Ruth 3:4-5
3 “Therefore, wash yourself, and anoint yourself, and put on your regular clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
Ruth 3:4 “And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall make note of the place where he lies,
then you shall go, uncover his feet, and lie down;
and he will tell you what you must do.”
5 And she said to her, “All that you say I will do.”
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Notice then the story thus far: Naomi has sensed God’s hand at work in her and Ruth’s situation. Therefore, after careful consideration and meticulous planning she turns to set a plan to secure her family’s wellbeing into motion.
Now there are few points about this plan you need to keep in mind as we move forward:
Notice then last week Naomi instructed Ruth to lay aside the customs and clothing of mourning and dress as one who is marriage eligible.
She is then to go to the threshing floor where they know Boaz will be.
However, she is not to approach Boaz at once or even let him know she is there. Instead, in Naomi’s wisdom and careful planning, Ruth is to wait until the work is finished and the dinner is done.
In our text this morning, Naomi continues to lay out her plan and instructions to Ruth.
Verse 4
Notice at once, Naomi continues to unfold her plan by giving Ruth a 5th command.
Notice then Naomi not only instructs Ruth to wait for Boaz to finish eating and drinking before she acts, she also tells her to wait until he goes off to lie down. Why? At that point Boaz will be finished with all his work, he is full and happy, his celebration with the others has concluded, and now he is alone and undistracted. However, please note: even then Naomi instructs Ruth to show restraint. How? Even though Boaz has gone off alone, she is not to approach him immediately. Instead, she is only to note the place that he has gone to lie down. In other words, Naomi instructs Ruth to let a good bit of time pass before she does anything else. Why? Ruth is to give Boaz plenty of time to fall asleep. Notice the point: notice the wisdom of Naomi’s plan: by letting Boaz fall asleep Naomi is insuring that there will be absolutely no room for misunderstanding. Ruth is not there to entice Boaz. Instead, she is there to communicate a specific and honorable request.
So that said, why not just ask Boaz straight up instead of all this rigmarole. First, Naomi’s plan puts Ruth’s honorable intentions on full display. Ruth has not come wantonly to try to seduce, entrap, or entice Boaz (though being there unnoticed, she could have certainly tried). Second, Naomi’s plan conveys the sincerity and weight of Ruth’s actions. How? Ruth is taking a huge risk of being rejected and shamed. As such, in a way far greater than a costless conversation, Ruth has put everything on the line and placed herself completely at Boaz’s discretion. The result is that Naomi’s plan puts the sincerity, risk, and character of Ruth’s request on vivid display to Boaz FN#1.
Next, Naomi gives Ruth the 6th and final command that makes up her plan. Notice then, she tells Ruth that once Boaz is asleep she is to go and uncover his feet and lie down there at his feet FN#2. Now at first glance this seems to be a really strange, unusual, and inefficient command. Remember, the entire point of this plan is to secure Ruth’s marriage to Boaz. However, Naomi’s command does not seem to contribute anything towards that end (if anything Boaz is going to think Ruth is a weirdo). However, in reality Naomi’s command constitutes a very specific and well know visual message. Notice then the message: in Biblical times, to uncover someone’s feet and to lie down beneath them was a formal and culturally recognized appeal to be taken under their care. In other words, Naomi sends Ruth to make an official request that Boaz would take on the full legal role of family guardian and thus redeem his kinsman’s line by marrying Ruth, a widow of his kinsman’s house. Notice the result: far from strange and inefficient, Naomi’s 6th command is at the very heart of her plan. It is what every other detail of that plan has been leading up to. Importance: notice then the picture behind this visual request: simply put, the imagery at work here is that of putting on a responsibility/ charge like a pair of shoes. In other words, it is to say these are now the shoes I walk in, the responsibility I take on, and the role I stand in. Not only that, it is the same basic image/idea that we see throughout Scripture when one’s enemies are placed beneath one’s feet (e.g. Ps 110:1). In both cases the idea is to place one under your rule and charge FN#3. Importance: at once, verse 4 alerts me that the book of Ruth is a book all about feet (at least in the second part of the book). So watch the feet. In fact, whenever you see feet, know that one of those legal transactions upon which the whole book turns is taking place.
Notice at once verse 4 confirms our reading thus far: Ruth’s actions do not constitute a weird or cryptic signal. Instead, they serve as a common and well recognized sign. As such, Naomi knows that Boaz will immediately understand exactly what he is being asked. Therefore, Naomi concludes her plan by telling Ruth that Boaz will then instruct Ruth what she is to do next. In other words, he will either reject the request and instruct her how to leave (hopefully in a delicate manner); or he will accept the request and then tell her how they are to proceed. Notice then the very real risk that is involved here: Naomi has set forth her best plan but nothing is certain. Ruth could very well be rejected, humiliated, and sent away from Boaz in public disgrace. Therefore, Naomi has taken every care to insure that the propriety and absolute clarity of what Ruth is asking is made certain to Boaz. Ruth is not being forward, presumptuous, or wanton. Instead, she is duly asking for what Old Testament law and custom rightly allow FN#4.
