Ruth chapter three. To catch some of you up to speed, there was a famine in Israel and Naomi and her husband, Elimelech fled to Moab, which, as we talked about, was a very bad decision. They then allowed their two sons to marry Moabite women, another bad decision we talked about. Then tragedy struck. Naomi’s husband and two sons died. 

So, Naomi is left in a life threatening situation. She has no food and no family and she has to somehow provide for these two pagan daughters-in-law. She tries to convince these young women to return to Moab and start over, which one daughter-in-law does. The other daughter-in-law, Ruth, doubles down on her devotion to Naomi and Naomi’s God and they return to Bethlehem where they hear food has returned. 

In chapter two we saw God do incredible things to solve one of the two issues, food, and we finished with an inkling that He might be working on the family front as well. There is a kinsman redeemer. That is, there is someone Ruth could marry and keep her vow to Naomi and continue the family name. That kinsman redeemer is a man named Boaz, whose field she just ‘happened’ to wander into and he has shown an interest in her. 

But, the barley harvest season, which has brought them all together, is winding down and time is running out if something is going to happen on the marriage front. There is a sense of urgency here to say the least and that is where chapter two ends. I can’t help but laugh at the last line of chapter two. “And she lived with her mother-in-law.” I think many would agree that that is not necessarily the ideal situation. 

Ruth exhibits faith in this book from start to finish, but in this chapter we see what I call risky faith. Some might also say risque faith. This passage does have some of the shadiest sounding verses in all of Scripture. 

In the 21st century west we are closing the door on an era when claiming the title of Christian generally made your life better. It benefitted your business and your social standing to be seen as a Christian. I’m thankful for that season, but a result of that season is that we have come to know the most comfortable form of Christianity that has ever existed. 

So, it should come as no surprise that the idea of a faith that causes us to risk our comfort and even safety is a bit foreign to our culture. This is public now, but my friend Damein Schitter who is the Senior Pastor of New City Presbyterian Church heard clearly this year from God, like in a vision, that his time in that role is done. I love it when Presbyterians have visions. He doesn’t know what’s next, but he knows this is the next step of faithfulness for him. I was talking to him this week about it and I couldn't help but think, this is what risky faith looks like. Stepping out in faith not knowing how God is going to provide, but believing that He will provide. 

And that is what we see in Ruth. A faith that causes her to take massive risks while believing that God will take care of her and provide. So we are going to walk through this passage and see 1) the risky setting, 2) the risky pursuit, and 3) risk’s reward. 

1. The risky setting

The chapter begins with Naomi talking to Ruth about Boaz. She tells Ruth that Boaz is winnowing, which is how you separate the barley seeds that have been harvested from the chaff that encapsulates them, and that Ruth should go down discretely to the threshing floor, wait until Boaz has finished eating and drinking and wherever he lies down to sleep, uncover his feet, lie down, and he will tell you what to do. 

I told you that we will be looking at some of the shadiest sounding verses in all of Scripture. And if you think this sounds a bit shady to us, everything I read about the Hebrew speaking original audience leads me to believe that it would have sounded even more scandalous to them. There is no question that lying down, uncovering his feet, and telling him to call the shots from there would have raised every eyebrow. This passage is full of words that are used sexually in other parts of the Bible. 

Young ladies, this is not how you pursue a man. And if this is all the information we had, we would have big problems! But this isn’t all the info we have. I’m going to explain what I think is happening when we get there, but I do think our eyebrows are supposed to go up, so I’m going to let them stay up for a minute. But why not just talk to Boaz in a field? Why not send a messenger of some kind? I don’t know. Maybe that wouldn’t have been appropriate. Maybe this was the only way they knew to get him alone. 

Before we move on though we need to see a few things about how the author is setting this risky stage. There are some things that can easily be missed in our culture. First, as I said, the barley and wheat season is winding down. Boaz has shown significant interest in Ruth, but he hasn’t pursued her as a wife. There is an age gap so it seems likely that Boaz just didn’t think a younger woman would be interested in an older man. So, there is this sense of urgency and Naomi is calling Ruth to action. 

Second, We need to understand that Naomi is telling her that it is officially time to move on from her son. In verse three she is told to wash and anoint herself. This is how you made it clear that your formal time of mourning is over. It doesn’t mean that she isn’t still sad over what has happened, but she’s going to move forward with her life. This is exactly what King David did after having appropriately mounted the loss of his son with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. 

Third, this would have not been a safe venture and was by no means a normal course of action. A single woman out on her own in the dark. I love how Naomi says in verse four to observe the place where he lies. She’s saying, ‘‘Make sure you don’t pick the wrong man!!’’ Not only was this place dark, but men had been drinking and she was especially at risk to be assaulted. There was a huge risk that her very presence there would have been seen as promiscuous and derailed any hopes for marriage to a godly man. There was a risk that Boaz would have misinterpreted her intentions and been highly offended!

