Someone told me around the time I started this blog that if I was going to start writing faithfully and intentionally about God’s Word that I should expect a spiritual attack. I kind of laughed about it, and didn’t give it much thought. But here I sit, typing this third and final part of the story of Ruth almost a month later than I intended with a broken finger, a loved one in the hospital after a scary emergency surgery, emails of discouragement and nitpicking, another loved one finishing up chemo and showing signs of wear from that, a child with chronic coughing fits from asthma, a stressful job situation out of our control, a loved one wrestling with immense grief, a relative awaiting a terrifying diagnosis, never ending family tensions, and many other little annoyances and stresses that I won’t take more time to list here. The point is not to say “poor me!” or to make excuses, but just that it has been a hard couple weeks on our family for various reasons. Call it spiritual attack or distractions and discouragements meant to keep me from studying and writing. All I know is that in the book of John, Jesus tells us that our enemy, the thief, “comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.” (Jn10:10). And in 1 Peter 5:8, we are told that our “adversary the devil prowls around like a lion, seeking someone to devour.” Well, little lion, you cannot devour this girl! This wounded lady is going to keep typing even if it is only one key at a time! BAM!
So… Onward we must march back into the story of Ruth. Remember we left off with Ruth and Naomi getting grain and protection from their relative, Boaz. Let’s pick right up at the very end of chapter two. Naomi encouraged Ruth to stay close to the other women gleaning in Boaz’s fields and to stay under his protection so that not only her reputation would be protected but also her literal self. Verse 23 says, “Ruth kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”
For some reason, whenever I hear this story I somehow always picture it happening over a time period of a week. But at the end of chapter two, it is clear that Ruth continued faithfully working in Boaz’s field for a couple months because it says she worked until the end of the grain harvest. That would have probably been from the end of March till about the beginning or middle of June.
Naomi had several weeks by now to get readjusted to life back in Bethlehem. She saw how diligently Ruth had continued to work in the fields, and she also saw the continued favor and protection of Boaz. Naomi had an “aha!” moment at the beginning of the chapter, and she asked Ruth to do something that might seem forward to us, but was actually customary of the Jewish people at that time. She said to Ruth, “Isn’t Boaz winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor? Wash therefore and go 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 he lies. Then, go, and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
I can picture Ruth listening intently to Naomi’s suggestion and thinking, “Okay, yep. I can do that. Get cleaned up, dressed up, and then go to the threshing floor. Got it. See Boaz, but don’t say hi. Okay. weird. Now wait a minute. What?! You want me to watch him eat and drink and then when he goes to sleep, I’m supposed to uncover his stinky feet and lay by them?! Riiiight…That sounds like a fantastic way to spend my evening… makes perfect sense. Not!” Haha! Okay, so maybe that’s not quite what her inner-monologue said, but that’s what mine would have probably been. At this point, I’m sure Ruth had started figuring out many of their customs, but I like to think that this one had to have been a little bit of a stretch for her to understand- at least maybe at first. However, in true Ruth fashion, she doesn’t question Naomi. Verse 5 tells us that Ruth responded in obedience. She says,”All that you say, I will do.”
By the way, do you know what a threshing floor is or what winnowing is? I thought I’d give us all a little refresher, just in case. The threshing floor was a flat place, usually up on a hill where a steady breeze would regularly blow. This is where the actual edible grain could be “winnowed” or separated from the outer, inedible, grassy husk. The wind blows away the useless and lightweight grassy chaff, and the more substantial and edible grain falls down on the threshing floor. Many times in scripture, where a threshing floor is mentioned, it is usually used as a symbol of God’s judgement: scattering away the evil and useless chaff and storing up the good grain. [ps1:4,Jer13:24, Matt3:23]. Think of the threshing floor as the place where the worthiness of grain is tested by the wind. The old, broken outer shells are blown away, and the newly exposed grain that remains is considered precious and stored for great use in the upcoming year.
