There Is A Redeemer | Ruth 3

Introduction

History turns on small decisions. Decisions that are made in the middle of life—little things, big things, everyday things—can have massive impacts. Have you ever had a close call with an accident on the road, and you think, “What if I had left my house 3 seconds later, that could have been way worse.” It’s in those moments we become acutely aware of the impact of our everyday decisions. And what we decide in those moments, whether we know it or not, can have dramatic impact.

History turns on key moments. What men do at the moment of decision turns the tides of history. Think of Eve in the garden—a simple bite of a forbidden fruit ushered in our greatest enemy, sin. Or think of David—his decision to do what no other man would and meet Goliath in open battle changed everything for him and his life. Our decisions have massive implications. I mean, had George Bailey not saved his brother Harry from that pond in 1919, Harry Bailey would not have been around to save all those men in the aircraft carrier in WWII! 

The difficult thing is that we never really know or understand the impact of our decisions in the moment, but only when we are able to look back and evaluate them in light of everything we now know. As Ryan mentioned last week, we really are just characters in the story. We are only aware of the story as it comes to us—we do not know the end with the same certainty as the author. But when we are able to stop and look back, we can see all that the author of our story was up to the whole time, and see that he is true to his word—all things are for our good.

In every great 4 act play, it is Act 3 that is usually the turning point. It is Act 3 that contains the peak of the conflict or crisis that is mentioned in the setting in Act 1. Think of the greatest story ever told—the story of redemption. Act 1: Creation; Act 2: Fall; Act 3: Redemption; Act 4: Consummation. Act 3 is the point of decision, it is the point in the story where the protagonists need to decide which way they will go and how they will defeat the antagonist.

In Ruth 3, we are presented this third act. It is tense, it is dangerous, and its impact is cosmic. Ruth is aware of the consequences of her actions this night—she understands that it could be the difference between security and scandal. But what neither she nor Boaz, nor even Naomi could perceive is the titanic ramifications of this scene. Will there be a Redeemer not just for Ruth, but for the entire world?

That is what is at stake in Ruth 3. What will happen? Let’s turn there now and find out. Please stand if you are able as I read Ruth 3.

I imagine if it were possible to peel back the curtain of the heavens and get a view like we receive in Job 1. I imagine there are pivotal moments when Satan, the enemy of God, thinks he has an opening. Moments where he believes the story of redemption, culminating in the coming of the promised snake-crusher in Genesis 3:15, is vulnerable and if he can disrupt it, he might be able to avoid his sure fate. 

In this belief he is, of course, mistaken. But I imagine he would view the events in Ruth 3 as an opening. It is a tense situation, it is a delicate situation, and one that could spell disaster or redemption. But at no point in this story has the author lost control. Any opening the enemy thinks he has is a fool's errand. Our God is not subject to the whims of our decisions or of the attacks of a toothless enemy. He is in the heavens and he does all that he pleases. So what is he up to in this story? What is he up to in our story?

Throughout the story of Ruth, throughout the hard and bitter providences from famine, death, and seeking asylum in a land not her own, Ruth and Naomi are seeking rest. They are after security. And we have the hinge of the entire book right away in Ruth 3:1…

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

—Ruth 3:1

Rest is more than just relaxation or ceasing from physical activity. Rest is when the story is complete, and when the promises have all been fulfilled. It means partaking in the blessings of God that we do not achieve on our own by our own might, but receive from his gracious and faithful hand. That is the rest we experience today, and every Lord’s Day. Because of the finished work of Christ, we receive rest.

Rest for Ruth looked like winning her a godly husband and a secure future to preserve the family line. But for those of us who know the entire story—not just how the story of Ruth ends, but how the story of God ends—we know that what we all long for, what we all desperately need is true and lasting rest. Augustine said it so famously and so well in his Confessions…

For you made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.

—Augustine

Because of how God made us, and because of what he made us for—namely to dwell with him and glorify him in all that we do—we search for that rest. But due to sin, we can not find it. And yet, God has acted decisively in history to reforge that broken bond, to provide for us who wander, and to unite us to himself so that we may experience true and lasting rest. And it is from this dramatic scene in Ruth 3 that I think we learn this incredible truth, and something that we all need to be reminded of and convinced of… Our rest is secure under the wings of Christ.

