Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But 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.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” 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.”

Ruth 3 ESV

Gleaning was the key word that marked chapter 2. The bulk of which took place at the field of Boaz as the reapers were harvesting the barley, where Ruth benefitted from Boaz’s obedience to God’s law to leave behind grain for the poor and needy to glean. After giving us Ruth’s first grace-filled encounter with Boaz, the chapter ended by telling us that she continued working in Boaz’s throughout the time of the barley and wheat harvest, which would have probably been a span of about two months.

The central scene of chapter 3 takes place at the threshing floor where the grain would be winnowed. As Mary Hannah notes, “Winnowing barley involves tossing it into the evening breeze with a winnowing fork to separate the stalk from the chaff and straw, which the wind blows away.” With the chaff removed, the grain could lay upon the threshing floor in rest until put to use.

This is a beautiful metaphor for what is happening throughout the Book of Ruth, for trials are very often a kind of threshing floor that reveals a person’s true character. The wicked are like the chaff that the wind drives away, but those who delight in the law of Yahweh are as strong as trees planted by streams of living water. Suffering ruins the wicked, but even in their poverty and suffering, the righteous are prosperous and at rest, for they are children of the King of kings.

The text has explicitly told us that Boaz is a man of godly strength, and it has implicitly shown us (and will tell us explicitly in this chapter) that Ruth is also such a woman. But part of what makes a story worth hearing or reading is seeing how its characters respond to conflict and tension, and that is true of this book. Great character is like silver that is both revealed and refined by the crucibles of life. So far Ruth has met her suffering with diligence, with a kind of godly restlessness. But just as creation was incomplete until the LORD rested from His work, so does He intend for His people to have rest. In this chapter Naomi rightly turns Ruth to Boaz as an instrument of God’s restful provision for them both. Ruth’s risky request then places Boaz in great tension, which gives us the opportunity to further see the strength of his character.

NAOMI’S PLAN // VERSES 1-5

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?” This is a remarkable contrast with chapter 2. That chapter began with Ruth taking the initiative to seek out grain for both of them. To which Naomi merely acquiesced. But the chapter ended with Naomi’s depressive state cracking under Yahweh’s abundant provision through Boaz. Indeed, the mention of Boaz’s name sparked this comment: “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” That spark of an idea has obviously grown in Naomi’s mind, and now at the end of the harvest, Naomi has a plan for her daughter-in-law.

Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But 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.

Naomi’s plan reveals the kind of rest that she has in mind for her daughter-in-law. Being a widow without any male relative to provide or protect was a place of restless anxiety in the ancient world, and we can imagine that especially being the case during the time of the judges. Thankfully, just like the laws regarding gleaning, God’s commandments considered how to provide and protect widows like Ruth and Naomi, which was through a redeemer. Iain Duguid explains:

A kinsman redeemer was a person who had an obligation to buy his relatives back if they sold themselves into slavery to pay off their debts. Under certain circumstances, the kinsman redeemer would also be obligated to marry his brother’s widow in order to raise up a family for the dead man, a family that would inherit his property. Clearly, there was no legal obligation on Boaz to act this way. Otherwise, this kind of elaborate strategy would not have been necessary. Ruth could simply have walked up to Boaz in the marketplace and said, “You are my kinsman redeemer; do what you are supposed to do.” Boaz was a man of character; surely he would have followed through on his obligations in spite of the personal and social cost. What Ruth was asking Boaz to do, though was act according to the spirit of the law of the kinsman redeemer, even though the was not under any legal obligation. She appealed to him to be the family member who, at his own cost, would act to rescue those whose future had been blighted, even though he didn’t have to do so. (172)

But Naomi’s plan for how Ruth was to ask Boaz is certainly a strange one. Of course, many commentators have attempted to sanitize Naomi’s plan by suggesting that it may have been an ancient custom that we no longer know about. But that runs directly against the plain reading of the text, which immediately makes us feel as though Naomi is proposing something quite out of the ordinary and dangerous.

