Ruth at the Threshing Floor (Ruth): Character matters. In this broken world, will you find yourself in a compromising situation from time to time? Absolutely. What will you do? Will you compromise yourself and follow the ways of the world? Or will you trust in the Lord and honor him with your life and the commitment of your character? Recorded on Aug 18, 2024, on Ruth 3:1-18 by Pastor David Parks.
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This sermon is part of the series Ruth: The Love of a Redeemer. In the Bible, the book of Ruth tells the story of a family that experienced a series of bitter tragedies. But through loyalty, integrity, and faithful love (hesed), they find unexpected redemption, restoration, and hope. Our God is a redeemer.
Sermon Transcript
So, all month, we’re working through a series on the OT book of Ruth called The Love of a Redeemer. As we’ve seen so far, Ruth is all about facing the bitter tragedies of life by leaning on the hesed, or the steadfast loving-kindness of God, but also on the men and women in our lives who have the character and integrity to reflect this kind of redeeming love to us. As Justun said last week, the Bible, from cover to cover, is a redemption story. And sometimes, the people of the Bible reflect the redemptive love that God ultimately gave us through Jesus. Of course, very often, the people of the Bible (and perhaps other people in our lives today) do not reflect God’s love or godly character. But Ruth provides several good models for us to learn from. In Act 1, we saw Ruth, a foreign (Moabite) woman, model this hesed-style love to her mother-in-law, Naomi, after their husbands died. We saw this in Ruth’s incredible declaration of loyalty and commitment to Naomi and then in her willingness to leave her people and her gods and return to Bethlehem with Naomi to love and care for her. Last week, in Act 2, we saw Boaz model this hesed-style love for Ruth and Naomi. Boaz protected Ruth as she worked in his field and generously provided food for them. Today, in Act 3 of our play, we’ll see if this loyalty and kindness, this protection and provision, might become something more for Boaz and Ruth. But the lead characters of our play find themselves in a seemingly sketchy situation that is a real test of their integrity. How would they respond? Will they compromise themselves, following the ways of the world? Or will they trust in the Lord and honor him with their lives and the commitment of their character? If you have your Bible/app, please open it to Ruth 3:1. Act 3, scene 1.
Ruth 3:1–6 (NIV), “1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in 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. 4 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.” 5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.” So, we’re not sure exactly how much time has passed here since Ruth and Naomi arrived from Moab. Chapter 1 ends with a transitional note from our narrator that they arrived in Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was starting. Then, Ruth providentially gleaned in the fields of Boaz during the harvest. Historically, the barley harvest would start in mid-May and would continue with the wheat harvest through the end of June. Now, here, perhaps sometime in July, the harvest was done, and the operation turned to winnow the grain on the threshing floor to separate the grain from the chaff. Bethlehem, which, as we said, meant “house of bread,” was filling back up. Now, harvest time was really hard work. As Justun pointed out last week, Ruth was no Disney princess, waiting for her prince charming to do all the heavy lifting for her. The men and women working in Boaz’s fields likely worked for ten hours a day. Winnowing at the threshing floor would mark the end of all this hard work, which would likely be cause enough for a celebration. But remember, there had been a great famine in the land and now here they are at the end of a very successful harvest season. No doubt, they would’ve been so thankful, so joyful that the famine was over that they would’ve been ready to party. Even though they haven’t been in Bethlehem very long, Naomi wisely sees this as an opportunity for Ruth. As we said in Act 1, marriage and family relationships at this time were more than just personal preference. A husband meant security. And kids meant hope for the future. Now, ultimate security and hope for the future should only come from God, but still, marriage and family were the normal means that God provided these things. Even if Naomi is still bitter over her losses, she isn’t so controlled by this that she doesn’t want Ruth to be able to remarry. Naomi wants Ruth to be well provided for, and she has someone in mind. Boaz was older than Ruth, but he was available, he was a distant relative, and he was wealthy enough to have fields and servants and such. But most importantly, Boaz has shown the strength of his character in how he protected Ruth as she gleaned from his fields and specifically provided for her and Naomi. So Naomi comes up with a plan: get cleaned up and dressed up (look good, smell good) and go down to the threshing floor after dinner. By the way, this might signify that Ruth had still been wearing the clothes of mourning after her husband died. This might explain why Boaz hadn’t made any moves already. He was giving her space to mourn, even though he had obviously noticed her and was willing to go above and beyond what the law of Moses required of him to let a poor widow glean from the edges of his fields. But then…there’s this unusual detail of Naomi’s plan to have Ruth seemingly sneak down after Boaz had his fill of food and drink and to uncover his feet and lie down next to him in the dark and wait for him to tell you what to do. Now. As a dad, this seems pretty sketchy to me. Just what is Naomi telling Ruth she should do? Obviously, this is a totally different culture. And we have totally different practices for dating and marriage. But still, people are people. And men and women meeting up in the dark sounds like a fast way to have an unplanned pregnancy. Now, maybe this sort of thing was normal for them, and Ruth would be initiating something that Boaz would understand immediately. But either way, Ruth agreed to Naomi’s plan and went down to the threshing floor.
