To our modern, Western cultural way of thinking, it seems like Naomi asked Ruth to act in a presumptuous, unladylike way. But in reality she was acting strictly in accordance with the law and society of Israel at that time. This was how in that culture a younger woman would make a proposal. In other words, it would be taken as a clear indication of Ruth’s desire to marry Boaz. He, being an older, gracious, godly man, would not have presumed to initiate marriage with a younger woman unless she first showed interest in this way.<\/p>\n
Ruth asked Boaz in very clear terms to marry her, to provide and protect her: “take your maidservant under your wing.” Boaz had used the same term in chapter 2 when he described God’s protection of her: “under whose wings you have come for refuge.” The image is of the way a mother bird protectively spreads her wings over her baby; it carries the idea of spreading wings over someone, offering the protection that comes through relationship.<\/p>\n
We notice that the basis of her request was that Boaz was a near relative; and according to God’s law, he could assume the responsibility of marrying her. It is interesting that she wasn’t asking him to respond emotionally, but rather to the call of God in his life. It sounds strange to our ears, but it was in accordance with God’s law. And, therefore, it was the wise and safe thing to do. We find here a perfect picture of what happens when we come to Jesus Christ and accept His sacrifice for us; He brings us under His wing\u2014His protection.<\/p>\n
“LORD, we want to live today in the center of Your will for us. Cleanse us and use us we ask.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruth 3 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0And now\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor:\u00a0but\u00a0<\/em>make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0And 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.\u00a0\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. 6<\/sup>\u00a0And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.\u00a07<\/sup>\u00a0And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8<\/sup>\u00a0And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.\u00a0\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Who\u00a0art\u00a0<\/em>thou? And she answered, I\u00a0am\u00a0<\/em>Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou\u00a0art\u00a0<\/em>a near kinsman.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And he said, Blessed\u00a0be\u00a0<\/em>thou of the\u00a0LORD, my daughter:\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou\u00a0art\u00a0<\/em>a virtuous woman.\u00a0\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0And now it is true that I\u00a0am thy\u00a0<\/em>near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.\u00a013<\/sup>\u00a0Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning,\u00a0that\u00a0<\/em>if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman\u2019s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee,\u00a0as\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0LORD\u00a0liveth: lie down until the morning. 14<\/sup>\u00a0And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0Also he said, Bring the vail that\u00a0thou hast\u00a0<\/em>upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six\u00a0measures\u00a0<\/em>of barley, and laid\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>on her: and she went into the city.\u00a0\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who\u00a0art\u00a0<\/em>thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0And she said, These six\u00a0measures\u00a0<\/em>of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To our modern, Western cultural way of thinking, it seems like Naomi asked Ruth to act in a presumptuous, unladylike way. But in reality she was acting strictly in accordance with the law and society of Israel at that time. This was how in that culture a younger woman would make a proposal. In other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6403"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16110,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6403\/revisions\/16110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}