And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thy handmaid spread thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou hast the right of redemption.
At midnight on the threshing floor Boaz wakes to find someone at his feet, and asks who she is. Her answer is not a plea for pity. It is a claim. She names herself his servant, asks for the covering of his wing, and rests it all on his right to redeem.
Ruth is not improvising. Her words appeal to two laws of Israel. Together they placed a double duty on the nearest male relative of a man who had died.
All land went back every fiftieth year to the family it had belonged to. Before that time any of the family or their relatives could buy it back, or redeem it. See Leviticus 25:23-28. Naomi had to sell, so she hoped one of her kinsmen would redeem it… There was another question too. The law said that if a man died childless, his nearest relative or "brother" should marry his widow. The firstborn son of that marriage was to carry the dead man's name, so that his name should not perish in Israel. See Deuteronomy 25:5-10. So the near kinsman had a double duty. If he was able, he was to redeem the land, and he was also to marry Mahlon's widow.
Where the ESV has "wings" and "servant", older translations read "skirt" and "handmaid". The picture is shelter, not clothing. Boaz had already used it about her.
"Spread your skirt (wing) over your handmaid" is not meant literally but as a picture. Ruth wanted his protection. When danger comes near, the hen gathers her helpless chicks under her wings (Matt. 23:37). When David fled from Saul, he took refuge in the shadow of the wings of his God (Ps. 57:1)… In the harvest field Boaz had already used this picture to welcome Ruth as a gleaner: "Jehovah repay your work, and let your reward be full from Jehovah the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to take refuge" (2:12). Was Ruth pointing back to these words of Boaz when she asked, "Spread your wing over your handmaid"? It may well be so. The words of her lips expressed the faith of her heart: the "wing" of Boaz might be the agent of the sheltering "wings" of Jehovah.
The gesture had a settled meaning in that time and place.
Ruth's conduct may look strange and improper to us, but in the days when the judges ruled it was thought perfectly proper. Her asking Boaz to spread his skirt over her showed him that she was willing to become his wife (see Ezekiel 16:8). And though she is only a poor widow, and not an Israelite by birth, Boaz is quite agreeable to the proposal.
Boaz asks who she is. Redemption waits on her answer — and the answer that works admits she has nothing of her own.
At midnight, just at the darkest, His voice comes with a question. How necessary a question, when redemption is the thing at stake: "Who are you?" How blessed to know that the right answer is simply to own, "I am Ruth, your servant," for this is the name of the barren woman whose natural hopes are dead. The law applies to such a one and pledges itself to her: no other has any claim. "Spread, then, your wing over your servant" — this soul with its need of shelter — "for you are a redeemer."
Her approach is daring. It is also carefully measured — she asks only what his position as kinsman entitles her to ask.
There she seeks a pledge from Boaz. She comes to trust in the shadow of his wing. She would have him spread his skirt over her, doing for her the full services of her near kinsman. She goes as far as faith warrants her, but no farther; for Boaz, as they judged, was the nearest kinsman whose duty it was to repair the ruins of Elimelech's house; and so Ruth is strong in faith, and seeks the blessing confidently, but also humbly and graciously. And her faith is rewarded; it is done to her according to it.
Commentators read Boaz as a picture of Christ. What has changed since chapter 2 is the point.
She has done nothing but place herself under his protection… "You have showed more kindness at the latter end than at the beginning." What does he mean by that? In chapter 2 she had gone into the field merely as a gleaner, and there had met Boaz. Now she had gone straight to him, confided in him, put her case entirely into his hands. "Take charge of all my affairs, I claim your care," she seems to say, "you are a near kinsman" — that is, the heart claims Christ, and cannot do without Christ.
One writer sees here the turning round of an earlier moment in Israel's history. Then God acted first, unasked.
Long ago He sought them… No one asked Him for it, yet He took Israel for His inheritance and spread His wings over them. "When I passed by you and saw you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness; yes, I swore to you, and entered into a covenant with you" (Ezek. 16:8). But in the latter day, Israel must seek the Lord, as Ruth now seeks Boaz… Then Israel, like Ruth and Naomi, shall seek the shelter of His wing again, and the covering of His skirt again.
- Ground. She stands on law, not feeling. The near kinsman had to buy back the family land and to marry the widow.
