After being startled in the
middle of the night, Boaz does what any of us might do should we find
someone at the foot of our bed in the nighttime. We find his question
and Ruth's answer in chapter three and verse nine in the book of Ruth
where we read:
And he said, Who are
you? And she answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your
skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman.
“Who
are you?” The question seems simple enough, but if it is
thought upon for very long, the answer might not be as easy. In this
setting Ruth gives the most obvious answer along with a description,
“I am Ruth your handmaid.” She gives her name and position
to Boaz and in doing so hopes that favor will be found. She is
relying upon her previous relations with Boaz in order that he might
not reject her. Most of us might desire that someone who interrupts
our slumber be removed from our room, however, if that person has
favor in our eyes, we might be rather glad they are with us. This is
what Ruth relied upon, and who she was put her in that position.
In
addition to who she was, Ruth went a step further and made a request
of Boaz. She said, “spread therefore your skirt over your
handmaid;”. In other words, Ruth asked Boaz to fulfill his
obligation as a kinsman redeemer. We learned earlier that if a
woman's husband died, the brother of that husband was to marry the
woman and raise a child in the brother's name. This idea was
instituted by God, and if there was no brother to the deceased man,
the next of kin would have the responsibility. Boaz was a kinsman of
Naomi's husband Elimelech, and therefore was in line to fulfill this
obligation. Ruth called him on it by asking him to marry her. “Spread
therefore your skirt over your handmaid” was a way to ask a man
to marry a woman in that day. The idea was to “cover” or “to
place a cover over” her with matrimony.
Finally
Ruth adds the reason Boaz should cover her, “for you are a near
kinsman.” Ruth was fairly new to this culture, but she had the
ideas of it down quickly. We can tell that Naomi had a strong
influence in her life. Can we imagine for a moment this bold move by
Ruth? Not only does she watch Boaz until he retires for the evening,
she goes to him at midnight and lay at his feet. Then when he awakens
in a shaken state, she asks him to marry her. This has to be one of
the most memorable proposals in all of history. Not only that, but
Ruth tells Boaz what to do and gives him ample reason for doing so.
She nearly obligates him to fulfill his roll.
How can
we apply this scripture? If we will recall, it was Boaz who noticed
Ruth first. It was Boaz who provided for her, protected her and made
special provisions for her if she would only stay in his field. In
other words, Boaz desired the relationship first. Our kinsman
redeemer Jesus has provided for us, protected us, and made special
provisions for us about which we have no idea. He longs for us to
come to Him and ask Him to fulfill His role in our lives. Our
willingness to take a risk and have faith that He will do so is a
delight to our Lord, and when we venture toward Him, He is ready to
have a relationship with us. Can we be so bold as Ruth to ask our
Lord Jesus to be our kinsman redeemer? We all should hope so, and
when we note who we are and ask Him, our lives will be forever
changed because we did.
Next
time we will find out Boaz' reply to 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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