Indeed, if this plan sounds somewhat risqué, that seems to be the author’s intention. In Hebrew, uncovering, lying down, and feet can have euphemistic meanings. And let us keep in mind Moabite history, which began with Lot being seduced by his own daughters and later featured Moabite women seducing Israelites into worshiping Baal. Was Naomi, therefore, suggesting that Ruth act like the Moabite that she is? I agree with Sinclair Ferguson, who writes:

If we share this anxiety, then the author of the book of Ruth has got us into precisely the frame of mind he wants to create! He wants us to feel our toes curling with anticipation: What is going on here? Is this story going to end in disaster? (78)

Although that sort of tension can make us squirm, it is also what makes for a compelling and engaging story. Every good story needs suspense, and that is certainly what the writer is giving us.

Yet I believe there is a deeper dimension to consider. In the previous chapter, the writer gave us wonderful glimpses of the character of Boaz and Ruth, and now we are meant to wonder how the two of them will handle the upcoming encounter. Yet the writer is already hinting that Ruth will not live up to her Moabite history. In chapter 2, we are five times reminded that Ruth is not an Israelite but comes from Moab; however, this is the only chapter that does not reference Ruth being a Moabite. But more on that later.

But perhaps even more than that, the writer may intend for the text’s ambiguity to be like a mirror, revealing our own hearts to us. In Titus 1:15, Paul writes: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Like the Song of Songs, this may very well serve as a litmus test for gauging the purity of our own minds. Those who conclude that Boaz and Ruth must have engaged in illicit behavior reveal their own inability to understand the godly character of this man and woman.

Many are also divided on how we ought to view the wisdom of Naomi’s plan. Especially whenever we consider the danger that Ruth could potentially face by going to the threshing floor at night, Sinclair Ferguson writes:

Behind her risky strategy lies Naomi’s old spiritual rashness. It is the residue of the spirit that earlier led to emigration from the Promised Land. If God does not do things speedily enough for us in our way, then we will take matters into our own hands. We devise our own ways of bringing to pass what God has promised to give to us. We refuse to wait for him to bring his own purposes to fruition. (84-85)

On the other hand, Piper suggests that we should interpret Naomi’s initiation as generally positive:

One of the terrible effects of depression is the inability to move purposefully and hopefully into the future. Strategies of righteousness are the overflow of hope. When Naomi awakens in 2:20 to the kindness of God, her hope comes alive, and the overflow is strategic righteousness. She is concerned about finding Ruth a place of provision and protection. So she makes a plan.

One of the reasons we must help each other “hope in God” (Ps. 42:5) is that only hopeful people, hopeful families, and hopeful churches plan and strategize. I feel a special calling to impart hope to the church I serve. Churches that feel no hope develop a maintenance mentality and just go through the motions year in and year out. But when a church feels the sovereign kindness of God hovering overhead and moving, hope starts to thrive, and righteousness ceases to be simply the avoidance of evil and becomes active and strategic. (54)

Obviously, both Ferguson and Piper make valid and biblical points that we would do well to consider, but which is correctly interpreting Naomi’s motive? Is Naomi impatiently taking matters into her own hands, or is she acting with godly shrewdness and initiative? If it is often difficult to discern between the two in our own lives, how much more in others! Let us recognize that both are possible, and let us take comfort that God works good for us even when our motives are not altogether righteous.

AT THE THRESHING FLOOR // VERSES 5-13

And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” Ruth is ready to follow her mother-in-law’s risky plan, but as we will see, she is not a passive agent in the matter, for her words to Boaz will be her own.

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was marry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!

We are certainly meant to feel the tension of this scene. Ruth is washed up and perfumed, laying down beside Boaz’s feet in the middle of the night. Indeed, at midnight, he awakes to discover a woman lying with him. This could so easily become a morally compromising situation, and the writer only adds to the suspense by simply calling Boaz the man in verse 8. For all his godly and kingly character, Boaz is still only a man, and as his great-grandson will prove, even the greatest of men can succumb to lusting after the beauty of a woman.

