Monday, September 20, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part III - A Strange Proposal, Part 5 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 3:1-6).
IDEA: We have to trust God just as Naomi and Ruth did.
PURPOSE: To help listeners see the faith of these two women in action.
Ruth 3:1-6 is a very short passage, but it has produced long discussions in scholarly Bible commentaries. Why do you imagine that is the case?
I. The delicacy of the scheme is unnerving and the potential for disaster is great.
What is Naomi trying to accomplish for Ruth? She wants Boaz to marry Ruth.
Naomi is taking a huge gamble. Boaz may not interpret the nonverbal gestures the way she intends them to be taken. The nonverbal communication can be taken in several ways:
Boaz might awaken and in his grogginess interpret Ruth's actions as that of a common prostitute and take advantage of her. (This story occurred in the morally dark days of the Judges.)
Boaz might wake up and interpret her actions as those of a prostitute and send her away as a woman with whom he will have nothing to do.
Boaz may wake up and recognize the true meaning of Ruth's actions and respond favorably to her.
The success of Naomi's gamble depends entirely on how Boaz interprets what Ruth has done.
Either of the first two responses above would have defeated Naomi's purpose.
From a human perspective the desired third response was the least likely to occur:
What are the chances that Boaz will wake up and in his groggy state notice that this woman is covered with a thick outer garment rather than the seductive garments of a prostitute?
What are the chances that he will overlook the irregularities of the situation (a woman proposing marriage to a man; a younger person proposing marriage to an older person; a field worker proposing marriage to a field owner; an alien from Moab proposing to an Israelite)?
II. Ruth's faith and Naomi's faith in both God and in Boaz is tested.
Our faith is tested as readers, whether or not we believe this gamble will work out.
