Second Presbyterian Church

"Redemption:
Preaching from Ruth"
August 22, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for August 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Ruth

#3 in the Series on Ruth
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Ruth 3:1-4:12

Even stories that have an important and serious point to make are often laced with humor and double entendres. Ruth is a classic example and in this section, especially in chapter three the double entendres abound! From the perspective of a Hebrew listening to this story this chapter is electric with what was going on, what really happened, if anything, and what was going to happen next. Some of this is visible to us as people who live in a different time, culture, and who use a different language. But a lot of it is not so visible.

In all honesty, many Christians and Christian commentaries have historically avoided some of the innuendos and double entendres. I shall not, but I must warn you that if this sermon were to be rated, it would be rated at least PG if not PG-14! In order to do this I shall highlight the narrative in this section and then comment as I go along from the point of view of how a Hebrew in that day and time would hear what is being said. So, here it goes.

Ruth and Naomi had been in Bethlehem for nearly two months. They came at the beginning of the barley harvest and now it is at the end of both the barley and wheat harvest - some six to eight weeks later.

Naomi said to Ruth, something like this, "Look Ruth, we must do something to secure your future and give you some protection. Here is what I want you to do. Tonight Boaz is threshing barley at the threshing floor. I want you to go take a bath, put on some perfume, and don your best outfit. Then I want you to go to the threshing floor and wait until Boaz has eaten, drunk and lain down to go to sleep. Then I want you to go to him, uncover his feet and lie down beside him. Then do whatever he tells you to do."

Comment: Wait a minute! What exactly is Naomi trying to get Ruth to do, have sex with Boaz? After all a threshing floor is sometimes an euphemism for a place to solicit a prostitute! Is the narrator alluding to that? Not only that, feet are often a euphemism for one's private parts! No matter what culture you are from, to have someone sneak in unnoticed at night and lie down with another has very suggestive connotations.

For Ruth to offer herself to Boaz would not have been entirely out of the question when one considers what he had done for her. It sounds pretty risky that she should do whatever Boaz tells her.

I can't wait to see what Ruth's reply will be to Naomi. Ruth did defy her and refused to go back to Moab, which is what Naomi had told her to do. Now, what will she do with such a suggestive demand?

Ruth responds, "All that you say I will do."

Huh? She just complies? No resistance, no argument to be had, especially to a strange and suggestive set of instructions? This story is full of surprises!

So Ruth went to the threshing floor. She made sure that she was not noticed. Boaz ate his supper, drank his wine. The story stated that he was in a contented state of mind; he was feeling happy. He went to sleep.

This sounds strangely familiar. Didn't the daughter of Lot get their father into a similar state of mind? Isn't that how they plotted to have children by their own father? The origin of the Moabites, Moab the son of Lot's daughter, was conceived by a secretive, surreptitious plot. It was no coincidence that the narrator alluded to Ruth the Moabite as sneaking in to lie down with an older man.

Once Boaz was asleep Ruth came over to him and uncovered his feet (!) and lay down. All of a sudden, around midnight, Boaz was startled awake and noticed that a woman was lying at his feet (!). He said, "Who are you?" and Ruth answered, "I am Ruth, at your service, spread your wings over me for you are next of kin, a redeemer."

Ah hah! Ruth is going for the redemption of property and the Levite law of marriage. She is trying to maintain the name of Elimelech by having his property and his heritage remain in the family. Interesting, Boaz had earlier blessed Ruth and stated, "May the Lord repay you for what you have done, under whose wings you have taken refuge."(Ch. 2:12) And here Ruth has taken the initiative to remind Boaz of an opportunity to make good the fulfillment to which he had assigned the LORD.

Boaz noted that Ruth is a very faithful woman and that this last deed was more extraordinary than her first act of faithfulness. In other words, Ruth is making good her pledge to remain in the family of Elimelech, even though she didn't have to. (Ch. 1:16-17)

Boaz also noted that all of the town were aware of the kind of woman Ruth was: a woman who is faithful and who had earned the respect of the community, even though she was a foreigner.

That makes the move that she did, to come by night to see Boaz, even more risky and bold. Ostensibly she could have ruined her reputation and the reputation of Boaz! But Boaz isn't put off by this; he sees the good in which Ruth is trying to accomplish.

Boaz promised to see that Ruth and Elimelech's property are redeemed. He told Ruth that there was a relative who was closer to Elimelech than he and this relative had the first right to redeem the property. And if he did, well and good. If he didn't then Boaz promised to redeem and marry Ruth himself. Boaz told Ruth to lie back down and stay until early morning.

Again, did anything happen between them? Who knows? The story leaves that part out!

Ruth returned to Naomi who asked how it went and she told Naomi all about it, including the 6 measures of barley that Boaz had Ruth bring home to Naomi. Naomi noted that Boaz, being a man of honor, would settle the matter that day.

Sure enough, first thing in the morning Boaz went to the city gate.

This was where formal business transactions took place, including judgments in civil cases. Since this was a proposed transaction of property it would take place at the gate.

Immediately the next of kin arrived and Boaz asked him to have a seat. Then Boaz appointed 10 elders to have a seat so that they could oversee and witness the transaction. Boaz made his proposal to the next of kin; he said he would redeem the property. Then Boaz made note that whoever redeemed the property would also have to receive Ruth and marry her. At this new twist, the next of kin declined. He pulled off his sandal and gave it to Boaz as a sign of the deal that Boaz could redeem the property and marry Ruth.

Now that's interesting. The sandal was once the law, but it was for a slightly different situation. If a man died and left a widow his brother was obligated to marry her to carry on the deceased man's name. This was an obligation. If the brother refused to do so then the widow would take the brother of the deceased to the gate, before the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). It was a curse that the man would not fare well in his own efforts to bear children. Here, it seems to be a way to seal a deal, like shaking hands.

After the transaction, the elders "blessed" Boaz and wished him the blessing of having children. The interesting note here is that they wished him to be blessed like the house of Perez (his own ancestor!), the son of Tamar!

Tamar was the widow of the oldest son of Judah. The brothers of the husband also died as punishment for not fulfilling their duty to have Tamar bear children! In desperation Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced Judah, her father in law! It was the only way she was to have children! The result was twins, one of whom was Perez. (Genesis 38)

Okay, interesting chapter. What can we take home with us today? The Hebrew word for Redeem (go'al) was used 18 times in some grammatical form or another. It is the same word that is used to describe the LORD as our Redeemer. Isaiah used it to describe the LORD. It is used in the Psalms to describe the LORD. The word also means "next of kin" or close relative.

Is our Redeemer close? Do we experience the intimacy and love that Christ has for us? Talk about intimacy, God through Jesus Christ (a descendant of Ruth and Boaz) became a man, a human being! Now that is what I call close! And in that closeness God redeemed us through his death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

The result is even more profound than the end of the story of Naomi and Ruth! They had no future. God gave them a new future through Boaz. We had no future. Humanity when left to itself just wallows in sin and self-centeredness. Yet Jesus Christ is our Go'al; he is our Redeemer. Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.