Over the past two weeks we have been hearing a story about a little family from the little town of Bethlehem. A famine forced Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons to flee their hometown and become refugees in the country of Moab on the other side of the Jordan River. Although they found food to sustain their lives, Elimelech died unexpectedly and left Naomi as a single mother in a foreigner land. But as time passed, both of her boys married Moabite girls and she hoped that her husband’s legacy would eventually be carried on through her grandchildren.
However, before grandchildren ever emerged, both of Naomi’s sons died. Now there were three weeping widows wondering what to do with their lives. In the midst of bereavement and bitterness, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem, and she told her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers. But Ruth pledged to stay with Naomi always. So they returned to Bethlehem together and they happened to arrive at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Ruth decided to glean grain in the barley fields to provide food for her and her mother-in-law, and she just happened to stumble into a field belonging to Boaz, the most eligible bachelor in Bethlehem. Boaz showed incredible kindness toward Ruth and a fledgling romance formed.
A Matchmaking Mother-in-Law (1-2)
As the barley harvest wore on, Ruth spent her days gleaning grain in the fields, and Naomi spent her days at home thinking about her life. She continued to contemplate the meaning of the tragic death of her husband and two sons; she persisted in pondering the purpose of the emptiness she felt deep in her heart. She was surely thankful for Ruth’s loyalty and Boaz’s gracious provision of food, but she began to feel anxious about what they would do after the barley harvest was finished. Moreover, Naomi thought further into the future and wondered what Ruth would do after she died—after all, Naomi was getting any younger and her family had a history of unexpected death. She needed to find a more permanent situation for Ruth. That is when she realized that the best possible solution was for Ruth to remarry.
When Ruth came home after a long day in the fields, Naomi looked at her and said, “Hey there baby girl, I’ve been thinking—maybe it’s about time for you to open a profile on E-Harmony or Match.com. Better yet, since you are now a farm girl and a believer in the one true God, maybe you would have better luck on Christian-Mingle or Farmer’s Only. (You have all seen the advertisements for the dating service Farmers Only right? Their slogan is “City folks just don’t get it!” No! No! Just kidding! If Ruth was going to find a husband, it was going to have to happen the old-fashioned way; her mother-in-law would have to set her up on a date. So, Naomi decided to play the role of matchmaking mother-in-law.
Naomi did, in fact, begin to recognize God’s providence in bringing them back to Bethlehem during the barley harvest. She realized that it was not a mere coincidence that Ruth stumbled into Boaz’s field or that Boaz took interest in her and showed her favor. After all, Boaz was a worthy man and he was a relative, which according to the ancient priority of family solidarity, increased the chances that he might marry her. (In ancient Israel, it was common custom for a man to provide for the widowed wife of a deceased relative, and this would often result in marriage.) Seeing all of these details strung together, Naomi sensed that it was God’s plan to for Ruth and Boaz to be married!
As in the case of Naomi, it is often in the aftermath of grief, worry, and even despair that God’s providence begins to speak to us. When we start to look up from our bitterness and self-pity, we can begin to see that everything does happen for a reason. It is amazing how God’s plan for our lives becomes clearer when we shift the focus off ourselves and look toward loving and caring for others.
How about you? When you experience tragedy or loss, do you trust in God’s providence? Do you really believe that he is in control? When you face adversity or hardship, can you see that God has a purpose for it? When you don’t understand why things happen the way they do, do you have faith to trust God’s plan? Do you have eyes to see God’s providence guiding your life?
Advance the Romance (3-5)
Once Naomi realized that God’s providence was pointing toward a marriage between Ruth and Boaz, she took it upon herself to introduce what I like to call a plan to “advance the romance.” She gives Ruth some practical advice: “Wash therefore anoint yourself, put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. After he falls asleep, go lie down next to him and uncover his feet. And he will take it from there!” Wow! How about that for being direct?
Some of you might look at this story and accuse Naomi of being a meddling mother-in-law who was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. (After all, mother-in-laws do have that reputation.) But here, Naomi is actually showing genuine compassion for Ruth and acting on a hunch about God’s plan for her life. She is simply playing her part in God’s providence.
What application can we glean from this scene? Ladies, take some practical advice from Mother Naomi—If you want to find yourselves a husband, take a shower, put on a decent dress, spray a little perfume, and by golly, make sure the man is well fed and has had a glass of wine before you move in for the kill! This is how you advance the romance! (How disappointing! I thought for sure I would hear an “Amen” from someone.)
Guys, I’m not even sure what to tell you about this! I guess all I can say is that if you wake up in the middle of the night and roll over and find a woman lying beside you trying to steal your covers—it may be a sign from God that you are supposed to marry her!
All joking aside, this scene does highlight the tension between God’s providence and our responsibility. On one hand, God’s providence orchestrates the events and circumstances of our lives. His plans always trump our plans. But on the other hand, God still holds us responsible for our actions, and he wants us to employ wisdom and common sense in our decisions. If you pray about something and sense that the Lord is leading you in a particular direction (and it matches up with biblical ethics and godly people support the path), don’t wait around for some dramatic sign from God, just do it!
