She is noted for two special things in her life:
• She became the grandmother of King David
• Her greatest honor is that the birth of Christ can be traced back to her
The Book of Ruth is considered to be a wonderful book for many reasons, such as:
(1) IT HAS ROMANCE
Some consider it one of the most romantic stories you can read.
The Book of Ruth isn’t only noted for the ROMANCE, but also-
(2) IT HAS LITERARY VALUE
It is well written, and scholars around the world praise it as a literary masterpiece.
Illus: It was one of the favorite books of the Bible for Benjamin Franklin, when he was United States Ambassador to France.
During that time, he would occasionally attend the “Infidels Club” - which was a group of intellectuals who spent most of their time searching for, and reading literary masterpieces.
On one occasion, when it was Benjamin Franklin’s turn to read, he chose to read the book of Ruth to the club. He changed the names in it so it would not be recognized as a book of the Bible.
When he finished the reading, they said it was one of the most beautiful short stories that they had ever heard. They requested that he tell them where he came across such a remarkable literary masterpiece.
Being a Christian, it was his great delight to tell them that it was from the Bible.
Let’s look at how Ruth came to know and to marry Boaz. Let’s look at-
I. THE TRAP
Now some might resent me calling what Ruth and Naomi did as a TRAP, but that is exactly what it was.
Men often give the impression that they are the aggressive ones in getting their wives to the marriage altar.
That might be the case in some marriages, but most of the time the man is ROPED AND TIED before he realizes what happened to him.
She got his attention in chapters 1 and 2, but Naomi and Ruth set a TRAP for Boaz to get more than his attention.
But before we get too far into this trap, let look at -
II. THE TRAGEDY
Yes, there is indeed a tragedy in this story!
The reason that Ruth became the grandmother of David, and her life can be traced back to the birth of Christ, is because she came to Bethlehem with Naomi.
Look at Ruth 1:22, “So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: AND THEY CAME TO BETHLEHEM IN THE BEGINNING OF BARLEY HARVEST.”
But remember, while Naomi lived in Moab in her backslidden condition, she did everything she could to discourage her two daughter-in-laws from coming to Bethlehem with her. But Ruth was determined to come.
Look at what she said in Ruth 1:16, “And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”
But remember, Naomi had two daughter-in-laws, Ruth and Orpah. They both left Moab to come with Naomi to live in Bethlehem.
However, probably one of the reasons that Orpah turned back to Moab was because of Naomi’s backslidden condition. She did not do one thing to encourage her to come to Bethlehem, but did everything she could to discourage her from coming to know the God of Israel.
There is a good chance that Orpah died and went to a devil’s hell because of Naomi’s backslidden condition.
It is going to be sad on the Judgment Day, when backsliders stand before the Lord and give account of all the blood that is going to be on their hands for the many souls they sent to hell.
Orpah returned to sinful Moab, but Ruth refused to go back to that place. But when they reached Bethlehem looked what happened.
Ruth evidently was a TIMID young lady. Look at-
III. THE TIMIDITY
When they reached Bethlehem, Naomi felt an obligation to help Ruth do two things:
• Find a JOB
• Find a HUSBAND
Had Ruth been a strong and independent person, Naomi probably would have never gotten into her personal life.
Naomi felt she needed to give Ruth some good motherly advice.
Look at Ruth 3:1-5, we read, “Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth (Wind-o-with) barley to night in the threshingfloor. Wash thy self therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.”
Naomi gave Ruth some good advice about finding a JOB and a HUSBAND.
In fact, a woman today who is seeking a HUSBAND or a JOB, would be wise indeed to follow this advice. She told her to:
• Take a bath
• Put on some of that good smelling perfume
• Put on a nice dress
• Comb her hair
And then go for it!
WHO WAS SHE TO GO FOR?
IV. THE TARGET
Boaz was the TARGET!
WHY WAS HE THE TARGET? He was the TARGET because he fell into the category of being nearest of kin.
To protect WOMEN and LAND RIGHTS, God put two PROVISIONS in the Mosaic law.
For example, if a man died childless, his wife was to follow the instructions of Deut. 25:5-8.
We read, “If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her.”
But notice, if he refused to fulfill his responsibility, she could take him to court.
V. THE TRIAL
WHY COULD SHE TAKE HIM TO COURT?
Because he:
• DISGRACED HER (his brother’s wife)
• DISGRACED HIS BROTHER by not being willing to do what was required of him
The penalty was this; (humor) some of you vindictive ladies will like this.
Look at Deut. 25:9-10, “Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, AND SPIT IN HIS FACE, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.”
If the brother is not willing to fulfill his responsibility, then she was to go to the nearest of kin and ask him to marry her, “…and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.”
Notice, it is the duty of Ruth to go to him and ask him if he would marry her.
And the same thing applies today if you are lost; it is your responsibility to come to Christ.
You see, people are not going to a Christless eternity because they are DRUNKS, LIARS, ADULTERERS, THIEVES AND FORNICATORS. They are going to a Christless eternity because they will not come to Christ that they may have life.
It was the obligation of Ruth to go to Boaz and ask him to marry her.
Evidently Ruth was a TIMID young lady, somewhat reluctant to make the move and go to Boaz. So Naomi encouraged her to make her rightful claim to him as the nearest kinsman.
They arrived in Bethlehem at the closing of the barley season.