Ruth did exactly as Naomi tells her to do. She stepped cautiously onto the threshing floor where Boaz was sleeping contentedly at the end of a heap of grain. Then she tiptoed in, uncovered his feet, and laid down. Let’s pick back up in chapter 3 verse 8,”At midnight, the man was startled and turned over, and behold a woman lay at his feet! (I love that there’s an exclamation point there! haha! Remember, Boaz is still an upstanding bachelor, so he is not used to finding a woman near him in the middle of the night.That would be startling!) 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.”
I have goosebumps. Literally, goosebumps. Ruth the Moabite quietly steps onto the threshing floor-after months of humbly and faithfully getting to know the God of Israel and the customs of His people, and the winds of favor and redemption flow over her. Her old identity as a young, unknown widow from a pagan culture is cast aside, and she is given a new identity: a worthy woman. Boaz sees the hardworking, humble, and favored woman God has made her to be, and he again is moved with compassion to be her kinsman redeemer.
The concept of a kinsman redeemer can be a bit confusing in our culture today, so let me try to help clear it up a little. Bear with me as we jump into a little Israelite history and law. It will be worth it, I promise! Back when God miraculously gave the Israelites the land he had promised them, He divided it between the twelve tribes of Israel. In this context, Israel is referring not to the nation of Israel but to the man Israel- previously known as Jacob. They all inherit a certain area of land literally from God. Their family names(tribes) and their land could always serve as a reminder of their inheritance from God, and His faithfulness. They took their land rights very seriously. The lands were passed from generation to generation, but always needed to remain within that tribe’s kinsmen (or relatives). As is the case with most of our families, though,things weren’t always cut and dry. Families argued, some couldn’t have children or died before they could, and things got messy. They wrote many laws in the book of Leviticus and also Deuteronomy regarding how the lands God gave them could be bought and sold and protected. This is where the concept of a kinsman redeemer comes in. Don’t get bored yet. It’s worth it, I promise! Stay with me!
The levitical law said that if a man died without children, his unmarried brother or closest relative could (and should) marry the dead man’s wife so that she did not have to be married to a stranger (Deut25:5). This would protect the woman from poverty and becoming an outsider, but it also made a way for the name of the deceased brother to be carried on through their firstborn son.
Another interesting part of the redeeming law said that widows and poor family members could sell their inherited lands in order to help pay for their cost of living. The lands could always be redeemed (or bought back) by a close family member on their behalf or whenever they managed to make enough money to purchase them back. (Lev 23:23-28)(They also would be given their lands back in what was known as “the year of jubilee”, but that is another study for another time).
I’ll put a pause on levitical laws for a second so we can continue on with the story. Boaz told Ruth that there was another relative even closer than he was who could be her redeemer, and because Boaz was a man of honor, he wanted to make sure to offer him the rights first. So he got up first thing the next day, and sent Ruth home to Naomi with more grain. He hurried to the city gate to wait for the other possible kinsman redeemer to arrive, and then they asked the elders of the city to come and help them settle the matter right away. He explained that Naomi was about to sell her husband’s land in order to make ends meet. As the next of kin, this man had the right to buy the lands from Naomi and keep them in the family. Boaz also explained to the man that when he buys the lands from Naomi, he would also be buying the lands from Ruth. As a result, he would need to marry her in order to hopefully carry on the family name through her. The man declined his rights to be her kinsman redeemer, and Boaz jumped at the chance. Both men then keep another “odd” custom of swapping sandals with each other to somehow affirm this decision.
