Naomi has begun to develop a
plan for providing rest and well-being for Ruth. She knows that Boaz
is a close relative to her husband in kinship that he could be a
kinsman redeemer. This meant that Boaz could marry Ruth and raise up
children on her husband and son's behalf. She continued sharing with
Ruth in chapter three and verse two where she said:
And now [is] not Boaz
of our kindred, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows
barley to night in the threshingfloor.
Once
again Naomi tells Ruth of the position of Boaz, “And now is not
Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens you were?” From the
first time Boaz was mentioned by Ruth in our story Naomi has known
that he was a kinsman. We should remember that this was the reason
Naomi assured Ruth that staying in Boaz' field was the proper move.
Should Boaz decide to fulfill the obligation of the kinsman redeemer,
Ruth would become his wife, and the fields in which Ruth gleaned
could possibly be enjoyed in ownership by her as well. It was wise of
Ruth to stay in Boaz' field because she would not only glean grain,
but might also glean the field owner as well.
Naomi
continued, “Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the
threshingfloor.” Naomi knows Boaz' location, “in the
threshingfloor”, and she wants Ruth to know where he is as
well. He “winnows” which means “to scatter, fan, cast
away, disperse, compass, spread, be scattered, be dispersed”
and is related to separating unusable chaff from the harvested grain.
Winnowers would put harvested grains upon a blanket or sheetlike
material and toss the entire contents into the air. A fan created or
natural wind would blow away the undesired chaff, and allow the grain
to fall to the sheet. Then the blanketed grain would be tossed into
the air again and repeated until only grain was left on the sheet.
The area in which harvesters would complete this task was called the
threshingfloor. This is where Boaz was located, and this is where
Ruth would meet her kinsman redeemer.
In the
gospel of Luke in chapter three and verses sixteen and seventeen we
read where John the Baptist spoke of Jesus with these words:
John answered, saying
unto [them] all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier
than I comes, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose:
he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan
[is] in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will
gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with
fire unquenchable.
As with Boaz, Jesus was
referred to as purging his floor from chaff and gathering His grain,
however, Jesus' harvest is not physical barley or wheat. No, rather,
it is people in the world who are to be harvested. The idea is that
the world is filled with both those who are like grain and those who
are like chaff. Jesus is winnowing in His threshingfloor as was Boaz,
and the grain and the chaff will be separated from one another. John
the Baptist noted that he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of
Jesus' shoes and that the one coming would baptize with the Holy
Ghost and with fire. Our kinsman redeemer Jesus is ready to winnow.
He desires to gather wheat into His garner, however, should we be
found to be chaff, “he will burn with fire unquenchable.” Let
us be sure to understand the importance and power of the one who
winnows the grain above all grains, and may we desire to meet Him for
a relationship at His threshingfloor.
Next
time we discover more of the details in Naomi's for Ruth, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites,
www.amazon.com
; www.barnesandnobles.com
; download
to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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