Ruth 3
About RuthWritten by AI
Ruth is a short story, beautifully told, set in the dark days of the judges. It follows a widow from Moab who chooses to stay with her widowed mother-in-law and to trust Israel's God. The author is not named. Jewish tradition credits Samuel; many scholars date it later, some to the time of the kings and some after the exile. Christians hold a range of views.
In four chapters the story moves from famine to harvest, from death to birth, and from emptiness to fullness. Naomi returns home bitter, but through Ruth's loyalty and the kindness of a relative named Boaz, her family is restored. God is seldom said to act directly, yet His care is behind every turn.
Watch for the Hebrew idea of loving devotion, faithful kindness that goes beyond duty, and for the kinsman-redeemer who buys back what was lost. The book ends with a surprise: Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of King David, and Matthew 1:5 names her in the family line of Jesus.
Before you read Ruth 3Written by AI
Naomi sends Ruth to Boaz at night on the threshing floor, where she lies at his feet and asks him to spread the corner of his garment over her, a request for marriage and protection. Boaz praises her and agrees, but explains that a closer relative has the first right. The scene is delicate and handled with honor.
Ruth’s Redemption Assured
One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he lies. Then go in and uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will explain to you what you should do.”
“I will do everything you say,” Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do.
After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman!
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”
Then Boaz said, “May the LORD bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now do not be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you request, since all my fellow townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character. Yes, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer, but there is a redeemer nearer than I. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, good. Let him redeem you. But if he does not want to redeem you, as surely as the LORD lives, I will. Now lie here until morning.”
So she lay down at his feet until morning, but she got up before anyone else could recognize her.
Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” And he told her, “Bring the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured in six measures of barley and placed it on her. Then he went into the city.
When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked her, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then Ruth told her all that Boaz had done for her. And she said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
“Wait, my daughter,” said Naomi, “until you find out how things go, for he will not rest unless he has resolved the matter today.”