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Itty Bitty Bible Study – Ruth 3

Ruth 3

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

3
1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home[a] for you, where you will be well provided for.
2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”

This sounds very odd to me!

Matthew Henry introduces this chapter this way:

We found it very easy, in the former chapter, to applaud the decency of Ruth’s behaviour, and to show what good use we may make of the account given us of it; but in this chapter we shall have much ado to vindicate it from the imputation of indecency, and to save it from having an ill use made of it; but the goodness of those times was such as saved what is recorded here from being ill done, and yet the badness of these times is such as that it will not justify any now in doing the like.

This didn’t really help me – so I went to a Torah Class Website, to see what they have to say about Ruth and Boaz on the Threshing room floor!

This article is VERY interesting, coming from the Hebrew point of view – and once the author gets to the threshing room floor instructions, this is what he says:

But then the instruction gets a little dicey; Na’omi tells Ruth to uncover his feet and lie down with him. Now I’m sure most of you have an image of seduction in your minds about now, and you might be right (although it was not to the extent that some have claimed). Here’s the thing; the Bible can get very sensual and sexual at times. Sex was just an everyday part of life, and while modesty was called for in God’s people, they were also around farm animals all the time and every child was familiar from an early age of the natural reproductive process. And certain flirtations between men and women were open and common in Biblical days that today would be seen as crude and objectionable. I’ll explain where I’m going with this later.

Ruth 3:5-15 – Ruth says yes, does what her Mother in law prescribes, is greeted by Boaz, and blessed.

That article from Torah Class really explains a lot of the icky thinking…and puts things into perspective.

Chapters 1 and 2 have led up to Ruth and Boaz being very Godly people.
Sexual sin would compromise the whole kinsman redeemer prospect.
Harlots were stoned(remember the thoughts about Mary, the mother of Jesus?)
If there had been seduction and harlotry, Ruth would have been unmarriable.
Something else was going on.
I’m so glad that I found this other site…The commentary by Matthew Henry and the Torah Class really helped me out here!

16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her
17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”

The Torah Class continues with 3, and concludes with 4.

Courting obviously involves flirtatious interaction between male and female as one attempts to attract the other: but hopefully it unfolds more in the way that the God who created man and woman intended as opposed to something that is significantly less than appropriate, especially for those who honor YHWH as Lord of all. Thus we examined and discarded a somewhat new interpretation of the middle-of-the-night events taking place on the threshing floor between Ruth and Boaz. And this new interpretation is that Ruth sneaked in and exposed Boaz as a somewhat usual and customary indication of her interest in marriage. Not only does this rather strained attempt to find something provocative in this passage of Ruth not fit a straightforward, intellectually honest and plain translation of the Hebrew narrative, but it also tosses aside the context and motif of the entire story that is based on two exceptionally righteous, modest, faithful followers of the God of Israel: Ruth and Boaz.

This lesson 7 goes on to explain more about the Levirate Marriage, and the go-el, and how this is so important.

A moabitess – an outsider – a pagan – that lives in darkness.
By her marriage, she becomes aware of a light – the light of the God of Israel.
She leaves the darkness and pays the price to move into the light.
Because of this, she and her house are redeemed!

As a mother that has children that are not walking with the Lord as they were taught, this is a great story of encouragement to me.
As one that was born in sin, and needed a savior, this reminds me that I need to turn from darkness and cling to the LIGHT!

I ask that the Lord Jesus continues to spread the corner of His garment over me – and I pray that I will continue to lie at HIS feet – in total submission, awaiting HIM to give me instructions.

I hope that you enjoy the two commentaries. I have!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Ruth 2

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook.

Ruth 2

2
1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.

“AS IT TURNED OUT”…there is no indication that Naomi told her to go find Boaz’s field, in fact, the opposite! She didn’t!
Another GOD timing, GOD orchestration! It was the time of the harvest – EVERYONE was harvesting!

Boaz seems to be a different type of boss…greeting his harvesters, and even noticing when someone new is in the picture! “Who’s that?”

6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

This tells Boaz that Ruth is a hard worker…
In addition, while Ruth and Naomi don’t know which field this is, Boaz knows who Naomi is, Boaz knows who Ruth is, and Boaz knows his responsibility to his clan!