He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

Ruth’s response to Boaz is short but rich in meaning. Mary Hannah notes that “She states her name (“I am Ruth”), rank (“your servant”), request (“spread your wings [or “corners/edges,” i.e., of his garment] over your servant”), and rationale (“for you are a redeemer”). Ruth is summoning Boaz to provide protection and security through marriage” (708). In saying this, Ruth is alluding to Boaz’s own words at their first conversation, which she was clearly banking on him remembering. There he blessed Ruth for seeking refuge under the wings of Yahweh. Now Ruth is asking him to be the instrument of that refuge. Of course, he already was protecting and providing for her, but by appealing to his status as a redeemer, she is indicating that she desires marriage with him.

But would a man of substance like Boaz marry a poor, widowed Moabite like Ruth?

And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.”

Boaz’s response again reveals his godly character. Awaking to find himself in a potentially corrupting situation, Yahweh is immediately upon Boaz’s lips. Even under the darkness of the midnight hour, Boaz is godly. Indeed, while calling Boaz the man in verse 8 raised in our minds the sinful frailty of man, Ferguson is right to note that “Boaz is a true man, a reminder of what the first Adam was by creation and what the last Adam will be in re-creation” (101). Indeed, he also notes:

Such poise is not in us by nature. It comes from meditation on God’s Word, a life transformed by a renewed mind, uncompromised commitment to pleasing him, and an assurance that his ways are best (Romans 12:1-2). Only a life embedded in the sovereign grace of God, the fruit of a heart that has been meditating upon his Word, enables us to bear this rich fruit of grace. (94)

But what does he mean by saying that Ruth’s last kindness was greater than the first. Again, kindness here is chesed, steadfast love or covenantal faithfulness. This is probably referencing Ruth’s continued commitment to Naomi. Her first kindness was covenanting herself to Naomi, even when prospects looked remarkably bleak. His last kindness is seeking marriage with Boaz for Naomi’s sake. Indeed, Boaz evidently is older than Ruth because he states that she could have gone after young men, whether poor or rich. While this book is not a romance as we think of romance stories today, this statement does give us a hint at how Boaz feels about Ruth. Ruth likely wondered whether any man would ever actually want her as a wife since she was both a widow and a Moabite. Boaz, however, sees the beauty of Ruth’s character and apparently believes that she could have her pick of any man. Thus, we sense that this great man is genuinely humbled by Ruth’s desire to marry him.

Indeed, you will notice that Boaz and Ruth do not display the kind of emotional and passionate love for one another (infatuation, really) that we deem as essential for marriage. Instead, both are governed by piety. Although piety is often associated with legalism, it is too valuable a term not to be reclaimed. According to the Greco-Roman tradition, piety meant doing your duty to whomever you owed it: to the gods, to your family, to your country, etc. Theologians like Augustine and Calvin argued that Christian piety means doing your duty to whomever it is owed but doing so out of love for God and neighbor. Thus, Christian piety is just living in obedience to the two greatest commandments, living a life of dutiful and sacrificial love for others. We may comfortably say that this is the love that Boaz and Ruth have for one another, a love that goes far deeper than physical attraction. Indeed, they are both living out the principle of Proverbs 31:30.

