Sermon for October 11, 2020

Ruth 3

Dear friends in Christ, I think you will agree with me when I say that we hear about some pretty amazing marriage proposals now-a-days. There are stories about engagement rings hidden in cupcakes; banners asking “Will you marry me” towed behind a low flying plane; the same question flashed on the jumbotron at a sporting event, or creatively lighting up the night sky in a fireworks display. The true accounts go on and on.  It seems as if everyone wants to outdo what was done before.

Today we turn our attention to a three-thousand-year-old proposal.  There were no fireworks, jumbotrons or surprise cupcakes.  Nevertheless, it’s quite the interesting event. Before we dig into the account lets review the flow of this amazing story.  We will watch the video now.

I

The account before us has three main scenes: at the home of Naomi, then at the threshing floor, finally back home again.  Scene one unfolds in Bethlehem, where Ruth and Naomi live. I’ll call this scene: The Plan.  Naomi comes up with a plan to address what she saw as a problem, actually a two-fold problem. The problems were Ruth’s marital status, and what to do about the family farm. As we shall see these problems were intertwined.

After the death of her husband, Ruth had graciously come back to Israel with her mother-in-law. They had arrived in Bethlehem at the time of the harvest. That harvest has now been completed. Ruth provided for herself and Naomi by gleaning in the fields of Boaz.  That temporarily took care of their needs.  But what about the long-term future. Would Ruth find a husband?  Who would take over the family land?

Naomi was concerned about this.  She said, “Should I not try to find a home for you?”  Naomi also prayed about this.  You may recall back at the start of the story Naomi prayed for both her daughters-in-law.  She said, “May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband” (1:9).  As a believing Jewish woman Naomi reached out to the Lord in her time of need.

It seems that Naomi also understood what the Lord had said in his word about protecting widows and family property.  Naomi had the right to sell the land to a relative, or if no relative was interested, she could sell it to whomever she wanted. However, if at some later time a male heir could reclaim the land, whoever had purchased it would lose their investment. Naomi hoped that a relative named Boaz would marry Ruth, have a child and so keep the land in the family.

Naomi suggested that Ruth go to the threshing floor, wait till Boaz was asleep, then go uncover his feet and lie down by him. Seems like sort of a strange custom to us.  Strange as it may seem, Ruth agreed with the plan.

Application

Before we move on to the second scene, let’s make a few applications. First, we noted that Naomi went to the Lord in prayer.  How important that is for us.  Whatever our problem may be, we want to bring it to God in prayer.  The Lord loves to hear us calling out to him. He loves to hear our prayers of thanks for his blessings, and he loves to hear our petitions or requests.  Because of Jesus we have the right to boldly go to God in prayer.

Friend, in the hymn What a friend we have in Jesus, we sing the words, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”  The Lord eagerly awaits our prayers. Let’s be sure to call upon him.

The second thing we can apply to our lives is that Naomi understood God’s word and acted upon it. What a blessing it is when people today know God’s word and act upon it!  What a blessing for you and me when we read the word and then make decisions based on the word.  Oh, what rich blessings await those who put God’s word into practice.

II

From Naomi’s home we move on to the threshing floor.  I will call scene two: The Proposal.  The harvest has been gathered in.  It seems as if Boaz must have been a diligent farmer.  He did not leave the hard work of threshing to his hired help.  No, Boaz was right there working alongside of the hired hands.  After a long day of threshing, Boaz enjoyed a festive post-harvest meal.  With a full stomach, and perhaps aching muscles, Boaz sinks into the grain pile.  Not exactly a sleep number mattress, but I’m sure it felt good.

Once Boaz is tucked in for the night, Ruth quietly uncovers his feet and lies down. As I mentioned, it seems like a strange custom to us.  However, both Ruth and Boaz understood what it meant. In the middle of the night Boaz woke up with a start.  He wonders aloud who is lying at his feet. Ruth announced herself and said, “Spread the corner of your garment over me since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”  That, my friends, is the marriage proposal!  No fireworks, no jumbotron, no ring in the cupcake, rather a simple request to spread the corner of your garment over me.  In modern English we might say, “Please take me into your home as your wife.”

While the marriage proposal captures our attention, there is a second proposal imbedded in the words of Ruth.  She brought up the term “kinsman-redeemer.” With that term Ruth suggested that Boaz, who was Naomi’s relative, take over the family estate.  The two-fold proposal then was to marry Ruth, and redeem or buy the family farm.

