The wonderful plan of God

22APR26 Ruth 3-4

Last we saw how God guided Ruth into the field and favor of Boaz…. Today we will read why that was so important.

Ruth 3:1

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?

I love the authenticity of this verse…Naomi is like oh daughter I know you are exhausted and need to rest…but we don’t have time for that…you need to get a bath and get dressed up…and here is why.

2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were?

See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

3 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.

4 But when he lies down,

observe the place where he lies.

Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do."

5 And she replied,

"All that you say I will do."

For most of us this sounds a little out of the ordinary! Could you imagine telling your son’s widow to go stalk a man probably significantly older than her.

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.

7 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.

Uncovering his feet and lying down there Ruth was saying two things:

She submitted herself to his protection and authority.

She was requesting his intervention as kinsman redeemer.

8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!

9 He said, "Who are you?"

And she answered, "I am Ruth,

your servant. Spread your wings

over your servant, for you are a redeemer."

10 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.

11 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.

12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.

13 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."

Its midnight…pitch dark…

Can you imagine this whole conversation being whispered…

She is basically asking him to marry her…and he says yes.

14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another.

And he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor."

15 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.

16 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, 17 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.'"

18 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." (Ruth 3:1-18 ESV)

Nothing about this was untoward or inappropriate…. It was a simple act of humility and desire.

    No pretense or manipulation.

    Here’s what I need and want.

    It is in your hands

Ruth chapter 4

Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there.

And behold, the redeemer,

of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, "Turn aside, friend;

sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here."

So they sat down.

It would have been obvious something important was about to happen.

Oh hey…let’s get a cup of coffee…and you walk in and there are ten leading men from the community gathered there… you would have known something was up!

3 Then he said to the redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.

4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say,

'Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.'

If you will redeem it, redeem it.

But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you."

And he said, "I will redeem it."

Boaz probably anticipated his response and so Boaz is like… you do realize all that is involved right???

5 Then Boaz said, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi,

you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,

the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance."

I would have loved to seen the redeemer’s face when Boaz told him it was a two for one situation.

6 Then the redeemer said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it."

That man started doing the math on this and figured out very quickly he was about to bite off more than he could chew.

7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction,

the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.

Giving the sandal was a symbol of good standing…like I will stand behind my name and my word.

8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.

10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance,

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."

It would seem this meeting had begun to draw onlookers. No doubt in this small primitive community word traveled very quickly that something important was taking place…

11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said,

"We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.

May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,

12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman."

This is such an interesting pair of references…

Rachel and Leah are of course the wives of Jacob and the mothers of the 12 Tribes of Israel.

The reference to Perez, Tamar and Judah is a reference to an occasion where the kinsman rule should have applied and Judah didn’t follow through…. Tamar tricked Judah into sleeping with her and they had a son named Perez.

This is an  affirmation of Boaz for stepping up and taking care of Naomi and Ruth!

One more fun fact… Boaz was a descendent of Perez!

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

I love how one verse can cover so much time…. Went from honeymoon to delivery room in one sentence.

14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!

15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age,

for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons,

has given birth to him."

16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed.

He was the father of Jesse,

the father of David.

This immediately reveals when this story was recorded in its final version… David had become King of Israel.

Remember the blessing of Perez we looked at in verse 12….

Whoever is giving this the final edit, included this:

18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,

19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,

21 Salmon fathered Boaz,

Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

Two things.

In Scripture Genealogies are important. They are the story of people.

The LORD weaves the cloth of redemption with the threads of human experience.

Take Aways.

This all seems to fit in one simple and familiar verse from the NT…

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (Eph. 3:20 ESV)

build the list

The LORD knows more than you know.

The LORD sees more than you can see.

The LORD can do more than you can do.