And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Ruth has been gleaning in Boaz's field, gathering enough for each day. Now her mother-in-law raises a larger question. Not food for tomorrow, but a settled home. The chapter turns on one word: rest. Commentators follow it in two directions. Ruth is told to seek rest, and Boaz himself will not rest until the matter is settled.
The word Naomi uses frames the whole chapter, from this verse to its last line.
Gleaning, as we have seen, is the great subject of the second chapter. Rest is the theme of the last two chapters. The opening verse of chapter 3 uses the word of Ruth: "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you?" The closing verse uses it of Boaz: "The man will not rest until he has settled the matter today."
So why did Ruth need more than the field already gave her?
Naomi is the leader here. It is her knowledge both of Boaz's kinship and of the law of Deuteronomy that guides Ruth through the hardest of all her experiences. Ruth had been gleaning food, but it had been through constant toil, and only for present needs. She was now to have rest, all her needs met, her labour over.
Naomi had once been ready to send Ruth back to Moab. The same woman now points her toward Boaz.
What a change in Naomi from her unbelief at the beginning! Back then she would have turned Ruth back to find rest in the pagan home of some Moabite husband. Would she not now be ashamed of such unbelief? Would she not shudder at the thought of her own folly, which might have ended so badly both for herself and her daughter-in-law?
But whose good is Naomi after?
She desired favour for Ruth the Moabite rather than for herself, the wife of the late Elimelech. As she said, her aim was to "seek rest" so that it might be well with the stranger from Moab in the land of promise. She also wanted Ruth to have her rightful share of the family heritage in the tribe of Judah. Naomi was not seeking her own interests. She was seeking the spiritual interests of her daughter-in-law.
Naomi gives Ruth orders. What makes them easy to obey?
Naomi commands, but her orders are never a burden, for they are the commandments of love. "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?" She gives her directions with her beloved Ruth's well-being in view. She also gives them because she knows the heart of Boaz… Obedience is easy for those who know that God loves them and desires only their rest and well-being. But obedience becomes hard when the soul aims to satisfy itself and to find happiness outside of Christ.
Naomi does not just wish rest for Ruth. She points to the person who can give it.
First Naomi engages her thoughts with Boaz, telling her who he is and what he is doing. She says, "he is of our kindred." She says, in effect, "He is ours, and we have a claim upon him." And we can say that Christ is ours. Has He not become flesh and lived among us? Did He not die for us? And now that He is risen, does He not call us His brothers?
So where is that rest found?
Where does Ruth find rest? At the feet of Boaz. And where does a soul find rest? At the feet of Jesus! Ruth feels Boaz is the only one in whom she can fully confide, and she goes and places herself under his wing.
Naomi asks who will give Ruth rest. The answer is a man who will not rest himself until the work is done.
Boaz undertook for Ruth, and he could not be at rest himself until he had finished the work he had taken on. In the same way our adorable Substitute undertook for us. Indeed, He so took our place that He could not be at rest Himself until He finished the work that gives us rest in the presence of God for ever.
- Rest sought. Naomi's question sets the chapter's subject. Ruth has food from gleaning, but no rest.
- Rest misplaced. Naomi once urged Ruth to look for rest in Moab; she now points her to a kinsman in the land — a turn from her earlier unbelief.
- Rest located. The answer is a person, not a provision: Boaz is "of our kindred," and Ruth ends up at his feet.
- Rest obeyed. Naomi's orders are the commandments of love. Obedience is easy for those who know they are loved.
- Rest secured. The chapter ends with the kinsman unable to rest until the work is done. He alone can win the rest Naomi sought for Ruth.
And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he is winnowing barley in the threshing-floor to-night.
Naomi builds on two facts she already knows: Boaz is family, and tonight he is at the threshing floor. Her question opens a plan, drawn from Israel's laws about relatives, to move a widowed foreign woman out of daily gleaning and into rest.
Naomi first fixes Ruth's mind on who Boaz is. Where the ESV says "our relative," older translations read "of our kindred," and that word carries a claim.
