1. Match-making! (vv.1-5)
At the close of ch.2 we saw the rekindling of Naomi's faith as she saw the LORD's kindness in Boaz's dealings with Ruth. In ch.3, we see that her faith in God is active and purposeful. But whereas before, it was Ruth who took the initiative, suggesting that she go and glean in the fields, here it is Naomi who takes the initiative and suggests to Ruth what she should do. Faith acts, faith works (James 2:14ff; Eph. 2:8-10). And that is what Naomi does here.
The way she acts is to match-make! In those days, marriages were arranged between families, as they are in some cultures today. Naomi is going to do all she can to help bring Ruth and Boaz together, primarily for Ruth's sake but she will also share in the blessing.
Now, we may feel that to take the initiative is being too pushy in terms of God's will and that of course is a possibility. We must always be ready to be governed by his word and to accept his overruling.
But, for many of us, our greater danger is to fail to act at all. We are often paralysed by fear that we are going outside God's will. And in that paralysis we fail to do what we should do. The Lord has provided the structure for our living in this world, he has given us infallible and sufficient direction in his word and he calls us to do good, to put our faith to work. And to leave the overruling to him.
Naomi had gone through a long dark night and now, in the sunshine of faith in the covenant Lord, she was beginning to act in faith. Is our faith adventurous? Are we ready to do good?
In terms of her initiative, notice the role she plays in answering her own prayers. Back in 1:9, she prayed for Ruth and Orpah, that they would find rest in the home of another husband. Here she speaks with Ruth about how she might help that to be so.
To pray for others is very necessary. But sometimes, perhaps even often, we need to be ready to be part of the Lord's answer to our prayers. If we pray for others to be saved, we must be ready to share the gospel with them. If we pray that someone may be comforted or encouraged, we must be ready and willing to be the channels for such blessing.
2. The Match Almost Made (vv.6-15)
How does Ruth react to Naomi's plan? She goes along with it. There are many who would not have but we've come to expect worthy behaviour from Ruth and she doesn't disappoint us. She gets dressed up (nb: in a way that has marriage overtones) and she sets off for the threshing-floor.
After all the celebrations, and when all are asleep, Ruth lays down at Boaz's feet and when he wakes and is shocked to see her, she asks him to spread the corner of his garment over her.
Now, to our 21st century western eyes, this is all pretty strange, even in a leap year! What is happening is that Ruth is asking Boaz to marry her, to do the part of the kinsman-redeemer (the near relative with responsibility for the wider family).
Again, there are some very important points for us to make here:
Ruth's request is couched in terms that we meet elsewhere in the OT. In Ezekiel 16:8, the same terms are used to describe the Lord's dealings with Israel, how he saw her and showed love to her.
What Ruth is asking Boaz to do is entirely in line with what the Lord has already done for his people. And that is a settled biblical principle for how we are to act towards each other. For example, look at Eph. 5:1,2,25 & Col 3:13.
That is what Ruth is looking for from Boaz. What will his response be?
His response is to commend Ruth, to agree to what she says and then to highlight the one problem that stands in his way. Let's look at those.
i) He commends Ruth - In v.10, he asks God to bless Ruth. The reason? "This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier". What does he mean? At first glance, it looks like he's thinking of himself: she has chosen him and not any of the young men she could have chosen. But I think what Boaz has in mind here is Ruth's kindness to Naomi, which is why he speaks of her previous kindness (cf. 2:11).
He knows the score - Ruth is a young eligible woman and there are plenty of young men in Bethlehem who would no doubt be interested in her. But she has chosen, for Naomi's sake, to approach Boaz. What genuine faith there is in her heart - and what a blessed man he is to have the prospect of such a wife!
She puts Naomi before herself; he is impressed by such selfless behaviour. What would we do - insist on our right to have the hunkiest guy? And what sort of person would interest us - good looking or good living?
ii) He agrees to do as she asks - but there is a problem to solve first. There is a relative who is nearer than Boaz and he must have first refusal.
That information does 2 things in the story: it creates tension in terms of what will happen next, and it shows quite categorically that anything Boaz does is out of a heart full of generosity and grace.
He is under no compulsion to act, except the compulsion of love for God and love for others. In displaying such warm and open generosity, Boaz points us to the Lord Jesus who came to this world to be our Saviour, not because he was forced into it but because he loved us. There was no compulsion upon God to plan to rescue us except the compulsion of his own nature of love and grace.
What a great God to worship and serve - and a real example to follow. To love - not because we're forced to do so or because we think it's expected of us but simply because we want to. There will be many opportunities to do that in this new week. Are we looking for them?
This tender scene between Boaz and Ruth ends with Boaz concerned to avoid even the appearance of evil (v.14) and also to send Ruth back home with a tangible expression of his gracious intentions towards her and Naomi.
3. An Emptiness Filled (vv.16-18)
So Ruth goes back to Naomi with her bundle of barley, able to report that all has gone well. And as she tells Naomi what Boaz said, there is another beautiful indication that the darkness is lifting for Naomi. Back in 1:21, she told the folk in Bethlehem that she though she had gone away full, she had come back empty. Boaz has sent Ruth back, laden with barley, because he doesn't want her to go back to Naomi 'empty'.
God is at work, in and through his people. It is a beautiful story. And as we trust him and live for him, it can be the story of our lives too.
