The Kinsman Redeemer: A Study Of The Book Of Ruth. Day 6, Matchmaking By Naomi

When Ruth returned home from gleaning a field during the barley harvest, Naomi knew right away that someone must have shown her special kindness. Not only did the owner of the field give her a free lunch, but he gave her enough for two people so she could bring half of it home to Naomi. On top of that, Ruth gleaned more in a day than a person normally would and Naomi realizes the owner of the field must have instructed his harvesters to let extra stalks fall to the ground. She said, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" 

Ruth tells her the identity of the owner of the field and Naomi recognizes his name. "Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. 'The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,' she said. 'The Lord bless him!' Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. 'He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.' Then she added, 'That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.'" (Ruth 2:19b-20) Boaz is a kinsman of Naomi's late husband Elimelek and Naomi's late sons, Mahlon and Kilion. He has been kind to the living (Naomi and Ruth) and has shown honor and respect for the memory of the dead (Naomi's departed husband and sons). 

She adds the information that Boaz is such a close relative that he is a "goel" which is a Hebrew legal term for a male relative of such close kin that he had the right to avenge the murder of a loved one (the person known as the "avenger of blood" in Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19, and Joshua 20) and who had the obligation to help his next-of-kin out of dire circumstances. We will learn in tomorrow's that Boaz is not these women's closest next-of-kin. 

While Naomi is extolling the goodness of Boaz and calling upon the Lord to bless him for his kindness, Ruth tells her she hasn't heard the whole story yet. It gets even better. "Then Ruth the Moabite said, 'He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, 'It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field you might be harmed.' So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law." (Ruth 2:21-23) The wheat wouldn't be ready for harvest until after the barley harvest came in. This means Ruth worked in Boaz's fields through two harvests and I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that he specifically invited her to stay on for the second harvest, though the Bible doesn't say so.

When Ruth told Naomi she was working under the protection of Boaz, Naomi was relieved. She knew this meant her daughter-in-law would be safe from the advances of the men. She knew Boaz would continue making sure Ruth got a good lunch every day. Again I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Boaz kept giving her a double portion every day so she could take half of it home to Naomi. I don't know whether Naomi realized, at the beginning of the barley harvest, that Boaz was a bachelor. But she has found this information out while Ruth worked for him through both harvests. I don't know whether she did some information gathering or whether, upon telling her friends and neighbors how generous Boaz had been, she was told that he was single. The suggestion might have been made that he had some romantic interest in Ruth. Or perhaps Naomi came to that conclusion herself. Whatever the case, now that both harvests are coming to a conclusion, she knows there will be no work-related reasons for Ruth and Boaz to continue being in each other's company. So she decides it's time to play matchmaker. She wants Ruth to become the wife of Boaz and she gives Ruth some advice about how to make it happen.

"One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, 'My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.'" (Ruth 3:1-4) We must not make the mistake of misconstruing Naomi's advice to Ruth; she is not telling Ruth to make sexual advances to Boaz. Ruth is not going to Boaz's sleeping area on the threshing floor to put him in a compromising position. It is not her intention to elicit a proposal of marriage by seducing him or by making everyone at the harvest celebration think she did.  No, in lying at his feet she is putting herself where a servant would sleep. She is saying, "I am putting my future in your hands. I am asking for your continued protection and provision." 

If anyone is making a marriage proposal here, it is Ruth, not Boaz. In tomorrow's passage, when he awakes startled to find a woman at his feet, she will ask him to, "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family." He will know exactly what she's asking him to do in the capacity of a kinsman redeemer. There is family land, which once belonged to Naomi's husband Elimelek, that can be sold to provide for Naomi and Ruth. It has to be offered first to the "goel", the closest male relative, otherwise known as the kinsman redeemer/guardian-redeemer. At this time Ruth and Naomi think Boaz is the closest male relative, although in tomorrow's passage we'll learn that he knows of a closer kinsman than himself. The land will have to be offered to the other kinsman first but whoever buys the land must also take Ruth as his wife. Why? Because this is an example of "levirate marriage" which we studied earlier in the Old Testament. We'll take a look at how this works out.

Elimelek's son Mahlon was his eldest son and chief heir. The bigger share of Elimelek's estate would have gone to Mahlon upon Elimelek's death. Elimelek predeceased both his sons and that means, in essence, Ruth has as much claim to the land as Naomi. The man who buys Ruth's land must also marry her and have children with her so her firstborn son can inherit the land. You'll recall that "levirate marriage" was the practice of a man marrying his dead brother's young widow and having a son with her so the son could inherit all the property rights of the dead man. (The word "levir" means "brother".) But Mahlon's only brother, Kilion, is already dead. In this situation a kinsman redeemer is the closest thing to a brother of the late Mahlon. The man who redeems the land is to enter into levirate marriage with Ruth, have children with her, and pass along to their firstborn son the land that would have belonged to Mahlon. 

We will find Boaz more than willing to redeem the land and marry Ruth but there is the matter of a closer kinsman redeemer to be dealt with. I imagine Boaz was hoping and praying the man would not want to fulfill the role of "goel" so Boaz can become the husband of the woman whose character he admires so much. But that matter will have to wait until morning when Boaz can find the man and speak with him about it. In the meantime he's in suspense. Ruth is in suspense. Naomi is in suspense. We will conclude today's study right here so that you and I can wait in an attitude of suspense along with them.