Then, lastly, even the timing feels risky. Naomi says to wait until he has eaten, drunk, and rested. Some people think that Naomi wants him to be drunk. I don’t think that is what is happening. Naomi has been married before and knows that after a long day of work, a man can just be more reasonable once he has been fed and napped. They don’t want a hangry Boaz. Those are the instructions and Ruth replies, “All that you say, I will do.” 

Are you nervous for her right now? You should be! This is SO risky! Naomi and Ruth are taking a calculated risk. Let’s see how it goes. 

1. The risky pursuit

This takes us to verse six. Ruth went down to the threshing floor, she waited for Boaz to eat, drink, and lie down. Then she came and uncovered his feet. At midnight, Boaz woke up, saw her, and asked, "Who are you?” Ruth then answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 

Again, not your typical Hebrew love story! An older Israelite man, a younger Moabite woman who would put most of us to shame in a barley hauling contest. And this whole thing on the floor! So, what is going on? It absolutely has sexual overtones, but I don’t think what is happening is actually sexual. It just doesn’t fit the context. Throughout the whole book of Ruth (and the whole Bible for that matter) both Ruth and Boaz are held up as models of faith and character. Probably, the lifting of the sheet is just a way of ensuring that his feet would get cold and he would wake up. 

I think we can say it’s a bit creepy. She’s watching him at night while he wasn’t aware. You’d go to jail for that today. But her intentions are so good. Here’s the picture I have in my head. When one of my boys was very young, he would get out of bed at night, walk over to our bed, and just stare at us. I’d open my eyes and there were his eyes staring right at me. It was creepy, but it wasn’t malicious in any way. It was actually sweet because he just loved his parents. 

In addition to that, the author adds a VERY important detail. When Boaz says, “Who are you?” Her answer is something we are reading for the first time. She asks him to spread his wings over her. This is when it becomes clear that she’s asking for marriage. Some of your translations say spread your cloak over me. She wants to find a kind of refuge and security in him that you only find in marriage. But there’s more!

The author is using the same word ‘wings’ here as he did back in chapter two when Boaz says, The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” - Ruth 2:12 This is no coincidence. Ruth is saying, “Do you remember what you prayed for, Boaz? I want you to be the way the Lord answers that prayer. 

This may be a bit tangential, but I think it’s relevant. Ruth’s risky faith drove her to do something very unorthodox with a man. Do we take this to mean single women in the church need to man up and start pursuing single men? I wouldn’t interpret this that way exactly. A woman shouldn’t have to risk the way Ruth is. But, there are times a man doesn’t step up. Single women, maybe you have been hanging around a guy for a while and he’s giving you all the clear signs of being interested, but he’s not flat out pursuing you. Maybe he didn’t have a dad to explain these things. Maybe he’s shy. Maybe he’s just clueless. That happens a lot with men and I think young men today for a variety of sociological reasons are less inclined to be clear in their pursuit of a woman. I think there are less than ideal times when it is good and right for a woman to say, “I have really enjoyed being around you, but it’s time you are clear about your hopes for us. Continuing in this kind of friendship is not a healthy place for me.” 

Ruth has waited, she’s running out of time, and her option seems really clear. So she steps out in faith to pursue what she believes God has for her. There is a fine line between risky faith and faithlessness. Risky faith steps out in belief that God will do something. Faithlessness steps out because of a lack of faith that God will act. Faithlessness is taking things into your own hands because you don’t believe God will give it to you otherwise. 

Think back to the story of Lot and his daughters. Lot’s two daughters are worried that they have no prospects for marriage, that the family line will end, and they take matters into their own hands devising a plan that involves alcohol to make Lot the father of their children. Can you see it? Two stories, both involving two women scheming to preserve the family line, both Lot and Boaz drink wine and in both cases a woman walks away with a seed. Ruth, as we will see, walks away with barley and Lot’s older daughter walks away with a son named Moab…the father of Ruth’s people!

The author wants us to see this! The original readers would have seen Ruth as a shining light coming out of a sad background. The two stories are a perfect contrast. A photo negative (if you are my age or older, you know what that is). Lot’s daughters took matters into their own hands because of a lack of faith, but Ruth is taking initiative because of an abundance of faith. Not only that, but God is using Ruth’s risky faith to bring redemption to a sin that has spanned generations.

Not only that, but do you remember who Boaz’s mom was? Rahab. Rahab the Canaanite prostitute who risked everything to hide the Israelite spies sent into her town by Joshua before they came and conquered. So you have this merging of the morally questionable pagan canaanite line through Boaza and the pagan moabite line through Ruth displaying God’s plan for his love and grace to go to all nations bringing us into one family of faith. 

