Ruth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.
13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.
14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.
17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
We see here that Boaz had been paying attention to Ruth. Godly character cannot be hidden. Godly character is worth more than money or looks. We do not know how old Boaz was, but we know that he was not a young man. He was not married and had never been married to this point. He noted that Ruth was a woman of integrity. He noticed that Ruth was an honourable woman. She was expressing kindness to Boaz here. She was reminding him of his place and his obligations in this situation.
In verse 11 Boaz promised to look after this matter promptly. Boaz also noted that Ruth had gained a godly reputation among the people of Bethlehem. People are observant. They see what is going on. They take note of things. Ruth was a virtuous woman. King Solomon was directed to write about such a woman in Proverbs 31. A woman like that will be noticed. She will be noticed, not because she wants to be noticed, but because she is a rare type of woman. God stated that through Solomon, and here we see the people of Bethlehem, took notice of Ruth. She did not just blend in with the crowd. She was not one of them. Again, we do not read that she was trying to make a statement for herself. She was just following God’s leading.
In verse 12 we see that Boaz had already been thinking about his duty as a near kinsman. Naomi had not seen the extent of what Boaz was thinking, and neither had Ruth. Naomi was concerned for the future of her daughter in law. Ruth was concerned about the well-being of her mother in law. They appreciated what Boaz had been doing, but Naomi did not think he was acting fast enough.
God knows what He is doing. His laws are righteous and they are good. Boaz understood this and because he was a man of God, he was thinking this matter through.
In verse 13 Boaz stated that he would bring this matter to the attention of the nearer kinsman in the morning. Boaz cared about Ruth, but he was not allowing his emotions to control his actions. He wanted God’s will to be done. This is important at any time. We, as people, can get into a “panic” state because we want something and rather than seeking God’s will, we think we have it all figured out and then we use coercion to try to get our plan in place. There are many ways we do that.
Boaz would talk to the man who had the first responsibility to look after Naomi’s needs and let him decide what he would do. This way there would be no opportunity for future feuding or distrust. Boaz enlisted the name of the LORD in this matter. Ruth would get a much clearer picture of who the LORD is through Boaz’ actions.
In verse 14 Ruth was content to trust what Boaz had told her. She lay down at his feet until the morning. Again, nothing untoward was taking place here. Boaz had respect for Ruth as a woman, and Ruth also understood there was no place for flirting or any kind of emotional interference here.
In the morning, Ruth arose before it was daylight. Boaz was awake as well and he told her that nothing of this should be known in the city. Rumours spread quickly. There are wagging tongues that are always looking for a “juicy” story. Boaz did not want it to be known that a woman had come into the threshing floor.
In verse 15, Boaz told Ruth to come near with her vail. and he measured six measures of barley into it. There is debate as to how much grain this was. The Bible is not specific here and so we cannot be specific either. We know this was a very generous gift that Boaz was giving to Ruth. It was given as a token of the promise he had made to Ruth. He would look after this matter that very day.
In verse 16 we read that Ruth arrived back at her mother in law’s house. Naomi wanted an update on events and Ruth told her all about it. In verse 17 she showed the proof of what Boaz had said. He did not give empty promises. He gave her this substantial amount of grain to demonstrate his sincerity in this matter. Boaz wanted Naomi to know that she did not need to worry about this. It would be taken care of that day.
In verse 18 Naomi told Ruth to sit still and wait. It seems that it was Naomi that was more anxious about this matter than Ruth was. However, they both understood this was not the time to try any more schemes. They needed to trust Boaz to demonstrate further what an honourable man is like. An honourable man keeps his word. He does not make rash statements that he cannot keep. He honours God and is trustworthy. Boaz had that reputation already. He would keep his word. Ruth and Naomi would see the effects of this promise that day.
Boaz obviously knew how things worked in Bethlehem. He knew he could get this matter dealt with that day. He had trusted the LORD to guide him up to this time in his life and He would guide him through this matter as well.
It is a blessing to know the true God and to walk humbly with Him. He knows what He is doing. He knows how to work things for His glory. Boaz was a farmer. He had to make decisions all the time. He was a godly farmer who knew he could trust God in all his decisions.
We need to keep in mind that this whole event was taking place in a time when the nation of Israel was not a very God-fearing nation. The book of Judges points out that they often followed idols, rather than the true God. There was no king in Israel and two times God stated that the people did that which was right in their own eyes. That is never a good way to live.
We see that rationale governing most professing Christians today. That is why there are so many denominations. That is why there is so much corruption even among Independent Fundamental Baptists. There have been a few prominent men like Jack Hyles and Peter Ruckman who have been quite influential in this camp. They were both false teachers, but they were not afraid to promote their heresies. Sadly, too many people accepted their false teachings while they were alive. After their deaths, there are still too many people who accept those lies and are continuing to beat that same drum. Then there are men like Paul Chappell who has a little different brand of false teaching and has also gained quite a following. It is interesting to note how people want to follow after someone who is popular. It seems few people actually take the Bible as their authority and study it properly. I believe one of the factors that has affected the thinking of many professing Christians is that most preaching is of the topical nature.
When you pick a verse or a couple of verses and you highlight a particular word or a particular phrase, and then you skip around the Bible to find other verses that support your idea about a particular verse, you can make the Bible say many different things. That is the basis of denominationalism. Fundamentalism was supposed to refute that method, but it has fallen into the same trap.
There is a place for topical preaching and teaching. However, there is a greater need for expositional preaching and teaching that forces the preacher to address the doctrines as God gave them. It is important to let God be God and not try to manipulate God’s Word for our own purposes.
As we see in the book of Ruth, God gave the law to the Jews. He enforced those laws. He gave them prophets and judges and priests. He raised up godly men in every generation. However, the heart of the people was often times not interested in God’s Word. They wanted a form of godliness, but they denied the power of true godliness because they would not submit to that.
God told Saul/Paul that is was hard to kick against the pricks. Saul had tried hard to stop the spread of the truth, but he was not successful. God is much greater than the lies. Saul was converted and God changed his name to Paul and gave him a message of truth. Paul proclaimed that message to a people who were not that interested in truth.
Jesus reminded us that the world would hate the truth. They would go after those who would take a righteous stand for the truth. They would do that because they already demonstrated they would even attack the eternal Son of God.
Boaz lived in a time of apostasy. However, he chose not to be an apostate. He chose to honour God. Ruth moved into this environment, but she also chose not to pursue the norms that were established. She chose to pursue a walk of true faith. God was working and He demonstrated His ability to work things out for His glory.
Today, we have the opportunity to attend a true church and to learn the truth. God’s Word is truth. His desire is to bless us. We can know His peace and truth today, just as Boaz and Ruth could know Him in their time. It is up to us to follow God’s direction and that will take us to a true local church today where we can study the Word of God and not be manipulated by false teachers. God still has His men whom He has chosen to teach His Word. Don’t dismiss that fact. Submit to God’s will and trust in Him and seek His blessing for your life today.
Pastor Bartel