It was customary for men like Boaz to sleep on the THRESHING FLOOR, to keep robbers from coming in to steal the crops after they had been threshed.
Generally the threshing barn was on the top of the mountains. It was there for a reason. On the top of the mountains they generally had a good breeze. When the farmer would throw the wheat up into the air, the wind would blow the covering that surrounded the wheat away, and only the wheat would remain.
Evidently Boaz had finished his crop, and he was sleeping on the threshing floor so that no one could come and steal the crop that had been harvested and threshed.
Ruth’s mother-in-law (Naomi) decided she should encourage the situation by giving some good motherly advice.
Possibly after a hard day’s work, Boaz felt tired, and by the time she got there he was asleep.
Perhaps being timid, she did not want to wake him, so all she knew to do was lay at his feet until he woke up from “Snoozeland”.
But notice this, WHEN SHE CAME TO BOAZ SHE IS THE PICTURE OF A SINNER COMING TO CHRIST.
She did the same thing that all sinners must do who come to Christ.
• She washed herself. We have to be washed in the blood.
• She got rid of the old clothes she was wearing and put on some clean ones. We do not accept the Lord and go back to our old sinful lifestyle.
• She had to go to Boaz and tell him she wanted to be his loving bride. Christ tells us to come to Him.
This was THE PLAN that these two women schemed up, and it worked beautifully!
Look at Ruth 3:6-11, we read, “And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.”
This hard working man had worked all day not realizing THE PLAN these two women had in mind for him.
Ruth came and laid at his feet, and sometime during the night his foot must have touched her body and it woke him up. And I have a feeling she had something to do with waking him up.
Illus: Her waking him reminds me of Dr. Alvin Fleming, who is a retired minister of the gospel now, but who was known to do some unusual things in his ministry. Dr. Odell Belger was with him one day, and he asked him what the most absurd thing he had ever done was. He thought for a few seconds and said, “I guess the most absurd thing I ever did was when a woman who came to my church complained because every Sunday her husband would lay in bed and would not come with her.” He could tell she was upset, and he said, “He will be in church next Sunday!” That Sunday came, and her doorbell rang and she opened it and Dr. Fleming was standing there with a grin on his face. He said, “Where is he?” She pointed down a hallway and said, “He is in that last room on the right, asleep.” He walked softly down the hall and went into the room where the man was asleep. The man was snoring so loudly, you could hear him in the next area code. Dr. Fleming took his shoes off, pulled the covers back and got in bed beside the man. When the man let out a big “Snore,” he took his elbow and jabbed it into the man’s side. The man thought it was his wife, and he rolled over to give her a stern look, and he saw Dr. Fleming laying there looking him in the face. Needless to say he was shocked, and Dr. Fleming said, “Are we going to lay in bed all day or are we going to church today?” He said, “I guess we are going to church.” He got up and got his clothes on and came to church.
Now Boaz must have also been almost that shocked! He said, “Who art thou?”
She responded, “And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.”
She explained her predicament; that her husband died and left her without child. And according to the law of Israel she was to go to his brother and become with child by him, so that she could bear her husband a child, but he is dead also. And now when “Plan B” fell through, she was to go to the nearest kinsman and ask if he would be willing to marry her and to fulfill this responsibility.
Look at Boaz’s response in Ruth 3:10-11, we read, “And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.”
Even though Boaz could have taken advantage of her, he did not. He knew she was not a woman of “ill repute.” Look at verse 11, he said, “…For all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.”
Notice, she had the reputation of being a virtuous woman. Most men will respect a virtuous woman.
If you young girls want fellows to treat you like a lady, you are going to have to learn to be a lady.
• They can tell you are a lady by the way you dress.
• They can tell you are a lady by the way you talk
• They can tell you are a lady by the expression on your face when they curse in your presence. They see if you are going to stand there and listen to more, or if you will walk away
• They can tell you are a lady because you won’t let them put their hands on you
Boaz knew that Ruth was a lady, and he treated her like a lady. Boaz showed respect for her. He could have easily taken advantage of her.
But notice he said, “Lie down until the morning”. She knew he was an honorable man, and she knew exactly where he meant for her to lay.
Look at Verse 14, “And she LAY AT HIS FEET until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another.”
But there was a problem, let’s look at-
VI. THE TROUBLE
Boaz knew of a problem that Naomi and Ruth did not know about. He was not the nearest of kin.
Look at Ruth 3:12-14, we read, “And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.”
But notice the effort of Boaz to try and solve that problem. The next day, Boaz went to this nearest of kin and explained the situation. It was this man’s duty to marry Ruth, and give her a child to carry on the name of her dead husband.
But also once he married her, and gave her a child, that child would be a legal heir to his wealth. He thought about that and said, “Thanks but no thanks Boaz, I am going to past that responsibility on to you.”
The rest of the story of how Boaz took Ruth unto himself can be found in Ruth 4:1-22
But look especially at verse 13, we read, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife….”
Conclusion:
This indeed is a beautiful story. It has many lessons in it, but there are two that stand out best.
• If you are backslider like Naomi, remember, God took her back
• If you are a sinner like Ruth, and have lived in sin all your life, God welcomes you also
I. THE TRAP
II. THE TRAGEDY
III. THE TIMIDITY
IV. THE TARGET
V. THE TRIAL