Notice that he then dispels Ruth’s fears and pledges to do what she has asked. He then gives reason of his own for being so quick to accept Ruth’s proposal: she is a worthy woman. In 2:1, we were told that Boaz was a worthy man, and now he is affirming what we have suspected of Ruth. Indeed, as we have noted before, this is the exact same phrase as Proverbs 31:10’s excellent wife. She is a woman of substance. And despite what everyone might have originally said about this Moabite, the people of Bethlehem now all see her character. Duguid notes:

More literally, Boaz says, “all the gate of my people knows that you are a woman of worth.” The idiom is usually lost in translation, but what we see in Ruth is precisely a “Proverbs 31” woman in the flesh: her deeds have indeed been praised in the city gates! (173)

This all sounds too good to be true, and of course, if there were no further complications, the story would essentially conclude here. However, like all good stories, the resolution of one tension often coincides with the revelation of another, which is exactly what happens in verse 12:

And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.

This is likely another factor behind why Boaz has not initiated any talk of redemption by marriage to Ruth before now. He knew that another man had a greater legal right. Mary Hannah notes how Boaz thinks clearly and righteously about the entire situation:

Rather than shirking his responsibility toward Ruth and Naomi or usurping the nearer kinsman’s responsibility, Boaz embraces these two widow’s cause in a manner that honors every interested party (Ruth 3:10-13). He acts neither self-protectively (i.e., by absolving himself of all responsibility because of the nearer kinsman) nor autonomously (i.e., by contravening Israel’s laws or customs to claim rights that are not his). Rather than seeking to avoid discomfort or exalt himself, Boaz seeks to comfort Ruth and exalt her ultimate benefactor, the Lord. With tender-hearted affection Boaz articulates his admiration for Ruth and assures her that he will support her according to the proper protocol. He exhibits the sort of wise gentleness that comes to its fullest expression in the Lord Jesus Christ, who refused to break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he accomplishes justice (Isa. 42:3; Matt. 12:20). (710-711)

Indeed, notice his words of comfort to Ruth in verse 13:

Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.

Despite the uncertainty of the other redeemer, Boaz comforts Ruth. He assures her that she will be redeemed in the morning, whether by Boaz or by the other man. Yahweh will give her rest under His wings. But even while the exact means of her redemption were still up in the air, Boaz urges Ruth to lie down and rest until morning.

WAITING FOR REDEMPTION // VERSES 14-18

So she lay at his feet until morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Prudently, Ruth gets up to leave while it is still dark and before she can be recognized. It is unclear who Boaz is talking to. Block suggests:

It seems he is talking to himself. Boaz obviously supported her efforts to get away without being noticed, for he also had a reputation to preserve. Both his and Ruth’s standing in the community could have been jeopardized by his invitation to Ruth to spend the night “at the place of his feet.” Neither could afford exposure. (186)

Even so, Boaz’s generosity cannot be thwarted:

And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

The text does not tell us what kind of measure Boaz used. It simply says that he measured six barley. But the amount is far less important than what the grain symbolized for Ruth and Naomi. As Duguid notes:

But this abundance of seed is not just a generous financial contribution from Boaz toward Ruth and Naomi’s physical needs. It is a symbolic expression of Ruth’s greater need for seed (a child), which we will finally see fulfilled in the next chapter.

Perhaps it is also significant that Ruth received only six measures, not seven. In biblical symbolism, the number six sometimes stands for incompleteness, whereas seven stands for completeness. Thus, the world was created in six days, yet it was incomplete without the seventh day, the Sabbath. Given the significance of the concept of “rest” in this chapter of the Book of Ruth, it may be that the narrator was signaling the fact that even this generous gift of seed is, by itself, similarly incomplete. Ruth is still looking forward to receiving the final installment of “seed” that will accomplish her rest. (175)

It is also worth noting that while the ESV (as well as the NASB, NKJV, LSB, and CSB) says then she went into the city. But versions like the NIV and NLT end the verse by saying, “Then he went back to town.” That is because the Hebrew Masoretic Text and the Septuagint say that he went into the city, meaning that it was Boaz rather than Ruth who went into the city, which reveals to us already what Naomi will declare in verse 18.

And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’” 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.”