Verse 5
Notice at once verse 5 provides Ruth’s response to Naomi’s plan and instructions FN#5. Simply put, Ruth pledges to do exactly as Naomi has instructed her. In other words, Ruth not only accepts/agrees with Naomi’s plan and its ultimate objective, she also sees the wisdom in Naomi’s approach. Importance: both Naomi and Ruth recognize the risk and delicate nature behind Naomi’s plan. Therefore, Naomi has carefully thought out this plan and has done everything she can to avoid a misunderstanding and thus a compromising situation. Ruth too understands the risk and thus promises to do exactly as Naomi’ wisdom has instructed. However, notice the strength in the verb tense. Notice what Ruth does not say. Ruth does not simply say that she will do everything Naomi has just told her (past tense). Instead, Ruth says all that you say (ongoing present) I will do. In other words, Ruth says she will do exactly what Naomi has just told her because her commitment is always to obey whatever it is that Naomi says. Importance: Ruth’s response indicates that she is not only responding to the gravity of the situation and the wisdom of Naomi’s plan. Instead, Ruth’s response affirms her commitment/disposition of obedience towards Naomi as the matriarch of the family and the mother of her faith. Simply put, in a book that is all about legal transactions, we find chapter 3 setting forth the notion of binding authority administered (and received) in love. In other words, we see both Naomi and Ruth reflecting the very heart of YHWH, whose plan/deliverance their efforts mirror.
Bottom line: as Naomi finishes speaking, the two women sit in silence. Ruth knows what she must do and that their entire wellbeing is at stake. Naomi knows the risk of what she is asking Ruth to venture. But one thing is clear to both women, if this plan works, it will be because YHWH has brought it about.
As we leave Naomi and Ruth, they provide us with an important picture that we can take with us: sometimes following God involves real risks. Sometimes faithfulness does not guarantee us certainty of outcome or even certainty on how we are to proceed. Yet just like Naomi and Ruth, following God always carries with it the assurance that God is with you, that He will direct your path, and that the matter is always in His hands.
Footnotes
1] There are other reasons as well (some of which we looked at last week). For example, Naomi chooses a public gathering/event at which it is perfectly appropriate for Ruth to approach/talk with Boaz (versus showing up at his house uninvited and letting people’s whispers and speculations fill in the rest)
2] How do we know that Ruth was to lie down specifically at Boaz’s feet? First, the nature of the visual message dictates that to be the place. Second, the clear inference of the text is that she has uncovered his feet in order to lie down there. Finally, verse 8 tells us that is exactly what she did.
3] Notice then, this is the very opposite image that we will see later in 4:7-8 where a sandal is taken off in a gesture of relinquishing one’s charge, claim, and responsibility.
4] Here is a bit of background on the notions of a family guardian and a widow’s redemption:
In the book of Ruth there are two distinct legal factors at work in Naomi’s plan. The first is that of the goel (family guardian) and the second is that of the Levirate law (which concerned a widow’s redemption). In the first case, a goel (family guardian) was a close male relative who served as a legal protector/guardian of the family interests. As such, he had the social and moral obligation to care for the family of his deceased kinsmen and to look after his estate. The second legal factor is the Levirate law, which required a brother to redeem his deceased brother’s family line by marrying his widow (Deut 25:5-6). However, by the time we reach the book of Ruth, these two legal factors have merged in some cases. As such, the notion of a widow’s redemption set forth by the more restricted Levirate law was extended on a voluntary basis to the goels of the family (to the close male relations who were not direct brothers of the deceased). However, this extension was voluntary and not mandated by O.T. Law as it was in the case of brothers. Notice then the point: it is Boaz’s interest in and kindness towards Ruth that leads Naomi to see that such an extension might be something that Boaz would consider. That is, Boaz might consider redeeming Elimelech’s line by marrying Ruth.
Here is a bit more information on both of these legal factors that are being adapted and applied in the book of Ruth:
The Old Testament Levirate law is set forth in places like Deuteronomy 25:5-6; Gen 38:8-10; and Matt 22:23-28. It describes a brother’s legal obligation to marry his brother’s widow and continue his brother’s line on his behalf.
Deuteronomy 25:5 “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 “And it shall be that the first-born whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel.
Notice at once, we see all the elements that will concern us moving forward being expressed in this law (the notion of land, future, and the continuation of a line). Finally, FYI, the word Levirate, comes from the Latin word levir, “a husband’s brother”.
Next, the principle of a “close relative” (goel) acting on behalf of a family member is established in places like Numbers 5:7-8 and Leviticus 25:25. In fact, the specific Levirate law is simply one application of this wider principle to the specific context of a brother’s widow. Thus, in the book of Ruth we see the combination of these two distinct O.T. notions: that of the goel (family guardian) and that of the Levirate law (widow’s redemption). Put simply, by the time we reach the days of Judges and the book of Ruth, a widow’s redemption (Levirate law) was voluntarily extended to a family goel (close relative/guardian)
One final point: to be precise, Naomi wonders if Boaz might consider redeeming Elimelech’s line by marrying the widow of Elimelech’s son (Ruth) since Naomi, Elimelech’s wife, is beyond child bearing age. As such, it would fall to Ruth to bear a child/heir for the house of Elimelech and thus continue the family’s line.
5] In a book that is all about names, did you notice that we have conspicuously not heard Ruth’s name mentioned once so far in this entire chapter, even though she is a prime participant in all that has occurred thus far. In fact, Ruth will not be mentioned by name until we reach verse 9. Instead, she referred to only by pronouns (she, her, you). Why? I think there are two reasons.