Ruth 3:7-9 (NIV), “7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” Can I just pause here for a moment? This really is the moment of truth. He’d been working hard, and it was a celebration time. He was feeling good but was tired and went to bed where there might be a little more privacy, at the far end of the grain pile. Maybe the celebration continued for others. But Boaz must’ve fallen asleep immediately because he didn’t notice when Ruth came up quietly and uncovered his feet from under his cloak. But then, in the middle of the night, Boaz was startled awake and realized there was a woman lying at his feet! When he asked who she was, Ruth respectfully answered that she was his servant, but then she boldly asked Boaz to spread the corner of your garment over her since he was a guardian-redeemer for the family of Elimelek. What does this mean? Well, the Hebrew for guardian-redeemer is a legal title from Leviticus 25, which says, “If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold.” (Lev 25:25). The idea was that if tragedy struck one member of an extended family, another member of the family would try to keep the land allotted to the twelve tribes of Israel in the family by redeeming or buying it back. Family members were supposed to have this level of hesed, or loyal, loving-kindness for one another. Now, how much Ruth knew of the Mosaic Law and Lev 25 is not clear. Maybe she did know the Law, but she at least trusted Naomi’s understanding of her own Law and customs to do and say what Naomi told her to do. But before we see how Boaz would respond to this bold midnight meeting, I have to point out how vulnerable Ruth is here. Even if Boaz was a normally decent guy, being woken up in the middle of the night by a woman lying next to you would be a serious temptation. Now, the narrator doesn’t say that Boaz was drunk, but he had been eating and drinking. And it was dark. And they were separated from the rest of the group by the grain pile. And no one knew she was there. Boaz certainly could’ve used his position or his wealth or even his physical strength to take advantage of Ruth. Plus, she was a Moabite. She was a foreigner in their land with no family nearby. She had Naomi, but what could Naomi do to stop something bad from happening? But Naomi must’ve believed that Boaz was trustworthy. And from the weeks of working in Boaz’s fields, Ruth must’ve seen the strength of his character enough to trust that he wouldn’t take advantage of her, even in her vulnerability. Let’s see how Boaz would respond.
