Ep. 70 - Ruth (Part 3)

Last we left our story, Ruth had just finished a whole season of gleaning in the fields of Boaz…hoping and praying that a kinsmen redeemer would eventually show up. Ruth and Naomi had moved back to Israel from Moab after Naomi’s two sons had died (one of which was, of course, Ruth’s husband). But the move to Israel hadn’t been easy. Naomi and Ruth were widows…and life was none too kind to widows back in ancient times. And while God’s law said that widows should be taken care of by a “kinsmen redeemer”…that is…a close male relative…Israelite men weren’t always super excited about stepping up. And this is what was happening to Naomi and Ruth. They had been in Bethlehem for at least a few months now…and for sure their kinsmen redeemer was right there in the city…but so far, he was nowhere to be found. But while things weren’t looking good for Ruth and Naomi, as it turned out, Boaz, an older man who’d been letting Ruth glean from his fields, was also a kinsmen redeemer…just not the closest one. And now that the harvest was over, and now that food would be harder to come by for Naomi and Ruth, what was going to happen to them? Would the closest kinsmen redeemer finally show himself? And if that didn’t happen, would Boaz be able to help them out somehow? Well, let’s find out.

Well, after waiting around for a long time, Naomi decided enough was enough. The kinsmen redeemer just wasn’t stepping up…nothing was happening, and now it was time for Naomi to do something. And one day, she sat Ruth down to have one of those “serious talks”, and Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself, and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” (Ruth 3:1-3) So, what exactly is Naomi asking Ruth to do? Well, in the months since Naomi and Ruth had arrived back in Israel, Ruth had stuck with Naomi and had worked hard to support her mother-in-law. By now, Ruth would have had plenty of chances to run off with some young guy if she had wanted to…but Ruth had stayed loyal to Naomi. And as far as Naomi could tell, Ruth was going to do this until the day that Naomi died…and by the time that happened, Ruth would have been too old to get married again. So, Naomi decided that she had to do something for Ruth…Naomi really needed a kinsmen redeemer to step up. And if the real kinsmen redeemer was nowhere to be found, well, it was time to consider the next best option…and that was Boaz.

But how was this supposed to happen? How were they supposed to let Boaz know that they wanted him to be their kinsmen redeemer? Well that was the tricky part. Neither Ruth nor Naomi could just walk up to Boaz and say, “Hey can you please be my kinsmen redeemer?” If one of them did that, then people might think that something weird was going on between Boaz and Ruth. Not to mention that if the closest kinsman redeemer got wind that they’d agreed to something, he could make trouble for them. So they had to somehow find a time and a place when Boaz would be alone and where Ruth wouldn’t be seen talking to him. And Naomi knew exactly when and where that would be – in the evening at the threshing floor. With the harvest over, it was winnowing time…and all of Boaz’s barley would be there in a huge long line of piles…and Boaz himself would be sleeping there in the evenings to guard the barley piles himself. It was the perfect time to approach him. Now, this was a big risk for Ruth…because if she was somehow seen going to Boaz at night…boy that would definitely send the rumour mill go into full gear…and with Ruth’s reputation gone, then there would never be a kinsmen redeemer…ever. But, what else were they going to do? Starve? They were just going to have to take the risk.

So, Ruth did exactly as Naomi instructed. She got all dressed up, went down to the threshing floor, waited until everyone had finished eating and drinking for the night, and then she carefully watched where Boaz laid down. Then, once it was dark enough that no one could see, she snuck over to Boaz, uncovered his feet, and then laid down at his feet. Nothing seemed to happen right away…Boaz didn’t wake up right away. But around midnight, Boaz, probably feeling that something was off and that someone was nearby, shot up out of his sleep. And he quickly looked around, and in the darkness saw that someone was lying on the ground close by. And not knowing who it was, Boaz called out and said, “Who are you?” (3:8) And Ruth, who probably hadn’t been sleeping at all that night, immediately answered from the darkness, and said, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative.” (3:9)

Once Boaz knew that it was Ruth, and when Ruth started talking about Boaz as a close relative, he knew exactly what was going on – Ruth wanted him to step up as her family’s kinsman redeemer. And Boaz was super impressed with this. Ruth was a young woman, and she could have done what most young women do…to look for a husband her age. But Ruth was putting Naomi’s needs ahead of what Ruth might have wanted…and was even willing to marry an older man like Boaz if it meant that Naomi would be taken care of. And Boaz said to Ruth, “Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.” (3:10-11)

But while Boaz wanted to help Ruth and Naomi, there was still the closest kinsmen redeemer to think about. This man, whomever he was, was still out there somewhere. And by law, the decision was still up to that guy…even though he’d been dragging his feet for months now. But Boaz had a plan. And he said to Ruth, “Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you – good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives!” (3:12-13) Boaz was going to find a way to push the closest kinsmen redeemer to make a decision. If he stepped up, then great. And if not, then Boaz would take his place.