And when we are convinced of that truth, and when we treasure that fact, there are discernible results. When we find ourselves secure and resting in the finished work of Christ, we find that, by God’s Spirit, we are hopeful, more full of faith, and more aware of the gift of the redeemer work of Christ. And it is those 3 things that I think we see in effect here in this dramatic scene at the threshing floor. The first of these 3 is…

Hope is transformative.

Remember where we have come so far in the story. Naomi and her family have experienced the harshness of famine—think of what that means in the ancient world. It’s hard enough to toil day after day to pull grain and wheat from the curse-ridden ground that is fighting your every effort. But now the rain has stopped, nothing is growing, starvation is a real and present danger. This drove the family from Israel and into neighboring Moab, where more disaster strikes as all the men in the family die. Any security they thought they had is gone, and now the women really do not have any means for their own survival. More drastic measures are taken, as Naomi returns with Ruth to Israel, the Promised Land.

We know from Ruth 1 that this had taken a dramatic and devastating effect on Naomi’s soul. Recall again what she says to the people of Bethlehem upon her return in Ruth 1…

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”

—Ruth 1:19–21

Naomi recognizes and understands that her suffering is from God. She has been given a bitter providence, but she doesn’t curse God. And her disposition in her suffering does not turn Ruth away. But God is not done yet. 

So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

—Ruth 1:22

They left in famine; they returned in the harvest. The women will not be left empty. God in his providence has brought them back at the exact time to change everything. And in Ruth 2, while Naomi is still grieved and despondent, Ruth takes the initiative to go and glean in the fields. And through the Lord’s hand, brings her right to Boaz. And when Ruth returns to Naomi with her abundance of barley, you can see the shift in Naomi’s soul. She who declared herself empty, now has a pile of barley in her home and the news of a worthy redeemer has taken notice of Ruth. The gears begin to turn, and at the beginning of Act 3, it is Naomi who takes the initiative. And she begins to form a plan.

Before we unpack just how incredible this plan is, we can’t move on from the fact that hope really has changed everything. It has turned the downhearted, dejected, and downcast Naomi into a planner. Desperate people, suffering people, depressed people do not plan. Hopeful people plan.

Hope is the engine that propels the people of God forward. Hope is the fruit of a commitment, a confidence in the sovereignty and promises of God, secured for us in Christ and applied to us in his Spirit. The sovereignty of God is not a road to fatalism or passivity—well, I’m not in charge, I’m not in control, therefore why care or do anything? No, it is the sovereignty of God expressed through his promises to us that secure for us the hope we all so desperately need. Those who have hope can rest.

Remember, that this land they first left and have now returned to is the Promised Land. The place where God promised to bless his people. If they were faithful to obey him, he would be faithful to bless them. But we know all too well the time of the judges brought wrath—famine. But now the famine is over, blessing has returned, AND now we know that there is a redeemer.

Are you suffering right now? Are you feeling like Naomi, cast-down, feeling as though he has dealt bitterly with you, that you are empty, and that it will never change? The good news for you and me is we have an ending of hope. Remember Romans 8:28…

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

—Romans 8:28

That is a promise that deserves our confidence and trust—not because of us, but because of he who makes such an incredible promise. He is the author. He is in control. He promises to work everything for your good—everything! Every sweet and full season, and every hard and bitter season he is working in ways you can not know, so my friends, have hope! Remember the psalmist…

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

—Psalm 42:11

The hope springs in Naomi, and she acts. Chapter 3 begins with Naomi directing Ruth on how to secure the rest she has sought for her. She’s zeroed in on Boaz as the means of security, and she’s studied his whereabouts and knows where to find him. She instructs Ruth to wash and to anoint herself—to make herself as clean and attractive as possible, and then to go to him at the threshing floor in the middle of the night while he is asleep, lift up his robe, and then lie down at his feet. He will then tell you what to do.

Everyone, including Ruth, must be thinking, “What on earth? What do you think is going to happen? Where do you suppose this is going to lead to?” It is obvious what Naomi is hoping to accomplish by this plan—she is seeking to induce a marriage proposal from Boaz to Ruth. Despite all the favor Boaz has shown Ruth, and likely because he is such a worthy man and respecting a young widow, he has not made any moves. Naomi is seeking to cause the inertia.