Ruth 3:10-13 (NIV), “10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.” Ok! Boaz passed the test. He didn’t take advantage of Ruth. Even waking up in the middle of the night, Boaz seemed clear-headed when he responded to Ruth. And he responded with a blessing. The Lord (Yahweh) bless you, my daughter. This is a statement of faith in the one true and living God and of tenderness toward Ruth. He doesn’t address her as an object to be used but as a person to be dearly loved. He says, “This kindness (hesed) is greater than that which you showed earlier.” What kindness is he referring to? Probably the kindness/hesed Ruth showed Naomi in coming to Bethlehem to care for her. We know that Boaz heard about this and was impressed by Ruth’s integrity. The whole town had heard about what had happened and how Ruth responded. But how is this kindness greater than that? Well, Boaz implies that Ruth could’ve chosen not to follow Lev 25, and she could’ve married whoever she wanted. She could’ve “…run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.” Even in their much more traditional culture than ours, which would’ve emphasized the needs of the family and tribe over the needs/desires of the individual, Ruth still could’ve pursued someone else. But here’s another way that Ruth wasn’t a Disney princess. She didn’t reject responsibility to her family for the sake of following the self-centered desires of her heart. Instead, she demonstrated loyalty to and a willingness to sacrifice for the family of Elimelek, seeking a guardian-redeemer to cover her (providing ongoing provision and protection) but also to redeem what Elimelek’s family had lost during the famine. Boaz is blown away. He rightly sees that Ruth is the kind of woman that Proverbs 31 describes. “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” (Pro 31:10-12). Now, in most modern Bible translations, Ruth comes after Judges because, as we said, it takes place at the same time in history. But in many older Hebrew manuscripts, Ruth comes after the book of Proverbs, with Proverbs 31 as the end of that book. As such, Ruth serves as “exhibit A” for what this kind of woman of noble character looks like — which is fascinating because, as a Moabite woman, she would be the last person you’d expect to be lifted up as someone of such high standing. But even with Ruth’s radical display of hesed and with Boaz’s willingness to be her redeemer, there’s a potential legal problem: there’s another relative who ought to have the opportunity before Boaz. But (and here we see his heart for Ruth), Boaz made a solemn vow to Ruth in the name of Yahweh that if he can be her redeemer, he will. He’s a man with a new mission. And he wouldn’t rest until he settled the matter.
Ruth 3:14–18 (NIV), “14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town. 16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ” 18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.” This is God’s word. Once again, we see Boaz’s concern for doing what’s right in insisting that no one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor. He isn’t ashamed of Ruth, trying to hide his relationship with her from the other townspeople. Instead, he’s concerned about protecting her reputation. If people found out what Ruth had done, not everyone would believe that she remained upright in her relationship with Boaz. And in a small town, that rumor would spread like wildfire. But as a pledge of good faith that he would do what he promised to do before Ruth went back to Naomi, Boaz filled her shawl with grain for food. And so, Act 3 ends with Naomi’s reassurance that Boaz would indeed settle the matter that very day. A bold but risky move by Ruth leads to the best possible response from Boaz. Though it could’ve gone in several different bad directions, both Ruth and Boaz prove the content of their character and reflect God’s steadfast loving-kindness through and through. But what do we do with this act of our story? How might we apply this to our lives today? I’ll leave you with really only one thought: Character ought to matter to Christians. Yes, we’re saved by faith alone in the person and work of Christ alone, not by our good works — even works specifically done for God. The gospel is not a list of do’s and don’t’s to follow, so God will love/accept/bless you. The reality is you can never be good enough to save yourself. If we could, we never would’ve needed Christ to come and die on the cross for our sins. But he did come and die and rise again from the dead to be our guardian-redeemer so that we could be redeemed from the power of sin and death. Only by humbly acknowledging our utter dependence on him can we be saved. This is what saving faith is all about. But, as we often say, God loves us exactly as we are, but he loves us too much to leave us as we are. So, we are not saved by our good works, but saving faith produces good works. This is what the Christian life is all about. We saw in our series on Ephesians that the gospel is the only thing that changes everything: our identity, the direction of our life, our relationships, and more. Part of our new direction in life is letting the character of God influence and transform our character through the truth of his word and the power of the Spirit. Character matters. Your integrity matters. Will you ever be in the exact same situation that Ruth and Boaz were in that night on the threshing floor? Probably not. But will you find yourself in compromising or tempting situations from time to time in this broken world? Absolutely. What will you do? Will you compromise yourself, following the ways of the world? Or will you trust in the Lord and honor him with your life and the commitment of your character? Character ought to matter to Christians. Reputation ought to matter to Christians. But the good news is that on the day of testing, you’re not alone. Your Father knows who you are, what you face, and what you need. And whether you‘re able to stand strong and reflect his hesed out into the world around you, or whether you stumble and fall and need forgiveness once again, in Christ, your Father will pick you up and dust you off and will continue to provide for you and protect you because of his character. Because he has promised to do this in Jesus. Because of his hesed. May we be people like that. May we be people who are committed to upright and godly character. May we be people others can rely on and trust and, in doing so, bring glory to God, have the blessing of a clean conscious, and make the gospel just a little more believable for others who desperately need the life-changing hesed of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.
