Adapted from She, Volume 2/p69-72
Read: Ruth 3:1-20; Ruth 4; and Matthew 1:5
As someone who used to scheme and manipulate situations to get a desired result, the opening lines of Ruth chapter three catch my attention every time. Whether it was culturally acceptable to arrange marriages in that day and time, the conversation that ensues seems to fall under the plotting and scheming category of any generation or culture.
One day her mother-in-law Naomi said to Ruth, “My dear daughter, isn’t it about time I arranged a good home for you so you can have a happy life? And isn’t Boaz our close relative, the one with whose young women you’ve been working? Maybe it’s time to make our move.
Ruth 3:1-2
Naomi knew that Boaz was working in the threshingfloor,
and what Ruth needed to do1
It is worth noting that marriage arrangements were the custom of the day in which Naomi and Ruth lived. So, the argument could be made that they were simply following the lead or path that was opened when Boaz extended her the kindness, protection, and provision of gleaning in his field. As bibleref.com commentary explains, “Naomi has a problem. She wants Boaz, an older, highly honored Jewish man, to marry Ruth, her young Moabite daughter-in-law. Culturally, there is nothing about this scheme that makes sense. But Naomi knows Ruth deserves the best in life, and she’s resolved to make it happen. Naomi must balance several things all at once. She needs to figure out how Ruth can propose to Boaz while keeping safe and maintaining enough privacy that Boaz doesn’t lose face for talking with a foreign widow.”
Ruth Proposes
Ruth was a willing participant and followed all of the instructions Naomi gave her. After seeing/hearing all that Boaz had done thus far, there was no reason for either woman to doubt that Boaz, as a “near kinsman who could redeem them, would do what he could”2. Whether it is the man or woman who proposes, I think we would all agree that no one wants to hear the answer, ‘Yes, but…’. Unfortunately, however right he was, this is the answer that Boaz gives Ruth.
The Lord bless you, my daughter!’ Boaz exclaimed. ‘You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor.3 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am.
Ruth 3:10-12
Despite her Moabite heritage, Ruth had come to be known as a kind and virtuous woman, and even though another man was a closer redeemer than Boaz, Boaz was the one whom God had prepared to be her redeemer.
12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.”
14 So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, “No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.” 15 Then Boaz said to her, “Bring your cloak and spread it out.” He measured six scoops[a] of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back. Then he[b] returned to the town.
16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “What happened, my daughter?”
Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, 17 and she added, “He gave me these six scoops of barley and said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.”
Ruth 3:12-18
Ruth Waits … but not for long
While Naomi told Ruth she wouldn’t have to wait long, she also told her to “be patient.” Those two words can be very good advice, however they can also be a very annoying and often challenging statement. Yet, according to the commentary by Bibleref.com, just as Naomi had predicted, it is only a few hours later that Boaz goes to the city gates. Determined to do all he could to help care for Ruth and Naomi, Boaz follows the cultural demands of the day, which are described in the first twelve verses of Ruth, chapter four. They are a wonderful display of Boaz’s character, and I believe, his respect and heart’s desire to marry Ruth.
As today’s study guide points out, the sandal represents so much more than the transfer of property. It was a declaration that Boaz was now legally able to marry Ruth.
The Story of the Sandal
Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. 3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”
The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.”
6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
7 Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. 8 So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
11 Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may the Lord give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.” Ruth 4:1-12
Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
Ruth 4:9-10
Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse. Matthew 1:5
Scripture paints a beautiful picture of the story, allowing us to see the amazingly personal hand of God carrying out His purposes and plans for generations upon generations to come.
So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. (Ruth 4:13) – Cue the water works and celebration, for Naomi (and Ruth) have been redeemed and restored!
Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!”
Ruth 4:14-15
She was given a legacy of redemption. And she serves as an example of the beautiful picture of redemption that Christ has provided for us.4
As the study journal points out, Ruth’s son would be the grandfather of King David of Israel. And fourteen generations after him, Jesus Christ would be born of the same lineage. ~ for even more details on the beautiful plan of God in and through the story of Ruth and the glorious arrival of Jesus, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace5“, click here.
Reflection and Application
- Why do we need a Redeemer?
- What was the name of Ruth and Boaz’s son, and how does he play a part in the life of Jesus, our Redeemer?
The More We Know
Would you like to know more about Jesus, My Redeemer?
Me From the Inside Out 