CHAPTER 3

(1312 B.C.)

INSTRUCTIONS

¹Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? (In this instance, Naomi is a Type of the Holy Spirit, Who seeks our good. His Business is to ever lead us to Christ.)

²And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshingfloor (separates the husk from the grain; this is a Type of what the Holy Spirit does for us by separating us from the flesh, i.e., the frail strength of man [Mat. 3:11]).

³Wash yourself therefore (this is a Type of Redemption [I Cor. 6:11]), and anoint thee (this speaks of the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, hence the anointing, which follows the Salvation experience [Acts 2:4]), and put your raiment upon you (the garment of praise; it is not only an inward change, but it is an outward change, as well; it is the change effected by the Power of the Holy Spirit working within our hearts and lives; it speaks of an inward change that produces itself outwardly [Isa. 61:3]), and get thee down to the floor (this speaks of humility; the literal meaning of the word humility is a river that runs low [I Pet. 5:5]): but make not yourself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

⁴And it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall mark the place where he shall lie, and you shall go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell you what you shall do. (There was nothing unseemly about this. It was a part of Hebrew Law. She was making a move, as instructed her by Naomi, which would bring Boaz to a place of decision. It is the same as the believing sinner coming to the feet of Christ, after which he will inherit everything that belongs to Christ, exactly as did Ruth regarding Boaz.)

OBEDIENCE

⁵And she (Ruth) said unto her (Naomi), All that you say unto me I will do. (Naomi, being a Type of the Holy Spirit, gives instructions, and Ruth promptly obeys.)

⁶And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her (which pertains to the next evening, after the days work had been finished).

⁷And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn (grain): and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down (she did what Naomi told her to do).

KINSMAN

⁸And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. (Again, let the Reader understand that there was nothing unseemly or untoward going on here. This was a custom in those days, regarding a kinsman redeemer who had not stepped up to carry out the Law.)

⁹And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman (this is what Naomi had told her to say, which was correct).

¹⁰And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for you have showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as you followed not young men, whether poor or rich (the kindness which you are showing to your husband now that he is gone is still greater than what you did show him while he lived, hence the words, more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning).

¹¹And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to you all that you require: for all the city of my people does know that you are a virtuous woman (for months, the small town had observed Ruth, and the conclusion was one of virtue, as it regarded her).

¹²And now it is true that I am your near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. (The kinsman nearer to Ruth is the one referred to in 4:1 as Ho, such a one. We might say that this individual represented the Law. In effect, it had first claim on the Lord Jesus Christ; however, it refused its right of Redemption. It refused because the Law could never save. Only Boaz, our Heavenly Redeemer, could save.)

KINSMAN REDEMPTION

¹³Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto you the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsmans part (this particular one was nearer kinsman to Naomi than Boaz): but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to you, then will I do the part of a kinsman to you, as the LORD lives: lie down until the morning (Ruth knew very little about these procedures, but Boaz knew them minutely).

¹⁴And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another (before daylight). And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. (In other words, dont relate to anyone what happened last night. There was no impropriety in Ruths action. It was the Law and custom of the time. To draw a portion of a kinsmans mantle over one was the legal way of claiming protection and Redemption. Ruth effected this with great delicacy and skill. She chose a public place, such as the threshingfloor, where many persons were present: but not to embarrass Boaz, but to give him liberty to act as he wished, she made her claim under the cover of darkness. Boaz, whose character commands admiration, immediately responded to her Faith and love.)

¹⁵Also he said, Bring the veil that you had upon you, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city (back to Naomi!).

¹⁶And when she came to her mother in law, she (Naomi) said, Who are you, my daughter? (The question actually was, Are you Boazs betrothed?) And she told her all that the man had done to her (had said to her).

¹⁷And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto your mother in law. (Christ, symbolized by Boaz, will give us all that we need, and even more, according to what the Holy Spirit, symbolized by Naomi, has told us to do. When we follow the leading of the Spirit, we will not return empty.)

¹⁸Then said she, Sit still, my daughter (herein lies the principle of Salvation by Faith; the Second Chapter of Galatians contrasts two principles for the obtaining of life and righteousness: the first is works of Law, which pertained to religious ceremonies, personal moral efforts, and works of the flesh; it can never save; the second is Salvation by Faith, which depends on no works, but totally upon Christ and what He has done for us at the Cross; the Holy Spirit teaches us that nothing can be had upon the first principle, but everything upon the second; so, Ruth would sit still, wholly trusting Boaz, and, as a result, obtain her hearts desire), until you know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.