Ruth 3: 1-3 Naomi tells Ruth how to prepare herself to meet Boaz privately

Book of Ruth # 11

Last week: Ruth 2: 19-23 Ruth and Naomi share some great news

Before we start Ruth 3 lets briefly review Ruth 1 & 2

Ruth 1: Covers a 10 year time period/Elimilech leaves Bethlehem in Israel and takes his family to Moab/Their time in Moab is a disaster/Only Naomi, now a widow, returns to Bethlehem with her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth

Ruth 2: Covers a time period of 2-3 months/Ruth goes to work in the Harvest fields of Boaz

Ruth 3 covers a time period of 1 evening, sunset to sunrise

This week: Ruth 3: 1-3 Naomi tells Ruth how to prepare herself to meet Boaz privately

Ruth 3: 1 ‘it’s time I found a permanent home for you’

In Jewish culture it was normal for parents to arrange a suitable marriage for their children

Genesis 24: 1-67 Abraham arranges a wife for his son Isaac

Ruth 3: 2a ‘Boaz is a close relative of ours’

Naomi had a plan for Ruth to propose to Boaz!

Naomi understood the duty of the ‘family redeemer’ to marry his widowed sister-in-law

Boaz was not the brother-in-law of Ruth; there were only 2 brothers – Mahlon and Kilion, but, Boaz was a close relative, a ‘family redeemer’

The male child of this new marriage would bear the family name of his deceased father and inherit his land and possessions

Ruth 3: 2b ‘Tonight he (Boaz) will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor’

At the end of the harvest, when all the sheaves were cut and gathered into storage, the barley and the wheat were winnowed at the threshing floor

Cattle or donkeys were used to trample the sheaves, breaking the stalks away from the heads of grain

The stalks and the heads of grain were then tossed into the air for the wind to blow away the stalks

The grain would fall back to the ground and it would be gathered up and stored for use until the next harvest season

Now, remember that Boaz is a ‘type’/picture of Jesus Christ

John the Baptist said that at the end of this Age (time period), Jesus will winnow the Harvest of the Earth

Matthew 3: 11-12 & Revelation 14: 14-20

These 2 scriptures clearly teach us that Jesus will separate (winnow) the saved/the people of God, from the unsaved

Those who are saved will spend eternity in Heaven but the unsaved will spend eternity in Hell

Are you saved?

Ruth 3: 3 ‘now do as I tell you’

Now, Naomi tells Ruth how to prepare herself to meet Boaz so that Boaz would accept her marriage proposal

‘…take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes’

Now, remember that Ruth is a ‘type’/picture of every sinner saved by Grace

Ruth is a picture of you and me!

How does this relate to us?

Dear friends, there is a day coming soon when we will meet the Lord Jesus face-to-face

We are the Bride of Christ!

Ephesians 5: 31-32

In the same way that Ruth prepares herself to meet Boaz, we too are to prepare ourselves to meet Jesus!

That Meeting is called the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Jesus Christ)

Revelation 19: 6-7

‘His Bride has prepared herself’

If Ruth was going to be accepted by Boaz, she had to prepare herself as Naomi instructed her

In the same way, if we are to attend the Marriage Feast of the Lamb we need to prepare ourselves too

Next time: Ruth 3: 3

Time for us to ‘take a bath and put on perfume and dress in nice clothes’

(This verse is ‘rich’ in meaning for us)

Ruth 2: 19-23 Ruth and Naomi share some great news

Book of Ruth # 9

Last week: Ruth 2: 14-18 Boaz invites Ruth to lunch

This week: Ruth 2: 19-23 Ruth and Naomi share some great news

Ruth 2: 19 Ruth tells Naomi her good news – ‘the man I worked with today is named Boaz’

Ruth 2: 20 Naomi is very excited about this good news

God is answering her prayers

Ruth 1: 8 ‘may the LORD reward you (Ruth & Orpah) for your kindness to your husbands and to me’.

Ruth 2: 20a ‘He (Boaz) is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband’

How was Boaz showing kindness to Ruth’s dead husband?

Let’s find out!

Ruth 2: 20b ‘That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers’

A ‘family redeemer’ was a close relative who acted as a guardian for the welfare of his extended family

Now, remember that Boaz is also a ‘type’/picture of our Savior Jesus Christ – our Redeemer

Let’s look very briefly at the responsibilities Boaz had for the welfare of Naomi and Ruth as their ‘family redeemer’

1/ If a family member got into debt and had to sell their land and property to pay the debt – the ‘family redeemer’ could pay off that debt so that the land and property would remain in the family

Leviticus 25: 23-30, 47-49

How does that relate to us?

Jesus, our Redeemer, has fully paid off our sin debt with the price of His precious blood and restored us to fellowship with God!

Colossians 1: 13-14 ‘For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins’

2/ If a family member became so poor that they had to sell themselves into slavery to pay their debt – the ’family redeemer’ could pay off that debt and set the family member free from slavery

Leviticus 25: 47-55

How does that relate to us?

Jesus, our Redeemer, has fully paid off our sin debt with the price of His precious blood and set us free from the slavery of sin

John 8: 34 and 36 ‘Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin’. ‘So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.’

Ephesians 1: 7 ‘He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins’

3/ If a family member was murdered – the ‘family redeemer’ could hunt down the murderer and bring them to justice

Numbers 35: 12

How does that relate to us?