- Wing. The wing means shelter. Boaz had told Ruth she came to take refuge under God's wings; now she asks him to be that shelter for her.
- Name. She must answer "Who are you?" before redemption can start. What qualifies her is the confession that her own hopes are dead.
- Ask. Spreading his skirt over her meant marriage — a strange scene to us, but proper in its day, and Boaz was quite willing.
- Result. She stops gleaning leftovers and puts her whole case in his hands. That is a heart claiming Christ — and the road back for Israel too, seeking the shelter of His wing again.
And he said, Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter! Thou hast shewn more kindness at the end than at the first, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.
Boaz wakes in the night to find Ruth at his feet. She has put herself under his protection and asked him, as her near kinsman, to act for her. His first word is not alarm but blessing. Then comes praise: this last kindness of hers is greater than the first.
The way Boaz speaks to her is friendly, not a claim of family ties. He had already used the same words to her earlier.
Also, the term "my daughter" was a friendly greeting rather than an actual relationship. Note that Boaz used the same form of address to Ruth (2:8; 3:10).
By birth Ruth stood outside Israel's promises. What Boaz asks for her is the very thing her birth seemed to shut her out of.
Ruth was by birth a stranger to "the covenants of promise." Yet she received the promise of an inheritance in Immanuel's land, the glory of all lands. From that land the generous blessings of God will one day flow to the whole earth. When this promise came true she would be blessed by the LORD and accepted as a daughter of Israel, just as Boaz asked for her (v. 10).
Commentators explain this greater kindness in two ways. The first is that her love had moved from Naomi to Boaz himself.
Boaz praises Ruth because she had made this last kindness greater than the first. She had first shown love toward her mother-in-law. Naomi stood for the people of God to her. Now Ruth was acting out of love for Boaz. She had not gone after young men, poor or rich. She had not looked for companions to suit her own natural likes. She had come to the man whose rights she recognised.
The second reading compares chapter two with chapter three. There she took his gifts; here she comes to the man himself.
How the Lord delights to have a soul in living contact with Himself! He says she has made this last kindness greater than the first. What does he mean by that? In the second chapter she had gone into the field only as a gleaner, and there had met Boaz. Now she had gone straight to him, trusted him, and put her case fully into his hands. "Take charge of all my affairs. I claim your care," she says in effect, "you are a near kinsman." That is, the heart claims Christ, and cannot do without Christ.
Boaz praises Ruth for a refusal. She turned down every other option, and one writer sees the same choice facing readers now.
How it must have moved the heart of Ruth to hear Boaz answer, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter" (v. 10). The Lord Jesus values the faith and love of those who have a single eye for Him. Boaz was a wise man. He loved Ruth, yet he did not press his love upon her. He waited to find out if she loved him, and now the answer was in plain sight. Ruth did not go after young men, whether poor or rich. Popular movements attract many people who fail to see in Christ the real answer to their needs. Some favour the poor and champion a cause that seems praiseworthy, but leave out the Lord Jesus. Others are rich, promising wealth and ease to those who follow, but again do not recognise Christ.
The blessing of verse 10 opens a sequence. Boaz meets each of Ruth's needs in turn.
She had refused all others and followed Boaz. So first he assures her of blessing: "May you be blessed by the LORD" (v. 10). Second, he removes every trace of fear from her heart, saying, "Fear not" (v. 11). Then he assures her that he will overcome every hindrance to the fulfilment of all his purpose (vv. 12, 13). In the meantime he richly supplies all her need.
Ruth's story sets two things side by side: honest work, and wholehearted attachment. The second draws a return the first never could.
Ruth receives more because of her devotion to Naomi than she gets by her honest, steady work. In moral terms this is always the case. Faithful service brings a great reward, but the reward of devotion added to it goes far beyond measure. The fruit only matches the labour spent, unless that labour has sprung from true devotion.
- Claim. Ruth stopped gleaning gifts and went straight to the giver. She put her whole case into his hands. Boaz calls this a greater kindness than the first.
- Refusal. She did not go after young men, poor or rich. Boaz had waited to see whether she loved him, and now he had his answer.
- Blessing. A woman born outside the covenants of promise is blessed by the LORD and welcomed as a daughter of Israel. Boaz gives her more than she asked for.
- Sequence. Blessing first. Then "fear not." Then the promise to clear every obstacle. Then full provision in the meantime.