Wow! What a shock!  How would you like to be woken up in the middle of the night under such circumstances?  Immediately Boaz is wide awake. I love his response. First, he speaks a word of blessing.  The Lord bless you. Boaz called upon the name of the Lord.  This is the name we have heard used throughout the book. The Lord is the one true God who promised to send the Savior to rescue humanity.  Boaz called upon the Lord to bless Ruth.

Next Boaz praised Ruth. She did not run after the younger men.  This phrase at least suggests that Boaz was a bit older than Ruth.  How much older we do not know.  But he does not put himself into the category of the younger men. He also praised Ruth for the kindness she had shown earlier.  If we go back to chapter two, we see that the previous kindness was how Ruth was caring for her mother-in-law. Clearly Boaz is impressed with the character of this young woman.

After his words of blessing and praise, Boaz addressed the two-fold proposal. First, he addressed the marriage proposal.  He said, “Don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask.”  We might translate, “I accept your marriage proposal.” Boaz would spread the corner of his garment over her.  He would take her into his home as his wife. Again, to us this whole courtship, marriage proposal and acceptance seems a bit strange.  We are so far separated from their culture that we can’t see how this can work.  But Boaz, Ruth and everyone else around them understood.

The marriage proposal was made and accepted.  In God’s eyes they were husband and wife. But what about the second proposal?  Would Boaz redeem the land?  Boaz answered that question as well. There was another relative who was closer, perhaps a first-cousin instead of a second-cousin, or something like that. That relative had the first chance to redeem the land. Boaz agreed to talk to the closer relative, and see if that person was interested in the land.  If he was, fine he could redeem it.  If he was not interested in the land, Boaz would redeem it. Once again, we see the respect for God’s word and a willingness to follow what God said.

After addressing both proposals, the two lay back down.  I wonder if they got any sleep? Probably not!  In the morning Boaz did two more important things.  First, he protected Ruth’s reputation.  He said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”  We know that Ruth was well respected in the community. Boaz himself had heard about her godly character.  He did not want gossip, false rumors, to spread about her.

Secondly, Boaz sent her back home with a gift.  He scooped out six measures of barley for her.  We do not know how large a measure was used. We guess that he simply took some sort of container, scooped out a generous amount of barley that Ruth could carry back home.

Application

My goodness, what a night it was for Ruth and Boaz!  There are several things we want to apply to our lives. First, we have noted that Boaz used the name of the Lord to bless Ruth. How we want to do the same thing.  In our catechism we urge young people to call upon the name of the Lord in every trouble, pray praise and give thanks. How have we been doing at that?

Have we always used God’s name properly? Do we regularly use it to bless others? If we see that there have been times when we have misused God’s name, let’s confess that sin.  Let’s flee to Jesus for forgiveness.

Additionally, we note the respect for God’s word and the respect for Ruth’s reputation. Can we say that we have always held God’s word in the highest regard or that we have always protected the reputation of others? Oh give thanks that Jesus did that in our place.

Finally let’s note the generosity of Boaz.  He gave away a portion of the harvest. May God’s goodness to us move us to share with those in need!

III

The final scene of our reading take place back at the home of Naomi.  I will call this scene: The Report. As the morning sun warmed the Bethlehem hillsides, Ruth made her way back home. Naomi was wide awake.  I am guessing that like Ruth she did not get much sleep. She asked, not too causally, “How did it go?”

Ruth sets down her bundle of barley, and gives the report.  We might summarize, “It went great!  Boaz agreed to the marriage proposal.  He agreed that if the closer relative does not want to redeem the land then he will.  And he gave me this bundle of barley.” I am guessing there were smiles on the faces of both women.

Naomi must have known a bit about Boaz and his character.  She counseled her daughter-in-law, “Wait…for the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”  Apparently, Boaz was a man of action.  If something needed to be done, he would get it done today.  He would not sit on the matter. He would get it settled.

No doubt there were some anxious hours that day.  But Naomi gave good advice. Wait!  Wait and see how the Lord will resolve this situation.

Application

Sometimes we too have to wait upon the Lord’s timing. We go to God in prayer.  We seek out his counsel in the word and through trusted Christian friends.  We follow through in what seems to be a godly way.  Then we have to wait. We wait for the Lord to answer.

He will answer you know.  God does answer every prayer his people bring to him. His answer is not always yes, but he does respond in the way that he knows is best for his people.  Of this we can be sure. No matter what our request is God will answer for our good.  So, like Ruth, we must wait.

What was God’s answer?  How will the story end?  What does this have to do with our salvation? We will find the answers to those questions next week as we study the last chapter of Ruth.  Until then let’s marvel at how God used this seemingly strange proposal in his amazing plan to save humanity.  Amen.