For example, I have some friends who say things like, “I’m not going to date anyone. I will sit back and wait for God to bring the right one along.” Others have the same attitude about a job, “I’m not going to actively search for a job; I will just wait for God to provide the right one.” While God wants us reliance upon his providence, he also expects us to take some responsibility. How do you balance God’s providence and human responsibility in your life?
An Indecent Proposal (6-9)
So, Ruth did everything that Naomi told her to do. She got all dolled up and snuck down to the threshing floor. (This is where they processed the barley by beating the sheaves against the ground with sticks and throwing it in the air and watching the wind blow the chaff away. The heavier kernels would fall to the ground and be piled into heaps until they were taken to the mill where they would be ground into flour.) Like a fox, Ruth cleverly hid herself among the grain piles, watched the men winnow the barley, and waited for her opportunity. As the men finished their work and enjoyed their supper, darkness fell upon them and they soon spread out their sleeping mats and took their places for the night. (To maximize time during winnowing season, they all spent the night right there on the threshing floor.) Ruth watched keenly as Boaz found a private place behind grain pile on the far side of the threshing floor and quickly fell asleep.
And just as her mother-in-law told her, she tiptoed over to him, gently uncovered his feet, and laid down beside him. Sometime around midnight, a cool breeze blew across the floor and chilled Boaz’s feet enough to awaken him. As he woke up, his nose caught the strange sweet scent of perfume and he felt someone lying next to his legs. Startled and confused, he asked the person’s identity. And that is when she laid it on him: “It is your servant Ruth. Spread your wings over your servant.” (That’s what she said!) This metaphorical innuendo was actually a marriage proposal. By this, she was saying, “As a bird spreads its wings to shelter its young from the storm, protect me and redeem me by marrying me!”
In ancient Israel, the vast majority of marriages were arranged. In the few exceptions, it was always the man who proposed to the woman. Even though Ruth’s proposal broke every cultural norm, she did not break any of God’s laws. Some legalists would have even called this an indecent proposal, but this act did not compromise her character in any way!
For those of you who are married, do you remember your proposal? Some of you have incredibly clever and romantic proposal stories and you love to tell them every chance you get. Others have proposal stories that are so mindless and mundane that you are too embarrassed to tell anyone. Can you imagine the young women asking, “Oh Ruth, tell us the story of how Boaz proposed to you?” “Well, actually I proposed to him behind a grain pile on the threshing floor in the middle of the night!” Wow, how romantic!
I would like to take this opportunity to clear up some misnomers about Christian dating. I have been in many Christian circles where women are taught that it is morally wrong or at least spiritually scandalous to even initiate a relationship with a guy, let alone be the one to propose marriage. But this is a cultural value, a not biblical one. I hear Christians say, “Well, the man I supposed to be the spiritual leader in the relationship, so he should initiate everything.” This is a classic case of legalism, where someone takes a biblical principal and heaps a bunch of extra requirements on it. Chivalry is fine, but it isn’t necessarily biblical! I am certainly no feminist, but ladies, let me just say to you: If you meet someone like Boaz and you sense the Lord’s leading, don’t hold back! Go for it!
Waiting for the Unknown (10-18)
Notice Boaz’s positive response to Ruth’s proposal. He said, “Yes! I will marry you! She went to Jared!” Well, not quite, but he did bless her and compliment her for not running after the younger men. In his humility, he was grateful that a noble woman like Ruth would choose an older man like him. Indeed, age and wealth had nothing to do with it. Ruth fell in love with Boaz because of his character and kindness!
Boaz agreed to do everything in his power to marry her, but there was one problem: there was a kinsman-redeemer closer to Ruth than him. This meant that another man was a closer relation and had the legal right to redeem Ruth first. But Boaz promised her that he would deal with this issue first thing in the morning. Until then, Boaz told her to stay there with him for the night so that she would be safe but to go home early in the morning before it was light. He did this to protect their moral reputation. He didn’t want anyone thinking that there was some hanky-panky going on down at the threshing floor because there certainly wasn’t. Boaz and Ruth maintained the highest degree of moral and sexual integrity in their relationship. And Boaz showed even more kindness by sending her home with six more measures of barley.
Can you imagine the excitement and anticipation that Ruth felt when she told Naomi everything that happened? Like most brides-to-be, she wanted to have all of the wedding plans finished, but she had to wait. Naomi encouraged her by telling her to relax and wait, for Boaz would settle with the matter as soon as possible.
Do you want to know what happen next? You are going to have to come back next week and find out how this story ends! I hope you can wait until then!
Most of us hate waiting! Sometimes we have to wait with eager anticipation like when we get married. Or waiting for Christmas. Or waiting with dreadful trepidation for test results to come back from the doctor’s office. But we all have to wait for God’s plan to unfold in God’s timing, which is always perfect. Therefore, wherever you are and whatever situation you are facing in life, relax! Be patient! It will all be settled when it is supposed to be. Like Ruth and Naomi, you are in God’s hands!