The reading
Ruth 3:1 -18
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My
daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with
you. 2 Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been
working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Now wash
and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing
floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating
and drinking. 4 When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go
and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do." 5 She
said to her, "All that you tell me I will do." 6 So she went down to
the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her.
7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a
contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she
came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was
startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! 9 He
said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth, your servant;
spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin." 10 He said,
"May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your
loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether
poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all
that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy
woman. 12 But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another
kinsman more closely related than I. 13 Remain this night, and in the morning,
if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not
willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as
next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning."
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up
before one person could recognize another; for he said, "It must not be
known that the woman came to the threshing floor." 15 Then he said,
"Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out." So she held it,
and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he
went into the city. 16 She came to her mother-in-law, who said, "How did
things go with you, my daughter?" Then she told her all that the man had
done for her, 17 saying, "He gave me these six measures of barley, for he
said, 'Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" 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."
The message
We are in our third of four weeks with the Book of
Ruth. This ancient story of generosity,
commitment, remaining faithful and God’s action in the world continues to speak
encouragement to people in trouble.
Before going on to chapter 3, I wanted to review what has happened in
the story (for those who were not here
or forgot). In Chapter 1, we were
introduced to two of the three main characters, Naomi and her daughter in law Ruth. Naomi and her family go to Moab to escape
famine in Bethlehem. In Moab, one of Naomi’s sons marries Ruth, the other
marries Orpah. Over the years Naomi’s husband and then her 2 sons die. Naomi
and her 2 daughter in laws are in very a bad spot. Women alone were in danger
and unable to fullu participate in society. Orpah returns to her home and
family (with Naomi’s encouragement and blessing) but Ruth refuses, vowing to
stay with her. Namoi and Ruth return to
Bethlehem, in poverty and with few chances for survival.
In Bethlehem, they receive a not so warm
welcome. Ruth gets to work immediately
doing the only thing she can, gleaning in the fields (a legal right for the
poor, widows and foreigners to collect left behind or unhavested grains).
During her very first day, Ruth forms a relationship with Boaz, a close
relative of Naomi’s deceased husband.
Boaz gives Ruth help during the barley harvest and then the wheat
harvest. Boaz’s generosity allows Ruth and Naomi to safely survive.
In Chapter 3, we come to the end of the wheat
harvest. Until this point, the relationship between Ruth and Boaz was based on
gleaning. Sure Ruth had some special privileges, she could gather barley and
wheat freely, was assisted, had Boaz’s protection and access to water but Ruth
was still simply a poor foreign widow in need and allowed to glean the fields. Now that the harvests for the year are over,
there is a great uncertainty for Ruth and Naomi. Boaz can no longer support or care for them
through general charity. This is when
things get a little “romantic”. Naomi
assesses the situation and realizes sex is about the only card they have left
to play. Their ultimate security depends
on Ruth marrying Boaz and their relationship so far has not lead up to any
proposals. They will need to do more to
push the issue. Naomi asks Ruth to get all cleaned up and as best dressed as
she can, to go to Boaz at night, when he is full (and more than likely
drunk). Ruth is told to uncover his feet
and lie down. (Generally feet is Old Testament code for something higher up and
this is an intimate encounter).
Ruth, as
she has throughout the story does what Naomi asks. This is a sign of complete commitment, mind
and body. We have very little
understanding of marriage and courtship in the ancient near east where this
story is set so it is difficult to say if what happens next is normal or
strange for the time. For this I simply
share a warning, true in lots of other
places. The thing to be worried about in
this story is not Naomi sending Ruth out, or Ruth’s seduction of Boaz, You can
feel eh about that but the thing we can and should have a problem with and
condemn is the system of injustice and inequality that made this
necessary.
Ruth gets all fancied up, sneaks out and finds
Boaz. Boaz is extremely startled, even
shaking with fear when he wakes up and sees a woman there. This is at least
partially due to the beliefs that death comes at midnight and Boaz may have
though Ruth was a night demon of some kind. Ruth identifies herself and honestly lays
everything out. Gleaning was great but she needs a husband for her and Naomi to
survive (a fact Boaz is well aware of). Ruth is truly committed to him, is
willing to have sex, reminds him of his obligation under the law to marry her and
appeals to his compassion to help her and Naomi. This is it, the last few cards Ruth has left
to play. Boaz knows that Ruth has other options, richer or poorer men she could marry but Ruth marrying Boaz would be the only way for Naomi to keep her deceased husband's lands. Boaz responds as he has throughout the story,
with generosity and compassion. First,
he notes that Ruth is wrong. He is
connected to her and Naomi through marriage but he is not the one obligated to
marry under the law (perhaps this is what has stopped him up to now). Seeing Ruth’s commitment, Boaz promises Ruth she
will be married. He will find out if that closer kinsman wishes to marry her,
if not, Boaz will. After this, they
spend the night together (you can guess what they are doing). In the morning,
Ruth sneaks out and returns to Naomi with the barley Boaz gave her. This is a sign of his commitment to provide
for them. Next week in the 4th and last chapter, we learn that
immediately after Ruth leaves, Boaz will keep his promise.
My discussions with others about this reading this
week got a little weird (and way too inappropriate for here). They centered around questions of sexuality as a resource, is
flirting for Jesus good evangelism? Is attractiveness something, like any other resource or gift, we
should use for good. In Ruth’s case,
like the promise in chapter 1, where you go I will go, your God shall be my
God, this is really an interaction that centers on commitment. That is what
wins Boaz over. This is not an encounter
about sex, it is about commitment.
This chapter made me think of a meeting
during my pastoral care training about 15 years ago. This was a 10 week
hospital based program including visits and a weekly presentation on a pastoral
care encounter to a group of other students. One week I presented a report on a
meeting with a patient a few years older than me who was caught in a cycle of
repeated illness, destroyed self-esteem and growing hopelessness. During our
visit, I quickly got the sense that she was attracted to me, flirty and I got
uncomfortable. I spoke about this during
the group discussion and the other students all had a sense that this was
inappropriate and creepy, it had to be stopped and called out. It was dangerous
terority.
Our group supervisor stopped us after a few minutes
of the who can be even more concerned about it game. First it was a reminder that this patient is
a real human being, with feelings and emotions, which are not just despair,
pain and accepting illness, they include sexual desires and wants. To shut that down is to deny their humanness. God loves us completely as we are. Patients were not just sacks of words for us to practice pastoral care on. The next thing he said was a real challenge,
How can you use these feelings to improve your spiritual care for her? Not in a lead her on way, just that this
patient will listen to you, your words of encouragement, your being impressed,
excited at something she does will go a very long way. When I went back, she started with something
like “I thought I scared off last time”. In her case it turned out to be making
crafts that I was impressed with.
We cannot ignore the reality that faith is
lived out in the world. The word made flesh and dwelling amongst us, the point
1st John was written to declare and defend, means our God is really
here with really us, our God is committed and we should be too. Do not go back from here
empty handed. This is the place you hear
of God’s commitment.
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