First Naomi turns Ruth's thoughts to Boaz, telling her who he is and what he is doing. She says, "he is of our kindred." She says in effect, "He is ours and we have a claim upon him." And we can say that Christ is ours. Has He not become flesh and lived among us? Did He not die for us? And now, risen, He calls us His brothers.
Two separate laws met in one man. A relative could buy back family land that had been sold, and a relative was expected to marry the childless widow so the dead man's name would continue.
All land was to return every fiftieth year to the family it had belonged to. Even so, any of the family or their relatives could buy it back, or redeem it, before that time. See Leviticus 25:23-28. Naomi, it seems, was forced to sell, and she hoped that one of her relatives would buy or redeem it… The law also laid this down: if a man died childless, his nearest relative or "brother" should marry the widow. Their firstborn son would be named after the dead man, so that his name should not perish in Israel. See Deuteronomy 25:5-10. So the close relative had a double duty.
Boaz is doing ordinary farm work. The hour he picked for it was not random.
This was done in the open air, by throwing up the grain with a shovel or a fan; the wind carried away the chaff. Boaz winnowed his barley in the evening, when there would be more wind.
The wind explains the hour. One more custom explains why Boaz would still be there at night.
Thieves love darkness rather than light. To guard the winnowed grain from them, the owner himself would sleep in the open on the threshing floor. He kept his usual clothes on, with a cloak over his feet for extra covering. In Bethlehem it seems to have been common knowledge that Boaz would do this that night. So Naomi advised Ruth to use this occasion and make a private, personal appeal to "Boaz of our kindred". She was to ask him to protect her, friendless as she was, and to take an interest in recovering the inheritance of her dead father-in-law and her husband.
Commentators differ on what the scene pictures. One view looks ahead to a night still to come.
Winnowing is a sifting process that separates the wheat from the chaff. Read Matthew 3:12. The threshing floor is Israel. A dark night of trouble is coming for them. Then the mighty One will do the work of separating among His people: "His winnowing fork is in His hand." In that coming night the believing remnant will seek the place at His feet, as Ruth did, and claim Him as their own redeemer.
Others apply the same detail to the present day.
The Lord Jesus is not occupied with the chaff today. He will deal with the chaff in judgment in a coming day. But at this moment He is occupied with His own: "He is winnowing barley." In other words, He is sanctifying the Church, so that He may present the Church to Himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
Ruth had spent the harvest among Boaz's young women and had received much from him. Naomi's plan reaches past the gifts to the giver.
All these blessings, however, had not satisfied her heart. They had indeed won her confidence, and drawn out her affections. But once the affections are won, only one thing satisfies the heart: having the Person who won them… It is having the Blesser, not the blessings, that satisfies the heart.
Naomi does not suggest; she directs. Ruth obeys without argument.
Naomi commands, but her orders are in no way burdensome. They are the commands of love: "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?" What she directs, she directs with her beloved Ruth's well-being in view. She directs it too because she knows the heart of Boaz: "Is not Boaz of our kindred?" Ruth, the woman of faith, obeys.
The plan carried real risk of rejection, and that is exactly where it is commended.
It might have seemed bold to some; it was really a believing course, with love to Ruth also… It was possible that the course Naomi directed her daughter-in-law to take might have turned the heart of the great man away from the Moabite woman completely; but God ordered otherwise according to faith, and so difficulties disappeared one after another.
- Relative — Boaz is family, and that is a claim, not a coincidence. Relationship is the ground of every request in this chapter.
- Claim — that relationship carried a double legal duty: buy back the family land, and marry the widow so the dead man's name lived on.
- Timing — Boaz winnowed at night because the evening wind carried off the chaff. He slept by the grain to guard it. Naomi knew both facts and moved.
- Picture — commentators differ on the winnowing. Some see a coming night of sifting for Israel. Others see Christ at work now with His own, not with the chaff.
