Wednesday, September 15, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part III - A Strange Proposal, Part 2 of 31
TEXT: "One day Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to Ruth, 'My daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.' 'I will do whatever you say,' Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do" (Ruth 3:1-5).
IDEA: If God works and we work together with Him, does "anything" we do mean that God must be in it?
PURPOSE: To help listeners realize that God sometimes uses "risky" ventures to carry out His will.
Do you think it is always right to risk to do something wrong in order to do something right?
Do you think it is ever right to do something wrong in order to do something right?
I. Naomi felt that she had a responsibility to provide a husband for Ruth.
Naomi asks two questions that express her responsibility to be a matchmaker.
Naomi asks, "Should I not see you settled in life?" Why this concern?
Naomi realized the precarious life she and Ruth shared and she wanted something more stable for Ruth.
What do you think the life of an unprotected widow in the ancient world would be like?
Naomi also asked, "Isn't Boaz a kinsman of ours?" She had found the right man for Ruth to marry.
Boaz isn't an unknown quantity to Ruth. She has been working with his servant girls and she has received special favors from him.
Why do you think Naomi wanted to find a husband for Ruth?
II. Naomi comes up with a daring plan that puts Ruth's reputation at risk (Ruth 3:3-5).
She instructs Ruth to "wash and perfume yourself and dress in your best clothes."
What do you think was involved in the need to look and smell her most alluring? In Ezekiel 16:9-12 the prophet describes God's goodness to Jerusalem who then acts as an adulterous wife: "I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you. I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, and I put a ring on your nose and earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head."
Ruth was to go down secretly to the threshing floor. This was a completely counter-cultural act. Women were traditionally not present at the evening revelries of the threshers (see Ruth 3:1).
Ruth was to "lie down" (a sexually charged word in Hebrew) and to "uncover his feet" (which was possibly a euphemism for the genitalia).
These instructions made up a series of very risky actions that could lead toward a marriage proposal to Boaz.
III. Is Naomi being manipulative to get what she wants for Ruth?
Do you think that she depends on the noble character of Ruth and Boaz to do the right thing in a compromising situation? Do you think she should have done this?
Do you think that Ruth's response to Naomi was naive?
