Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
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.”
In Ruth 3, Naomi, wants to find a good husband for Ruth to take care of her. Naomi suggests a very direct approach for Ruth to spend time alone with Boaz. Following an ancient Israelite custom called "goel" or “Kinsman-redeemer” which meant a protective relative, Naomi advised Ruth to approach Boaz when he was resting and uncover his feet*, signaling her desire for him to fulfill the role of a goel.
<aside> 💡 * Here is a link that explains more about what it means that Ruth's plan was to lie at his feet: https://www.bibleref.com/Ruth/3/Ruth-3-4.html
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Boaz, responding with humility and patience, assured her that he would do everything possible to fulfill this duty. Although he’s not the first in line to fulfill this duty, he promises to investigate soon whether or not it’s possible after discussing with the nearest relative.
<aside> 💡 The goel, which is sometimes translated as “kinsman redeemer,” had a role in Israel’s family life. The goel, in this context, was responsible to safeguard the persons, the property and the prosperity of the family.
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This is a beautiful picture of the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He is the TRUE and FINAL Redeemer, who willingly did everything necessary for the redemption of His bride—Us, the Church. He lived the life we fail to live daily but died the death we deserved, so we can be with HIM forever in eternity.
Ephesians 2:4-7 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”