Now the plan is laid out. But will Ruth agree? And will it work? How will Boaz respond? The risks are obvious, but one thing we know from this scene and from our own experience is….

Faith is risky.

Shockingly, Ruth’s immediate response to this preposterous plan is…

And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

—Ruth 3:5

Ruth loves Naomi. Ruth trusts Naomi. Remember Ruth’s response when Naomi appealed to Ruth and Orpah to return to their homes, for she had nothing left for them.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

—Ruth 1:16–17

The language Ruth uses here is not a woman out of desperation, as if Naomi was her only option, her only hope in life. No, it is the language of commitment, it’s covenantal, it is a determination to be faithful to Naomi no matter the circumstances. And she has kept her word. And this night will be no different.

And so the scene pivots to the threshing floor. The harvest process has continued—reaping has moved to winnowing, which makes the threshing floor the center of all activity. To keep production moving, the winnowing would take place all through the night, and because the threshing floor was out in the open, it was customary for the boss to sleep out among the heaps to protect them from any robbers. But it also made the threshing floor a frequent place for prostitutes to seek tired, wealthy clients. The fact that Boaz warned his men in chapter 2:9 to not touch Ruch, and given the status of widowed women in the ancient world, Ruth approaching Boaz under the cover of darkness at this location is risky. 

This is a precarious situation—Naomi has instructed Ruth to make herself as feminine as possible and to then place herself in the path of a man to respond to her invitation of love. The tension of this scene is palpable. The risks are enormous. 

It is understandable to interpret this scene as feminine seduction and manipulation from Naomi and Ruth (which many interpret)—there have been endless debates by commentators about what exactly was meant by “uncovering his feet.” It is undeniable that this scene is sensitive and delicate, but it is not solicit, amoral, or seductive. Remember, when Boaz realizes the woman at his feet is Ruth, he says…

And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

—Ruth 3:11

If Ruth was acting like a prostitute, Boaz would not have called her a worthy woman. But Ruth is asking for much more than instant gratification or a quick buck to get by. She is proposing marriage, security, and redemption. Ruth is NOT the Proverbs 7 adulterous woman, seeking to lure foolish and easily-tempted men to her bed and to Sheol. She is the Proverbs 31 woman, an excellent wife who can find?

After she has positioned herself next to him, he awakes and asks the simple question, “Who are you?” Ruth’s presence and her response shows us what she is after.

And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

—Ruth 3:9

Ruth is asking Boaz to be the tangible means of the Lord that he declared back in chapter 2 when he recognized that Ruth had sought refuge under the wings of the Lord. Ruth is now asking Boaz to enflesh that reality—for him to be as the wings of the Lord to her by providing refuge and security to her and Naomi.

As we’ve said, the risks are high. But anything that requires faith involves some risk. It’s not enough for Naomi and Ruth to agree upon the plan…the plan must be acted upon. Faith looks like action—ours is a living and active faith. It’s not enough to mentally agree to various doctrinal truths. Faith is always expressed through obedience. 

And while all faith is risky, it is not reckless. Our faith involves dependent uncertainty, but it is not blind faith. We know the one in whom we put our faith. He is faithful and he is good, and he has proved himself over and over again. The validity of faith is found not in how strongly you believe something, but in the object of that faith. Is it trustworthy or not? Our God is trustworthy.

Ruth’s faith in Naomi’s plan and in how Boaz will respond is not reckless either. She knows her mother-in-law, and she knows Boaz. He is declared a worthy man, a man of duty and honor, a just man who obeys the law of the land and the law of God. He blesses his workers, he protects vulnerable women, he gives generously out of his bounty, he sleeps among his grain to guard it from robbers—he is a truly good man. And this plan of Naomi’s depends fully on the measure of this man.

And his response to Ruth’s proposal is nothing short of miraculous.

Redemption is miraculous.

Shockingly, Boaz interprets Ruth’s advances and her proposal as a kindness to him. Boaz sees now, even more clearly, the incredible woman Ruth is. If she was interested in securing her own, material future, she could’ve married any man. But the fact that she seeks out Boaz shows just how committed she is to restoring and redeeming the woman who is still known in the town as Mara, the empty woman. He is moved.

