Match Maker

Ruth 3:1-6

Growing up, if I ever looked in the direction of a girl my mom would tell me that we were related. Then she would proceed to tell me how we were related. There was even a time when I was talking to a girl in central Florida. My mom said, "We have family in that town." I quickly stated, "Mom stop!" I did not want here trying to make connections. I joke now that I had to find a girl from Miami so that we would not be related. What if a family member was exactly what you were looking for though? I don't mean a brother or sister. In our story, Naomi is looking for one of her family members, but he will be absolutely no relation to Ruth. Later on, we will find out that this is both a problem and a solution.

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Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.” 5 And she said to her, “All that you say to me I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her.

Ruth 3:1-6

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Ruth had worked all the way through the harvest season. She had done exactly what Boaz had instructed her to to. She worked alongside his maid servants. Now there was a different job to do. Grain has a husk around it. To remove the husk from the barley, the grain would be thrashed (exactly what it sounds like) and then tossed up in the air on a breezy day so that the light husk would blow away, separating it from the grain. If the wind was not blowing, then a fan could be used. Remember that they did not have electric fans, so this was not a one-person job.

Boaz would spend the night at the threshing floor. He was keeping watch over his profits. Apparently, he sent all of his other workers home. This was known to Naomi. So, she devises a plan to set Boaz and Naomi up. There would be no dating. This would jump straight to marriage.

This whole situation is so far removed from our 21st century western culture that is seems strange and illicit. It is quite the opposite. As a matter of fact, later in the story we will see that Boaz made sure that it did not appear as such, and that Ruth's honor was not compromised. So, what is going on?

First, Naomi told Ruth to clean up and put on her perfume. She had been working in the fields for days. Naomi did not want her smelling like sweat and dirt. So, she told Ruth to go bathe and put on oil (perfume). Then to put on the prettiest dress she had. Ruth had probably picked up on what Naomi was doing at this point.

Next, Ruth was to go to the threshing floor and wait until Boaz was asleep. Then she was to uncover his feet and lie down at his feet. This would awaken Boaz and he would provide further instructions. The concept here is that up Ruth placing herself under the "skirt" of Boaz. Even that sounds weird to us. The idea is that he would provide covering and protection for her. It is similar to the idea when Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37). This would involve Boaz marrying her. There is so much left to tell. There is a beautiful story here that also includes so teachings that apply to us. We will have to wait to get to those. I can't wait! This is such a beautiful and doctrinally rich story.

Father, I love how You take such a simple story and teach us so much through it. I pray that we would take the time to look beyond the surface and understand the lesson here. May we see how this is not just the story of Ruth and Boaz, but also our story with Jesus.