The proposal has been made
by Ruth and accepted by Boaz. Boaz is to fulfill the role of the
kinsman redeemer in the next morning if the person closer in line as
kinsman refuses to carry it out. Ruth stays at Boaz' feet until early
in the morning as Boaz has instructed, and just before anyone else is
stirring Ruth begins to leave the threshing floor. It is not a good
idea for anyone to find her there, and as she is leaving we find one
more gesture of grace from Boaz in chapter three and verse fifteen
where we read:
Also he said, Bring the
veil that [you have] upon you, and hold it. And when she held it, he
measured six [measures] of barley, and laid [it] on her: and she went
into the city.
Many of
the wedding traditions are discovered in the book of Ruth. This is
one of them. Boaz said to Ruth, “Bring the veil that you have
upon you, and hold it.” Women wore veils in those days, and
Ruth wasn't any different. She was obviously veiled when she
approached Boaz this night, and Boaz was perceptive enough to note
that he could make great use of it. Once again Ruth made a choice to
submit to his request. She could have said, “No, I don't want to
bring my veil. What are you going to do with it if I bring it?” and
so on. However, she just “held it” and made it available
to him.
When
Ruth submitted to this simple task, “he measured six measures of
barley, and laid it on her.” Once Ruth made her veil available,
Boaz filled it and fill it did he. A measure of barley is about two
and a half gallons, so six measures would have been about fifteen
gallons of grain. Can we imagine what a heavy load this was for Ruth?
The interesting part of this is that Boaz felt a strong desire to
provide more than amply for Ruth even when he wasn't sure if he would
be her kinsman redeemer. The abundance of kindness and grace he
shares with her might remind us of someone else, our kinsman redeemer
Jesus.
Finally,
Ruth “went into the city.” Even if Ruth desired to stay
with Boaz, the timing was not right. There would be a wait, and Ruth
would know in the morning whether she and Boaz' plan worked out. For
now, she went home, and the rest of the plan must be left to Boaz.
Do we
hear our Lord Jesus at times asking us to “Bring our veil?” Do we
obey Him when He does, or do we retract and hold our veils to
ourselves. The amount of trust that Ruth must have had toward Boaz is
a great example to follow. Ruth didn't know why Boaz wanted her veil.
She didn't have any idea that he was going to fill it, and often when
we are asked to “Bring the veil” within our lives we have no idea
what the Lord Jesus desires to put within it either. The question is,
“Do we trust Him?” When our relationship with Jesus is close, and
there are requests made by Him, obedience and submission is based
upon His true care for each one of us. When He instructs, leads,
cares, and guides us, we may have full assurance that He knows what
is best for our lives, and even if we are in a time of waiting upon
Him we can know that He has a plan and He is working it out. May we
ever bring our “veils” before Him and allow Him to fill them with
whatever he desires.
Next
time we will watch as Ruth takes her bounty to and tells her story to
Naomi, 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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