So Ruth and Boaz went back to sleep. And then, very early in the morning, before the sun came up and Ruth could be seen, Boaz loaded her up with more food, and then sent her back home. When Ruth arrived at Naomi’s house, she excitedly told Naomi all about what had happened that night. That she’d found Boaz alone, that she’d uncovered his feet, that he said that if the closest kinsman redeemer didn’t step up, then Boaz would. All wonderfully exciting news. And as Ruth told Naomi all this, she was probably beside herself. Her whole future, and Naomi’s future, was going to be decided very soon. And no doubt, and she was talking, Ruth was pacing back and forth and frantically telling Naomi everything. But after Ruth was finished talking, Naomi, knowing the character of Boaz, calmly replied to Ruth, and said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.” (3:18)

And Naomi was 100% right about Boaz. Because almost as soon as Ruth had left, Boaz set out to resolve this kinsmen redeemer business. Now, back in ancient times, big decisions about land and families were decided by the elders of the closest town. And so Boaz went to Bethlehem and waited by the gate for Ruth and Naomi’s kinsmen redeemer to enter the town…which he eventually did. And immediately Boaz went up to the man and pulled him aside. And then he went and found Bethlehem’s elders and pulled them aside too. And in front of the town’s elders, Boaz said to the man, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” (4:3-4) So basically what Boaz was very nicely saying was, hey so just in case you didn’t notice, Naomi is back from Moab. And it’s high time to redeem the land that Naomi’s husband sold before he left for Moab…and along with the land will come Naomi…who needs someone to take care of her.

Now in truth we don’t really know whether the kinsmen redeemer knew about Naomi and the land before Boaz brought it up…but it’s hard to believe that he had absolutely no idea. In those small towns back on those days, everyone knew everything about everyone. But whether he knew or he didn’t know, when Boaz brought it up, Boaz only talked about redeeming the land and taking care of Naomi…nothing about Ruth. So, the kinsmen redeemer thought about it…he could get a bunch of land and all he had to do was take care of one widow…no problem…he should be able to handle that. So the kinsmen redeemer confidently answered Boaz, and said, “I will redeem it.” (4:4) But then Boaz continued, and said, “On the day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the names of the dead through his inheritance.” (4:5) So after the kinsmen redeemer had already agreed to redeem the land, Boaz reminded him that along with the land, and along with Naomi, would also come Ruth…and that the man would have to marry Ruth and have children with Ruth.

Now once the kinsmen redeemer heard this, I’m sure his eyes went wide! Taking care of one old widow was one thing…marrying some Moabite woman and having children with her…well that was something else entirely. Very quickly, the man realized that the cost was too high…it was just too many mouths to feed. And so, the man replied to Boaz, and said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (4:6,8) Of course, this was exactly what Boaz was expecting. He knew that the kinsmen redeemer would not be super excited to take care of a whole other family…especially in these days when everyone was still recovering from the famine…and especially when the women was a Moabite (and that these were probably the reasons why the kinsmen redeemer hadn’t stepped up in the first place). And so, with this all being said in front of the elders, Boaz raised his voice to address all the people who were at the gate, and said, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are my witnesses this day.” (4:9-10) And all the people answered Boaz, and said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.” (4:11)

As Naomi predicted, Boaz had acted quickly…and now they had a kinsmen redeemer…Boaz. The Bible doesn’t say anything about how Ruth and Naomi reacted when they heard the news…but it’s hard to image that they weren’t super happy! No more gleaning, no more begging, no more worrying about starvation – their kinsman redeemer had finally arrived…and the future looked bright. And indeed things got a lot better for Ruth and Naomi. Ruth and Boaz got married and very quickly they had a son together. This was the all-important male heir…the one who would keep the family’s position at the gate, the one who would inherit the land, the one would carry on the family name. Ruth was so happy for Naomi! And when Ruth’s son was born, she said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who had not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to your than seven sons, has born him.” (4:15) And Ruth took the baby and just about gave him to Naomi. Naomi became the baby’s nurse, and she raised the boy as if he was her own son…to the point where the neighboring women said that there was a son born to Naomi.

What a turnaround for Naomi. While of course, Naomi probably would have preferred that her husband hadn’t died, and that her sons hadn’t died…but when she thought about where she could have ended up and how things actually turned out…she couldn’t have been happier. And actually, it gets even better than just a turn of fortune for her. Because what Naomi couldn’t have known at the time was that as she snuggled her new little grandson in her arms, she was holding the grandfather of Israel’s greatest king…a certain man named David…who we will be coming across very soon in our stories. And even better than that, out of King David’s line would be born the greatest man to ever walk the earth…a man who would be the saviour for us all…a certain man named Jesus. And this all happened because of the selflessness, dedication, and loyalty of one young woman from a strange land…a young woman who could have easily decided to stay home when things got tough…a young woman who took care of an old woman even when she didn’t have to…a young woman whose name will never be forgotten…Ruth.