HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 612
RU T H 4
Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay
down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke
up and turned over. He was surprised to find
a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he
asked.
• Will of God
R U T H 3 :7 -9
How do I know when to wait and when
to act? Ruth was a foreigner, a widow,
and poor. She was at the bottom of the
social ladder. Where did she get the
courage to lie at the feet of a well-known
and respected landowner like Boaz and
ask that he make her his wife? What
gave her the strength to take a chance to
make her life better? She was following
a simple prescription for success: (1) act
on God’s Word (Deuteronomy 25:5-10
gave instructions regarding widows and
family redeemers); (2) don’t neglect those
you love (Ruth was determined to provide
for Naomi and continue her family’s
heritage); (3) use common sense (Boaz
was single, kind, and a near relative—it
made sense to see if he would help her);
and (4) move ahead with humble resolve
(Ruth was bold in her resolve to ask Boaz
to be her family redeemer, but she did so
with humility. A humble resolve makes
forward progress without offending
others). As you follow this prescription,
keep moving forward if each of these
steps is an open door, but stop and wait
if you cannot fulfill one of these steps.
When God opens a door, walk through
with courage.
• Faithfulness
R U T H 4 :1 1
When the people wished Boaz success
in Bethlehem, little did they realize the
tremendous success he would have, at
least in God’s eyes. Boaz and his wife,
Ruth, would become ancestors of Jesus
Christ, Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.
God often uses unlikely circumstances
and people to accomplish his work. Ruth
and Boaz were an unlikely couple—a
Moabite widow and an older Israelite
man. But to God they were the perfect
couple because they were faithful to him,
and Bethlehem was the perfect town
because that’s where this faithful couple
lived.
page 242
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread
the corner of your covering over me, for you are
my family redeemer.”
10 “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. 11 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.
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* of barley into the cloak
and placed it on her back. Then he* 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.”
Boaz Marries Ruth
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
4
3:15a Hebrew six measures, an unknown quantity.
3:15b Most Hebrew manuscripts read he; many Hebrew
manuscripts, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate read she.