And in her only line in the dialogue with Boaz, Ruth names him a redeemer. Then in Boaz’s response, he rattles off 6 usages of the word in a quick breath. He overflows with redemption. And although there is a momentary and dramatic pause—he is not the nearest redeemer—he responds to her with honor, grace, and righteousness. He will of course make sure that the law is fulfilled (that the nearer redeemer is at least made aware and given an opportunity to fulfill his duty), but makes a dramatic promise:

Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

—Ruth 3:13

I will redeem you. What a promise. In the intimacy of that moment, with all the tension in the air, with all the potential landmines, he gives her his word that one way or another, she will be redeemed. Boaz is not duty-bound to be the kinsman-redeemer. He is acting on something greater than duty. He’s acting out of love for this incredible woman. She has sought refuge in Naomi, and they have sought refuge in the Lord, and now she is seeking refuge in him, and he is eager to bless.

And notice how this whole scene ends—Boaz doesn’t then take advantage of the moment as other lesser men would. He doesn’t say all this honorable stuff, only then to take this young, beautiful woman and bind her to himself by physically and sinfully uniting with her. That wouldn’t be honorable or worthy. Instead, the sign of his covenant to her is to send her home with even more barley. Notice the continuation of ‘emptiness to fullness’ movement throughout the book—though Naomi states that she returned to the land empty handed, her hands are being continually filled with the LORD’s loving kindness, his hesed.

Imagine the stress Naomi would have been under that night. Imagine the waiting, the anxiety, how will it go, what will he say, what will he do? And then Ruth returns and she doesn’t come home empty-handed. Not only does she bear more tangible and material provision with arms full of more barley, she bears the good news that they will truly be redeemed. What a change from the beginning of this book. What a miracle!

Boaz is a picture of a good man. In a lot of ways, Boaz is the picture of what is depicted in Micah 6:8…

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

—Micah 6:8

That is Boaz. But before we can marvel at the good and godly man Boaz was, we must first marvel at the fact that he is there. Despite all the hardships, all the suffering, for Naomi and for Ruth there is a redeemer.  The Lord really has worked all things for their good, and the character of Boaz is an evidence of the Lord’s grace to them that he has not abandoned them, he has not stopped being faithful, he has not finished blessing. 

Boaz represents the mercy of God—despite Naomi’s deep grief, despite the brokenness of sin and death, the Lord will save. 

The opening chapters of Ruth are filled with struggle, suffering, heartache, darkness—and here in Ruth 3, it is the darkest of all. But at the darkest point of the night, midnight, on that threshing floor, redemption is secured. Can’t you feel at the end of this chapter, the dawn coming and the sun starting to rise? The hope that these two women shared is now being secured—their rest is secured.

But of course, Ruth and Naomi and Boaz could only see their story playing out in real time. They had no idea the implications of the decisions that night. They have no idea that from them would come another redeemer, one who would redeem not just the material, but redemption from the greatest evil we face—our own sin and death—for the entire world.

The miracle of Christmas is the advent and coming of our great God and savior, our great redeemer. There is a redeemer, Jesus God’s own son. Precious lamb of God, messiah, holy one. History does turn on moments, and because of the faithfulness of Boaz and Ruth, and because we know the rest of the story, we know that an even greater evening, an even greater moment, not in a Bethlehem threshing floor, but in a Bethlehem barn, was coming.
The author of Hebrews makes this clear…

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 

—Hebrews 9:11–12

The rest we all long for—the rest we all taste now in part, but when Christ appears again to make all things new—we will know in full. And it is that rest that gives us hope in the darkest of nights. Your rest has been secured, your redemption has been purchased! Doesn’t that give you hope, no matter what comes?

If Christmas is a season not of joy, but of suffering, if Christmas is a season not of warmth, but of cold and dark nights—my friends, the light of the world has come down! The greatest of miracles has happened, we have been redeemed! No matter your circumstances, no matter how empty you may feel, the story has already been written, and the battle already won. You have been redeemed. So rest in the finished work of Christ, and rejoice! Rejoice! The son of God, our great redeemer, has appeared! He truly has done a great thing.