Yesterday
we learned that Ruth took the initiative to find work and decided on harvesting
grain since that work was plenteous given it was harvesting season. She “happened” to select the property of an
older well established man named Boaz which means strength, a man of strength and wealth. What was it about her that caught his
attention as she worked? Was it her rhythm,
the perception that she was working with them but not really because of the
distance she maintained, her beauty or all three things? Whatever the case he
asked his foreman who she was. Boaz awkwardly
approached her, advised that she not go to any other properties and told her
she could drink freely at their water dispensaries. Ruth was overwhelmed with this stranger’s
kindness and she demonstrated great humility when she worshipped at his feet
admitting that she was unworthy. This
had to be humbling for Boaz. It’s clear
that Boaz was observant, structured and hospitable.
Can
you imagine how Ruth must have been feeling by now? Her emotions must have been like a roller coaster:
rising as she decided on a work plan and received Naomi’s blessing; DOWN when
she tried to figure out where she would look for work; UP when she woke up and
got dressed; DOWN when she realized her clothes were different from the
township; UP when she found the right spot; RISING when she approached the
foreman; RISING when he granted permission to work there for the day; DOWN when
Boaz summoned her; UP when he gave her permission to work throughout the entire
season; HIGHER when he invited her to have lunch with them; OFF THE GRID when
she showed Naomi how much she collected that day AND brought food home from her
lunch. What really sent her over the
edge was Naomi’s reaction after she told her about Mr. Boaz. You would have thought that Naomi just found
out they hit the Hebrew lotto the way she reacted. Her weathered brown skin turned pale and then
red as she said: Praise our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob!!! Jehovah Jireh hasn’t
forgotten about us!!! He still loves us
in bad and good times!!! God I bless
you!!! I thank you!!!! You are faithful!!! It kind of
spooked Ruth for a minute because she’d never seen Naomi react like this
before, but something inside wouldn’t allow her to be afraid even though this
was out of Naomi’s character.
We’ll
pick up at Ruth Chapter 3. Ruth has been
working at Boaz’ property the entire harvest season which is coming to an end. However, Naomi has been thinking about a
husband for Ruth since they left Moab.
After Ruth gets home, eats dinner and gets settled Naomi says: “Dear
Heart you’re still a beautiful young woman have you thought about marriage?” Ruth says: “Mother, I’m content helping you
but if you think it’s time, I’m willing”.
Naomi replied: “Let me share the Hebrew Law of family redeemers. If two brothers are living together on the same
property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to
anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her
and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. The first
son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that
his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
Dueteronomy 25:5-6 (NLT).” Naomi continues: “Boaz is our family redeemer
and the time is right so I need you to do exactly as I say: “Take a
bath. Put on some perfume. Get all dressed up and go to the threshing floor.
But don’t let him know you’re there until the party is well under way and he’s
had plenty of food and drink. When you see him slipping off to sleep, watch
where he lies down and then go there. Lie at his feet to let him know that you
are available to him for marriage. Then wait and see what he says. He’ll tell
you what to do. Ruth 3:3-4 (The
Message). This is definitely some
“old school game” that Naomi is throwing down but Ruth didn’t give it a second
thought because she trusted Naomi without question and did exactly as she was
instructed.
Tania
not Tanya nugget: The custom in this
time period dictated that marriage was more of a business transaction for
futuristic needs, family lineage, strategic purposes, keeping the peace,
etc. It was rare for two people to meet,
fall in love and then marry. I realize
this may sound contradictory to what we discussed yesterday, but this is not
that as it involves the Mosaic Law for family redeemers. Secondly the Hebrews/Jews were bound by the
Law because they lived in that dispensation (or time period). We are not Jews/Hebrews bound by Jewish
culture and we are not bound by the Mosaic Law because Jesus is our Redeemer
and we live under the dispensation (or time period) of Grace.
Back
to the story: I know some people may
have assumed that Naomi was instructing Ruth to “give up the goods” so Boaz
would be whupped and make him her “shugga Daddy”, but that wasn’t it at
all. Even though Boaz was an older
established man, Ruth was really acting quite strictly in accord with the law
of Israel. She had a role to play in her
rescue and after a long day at work, she didn’t hesitate to get herself
together and then head to Boaz’ place.
She watched and waited just as Naomi instructed and just when Boaz
started to snore lightly she snuck over to him and lies down at his feet. At
some point he woke up, felt someone’s presence and said: “Who’s there?” Instinctively and using the
perfect tone and pitch she humbly identifies herself and then he says: The Lord bless
you, my daughter!” (Boaz exclaimed.) “You are showing even more family loyalty
now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether
rich or poor. Ruth 3:10 (NLT). What
was the significance of this act by Ruth?
This was her way of staking claim to his right to redeem her according
to the Mosaic Law.
I
realize this may seem like a stretch for many people so let’s address it. Why didn’t she just tell dude she wanted to
get at him? That would have been too
forward. Oh, so getting dressed up and
laying at his feet wasn’t? No, not in
that era. She wasn’t in his bedroom she
was at the threshing floor and while you can have sex anywhere, that wasn’t on
their minds. Yeah right? Contrary to what you may or may not believe,
there are still honorable men and women who love God enough that they will not
disrespect him by engaging in any type of sexual activity unless they are
married, regardless of the circumstances.
The opportunity was ripe for both of them to run out but they made a
choice not to and that’s what it boils down to I don’t care who it is or how
you slice it up. If you wanna hump,
you’re gonna hump. If you respect
yourself and your future spouse, YOU WON’T period end of story put an
exclamation mark at the end of the sentence and start a new paragraph. So this is what he says in his sexy Barry
White voice: “Don’t worry about a thing,
Lil’ Momma, Big Daddy’s gonna take care of everything. I am your family redeemer but there’s another cat
that’s closer than me but Imma handle my business. Stay here tonight, and in
the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, it’s all good,
if not then I swear to God I will redeem you for myself! Now lie down here
until morning.
Ruth
had the best night’s sleep ever but just before dawn they both woke up. Boaz didn’t want her reputation to be ruined and
he didn’t want her to leave empty handed so poured a bunch of grain into her
shawl and sent her on her way in the event that someone spotted her they would
assume she had been working.
Naomi
barely slept a wink, she spotted Ruth coming down the road and could barely
wait until she got in the house. They
quietly went into their room and Naomi asked for all of the details which Ruth eagerly
shared and then showed her all of the grain that Boaz gave her. Naomi smiled at Ruth, touched her beautiful
face and said: “It’s a wrap now sweetie,
all we have to do is sit and wait.” They
giggled and whispered for the rest of the morning.
I’ve
gotta go, but we’ll pick it up tomorrow.
In
His New Excellence,
Tania
Not Tanya
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