"The Part of a Kinsman" Ruth 3

June 24, 2007
by C.W. Powell

There is great instruction for us in this third chapter of the book of Ruth. As we say, these events occurred in “the days when the judges ruled.” Not a good time, as we saw, for every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Later on, Irrael desired a king, and then every man did that which was right in the eyes of the king, for one form of humanism cannot be cured by another form of humanism. After Jesus had risen from the dead He sent forth the Holy Spirit, so that His people might be led by the spirit—neither the following what was right in their own eyes, or in the eyes of kings. They would have in them a heart to love and do the will of their father.

But even though men did that which was right in their own eyes, yet there were the godly in Israel, and we saw that God had not forgotten His promises, but was stirring the heart of a young woman in the land of Moab, Ruth, who would place herself under the wings of Jehovah. God had plans for her that would bring about the blessing that God had promised to the world in His revelations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But to be under the wings of Jehovah is to live in the order that he has established. I will make an application at the end of this message. One only from this chapter, but it is a very important one. I have already told you what it is, but I will tell you again at the end of the sermon: To live under the wings of Jehovah is to live in the order that He has established.

The immediate context of chapter three is this: Ruth had gone out to glean in the fields and by providence she came to glean in the fields of Boaz, and elderly man of some wealth. He was also a near relative of Naomi and Elemelech. This might not be surprising, for Bethelhem was a small village, and probably the inhabitants all had some relation to each other. But Naomi seems to be unaware of every relationship to herself in Bethlehem. But she counseled Ruth very wisely, so that Ruth acted with utmost decorum and wisdom in the establishment of her legal claims with regard to the inheritance of Elemelech that Naomi had sold in the extremity of her poverty.

I. Naomi proceeded on the basis of Deuteronomy 25. This practice was known as the Levirate marriage. There was an economic reason for this, that the ownership of the land not be consolidated in the hands of the rich and powerful, but that it remain distributed among the whole population. The land had been divided up by lot in the time of Joshua after the conquest, and no inheritance could be forever aliened from the families. Deut.25:5-10:

“5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7
And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.
8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;
9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house.
10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.”

A. The Sadducees tried to catch Christ in his words by reference to this law of Moses to prove that there could be no resurrection from the dead. Christ said that this law was not relevant to the issue because in heaven there would be no marriage or giving in marriage; such laws for for the earth and had nothing to do with the eternal state.

B. Some of the customs of the time were incorporated into the Law of Moses, because of the hardness of the hearts of people, such as slavery and such like.

C. Jesus also brought about a divorce between church and state with his words: Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars, and unto the God the things that are God’s. Christians can and ought to live at peace in both realsm.

II. Naomi’s Advice to Ruth:

Ruth 3:1-5: “1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

A. Because of Boaz’s kindly treatment of Ruth, Naomi suspected that he might be open to the claiming of the rights of Elemelech. She was evidently unaware of the existence of a closer relative, or perhaps thought that Boaz would know how to handle the matter.

B. The winnowing field was a flat area, pressed by rollers to a very hard serface. There the grain would be taken after being beaten out. When the evening breezed arose, it would be allowed to fall in the wind to the hard surface and the wind would blow the light chaff away, and the grain would be gathered. Thus cleaned it would be ready for grinding into flour or other applications.

C. Everyone had their allotted place and would sleep there in tents or on pads to protect their property. Although Boaz was a man of great wealth, yet he had his place there and supervised his workers. It was the custom for the people of that day to sleep in the clothes they wore during the day. There is not a hint of impropriety in anything that Ruth did that day, nor any hint of scandal.

D. “Uncover his feet” is an idiom which means to raise up the bottom of the spread or cloak that covered Boaz as he slept. He probably slept on an open mat, perhaps in a small tent erected for him in his portion of the threshing floor.

E. Ruth action were two fold, following her mother-in-law’s counsel

i. It was an act of submission to lie at the feet of Boaz.
ii. It was a claim on her rights to inheritance in Israel as heir to Elemelech.

III. Ruth’s Obedience and Faith. Ruth 3:6-9:

6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

A. Naomi must have known something of the character of Boaz, for his act but Ruth in some jeopardy.

B. But it also put Boaz’s reputation in jeopardy, for in many respects this was a very public act, for Bethlehem was a small village.

C. We know from the book of Judges that morals in Israel were in a very low state.

D. It is impossible for us to know all the customs, but the writer is very careful for us to know that nothing improper passed between Ruth and Boaz. Ruth is very bold, but she is also very modest. Also, Boaz is an honorable man.

IV. The Praise and Vow of Boaz. Ruth 3:9-14:

9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.
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.

A. Ruth makes her claim: vs. 9.
B. Boaz recognizes the faith that directed Ruth’s action: the same faith that caused her to come with Naomi.
i. She was actuated by lust or greed: she could have chased a young rich man.

ii. “kindness” means goodness, kindness, faithfulness. Ruth was true gold in her faith. What was this than the hope of Israel: the coming of the promised seed. All of this makes no sense if you leave Messiah out of the equation.

iii. Certainly this this the reason for the inclusion of Ruth in the canon of Scripture by the Holy Spirit; so we might know the marvelous work of the Holy Spirit in the coming of Christ.

iv. There are dim flashes of light in this narrative that send their rays down the agest of history to another young woman and an older man.

1. This young woman is a virgin, but she is taken under the care of an older man. He child is the Son of God, and she is the mother of God in that respect. God will bring His Son into the world, begotton indeed of the flesh of the Virgin, but also begotten from eternity in the mystery of the eternal Triinty.

2. Even the Virgin Mary is called to live under legitimate government and order, even thought she is the mother of the Messiah.

3. We see that God is a god of order in the government of the world. From the disorder of the nation of Moab, conceived in incest, living in idolatry and rebellion, this young worman Ruth, though called also to be the mother of God in that her great grandchild, King David, would be direct in the line of Christ, and the father of Jesus according to the flesh, yet she must be placed under the rule of Boaz and live as a common woman in Israel.

V. The Pledge of Boaz. Ruth 3:14-18:

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.” (Ru 3:1-18 AV)

I will not comment on these verses, other than to say that Naomi is now certain that Boaz would follow through on his pledge.

VI. Application: I Corinthians 10:

“1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happend unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

A. God provided an order to preserve his people from temptation, specifically the temptation to serve other God.
B. God has given us an order to preserve us form this same temptation. You cannot change the order without changing Gods. Every true revival will result in an establishment of God’s order.
C. Our order is very different outwardly from Israel, but very like in its spiritual significance. The differences are in outward form; not in the inward reality. It took the acts of God to change the order, but He did this.

i. In our King
ii. In our Mediator
iii. In our worship and sacrifices
iv. In the eldership and deaconate [elders and Levites]
v. In the prophetic office
vi. In the people of God
vii. In the key sacraments: Lord’s Supper and Baptism.

May God bless you.

Amen and Amen.