Thursday, October 7, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part III - A Strange Proposal, Part 18 of 31
TEXT: "Then Naomi, her mother-in-law said to her, 'My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our kinsman? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.' And she said to her, 'All that you say to me I will do.' So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, 'Who are you?' She answered, 'I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a near kinsman' " (Ruth 3:1-9).
IDEA: Knowing the history and the customs of the biblical world helps us make sense of what we might not easily understand.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that though the people of the Bible may be very much like us, they are also different from us.
How important is it to understand the culture of people in other countries?
How important is it to understand the people living at another place in history?
Aren’t people very much the same wherever you go?
"The past is a strange place, and they do strange things there."
Is there a danger in thinking that people are pretty much the same everywhere throughout history?
I. Why is it important to know the customs and history of people we meet in the Bible?
In Ruth 3:7-9, Ruth, in what seems to us a compromising situation, makes a request of Boaz: "spread the corner of your garment over your maidservant" (NIV) or "Take your maidservant under your wing" (NKJV).
If you were guessing, what might her request mean?
They are in a sexually charged situation. Do you wonder if Ruth’s actions are an invitation to a sexual encounter?
It was probably a proposal of marriage.
It’s reflected in the Bible in Ezekiel 16:18.
Boaz’s response reflects that.
Commentators say it reflects a marriage custom still attested to among the Arabs in which a man symbolically took a wife by throwing a garment-cover over her. It probably reflected his protection of her.
In marriage a man’s garments "covered" his wife’s nakedness, while adultery "uncovered" it.
II. The custom also reflected that Ruth’s proposal to Boaz had a theological significance.
In Ruth 2:12 Boaz had prayed for Ruth that she would be richly rewarded by God under whose "wings" she had come to take refuge. This is the identical word with "garment cover."
The marriage was the means by which God protected Ruth and "paid her in full" for her past kindnesses to Naomi.
How did God do this? Not by direct intervention but with righteous human acts.