8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me.
9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

Boaz shows his character here. He gives Ruth advice for her protection. He makes sure that his men will not touch her, and he makes provision for her thirst!

Ruth is surprised – recognizing that this is special treatment – and asks why?

11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Ruth had humbled herself to be attached to Naomi. Boaz speaks a blessing upon her, because her kindnesses have spoken much about HER character! He also admits to HIS faith in God, based upon his comments here!

Ruth knows that she is nothing more than a beggar, at least, that is what she thinks. She knows that she is not even one of his servants! She realizes that something more than just kindness has been bestowed upon her.

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.”
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.

The Bible verse about casting your bread upon the water and it will come back – or planting a seed and it will bring forth a harvest – this is the example of those principles. Ruth had planted into the life of Naomi. I think that Naomi planted into the life of Ruth! Either way, Ruth is getting blessed for her humble acts of kindness! Again, Boaz shows his character, by caring for someone that does not know that she is family yet! In the same way that Jesus fed the people on the hillside, she had all she wanted, and there was some left over.

15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.”

Is this exceedingly, abundantly, above what she could ask or think?

17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

We don’t see it until here, but that leftover grain? Ruth saved it for Naomi! Ruth was devoted to caring for Naomi!
Naomi realizes that this is not just some ordinary gleaning – something is going on. So she asks Ruth – who’s field? Ruth says, oh, some man named Boaz.

20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.”

I can see Naomi jumping up, and shouting! I’m not sure that Ruth knew what was going on, but, somehow she understood that this was a good thing!

Finally, things start to look up for Naomi!
All because of the love of an undesirable!
Ruth was a Moabitess – the Israelites were not to intermarry!
Moabites were not the best friends to the Israelites – though they were not the worst, either.

Where did Moab come from:
Wikipedea says:

According to the biblical account, Moab and Ammon were born to Lot and Lot’s elder and younger daughters, respectively, in the aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible refers to both the Moabites and Ammonites as Lot’s sons, born of incest with his daughters Genesis 19:37-38

These are NOT the folks a good Hebrew Mom would want her sons to marry! Boaz’s comments about Ruth point out that she had decided to take refuge under the Wings of the God of Israel. Apparently, HE understood the principles of forgiveness from the Old Testament – rather than the harsh mean God that many refer to!

Timing – IN HIS TIME!

As I am writing this, Jim and I are moving our bedroom around. When we purchased the house, we did not have a lot of money to buy furniture. We went to various thrift stores, and bought pieces that ‘looked’ like what we’d like. Because we were not able to be choosy, we didn’t really measure and plan.

Curtains purchased in one place matched the sofas purchased in another place, and the fabric I’d fallen in love with at JoAnn’s.
We bought a bed and a dresser set at one store – they did not totally match, but, they were similar enough that we were pleased. We put the bed on one wall, and the dresser on the other. In addition, we had purchased end tables several years earlier for our apartment in Lakeland! At that time, there was NO plan to buy a house!

We wanted to move the bed to another wall, in order to create more flow. The issue was that dresser. It was 6 feet long, and fit on ONE wall. We did not want to block the path into the closet.

In order to put the bed on the other wall, with the nightstands, it was not going to be centered, because of that dresser. There was NO other place to put this dresser….unless….

The bed frame, side to side, was seven feet. In fact, the six foot dresser fits perfectly between the thick legs of the footboard of the bedframe! There is even room for a comfy chair – like the one I’ve been wanting in my bedroom FOR YEARS! And, everything is lined up! It’s as if we’d planned it!

No judgement – we just moved the dresser!

We didn’t. God did. We put the furnishing of the house in God’s hands. He gave to us exceedingly, abundantly, above all we could ask or think! If we had tried to plan this, we couldn’t have, because we would never have planned THIS arrangement.

Naomi and Ruth did not plan what field to go into – God sent Ruth.
Ruth did not plan on Boaz providing for her – but God knew Boaz’s heart.
When we trust in God, when we take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel, the God of Creation, the Lord of Life – HE will provide, and give us peace.

For additional study –
Alistair Begg’s series God of the Ordinary

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.