This risky pursuit shows us so much about the faith we are called into. If you are a Christian, God is going to call you to do things that feel risky. He’s going to call you out of habits that feel comfortable, He’s going to call you to honor Him when the rest of your peers are not, He’s going to call you to give money away in risky proportions, and He’s going to call you to open your hearts to people that feel incredibly risky because you don’t know how they will respond. And He does this show us His faithfulness to us and to display His love and grace to everyone around us. 

The tension in this story is at its apex and now we get to see how Boaz responds. 

1. Risk’s Reward

After Boaz woke up and realized what was happening, he said to Ruth, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. - Ruth 3:10-11

Ok!! We can breathe a bit easier! Not only is he willing, he seems honored. It does seem like he wasn’t pursuing Ruth because he just didn't expect her to be interested. He thought she would prefer a younger man. And we can’t miss the reason Boaz is interested. He calls her a worthy woman. So, if there was any hint of impropriety still hanging around, it’s gone now. There are no stains on Ruth’s character. No hint that she had done anything wrong in taking this calculated risk in the middle of the night on the threshing room floor. 

And the original audience would have seen this even more clearly than we. If you’ve been here the past few weeks, you know that we have made a lot of connections between the book of Ruth and Proverbs. Proverbs was right before Ruth in the original Hebrew order of the books. So the last thing the early readers of Hebrews would have read in Proverbs 31 was a wife of noble character. And that is the exact Hebrew word Boaz is using here! Hopefully, four weeks ago I made it clear that Proverbs 31 is not talking about a literal wife, but wisdom personified. Wisdom displayed in the most beautiful and attractive way Solomon could think of: the perfect wife. Ruth is a picture of Lady Wisdom. 

And last week we saw that when Ruth asked, “why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner?”, that word for foreigner is the same word used all over Proverbs for the adulterous woman. The one who leads men astray (as the Moabite women were commonly accused). That’s how Ruth saw herself. But now, it’s all coming together and that is why the same words are being used. Ruth is not the foreign woman of Proverbs 5, she is the woman of valor of Proverbs 31. 

Could this story be going any better? But just when we think all is going well, Boaz tells us that there is another redeemer higher up in line than he is. Boaz, being a worthy man, doesn’t bypass proper protocol and says that this other man needs to have the first right of refusal, but if he doesn’t marry Ruth, Boaz will. The Hallmark vibes are very strong at this point. So, Ruth gets up, per Boaz’s instructions, early in the morning and snuck out before anyone could recognize her. Boaz gave her another big bag of barley and we know ole Ruth can carry it. 

So, she goes back to Naomi and we can’t forget that Naomi probably hasn’t slept all night. Ruth can’t text her updates. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” - Ruth 3:16-18

There is so much in this paragraph that is masterfully woven together. The first thing Naomi asks is literally, “Who are you, my daughter?” Is this not the question of the whole book? Is she a Moabite or an Israelite? Is she a widow or a wife? Now, we know that she is an Israelite and that she will be a wife, but she has to wait 24 hours to see who her husband will be. 

But now Ruth adds something hugely important to her retelling of the interaction with Boaz. Something we see for the first time in verse 17: ...for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ - Ruth 3:17 This is literally “Don’t leave your mother in law ‘empty handed.’” Do you remember at the end of chapter one what the depressed and dejected Naomi said upon her return to Bethlehem? I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” - Ruth 1:21

The barley Ruth is bringing Naomi is more than food, it’s a promise. God has not left her empty. In fact, we can see how God was working to bring about good for Naomi even as those bitter words were coming out of her mouth. If you are in a season where you feel like nothing is working out, remember this story! Sometimes it is when we feel the most empty that God is working the most good. A faith that takes risks is not a blind faith, but one that is founded on the belief that God works all things for our good and His glory and that He is faithful to that promise. 

Believing God is for you and will take care of you will drive you to take more calculated risks in your faith. Imagine standing in front of a dark hole and being told to jump. If you know there is a net down there, you’re ok jumping. If you don’t, you likely won’t jump. 

So, how does this connect to Christmas? Think about the biggest risk you have had to make because of your faith in Jesus. Did it require you to leave heaven and come to earth? To give up more glory and power than anyone of us could ever imagine to take on the most fragile possible existence as a baby born to a mother who everyone thought was unfaithful to the man she was betrothed to marry? The Christmas story is a story of God showing us that whatever we are asked to do for Him and His Kingdom  that might feel risky, He’s done more. 

In this chapter, we again see this word ‘Hesed.’ It’s been in all three chapters. We don’t have a perfect English equivalent, but I’ve heard it said that it’s like, kindness, grace, love, loyalty, faithfulness, mercy, and compassion all wrapped up together to communicate the strongest sense of commitment. Jesus feels this way toward us which is why he not only came into this world, but took on the risk of God’s wrath on the cross that we deserve so that His hesed toward us could be secured and experienced through His Holy Spirit inside of us. 

Now, we are no longer foreigners, but worthy ones. Worthy because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. Worthy because He has set His love on us. That is the Christmas story and that is what the story of Ruth is pointing to.