- Return. Faithful work brings reward. Devotion added to it brings reward beyond measure. Ruth gained more by loving than by labouring.
And now, my daughter, fear not all that thou sayest will I do to thee; for all the gate of my people knows that thou art a woman of worth.
Boaz answers Ruth at midnight, and his reply is immediate and total: no fear, no conditions, no delay. Two questions follow. Why does he bind himself so fast to a woman from outside Israel? And what does he mean by calling her a worthy woman?
Boaz's words come in a set order, and each one answers something in Ruth.
First, she has refused all others and followed Boaz, so he assures her of blessing: "May you be blessed by the LORD" (v. 10). Second, he removes every trace of fear from her heart, saying, "Do not fear" (v. 11). Then he assures her that nothing will hinder the fulfilment of all his purpose (vv. 12, 13)… This is how the Lord acts with His own today. Knowing that the Lord wants us for Himself removes all fear and assures our hearts that no hindrance can stand in the way of His purpose for us.
Ruth had done nothing but place her case in his hands. Boaz treats that trust as something valuable — he calls it kindness.
"You have made this last kindness greater than the first." That is, he says, "You did not use to trust me, but now you do." What a lovely picture of the heart of Jesus! Satan says, "Don't trust Him; He will not have you; you are not good enough" — but do not believe Satan. Trust Jesus. There is nothing He values like confidence. He even calls it "kindness."… See the rich fruit of this confidence: "I will do for you all that you ask." He says, I will meet every need of your heart. He owns Himself your kinsman. He owns you. He saves you entirely. He does all you ask. You have nothing to do but be still and trust Him.
The phrase is not a compliment Boaz invents on the spot. The men at the town gate had already settled that verdict, and the same phrase turns up in Proverbs.
Her godly living and daily manner showed her faith in the LORD clearly. As Boaz testified, the wise and upright men who sat in the gate of Bethlehem knew she was "a worthy woman" (v. 11). The ruling elders had already recognised her as one who excelled in the qualities that gave worthiness, or "virtue," to a wife in Israel. Solomon describes such a woman as the crown of her husband (Prov. 12:4). The last twenty-two verses of that book of moral wisdom praise the same woman, "an excellent wife" (Prov. 31:10-31). Ruth was justified before people by her works of "worth," because they sprang from her faith in the LORD, as Abraham's and Rahab's works did (James 2:21-25).
Ruth's night visit could easily have fed gossip. One writer notes what Boaz's words do for her.
She carries out Naomi's directions. Boaz recognises her at midnight, the darkest hour, and she makes her bold claim. He does not turn her away; he blesses her… He reassures her, promises to do all, and affirms what slander might have denied: "All my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman."
Ruth's earlier love went to Naomi. Here it turns toward Boaz, and Boaz rewards the turn.
Boaz praises Ruth because she had shown "more kindness at the end than at the first." She had first shown love toward her mother-in-law, who stood for the people of God to her. Now she was acting out of love for Boaz. She had not gone after young men, poor or rich. She had not chosen companions to suit her own taste. She had come to the one whose rights she acknowledged. He reassures her and promises to grant all she asks (v. 11). We receive everything from His grace, but He also gives according to the measure of our obedience and devotion to Him… As soon as Ruth knew Boaz she did everything with him in view. Now he is doing everything for her.
Her good name was real. But it was not what won her a place. One writer sets her beside Rahab, a woman with the opposite reputation.
By nature Ruth had a very different character from Rahab. Boaz said to her, "All my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman." But it took the same sovereign grace to bring the immoral Canaanite and the virtuous Moabite into the families of Israel and into the royal line. Neither had a natural claim to divine blessing; the law shut both of them out. It was divine grace that blessed them, and faith that enabled them to seek a place among God's people.
- All fear removed. Boaz answers her in order — blessing first, then "do not fear," then his word that nothing will hinder his purpose.
- All you ask. Confidence is the one thing he prizes. He calls it kindness, and answers it by meeting her every need.
- All the town. "Worthy woman" is the verdict of the elders at the gate. Spoken here, it guards her name against gossip.
- All for him. Her love moved from Naomi to Boaz. She did everything with him in view; now he does everything for her.
- All of grace. The law shut out both her and Rahab. Character did not earn the place — grace gave it, and faith reached for it.