LIFE ON THE ALTAR

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint

Chapter 12

“Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her,
My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens you were?
Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor. 
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee,
and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man,
until he shall have done eating and drinking.”
Ruth 3: 1-3

Often, when I am reading and meditating upon the opening verses in the third chapter of the book of Ruth, where Naomi is giving instructions to her young companion before her special meeting time with Boaz, those triumphant words from Revelation chapter 19 and verse 7 come to the forefront of my mind. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come and His wife hath made herself ready.” 

Here in this little bijou narrative of the book of Ruth are three main characters. There is Naomi the Jewess who is back in the land of Israel. There is Ruth the Gentile bride who represents the Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Very Lamb of God. And there is also Boaz who has taken upon himself the role of kinsman-redeemer, seen as one who represents the Messiah and who eventually takes this Gentile woman from the land of Moab to be his bride.   

Notice the three things Ruth was instructed to do before she came into the presence of him who would prove to be her kinsman redeemer. She was to WASH herself; she was to ANOINT herself, and she was to CLOTHE herself. In other words, she was to make herself look nice and she was to smell nice. She was to make herself ready, for indeed this meeting which she was to have with Boaz was an important one.   

Each of these three things spiritually typify what will be the state of the bride, the Church, who is in readiness and now waiting in that ready state for the Coming of the Heavenly Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. Through His death, have we not been washed or cleansed in the blood of Jesus, and does the bible not say that we are now clothed in the robes of righteousness and covered in the garments of Salvation, and after Salvation are we not anointed by God and filled with His Holy Spirit?  

Lastly, when all was done, Ruth was to make her way to the threshing floor and quietly make herself known to Boaz. The Word of God reveals the steps which she took, and even though in this modern era we may not understand those ancient customs which to us may seem slightly strange and perhaps slightly risqué, let us not be troubled by such a thing as here all was done in modesty and regard for the other person.     

There is an old adage which says: God helps those who help themselves. There is some truth in this. The will of God should be the will of His people. Many times, Divine Providence does not exclude human activity, for we each must play our part. It is indeed folly to hang back and not to follow up a suspected Providential opening when it appears before us.

It seems, that upon entering this threshing floor where Boaz had finished winnowing the barley and afterwards taken refreshment, that the bible says he laid himself down at the end of a heap of corn, and when he had fallen asleep Ruth quietly made her way to where he had settled for the night, and uncovering his feet she laid herself down at this very spot.  

It is perhaps little known that it was often indeed an oriental custom in which many servants loyal to their master would take this same place during the night watches. They would lie crosswise at the feet of their master, and it was not uncommon for them to share the covering of the shawl which had been laid or draped over the feet. There was no impropriety here as the normal day clothes would still be worn during this time. 

In the introduction to this story, we saw that in Scripture the threshing floor was a picture of the place of separation, judgement and chastening. How do we see this follow through in in this particular story before us today? Ruth had certainly known chastening and testing times in her life. Separated from her old life, she was prepared to enter into a covenant with the Lord and she put her heart and soul into following the true and living God. By seeking to be covered by Boaz’s skirt she was agreeing to all the commandments of God, all His precepts and all His ordinances. Ruth, just like us, had a need for redemption and she had been judged worthy to receive this. Again, what she found in Boaz we find in Christ.

The bible tells that Ruth softly uncovered the feet of Boaz, and at midnight when the night is at its darkest and most probably at its coldest, he awakened out of sleep and with a stir suddenly became aware of someone else in the room and quite naturally cried out: “Who art thou?” This was the time for Ruth to come forward and as she does so she introduces herself humbly as his handmaiden. 

Notice what she says here in verse 9 of our chapter. “I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt,” (we would most probably say garment or shawl), “spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.” In this she was telling him that she recognised him as a near relative, who being the Goel was a kinsman-redeemer and therefore was in a position to marry her. In a way she was telling him that her father-in-law had the right to have his family name carried on, and it would appear Boaz was the one who had the responsibility to take on this role. 

The Amplified Version puts it this way: “Spread your wings over your maidservant for you are a next of kin.” Which wings were these? She was referring here to his protection. Ruth was seeking her refuge in Boaz. The Hebrew word ‘kanaph’ is used here. The very first time this word is mentioned in Scripture is in the Old Testament in the book of Exodus chapter 19 and verse 4. God is speaking here, and this is what He said to the people through His servant Moses: “You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings (kanaph) and brought you unto Myself.”   

Here, at the very beginning we are to learn that this word is associated with deliverance. When in bondage, the Children of Israel were unable to save themselves and had to depend totally upon God for their release. As Ruth looked into the face of Boaz, she was desirous that he would cover her with the borders or the edges of his shawl, or his garment or his mantle and take her under his wing. This ‘covering’ has to do with marriage, and marriage was very much on her mind.

