Ruth 3:1-5, 4:13-17

Background:

The book of Ruth is a book which is rich and full of meaning and symbolism. A story in which almost every name given is infused with meaning. The story begins with a couple. Elimelech, which means God is my king and Naomi, which means sweetness. They belong to the clan of Judah, called Ephrathites, the root of that word means “fruitful or fertile.” Fruitfulness and fertility become important to this story as it progresses.

The story begins when these two experience a famine while living in Bethlehem, the House of Bread. They travel to Moab with their two sons Chilion which means failing and Mahlon which means sickness. They take for themselves two wives, Ruth, which means faithful friend and Orphah which means back of the neck. True to their names, all the men die leaving Naomi, Ruth and Orpah alone. Naomi, hearing that the famine has abated in her homeland of Bethlehem (bread has returned to the house of bread). She tells her daughters-in-law to return to their homes. Orpah does as Noami instructs her (show us the back of her neck). Ruth refuses to leave and clings to Naomi.

When returns to her homeland, her family and her friends, Naomi shares with them her sorrow, desiring for her name to be changed to Mara, which means bitterness. There is clever word play throughout all of this. Noami went to the “sheda” (fields) of Moab where (The Almighty) “Sheday” dealt bitterly with her. All these chapters are ripe with word play, all of which would have made the people hearing the story smile, as well as making the sequence of the story easier to remember.

When Ruth and Naomi leave they have nothing. Elimelech had land. Every Israelite family had their own land that was given to them by God. The law made provisions to make ensure that the land stayed in the family, and if for some reason the land had to be sold, the land would eventually return to the originally owners.

Naomi may have land, even if she and Ruth had any way of working it, they arrived at the beginning of harvest time, were not there when it was time to sow the field, so there is no harvest to reap. They will have to wait a year before anything can be done. Neither Naomi nor Ruth have anyway to provide for themselves.

The Law provided for the widow and the foreigner, who had no means by which to support themselves to glean in the fields. The law instructed landowners to only harvest the center of the field. Leaving a certain amount around the edges for the poor and the destitute. It was also against the Law for the reapers, who reaped in the field, to go back and pick up anything that was dropped or accidentally left behind. This was to be left behind for the widows and the foreigners, because these particular people among the poor and destitute had the least ability to support themselves.

To do either of these means of gathering was to glean in a field.

Both Ruth and Naomi are eligible by law to glean in the fields. Naomi does not come to the field with Ruth because she is too old to participate in such hard labor.

Throughout the second chapter Ruth shows her worth, she is polite. Ruth went and asked permission to do what she was allowed to do by law. Ruth does not demand what is her God given right as a foreigner in the land. She industrious. We know this because Boaz’s servant tells him that she has been working all day without even resting. She is kind. She has been taking care of her mother-in-law. She has worked so hard to take care of her mother-in-law, that people are talking about her. Boaz tells her that he has heard about her and what she has done for Naomi.

Throughout all this, Boaz goes above and beyond what is expected of him. He tells Ruth to keep close to his female servants, that way other people will think that she is one of his servants and will not bother her. He orders his own young men to leave her alone. They would know that she was not one of his servants and might otherwise harass her. He tells her that she can drink from the jugs, which were reserved for his servants. He lets her eat with his servants the food that he provided for his workers and even gave her an extra-large portion. He instructed the reapers whom she was gleaning behind to leave extra behind for her to gather, and again reminded her to not harass her.

This goes on for a while. Naomi and Ruth arrived at the beginning of the Barley harvest, and she does this throughout both the Barley and the Wheat Harvests.

Looking at our Passage:

This brings us to our passage, which includes parts of chapter three and four.

Ruth comes to Naomi as the harvest season is ending asking advice on what to do next. Our passage picks up with Naomi giving Ruth instructions about what she needs to do to secure both of their futures. Naomi sees that Boaz has been paying special attention to Ruth, that he has continually gone above and beyond what is expected of him. His attention could be interpreted as a sort of courtship. He is showing Ruth that he is interested in, but Naomi sees that it is up to Ruth to take the next step. So, she gives Ruth instructions about what to do to let Boaz know in no uncertain terms that she is ready to move forward with their relationship. Naomi’s instructions require Ruth to be forward and to put herself out there. If Boaz was not the gentleman he has so far shown himself to be, her actions could be interpreted unfavorably. But Noami trusts that Boaz is exactly who he has so far proven himself to be, that is a good man, who is interested in Ruth and who is interested in doing what he needs to do to ensure her, and by extension Naomi’s welfare.  

Traveling out to the threshing floor at night was not exactly a proper thing for a woman to do, anyway that you look at it. The threshing floor would have been well outside of town. A woman in those days did not go about at night by herself. Being outside the city at night was not safe. The town provided safety. Thieves would have stayed outside of the town in the darkness, lying in wait for an unsuspecting traveler. The noise and the heat from inside of the town would also keep most wild animals away. If something did happen in town, people did not have solid windows or doors, someone would hear and come to their aid. Outside of town there was darkness and very few people. Anything happen could to a person traveling alone at night, much more if that person was a woman. Ruth could have been attacked by thieves or wild animals. Everything Ruth is instructed to do is risky.

Following the will of God is not always the easy thing to do. Sometimes it is scary and often it feels like so much is on the line, “what if things do not work out as planned?” God does not tell us that the right thing to do in any given situation is the easy thing to do, he just tells us to trust and obey.

The ultimate end to Ruth’s risky behavior passage ends with Ruth and Boaz marrying, which results in Ruth giving birth to a son. The women of the town rejoice with Naomi, who takes the child in her arms and gives praise to God.

This is a story about the faithfulness of Ruth, the kindness and upright behavior of Boaz. And it is about the restoration of Naomi’s fortunes, the literal redemption of these two women, about God’s provision. The story begins with Naomi losing everything, except Ruth and in the end her life is restored.

As a preacher you can focus on any number of aspects of this story. If you want to stick primarily to the passage at hand, you can talk about Ruth’s trust in Naomi, or her bravery in carrying out Naomi’s instructions. If you want to include parts of the wider story you can talk about the faithfulness of God throughout Noami’s life. You can talk about the faithfulness of Ruth in following Noami and staying by her through it all.

So many ways a preacher can challenge their congregation to follow the examples of these women in their own faith journeys, as well as speaking to God’s faithfulness to us throughout the ups and downs, through the good times, as well as the times of famine, sickness, death and hardship which everyone experiences over the course of their life.