Jesus, our Redeemer, has defeated our enemy the devil

John 8: 44 ‘He was a murderer from the beginning’.

John 10: 10 ‘The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life’

4/ If a family member had a crime committed against them – the ‘family redeemer’ could bring the issue to court and secure an order for financial restitution

Numbers 5: 5-7

How does that relate to us?

Jesus, our Redeemer, has overcome our spiritual poverty and blessed us with spiritual riches and glory

Colossians 1: 27 ‘the riches and glory of Christ are for you’

This next responsibility is specific to Ruth:

5/ If a family member died and left his widow childless – the unmarried ‘family redeemer’ could marry his brother’s widow and the child of that new marriage would bear the name of his deceased father and would also inherit his deceased father’s land and property

Deuteronomy 25: 5-10 Mark 12: 18-23

Illustrate: God takes the responsibility of the brother-in-law very seriously

Genesis 38: 1-10 God killed Onan because he would not marry his brother’s widow Tamar

How does that relate to us?

Jesus, our Redeemer, has not abandoned us, but has made us (His Church) His Bride

Ephesians 5: 31-32 ‘As the Scriptures say, A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 32 This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one’.

Ruth 2: 21

Naomi and Ruth would have enough grain to last a full year

Ruth 2: 22

Naomi gives Ruth some good advice: ‘stay with his (Boaz) young women’

Naomi has two reasons for saying this:

1/ Ruth’s personal safety – Ruth may be mistreated by the young men because she is single and also because she is a foreigner and an outsider

2/ Naomi didn’t want Ruth’s heart to be stolen away by a young man looking for ‘love’

This verse teaches us that it is always to our benefit that we listen to the advice of mature men and women of God

Ruth 2: 23

Ruth’s obedience to Naomi’s advice would bring great reward into both Naomi and Ruth’s life

Let’s have a sneak peek into Ruth 3: 10-11

Ruth 2: 14-18 Boaz invites Ruth to lunch

Book of Ruth # 9

Last week: Ruth 2: 8-13 Boaz introduces himself to Ruth

This week: Ruth 2: 14-18 Boaz invites Ruth to lunch

Ruth 2: 14

At mid-day, Boaz calls to Ruth to come join his laborers for a lunch of sour wine, bread and roasted grain.

Ruth enjoyed the lunch and saved some of it to take home to Naomi (18)

Now, at this point, remember that Ruth was a non-Jewish foreigner, an outsider, and by inviting Ruth to lunch, Boaz was showing that he treats all people the same way

Boaz did not treat her with prejudice or discrimination because she was a foreigner – he treated her with impartial grace and favor

Please also remember that Boaz is a ‘type’/picture of a Savior

Boaz represents Jesus Christ to us

1 Timothy 1: 15 ‘Jesus Christ came into the World to save sinners’!

Our World is made up of all kinds of sinners; Jewish sinners, non-Jewish sinners, rich sinners, poor sinners, slaves and free (Galatians 3: 28)

God’s offer of salvation in Christ is given to all sinners equally, without prejudice or discrimination

Sometimes this can be a hard lesson to learn:

We feel comfortable with people who are the same as us – people that look like us, talk the same language, and share the same culture

Illustrate: God had to deal with the Apostle Peter about this issue because he treated non-Jewish people with prejudice and discrimination

God had to speak to peter before he would enter the home of a non-Jewish family (Acts 10: 9-16)

Acts 10: 28 ‘Peter told them (a household of non-Jewish people), you know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean’.

Acts 10: 34-35 ‘I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right’

But Peter could not let his prejudice go completely

Many years later the great Apostle Paul had to confront Peter about his prejudice towards non-Jewish people

Galatians 2: 11-14

Dear friends, the truth of the Gospel Message is that God shows impartial grace and favor to all people – and so should we!

Ruth 2: 15-16

After lunch Boaz instructs his laborers to leave some of the harvested barley on the ground, between the bundled sheaves, for Ruth to gather up

And, he said ‘don’t give her a hard time’

Boaz is now showing great generosity towards Ruth that went beyond his legal requirement to help her

Deuteronomy 24: 19 ‘When you are harvesting your crops and forget to bring in a bundle of grain from your field, don’t go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigners, orphans, and widows. Then the LORD your God will bless you in all you do’.

Generosity is giving more than is required of you and more than someone deserves to receive

I am reminded that God is generous towards us!

We have done nothing to deserve His Grace (Romans 3: 9 – 18)

Romans 3: 23-24 ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in His Grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins’

Ruth 2: 17-18

17 Ruth gathered barley all day and when she beat out the grain from the stalks she filled up an ‘entire basket’

An ‘entire basket’ = 13 kg barley grain/enough to live on for 2 weeks
18 Ruth carried the basket of grain back home to Naomi and gave her the left over roasted barley grain from lunch time

Final thoughts:

Look again at the blessing that Boaz spoke over Ruth’s Life

Ruth 2: 12

How was God going to reward Ruth?

God would reward Ruth through Boaz!

God uses us as channels for His blessings

Next time you say to someone “God bless you”; think, “How am I going to be a blessing to that person”?

James 2: 15-16 ‘Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don’t have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, “God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!” — Unless you help him, your words are worth nothing’