A year or two back, I watched as someone who had married a Christian man from a Jewish background had their ceremony conducted under a prayer shawl. Although the ceremony took place in the United States, I remember that during the ceremony this prayer shawl was held up by four poles which were called chuppah’s or huppah’s. Although I have no experience of this myself, it is said that at Jewish Orthodox weddings, the groom even today covers his bride with his prayer shawl to make it known to everyone at the wedding that he has taken her unto himself in holy matrimony where he will love her, protect her, and take care of her.

Do you remember how in verse 12 of chapter 2, Boaz uses the same thought here when speaking to Ruth in the harvest field. Knowing all the good she had done and that her heart was towards Israel’s God, he said: “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” In this we today also rejoice in the keeping power of the God of our Salvation.    

In verse 10, Boaz, a man of a more mature age, rejoices in that Ruth has come to him with this request, rather than to seek out any of the younger men whether they be rich or poor.  Verses eleven to thirteen show his eagerness to fulfil his obligations, although he has to inform her that there is a nearer kinsman with whom he must speak on the morrow. If the other man is willing, then Boaz must leave things with God and step away, but if not then he will play his part. 

Soon all things would be made clear. Before she leaves, he asks her to hold out her apron so that he may fill it with good things. It is in his mind to grant unto her six measures of barley which she was to take home to Naomi her mother-in-law. Although no one today can be sure of the exact amount, we know this would be no small gift. As it happens, even this gesture proves to be merely a pre-curser to the life of abundance which will soon be laid up for Ruth, and which she will soon begin to enjoy with the man Boaz.  

The morning dawned, and as Ruth and Naomi stayed home, trusting God and quietly awaiting the outcome, Boaz made his way down to the gate of the city where such matters as these were discussed in the presence of ten men of the elders of the city. Sitting down there, Boaz knew by law that he must firstly speak with the nearer kinsman about this transaction, when lo and behold who should pass by but the very man himself. 

The last chapter, chapter 4, is filled with the vivid and important conversation between these two men, but it is soon seen that when asked if he would be prepared to purchase the land belonging to Naomi, he was more than ready to purchase it, but halted when he was given the conditions attached to it, which was that of marrying Ruth and raising up children by her. It seemed that it was impossible for him to do this for one reason or another, for he implied that if this were the case it would in some way mar his own inheritance, and so he had to decline.   

Old bible theologians often used to bring out the valid point here, that as before Boaz, there was, although unnamed, a nearer kinsman in the land which must first be asked if he were prepared to redeem the land on behalf of the house of Elimelech and it was found that it was impossible for him to do so. The Scripture which they always used to bring in and tie things together was the one found in Romans chapter 8, where it says: “What the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh,” in other words, was not able to produce righteousness, “God sent His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,” to bring about life and inward peace. In other words, albeit that the law was before Christ, “what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, Christ was able to do.”

No amount of good deeds could procure our inheritance in heaven; only Christ could buy back what we had lost. Only Christ can deliver! First comes the natural and then comes the spiritual. In this again we have the picture of Boaz the kinsman-redeemer being able to do what the unnamed man could not do, and this is why to this day the unnamed man remains unnamed. He could only do so much but was not able to complete the whole transaction, but Grace found a way to do what the law could not do. Mercy, Love, and Righteousness found a way to do what the law with the best of intentions was incapable of. All that was lost in the first Adam was bought back or restored by the second, so that now we are Christ’s purchased possession. 

Now it only remained for the custom of the shoe exchange. 

Years ago, there was an old song which comes to mind which was titled ‘These boots were made for walking.’ As I look down and re-read chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8, where it speaks of the nearer kinsman taking off his shoe and handing it over to Boaz. There are those who say that the bible does not categorically tell us who switched the shoe, whether it was Boaz or the un-named man. In this I suppose they have a point, but as we know it was once an established custom in ancient times that the shoe or the sandal which often spoke of authority, ownership and dominion was taken off as in this bible account.

For me, it makes me think that the un-named man was actually relinquishing the right to walk over the land in question, and was therefore offering the shoe and opening the way for Boaz to tread the length and breadth of it. In the sight of many witnesses the transaction was completed.

So, there we have it. Boaz did take Ruth to be his wife, and Scripture records that a son was born to them whom they named Obed. It goes without saying that his coming brought much joy to this little family. Those women who knew Naomi and knew of the heartaches she had come through rejoiced that this little boy was born and spoke prophetically into her life saying:

“Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women, her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

Notice Naomi’s kinsman was not Boaz but Obed. This little life was to prove to be a real comfort and a real blessing in Naomi’s old age. He would help her forget the past, give her a new lease of life and watch over her and provide for her in the days which lay ahead. His birth is important to saints in every generation because later through his line it heralds the birth of the Messiah Jesus who as we know was Himself born in Bethlehem. 

THOT:  Boaz said: “Ruth have I purchased to be my wife.” Sounds like Christ and the Church doesn’t it?  Amen and Amen.  Maranatha!

Taken from the book, Reflections on the Book of Ruth, by A. B. Saint