7. All the Way the Saviour Leads Me

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Hymns: 351 He Leadeth Me 352 All the Way My Savior Leads Me   355 Day by Day

Under His Wings

– All the Way My Savior Leads Me

 

1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

 

OUTLINE

  • The Counsel (v1-4)
  • The Concurrence (v5)

 

INTRODUCTION

God’s wisdom is irresistible wisdom to His people. As Solomon said in Proverbs 8:33-36 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not. 34 Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. 36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. And in Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. When we find know God’s ways and be willing to obey them, our spiritual life prospers.

The Lord said these words to Joshua before he begun the conquest of the Promised Land. He was one of the most successful generals in Israel’s history. This was his secret for success – Joshua 1:6-9 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Our story opens in chapter 3 with Ruth returning blessed day of harvesting in Boaz’s field, a place that God had led her to glean. She experienced the guidance of God and when she returned the grains informed Naomi, she had a plan in mind for her.

 Two thoughts – (1) The Counsel (v1-4) (2) The Concurrence (v5)

 

(1) The Counsel (v1-4)

1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast?…

We observe a turn around for Naomi, she was no longer depressed. She experienced God’s grace flowing in her life again as she got back into the centre of God’s will for her life. That is to be in Israel where she belonged.

She became a matchmaker and prepared Ruth to seek the love of her willing kinsman-redeemer, Boaz. The turning point in the narrative is at hand. During the weeks of the barley and wheat harvests (cf. 2:23), Naomi had time to put her plan together. When the time was right she acted.

Naomi was a persistent person (cf. 1:8- 15). She was now resolved to seek rest and security for her daughter-in-law through marriage. Ruth had given up the possibility of remarriage in order to care for the aging Naomi, but now marriage suddenly again became a possibility. It was customary for Hebrew parents to arrange marriages for their children (Judges 14:1-10). To find a home is literally to “find rest” (cf. Ruth 1:9), to be settled and secure in a home with a husband.[1]

The custom of Levirate marriage that if an Israelite who had been married died without children, it was the duty of his brother to marry the widow, that is to say, his sister-in-law, that he might establish his brother’s name in Israel, by begetting a son through his sister-in-law, who should take the name of the deceased brother, that his name might not become extinct in Israel. This son was then the legal heir of the landed property of the deceased uncle

 Deuteronomy 25:5-10 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

 2…Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

The agricultural process involves the growing of grain by plowing and sowing. Then comes the reaping. After the harvest is reaped, the grain is separated from the kernel. The threshing floor is where this takes place.[2] Boaz was there to oversee and also be there to safeguard the grain from being stolen.

The anointing involves applying oil on the body and she was to bring put on a heavy outer garment. Ruth was to prepare herself by washing and perfuming herself. The words best clothes may be rendered “a large outer garment.” This was to keep her identity from being detected. She was to observe Boaz eating and drinking but was not to let him know of her presence.

 Naomi pointed out that since Boaz was a relative of theirs, he could be a kinsman-redeemer for Ruth. He had an open and willing heart. So Naomi suggested Ruth go to the threshing floor that evening. The people of Bethlehem took turns using the threshing floor. The floor was a flat hard area on a slightly raised platform or hill. In threshing, the grain was beaten out from the stalks with flails (cf. 2:17) or was trodden over by oxen. Then in winnowing the grain was thrown in the air and the wind carried the chaff away. The grain was then removed from the threshing floor and placed in heaps to be sold or stored in granaries.

Threshing and winnowing were a time of great festivity and rejoicing. Naomi knew that Boaz was threshing his grain on the day that she had chosen for her plan. She also knew that Boaz would be sleeping near his grain that night, to protect it.

 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

This is the Old Testament expression of an engagement or a marriage proposal or contract. After Boaz finished eating and drinking, Ruth was to observe the place where he retired for the night. Under cover of darkness Ruth was to go to Boaz, uncover his feet, and lie down there. Boaz, Naomi said, would then tell Ruth what she was to do. The implication was clear that Ruth should do whatever he requested.

Her mother-in-law had complete confidence in the integrity of the kinsman- redeemer. Boaz could be trusted to act responsibly. And Ruth was recognized by everyone as “a woman of noble character” (Ruth 3:11). The uncovering of the feet was a ceremonial act that was completely proper. Probably the scene took place in the dark so that Boaz had the opportunity to reject the proposal without the whole town knowing about it.

 

(2) Concurrence (v5)

5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

 Ruth stated that she would act in full and unquestioned obedience to the directions of her mother-in-law (cf. 2:22- 23).

Ruth 2:22-23 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. 23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

Naomi was anxious that Ruth should find security —that is, a husband and a home. She, therefore, relinquished her own prior claim to marriage and property, and instead advised Ruth to go down to the threshing floor one night when Boaz was winnowing barley.

Ruth, being a stranger to Israelite customs, had to be told in detail how she was to make the customary appeal to her kinsman for protection and levirate marriage.

 She agreed with Naomi’s counsel which she knew was for her interest. She loved her mother-in-law and knew that she meant good for her.

 

CONCLUSION

We observe the invisible hand of God fulfilling His will in the life Ruth to be the progenitor of Messiah together with Boaz. Indeed, this is the blessing of walking in the centre of God’s will. Amen.

 

[1] John F. Walvoord, Bible Knowledge Commentary.

[2] The threshing-floors are constructed in the fields, preferably in an exposed position in order to get the full benefit of the winds. If there is a danger of marauders they are clustered together close to the village. The floor is a level, circular area 25 to 40 ft. in diameter, prepared by first picking out the stones, and then wetting the ground, tamping or rolling it, and finally sweeping it. A border of stones usually surrounds the floor to keep in the grain. The sheaves of grain which have been brought on the backs of men, donkeys, camels, or oxen, are heaped on this area, and the process of tramping out begins. The supply of unthreshed grain is kept in the center of the floor. Some of this is pulled down from time to time into the path of the animals. All the while the partly threshed grain is being turned over with a fork. The stalks gradually become broken into short pieces and the husks about the grain are torn off. This mixture of chaff and grain must now be winnowed. This is done by tossing it into the air so that the wind may blow away the chaff (see WINNOWING ). When the chaff is gone then the grain is tossed in a wooden tray to separate from it the stones and lumps of soil which clung to the roots when the grain was reaped. The difference in weight between the stones and grain makes separation by this process possible (see SIFT ). The grain is now poled in heaps and in many localities is also sealed. This process consists in pressing a large wooden seal against the pile. When the instrument is removed it leaves an impression which would be destroyed should any of the grain be taken away. This allows the government offers to keep account of the tithes and enables the owner to detect any theft of grain. Until the wheat is transferred to bags some one sleeps by the pries on the threshing-floor. If the wheat is to be stored for home consumption it is often first washed with water and spread out on goats’ hair mats to dry before it is stored in the wall compartments found in every house. [ISBE]