over her so she can flourish under his care and provision
That’s what Ruth 3 is about!
Let’s walk through it.
Ruth 3:1-18 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” 5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 ¶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. 7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet. 9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” 10 “The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.” 14 ¶ So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Then he went back to town. 16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'” 18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
I. Naomi Counsels Ruth
The story keeps coming back to Naomi
Though she acted like her life was over when her husband and two sons died, actually she is the hub of this wheel, humanly speaking
She was the one that taught Ruth about the laws concerning gleaning, how the Lord had made provision for poor people in Israel to pick up extras from a harvest
Now, she wants to go the next step… to set her up with a husband through the kinsman-redeemer law
As a reminder:
Deuteronomy 25:5-6 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
So, Naomi’s wheels begin to turn and she hatches a plan to care for Ruth:
Ruth 3:1-5 One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? 2 Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” 5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
Note the aspects of Naomi’s plan:
Naomi understands the psychology of a man; he needs to be in a good mood, and this is a festive time, the celebration of the successful harvest… the time is right
Secondly, Naomi understands the need for Ruth to be physically attractive… it matters what she is wearing, how she looks, how she smells. Her beauty is a big part of her feminine appeal
Thirdly, Naomi knows that Ruth has to take some initiative… she has to move out; but she still has to ultimately be the responder and Boaz the leader
Fourth, Naomi understands their culture and the most appropriate way for Ruth to catch his attention… to lie on the threshing floor alone after dark, when the man’s stomach is full and his heart is merry with wine… that’s the most likely scenario for success
Beautifully, we see Ruth submissive to the counsel of her mother-in-law. Ruth is a yielded woman, ready to take good counsel and put it into practice. It is why we are still talking about her millennia later. If she had been defiant and independent-minded, we would never have heard her name.
Look at the last words of Naomi’s, and then Ruth’s reply:
Ruth 3:4-5 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.” 5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
From submission to her mother-in-law to submission to her future husband, Ruth’s beauty is described by Peter:
1 Peter 3:3-6 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
II. Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
Ruth 3:6-13 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. 7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet. 9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” 10 “The LORD bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
A. Ruth’s Obedient Spirit Led to Her Delightful Destiny
1. Ruth did everything Naomi told her to do
2. And… when the time came, she did everything Boaz told her to do
B. Boaz in Good Spirits
1. It was a festive time
2. The barley harvest was very good and was now safely threshed and in the barns
3. God’s bounty to a sinful people… remember that the famine had been a judgment by God on his people
4. Boaz was celebrating the goodness of God… and had feasted with his servants
C. The Time at the Threshing Floor
1. I don’t know why Boaz slept on the threshing floor… but Naomi knew he would
2. He lay down there, unaware of who else was with him
3. Ruth approached him quietly and uncovered his feet…
4. This action was deeply symbolic… a desire on Ruth’s part to live with him as a wife
5. It also was practical… at some point in the night he was awakened, probably in part because of his uncovered feet
D. Boaz Discovers Ruth
1. He saw a young woman close by his uncovered feet
2. He asked, “Who are you?”
3. Ruth answers, “I am your servant, Ruth”… beautifully submissive
4. Then the request: “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman redeemer.”
5. The symbolism is one of protection and provision… keep me warm at night, provide for me, draw close to me… be my husband and the father of my children; protect and provide for them as well
6. In a godly male-female relationship, it is not wrong at all for a woman to show strong desires to the man she desires; but the leadership is still his
E. Boaz’s Godly Response
1. Boaz is very moved by this… by his demeanor and his place in the community, and the way he calls her daughter and carries himself… by the fact that he is impressed that she has not run after younger men, all of this shows me Boaz is an older man
2. He speaks words of praise for her… he praises her wisdom in pursuing him, an older, established, godly man… rather than following the usual drives of a young woman, for someone handsome and physically strong
3. He speaks praise of her reputation:
Ruth 3:11 All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.
4. And he promises her to do what she asks… “Do not be afraid. I will do everything you have asked.”
5. BUT there is still one more hurdle…
Ruth 3:12 Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I.
6. Boaz’s faith
Ruth 3:13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
F. Boaz’s Concern for Her Reputation
1. Though they were completely pure there at night on the threshing floor, it does have the appearance of something scandalous
2. SO… he makes sure that she leaves while it is still dark, lest corrupt minds wag gossipy tongues
3. But he cannot send her away empty-handed back to Naomi… he gives her six measures of barley poured into her shawl… as much as she could easily carry
G. Naomi’s Confidence in Boaz
Ruth 3:18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
To all you young men out there… Boaz was a man of stature in that community in part because of this kind of reputation: he was a man of his word, who could be relied on to carry out what he was committed to do
He wasn’t a sluggard, a procrastinator, a fraud who made fake promises and then later changed his mind
He was a man of action who would know what to do
H. Jesus our Kinsman-Redeemer
All of this again is a beautiful picture of Jesus as our Savior, our Kinsman-Redeemer
He gave himself up for his bride on the cross, cleansing her from her defilement and corruption by his blood… he is the Bread of Life, provision poured into our laps more than we could ever need; he is our Leader who guides us and tells us what to do; he is our Bridegroom, the lover of our souls
Under his wings we find refuge!
Psalm 91:4-6 under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
At a lesser level, we have depicted here what a godly husband should be for his wife above all, and for their children. A shelter and a refuge, a strong tower and a bountiful harvest, a captain and warrior, a tender lover and healer.
What Jesus is for the church, the husband should seek by the Spirit to be for his wife and children.
