The Book of RUTH
James J. Barker

— Chapters 3 and 4 —

 

Text: RUTH 3 & 4


INTRODUCTION:

  1. The best outline that I have seen for the little book of Ruth is found in the Scofield Bible.
  2. As I have emphasized in the last two messages, the book of Ruth is rich in symbolism. Boaz, the Kinsman-Redeemer, is a picture and type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. "Through His incarnation He became kin to us as human beings that we, through the Spirit, might become betrothed to Him." "At vast expense, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bethlemite Redeemer, purchased the heavenly inheritance for us which by our sin was mortgaged and forfeited, and which of ourselves we could never have redeemed" – Keith L. Brooks.
  1. RUTH’S OBEDIENT FAITH (3:1-5)
    1. If Boaz is a type of Christ, then Ruth is a picture of the submissive and teachable sinner. Notice her answer to Naomi, her mother-in-law: "All that thou sayest unto me I will do" (3:5).
    2. An officer one time received his orders from the Duke of Wellington, but complained that they were impossible to follow. Wellington replied: "I did not ask your opinion; I gave you my orders, and expect them to be obeyed."
    3. Naomi did not ask Ruth what she thought of her instructions, she just told her what to do (3:1-5).
    4. Ruth had to go down to the threshing floor and let Boaz know that she wanted him. Likewise the sinner must get down on his knees and let Christ know that he wants to receive Him as Lord and Saviour.
    5. The background to the second half of this book is that Naomi was concerned that Ruth should find "rest" (3:1), i.e. a husband and a home and the security that goes with it.
    6. Therefore Naomi relinquished her own prior claim to marriage and property, and instead advised Ruth to go down to the threshing floor where Boaz was winnowing barley (3:1-5).
    7. Naomi was a "matchmaker."
    8. Ruth had little background in Israelite customs and had to be instructed by Naomi in the details of the levirate marriage.
    9. LEVIRATE MARRIAGE (cf. Deut.25:4): Mahlon, Ruth’s husband, died childless, with no son to carry on the family name. According to the law, his brother should then marry his widowed sister-in-law in order to carry on the family name (cf. Deut.25:5-10). However, his brother Chilion died also. Therefore, the next of kin (e.g., a cousin) should marry the widow so the family name would be perpetuated and the land kept in the family.
    10. So Ruth obeyed her mother-in-law and went down to the threshing floor (3:6), a hard, level floor on which the threshed grain was thrown to be winnowed by the evening breeze (cf. Ps.1:4; Matt.3:12).
    11. After Boaz had finished his work, eaten his dinner, and retired, Ruth came "and uncovered his feet, and laid her down" (3:7).
    12. This may seem inappropriate in our day and age, but it was the accepted practice in that day. There was certainly nothing immoral or suggestive about it. The threshing floor was a public place, not a private room.
    13. "The whole incident is described with so pure a heart that no thought of evil can logically obtrude" – Merrill F. Unger.
    14. Awakened at midnight, Boaz found Ruth at her feet (3:8).
    15. When Ruth asked Boaz to spread his skirt (cloak) over her (3:9), i.e. be her redeemer, she was following an ancient Oriental custom according to which a man spread his cloak over a woman as a token of marriage (cf. Ezek.16:8).
    16. Next, Boaz blessed Ruth (3:10). Earlier Boaz had commended Ruth for seeking refuge in the Lord God of Israel (2:12), and now he commends her for seeking his protection and hand in marriage (3:10).
    17. Boaz said that Ruth had showed more kindness in the latter end (her devotion to him – passing up younger men for him) than at the beginning (when she left her home and family back in Moab and moved to Bethlehem with Naomi – 3:10).
    18. Ruth’s circumspect behaviour toward Naomi and in the harvest field had not escaped Boaz’s attention, nor the rest of the city (3:11).
    19. Boaz was ready, willing, and able to marry Ruth but there was another relative nearer than he. If this closer relative did not wish to serve as the kinsman-redeemer, than Boaz would. They would settle it in the morning (3:12,13).
    20. Ruth stayed at his feet "until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another" (3:14; before dawn).
    21. Boaz filled her "vail" (shawl or apron) with six measures of barley (3:15), less expensive than a diamond ring.
    22. As Boaz is a type of Christ, this pictures the Lord blessing us and giving us the seal of the Holy Spirit. Now, like Ruth, we must wait patiently for His return – "Sit still" (3:18).

II. RUTH’S REST IN REDEMPTION (4:1-11)

    1. First, back in the beginning, we saw Ruth deciding. Then, we saw Ruth serving. Now, we see Ruth resting.
    2. We saw earlier how God providentially arranged for Ruth and Boaz to meet (2:3). And now we see how God arranged for the "near kinsman" to walk by the gate of the city (4:1).
    3. The city gate is where legal matters were discussed and settled. It would be similar to our modern day courthouse or city hall.
    4. Boaz took ten elders of the city and told them of the story of Naomi and Ruth. Then he gave the "near kinsman" the opportunity to redeem (buy back) the land belonging to Elimelech. The man (we are not told his name) agreed to redeem it (4:2-4).
    5. Then, Boaz went on to explain that if he redeems the land he must also agree to marry Ruth the Moabitess (4:5).
    6. The man explained that he could not marry Ruth because that would "mar" (ruin) his inheritance (4:6).
    7. Concerning this unnamed near kinsman, Matthew Poole wrote: "Doubtless Boaz knew his name, and called him by it; but it is omitted by the holy writer, partly because it was unnecessary to know it; and principally in a way of contempt, as is usual, and a just punishment upon him, that he who would not preserve his brother’s name might lose his own."
    8. As I have been trying to bring out, there is much symbolism in the book of Ruth. Many expositors have pointed out that the near kinsman represents the law which is unable to redeem anyone.
    9. Still others, have suggested that the ten elders represent the ten commandments.
    10. According to the law, this near kinsman could have been shamed by Ruth in front of everyone (cf. Deut.25:8-10). However, he got off pretty easy (4:7,8). J. Vernon McGee said: "He’s Old Barefoot. He lost his shoe. You know, only the Gospel has ever put shoes on your feet. ‘And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace’ (Eph.6:15). The old Law, my friend, is barefoot. It cannot save you at all."
  1. RUTH’S INTERESTING GENEALOGY (4:9-22)
    1. After Boaz announced that he had bought all that was Elimelech’s and all that was Mahlon’s and all that was Chilion’s – and that he was marrying Ruth, the crowd gave him their blessing and wished him a posterity as numerous as that of Rachel and Leah, the two wives of Jacob, "which two did build the house of Israel" (4:9-11).
    2. The mention of Pharez (4:12), the son of Tamar by her father-in-law Judah, overlooks the sordid aspects of the birth and focuses on the fact that it was an example of levirate marriage (cf. Gen.38).
    3. In both these cases, God’s grace is evident and they are all in the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ (4:17-22).
    4. God gave Ruth and Boaz a baby boy; "And the women her neighbors gave it a name…Obed (servant) of God (4:13-17).
    5. Not only would Naomi find consolation for the loss of her own sons in Ruth’s son, but through his line would come the great Kinsman-Redeemer.
    6. The genealogy stops at David, preparing the reader for the monarchy, which soon unfolds in I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, and I and II Chronicles.
    7. This genealogy connects the line of David with the tribe of Judah (4:12,22).

CONCLUSION:

  1. As I have tried to emphasize, Christ is our great Kinsman-Redeemer. He will save anyone if they come to Him in simple faith.
  2. Just as Ruth had to go to the threshing floor, sinners must come to Christ. He waits outside the door but will not force the door open (Rev.3:20).

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