Rather than asking how she fared, Naomi literally said, “Who are you, my daughter?” Since that question doesn’t seem to make much sense, we can understand why it has been modified in our translations. However, we should note that this is the exact same question that Boaz asked Ruth on the threshing floor. Remember: repetition means pay attention. Duguid writes that this is the same question that,

Naomi struggles with through the Book of Ruth. Who is this Moabitess? Is she a person of no significance, an outsider and outcast, as Naomi viewed her back in chapter 1? Or is she in fact rather more than Naomi had ever thought? Is she the one who ultimately will provide Naomi with an enduring place in the genealogies of Israel through the provision of a son? (176)

Indeed, by having Boaz and Naomi ask the same question to Ruth, we are clearly meant to ask ourselves the same question. Who is Ruth? The fact that Ruth’s name is only given once in this chapter, in the very center, and that comes from Ruth’s own lips only builds the heightened tension of this chapter. If Boaz agrees to marry her and she gives birth to a son, her identity is effectively rewritten. She will truly belong to the people of God. Her longing soul will finally have found rest.

After reporting the events to her mother-in-law, there is nothing more for the women to do but wait. As Naomi says, Boaz will not rest until the matter is settled. Ruth has appealed to him, and whether through him or this other redeemer, Ruth will be redeemed in the morning. And so it is that our best and godliest of plans must inevitably give way to waiting upon the LORD for Him to fulfill our redemption.

Indeed, whenever we consider how this text reveals Christ more fully to us, we should marvel at the greatness of the plan that was worked for our redemption. Indeed, Christ is the far greater Boaz, for He became our kinsman redeemer by uniting Himself to us in His incarnation. Hebrews 2:11 notes that He was not ashamed to call us His brothers. But what makes our redemption even more beautiful is that we did not orchestrate the plan as Naomi and Ruth did. Not one of us sought rest from our sinful ways by being reconciled to God. We reveled in our sin and gloried in our folly. No, the plan for our eternal rest did not come from us; it came from God Himself. As Paul writes in Ephesians 3:8-12:

To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Our redemption in Christ was a divine plan “hidden for ages in God.” It was “the eternal purpose” of God that He executed in full through Christ our Lord. Of course, that plan of redemption was worked through Christ’s death and resurrection; however, in many ways, we are waiting, like Naomi and Ruth, for our full and final rest to come. As Mary Hannah notes:

That is, on account of the life, death, and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, believers presently enjoy salvation’s firstfruits but must await salvation’s full outworking (1 John 3:1-3). We live in the already and not yet and look to the Lord’s second coming, when God will resolve all remaining tension and consummate his every promise. In the meantime, our redeemer encourages us by giving us a pledge. Boaz graciously guarantees his oath with six measures of barley, but the Lord Jesus guarantees his oath by giving us the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:20-22). God’s gift of the Spirit demonstrates his trustworthiness and serves as the down payment of our inheritance until we obtain full possession of it (Eph. 1:13-14). (711)

But unlike the generous but incomplete six measures that Boaz gave to Ruth, John (in Revelation) emphasizes the completeness of the Holy Spirit by often calling Him “the seven Spirits of God” (Revelation 4:5).

Furthermore, although the Holy Spirit within us is intangible, He uses tangible means of grace to assure us of His presence, such as the Table set before us. Through this ordinary bite of bread and sip of the cup, the Spirit draws our eyes to the past, the present, and the future of our redemption. He directs our gaze back upon the finished work of Christ upon the cross and glory of His resurrection. He reminds us of our full and final redemption at Christ’s return, where this memorial meal will be replaced by the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Indeed, that day will also be the great threshing floor where the Lord separates for eternity the wheat from the chaff, one to everlasting rest and the other to everlasting torment. And with our hope securely anchored in the past and the future, the Spirit uses this bread and cup to comfort us for the presence, assuring us of our restored communion with God and our membership among Christ’s body. Therefore, as we eat this bread and drink this cup, let us taste and see the goodness of our Savior, who took our sin and shame to give us redemption and rest.