Ruth 3

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:34:05utc

4. The Threshing Floor. (3:1-18)

At the beginning of the third chapter Naomi has finished her scheme, if we may call it that. It is full of good intentions and it is legal, although there is the problem that Ruth is a Moabites and that by this she may have been excluded from the privilege of becoming a member of God's chosen people. But seeing how well Boaz treats Ruth and suspecting that there may be feelings of love, she gambles for a favorable outcome.

The key word in these verses is 'manowach', which is related to 'menuwchah', the word that was used in 1:9, meaning 'rest'. The NIV says: "My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for?" The KJV sticks to the original "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?" As we have seen, the idea is security through marriage. Naomi was not completely unselfish in her desire to seek the best for her daughter-in-law. She knew that the first boy, born of Ruth's marriage would carry her son's name.

The NIV classifies Ruth as one of Boaz' servant girls in vs.2. The KJV and RSV say only that Ruth was with his servant girls and that seems a more logical translation. It does not appear that Ruth actually worked for Boaz. All she did was glean ears on his field. Naomi explains her plan to Ruth. There is something awkward or maybe even wrong in this. A man should ask a girl in marriage, not the other way around. For Ruth to go and propose to Boaz is highly irregular. But there was more involved than just marriage. It was to be a levirate marriage, that is Boaz is to replace Mahlon. The law prescribing this is found in Deut. 25:5,6 "If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel." In a case like that the woman could evidently take the initiative.

The other thing that should bother us, as New Testament Christians, is that Boaz was most likely a married man. In the law on the levirate marriage there is no stipulation that the brother, who marries his sister-in-law should be single. This is a sanctioned part of Old Testament polygamy. And polygamy was clearly not God's intent for man when He created him. Gen. 2:24 says: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." This leaves no place for polygamy. Polygamy was an accommodation to the sinful condition of man. The first known polygamist in the Bible was Lamech. "Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah." (Gen.4:19).

But then the levirate marriage was an accommodation to the concept that a mans name should be kept alive in his male offspring. There is no indication that this concept is divinely inspired. This may be the answer to the question. The ancient philosophy is an immature view of eternal life, linked to the expectation of the fulfillment of God's promise regarding the coming of the Messiah. It was too early in the development of God's revelation to explain everything, so God left it that way for the time being.

We could argue that the relationship with Christ and the church is in a sense polygamous. So is the message of the book The Song of Songs, which foreshadows this relationship. God sees all of humanity as one single being. Sin is never condoned in the Scripture, but God's approach to our condition is very pragmatic. "He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." (Matth.19:12 KJV) Finally it can be said that Naomi's plan puts Ruth in a situation that we would consider less than proper. Sidlow Baxter thinks that in the culture of that time there was nothing improper in Ruth's behavior. But in that case why does Boaz say: "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor"? (3:14.) I believe that Naomi did compromise Ruth's virtue at least in appearance in creating such a situation, although no improper act took place. We get the impression that Boaz was alone on the threshing floor, but that could hardly have been the case, at least not at the beginning of the evening. He was probably alone when Ruth approached him. But he would not have feasted by himself. And obviously the occasion is the feast at the end of the barley harvest. Boaz must have been slightly intoxicated, which is probably the reason he did not return home, but looked for a place close by to sleep it off. According to the archaeologists the concubine of an Eastern monarch would enter her master's bed at the foot and wiggle her way up. This seems to be Ruth's position at the feet of Boaz. Even without words, Boaz would have understood what Ruth's intention was. Evidently she acted out in a symbolic way what she wished Boaz to do for her in a permanent relationship, that is take her under his wings.

The description of Boaz's reaction in the middle of the night is comical and vivid. It takes Boaz a while to wake up from a heavy sleep and he is startled when he turns around in his bed and he realizes that he is not alone. It is too dark to see who the person at his feet is. Ruth asks for protection, explaining that Boaz is the kinsman-redeemer. Again the word 'gawal' is used here.

Now it becomes evident why Boaz had never initiated the process himself. First of all he is not the first in line. There is a closer 'gawal', according to vs.12. We are not told who he is and what the actual family relationship is. In 4:3 when Boaz faces this man he calls Elimelech 'our brother', but the term will have been used in a larger sense. It could be however that Boaz and Elimelech were brothers or cousins.

Secondly, Boaz was under the impression that Ruth would not have been willing to submit to the custom of redemption by him, because it would involve marriage to an older man. He presumed that she, being young, would have preferred a young husband. When he realizes that Ruth thinks of Noami, more than of herself, he becomes enthused and waxes eloquent. Why he calls this Ruth's kindness, which is greater than her first one, is not clear. Probably because it involves himself. There is obviously a feeling of love on his side. In the first instance Ruth left her home and country and relatives to start a completely new life. She loved Naomi, but in the process she saved herself. Now she works on Naomi's rehabilitation and she finds rest, 'menuchwah' for herself.

So Ruth stays there till dawn and leaves before it gets light. "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor." Boaz doesn't want to get any rumors started and he wants to avoid the resemblance of evil. And she goes home with her shawl full of barley. All she has so far is the promise of redemption. She lives between Passover and Pentecost.