- Rest — gleaning brought gifts. Only the giver brings rest, and that is where Naomi's counsel of love aimed Ruth.
Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go down to the floor; make not thyself known to the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
Naomi's counsel sends Ruth, washed and dressed, down to a threshing floor at night to place herself at the feet of a sleeping man. Two questions follow. What was Naomi asking for? And what do her three commands picture for anyone who wants to be close to Christ?
The timing was not random. Winnowing was evening work, and the owner stayed with his grain:
Winnowing means separating the grain from the chaff after threshing. It usually happened in the evening, because the winds that carried away the light husks sprang up at that time of day. Thieves love darkness rather than light. So to guard the winnowed grain, the owner himself would sleep out in the open on the threshing floor. He kept his usual clothes on, with a cloak over his feet for extra covering. It seems to have been common knowledge in Bethlehem that Boaz would do this that night.
Naomi was working from the law. Two rules gave a close relative both a right and a duty:
Though all land was to revert every fiftieth year to the family it had belonged to, it could be bought back, or redeemed, by any of the family or their relatives before that time. See Leviticus 25:23-28... The law also expected a man's nearest relative or "brother" to marry his widow if he died childless. See Deuteronomy 25:5-10. So the near kinsman had a double duty: to redeem the land if he was able, and to marry Mahlon's widow.
Naomi's plan looks bold. One writer says God was with that boldness:
It might have seemed bold to some; it was really a believing course, with love to Ruth in it too. But when God is with us, two things go together. On one hand there is the attractive grace of a pure life joined with reverence. On the other there is the boldness of faith, and God blesses that boldness just as much. Ruth 2 shows us the one, as the third chapter does the other.
One writer links the first command to the feet washing in John 13:
The first necessity, "wash yourself," carries our thoughts to the feet washing of John 13. Feet washing must come before heart resting... We allow the defiling influences of the world to creep in and drag our affections down to the things of the earth. If we neglect feet washing, the defilements increase. Our minds grow so clogged and our affections so dulled that communion with Christ becomes rare or unknown.
Washing only removes what is wrong. The next command adds something:
Washing is negative; it removes defilement. Anointing is positive; it leaves a sweet fragrance. We need our minds and affections cleansed from defiling influences. We also need them filled with the things of Christ, so that a fragrance of Christ is about us, suited to the company of Christ.
The third command adds one more thing. The writer uses an older wording of the verse, "put your raiment upon you":
Then Naomi says, "Put your garments on." Does this not speak of the fine linen which is the practical righteousness of the saints? If Philippians 4:8 speaks of the anointing, does not the following verse answer to the clothing — the practical righteousness? There the Apostle says, "What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things." The keyword of verse 8 is "think"; the keyword of verse 9 is "do."
One writer answers a reader who thinks he must clean himself up before coming to the Saviour:
You cannot — try what you will, you cannot make yourself one bit better, one bit more fit for the Saviour's presence. "Ah, but," you say, "Ruth was told to wash and anoint herself." Yes, but you are not, and that is the difference... Nothing can cleanse you before God, or give relief to your soul, but the precious blood of Christ. To try to improve yourself is only a snare of the devil to keep you away from the Saviour.
Naomi's instructions change once Boaz has accepted Ruth:
At the earlier stage, while Ruth was still a suitor, Naomi tells her to wash, to anoint herself, and to put her clothes on. Then she is to go down to the threshing floor where Boaz would be. But as soon as Boaz has accepted her, Naomi changes her tone and tells her to sit still. (Ruth 3:3, 18)
One writer sees the night-time threshing floor pointing to a later testing:
Is it not significant that this test was to be made at threshing time, and at night? It connects with "the great tribulation" — literally the great threshing time. Then the remnant will put forward their claim to the Kinsman whom they still recognise so dimly.
- Warranted — Naomi's plan rested on written law: the redemption of land, and the duty of a near relative to the widow.
- Wash — the first step is negative. It removes the defiling influences that dull affection and make closeness to Christ rare.
