MORAL RESPONSIBILITIES
Opening Prayer
Lord, help me to run the race, to fight the fight, to finish the course, all to Your glory.
Read RUTH 3
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.
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.”
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.”
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.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
How good it is to remember that God is a father of the fatherless and a defender of widows; he makes a home for the lonely (Psa. 68:5,6).
Think Further
We have to switch mindsets rapidly to absorb the details in today’s passage. The responsibility Naomi assumes to find her son’s widow a new husband is very foreign to contemporary western ears. So are the associated rituals. It seems strange that a patriarchal society requires a woman to take such initiative—and
Ruth’s action (7) would be interpreted very differently in today’s cultures!
Yet, in the tribal-family ethos of Israel, it all makes sense. The continuity of the generational line is vital to secure inheritance, maintain livelihood and avoid poverty. If a man dies without children, his male relatives must ensure that his land is fairly handled, his widow cared for and his name continued. Kinsmen have redemptive responsibilities. So, once Naomi has identified Boaz as a
kinsman–redeemer, the rest is straightforward. Ruth needs to indicate her willingness to marry him; he has to clear his eligibility with relatives and accept responsibility. Ruth’s ritual of lying by his feet is wordless, yet in replying, “I will do all you ask,” Boaz fully understands the request. Pleased, even flattered that Ruth has chosen him, rather than some young man, Boaz expresses his delight in her character, reputation and commitment. He is eager to settle things with the nearer kinsman immediately. Naomi reads his mind very accurately (18.) The shawl full of barley is just the beginning of his generosity to his wife-to- be and mother-in- law.
Naomi’s decision to come home was the right one. She returned to a culture where patterns of family care, welfare and justice were structured into the legal framework of society in obedience to God. People like Boaz gave more than the Law required, because they knew it had God’s approval. In our advanced, litigious, often self-seeking society, we have much to unlearn.
Apply
Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between “taking the initiative” (which is applauded) and “scheming” (which is condemned). How do you feel that Naomi, Ruth and Boaz responded to the tricky situations they faced?
Closing prayer
Lord, help me in Your church to show special care to people without families so that Your loving fatherhood can be seen through me.
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