Chapter 4 verse 9:”Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people (he’s essentially shouting from the rooftops!),’You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilean and to Mahalon (Naomi’s sons). Also Ruth, the moabite, the widow of Mahalon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance (be her kinsman redeemer), that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
Then the people rejoiced and blessed Boaz and Ruth by saying, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman , who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah (wives of Jacob) who built up the house of Israel (out of them came the 12 tribes). May you act worthily… and be renowned in Bethlehem…(and continue the line of Judah through her [paraphased])…”
So Boaz the honorable married Ruth the obedient and redeemed. And nine months later, Ruth gave birth to a son. And they lived happily ever after! And when I say they, I don’t mean just Boaz and Ruth. Remember, I told you that God was not content to leave Naomi in her bitterness and hopelessness. The same women who barely recognized their bitter and grieving friend when she first moved back into town, now turned to her and exclaimed,”Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!” They named her grandson Obed (because apparently they didn’t trust Naomi’s naming skills after attempting to rename herself Mara), and they said, “A son has been born to Naomi.” The ladies pointed out to Naomi that the Lord had blessed her by not only giving her such a loving and obedient daughter-in-law, but that Ruth became the vessel God used to bring about redemption for Naomi. Remember all the ramblings above about kinsman redeemers and carrying on the deceased’s name through the firstborn son? Well, here it is. God had given Ruth a son and therefore Naomi a grandson. That grandson became Naomi’s redeemer.
The story of Ruth ends with Naomi holding her little grandson on her lap. I bet the tears of joy dripped down her cheeks and off her chin as she stared into his little face with such hope and awe. He probably looked very similar to the way her sons had looked when they were infants on her lap many years before. Naomi was no longer bitter and grieving; her joy was fully restored. Every time she looked at him, she was reminded not only of her past (her husband and sons), but also of God’s incredible faithfulness to not leave her grieving and hopeless, but instead to make a way for her also to be redeemed. Isn’t that beautiful?
The last few verses of the book of Ruth gives us a genealogy. Many times I have skipped over the genealogy because it seemed kindof pointless. As I’ve studied scripture more and more, though, I realize that nothing is written in there by accident. It sums up the genealogy of the line of Judah (through Perez): Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon (who married Rahab), Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. David is the David in the Bible who wrote many of the Psalms, who defeated Goliath, who was a man after God’s own heart, and who became a King of Israel. David’s line also continued on for many generations till a man named Joseph married a young woman named Mary; and by God’s will, they had a very special Son named Jesus.
Why is this important, you may ask? Because Jesus became the kinsman redeemer for all of us. The Bible tells us that Jesus has a Book of Life where the names of those who believe in Him are written. Those people get to enter into an eternal inheritance of heaven, but anyone who’s name is not found in that book will spend forever in hell, separated from God’s presence(rev13:8, rev 20:15). These verses are hard to swallow, but it is important to still talk about. How do we get our names written in that book? Well, we, in and of ourselves, cannot do anything. No amount of good deeds, well wishing, or money we pay can ever get us into that book. Our sin cuts us off from being a part of the Kingdom of God or from being worthy to even come near Him.The Bible says in Romans that all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that the payment we deserve for our sin is death. Without some sort of miracle, there is no hope of our insurmountable debts against God ever getting paid. But do you see it? Jesus is that miracle. He is our Kinsman Redeemer. When all hope seemed lost and the cost of our inheritance too high, God’s own son stepped in and bought us our freedom. But unlike Boaz, Jesus didn’t just “write a check” to pay for our freedom; He literally paid with His life. He takes our impossibly dead souls, and He brings us new and eternal life. He takes our outcast names, and He handwrites them as belonging to Him and with Him forever in His book of life.
Ruth was no longer known as a Moabite or a widow. She became known as Boaz’s wife and a great(many greats)grandmother of Jesus. She had been redeemed and given a new life. Boaz paid the price for her freedom and belonging.
Naomi was no longer bitter and grieving. She now had a sweet grandson to help raise and to pass her husband’s inheritance to. She was given a second chance. She was given redemption, too.
We too can experience redemption as well. No longer do we have to be known as sinners or as outsiders to God’s Kingdom. We can be known as belonging to Jesus. He paid the price for our freedom and belonging. All we have to do is acknowledge our sin and believe in Him. He gives us a new identity, a new eternal life, a purpose for each day, and His mercies are new every morning.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24
I hope you enjoyed this long blog series on Ruth. I know I’ve enjoyed typing it and studying about it. I want to finish with the lyrics to a song we sang at my church a few weeks ago.
“How Deep The Father’s Love For Us”
How deep the Father’s love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
littlebylittlemore 