- Anoint — the second is positive: a mind filled with what is true and lovely leaves a fragrance suited to His company.
- Clothe — the third step shows. Right thinking becomes right doing, the practical righteousness others can see.
- Then still — preparation belongs to the suitor; once the kinsman has taken the case in hand, the word changes from "go down" to "sit still."
And it shall be, when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall have lain down, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thyself down; and he will shew thee what thou shalt do.
Naomi sends Ruth out at night to a threshing floor, to mark where Boaz lies down, uncover his feet, and wait. The plan sounds reckless until you know the customs and the laws behind it.
The instruction only makes sense once you know how grain was handled and guarded overnight.
Winnowing means separating the grain from the chaff after threshing. Workers usually did it in the evening, because the winds that carry away the light husks sprang up at that time of day. Thieves love darkness rather than light, so as a rule the owner himself slept out in the open on the threshing floor to guard the winnowed grain. He slept in his ordinary clothes, with a cloak over his feet for extra covering. It seems to have been common knowledge in Bethlehem that Boaz would do this that night.
Naomi was not improvising. Two provisions of Israel's law gave Ruth something real to ask for.
All land was to return every fiftieth year to the family it had belonged to. Before that time, though, any of the family or their relatives could buy it back, or redeem it. See Leviticus 25:23-28. So Naomi, forced to sell as it seems, hoped one of her relatives would buy or redeem it… There was another question involved as well. The law stated that if a man died childless, his nearest relative or "brother" was expected to marry his widow. The firstborn of that union would carry the dead man's name, so that his name would not be cut off in Israel. See Deuteronomy 25:5-10. So the near kinsman had a double duty: he was expected, if able, both to redeem the land and to marry Mahlon's widow.
The plan carried real risk.
It might have seemed bold to some; it was really a believing plan, with love to Ruth in it too. But when God is with us, there is on one side the attractive grace of a pure life joined with reverence. On the other side there is the boldness of faith, and God blesses it just as remarkably… The course Naomi told her daughter-in-law to take might well have turned the heart of the great man away from the Moabite woman altogether. But God ordered otherwise according to faith, and so the difficulties disappeared one after another.
Before she goes down, Ruth is told to prepare herself. Writers take the three steps as a picture of the state of soul that suits the company of Christ.
Having washed, Ruth must anoint herself. It is not enough to cleanse the mind from defiling influences. We also need to remember the apostle's appeal: "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Washing is negative; it removes defilement. Anointing is positive; it leaves a sweet fragrance.
Ruth does not argue her case. She takes the lowest place and listens for his word.
Having become suited to the presence of Boaz, Ruth's course is plain. She is to lie down at the feet of Boaz and listen to his words, as Naomi says, "he will tell you what to do." Does this not carry our thoughts to that lovely scene at Bethany in Luke 10? There we read of Mary that she "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching."
Another writer turns the scene into a question for the reader.
Where does Ruth find rest? At the feet of Boaz. And where does a soul find rest? At the feet of Jesus! Ruth feels Boaz is the only one she can fully trust, so she goes and places herself under his wing.
One writer reads the threshing floor and the night as a picture of something still ahead.
Winnowing is a sifting process by which the wheat is separated from the chaff… The threshing floor is Israel. The dark night of tribulation is coming for them. Then the mighty One will do the work of separating among His people… In that coming night the believing remnant will seek the place at His feet, like Ruth, and claim Him as their own redeemer.
- Custom. Boaz slept beside his grain to guard it, a cloak over his feet. The whole town knew the practice, and Naomi's plan used it.
- Claim. Two laws stood behind her approach: buying back lost land, and marrying the widow so the dead man's name lived on. The near kinsman owed both.
- Courage. The plan looked bold, and it could have failed; God was with faith, and the obstacles fell one by one.
- Cleansing. Washing removes defilement; anointing leaves a fragrance. Both prepared Ruth for the meeting.
- Closeness. She lies down at his feet and waits for his word. A soul finds rest there, and there the believing remnant will one day claim their Redeemer.