Ruth 3
Naomi’s plan
Then Naomi told Ruth,
“My daughter, I want you to be well-off and have security. Boaz will be processing barley at the barn tonight, so you should take a bath, put on your best clothes, wear some perfume, and go out to his barn. But don’t let him see you until he’s finished eating his dinner. When he goes to lie down, secretly follow him, fold his blanket back to uncover his feet, and lie down by his feet. Then he’ll tell you what to do.”
Ruth said,
“Ok, that’s what I’ll do.”
Ruth asks Boaz to redeem her
So Ruth followed her mother-in-law’s plan and went down to Boaz’s barn. After Boaz finished eating and drinking he was in a good mood and went to lie down next to a pile of grain. Ruth quietly came over, uncovered his feet, and lay down. It just so happened that when Boaz moved around in the middle of the night, he saw a woman lying at his feet! He said,
“Who’s there??”
She answered,
“It’s me, Ruth, your maid. Take me under your wing, because you are a redeemer [a close relative to her deceased husband who capable of marrying her].”
Boaz said,
“May the Existing One bless you, my daughter. This gesture is even kinder than your previous ones because you could have gone after younger men. Don’t worry, I’ll provide you with whatever you ask for because everyone in town knows that you are a high-quality woman. I am closely related to your deceased husband, but there’s someone else who is even more closely related. Sleep here for the night, and in the morning I’ll ask him if he wants to redeem you. If he wants to redeem you, then he can, but if not, then I’ll redeem you as surely as the Existing One is alive. Now lie down and get some rest.”
So Ruth continued to lay there the rest of the night.
Boaz gives Ruth food to bring back home with her
In the morning Ruth got up before sunrise, and Boaz told her,
“Don’t let anyone find out that a woman spent the night at the barn. Also, take off your jacket and hold it out so I can send you back with some barley.”
So she held out her coat and Boaz filled it with 6 scoops of barley and helped sling it over her back. When she got back into town, her mother-in-law asked how it went. Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her and added,
“He gave me these 6 scoops of barley because he didn’t want me coming back to you empty-handed.”
Naomi said,
“Now, my daughter, we’ll just have to wait and see how it all turns out, because he won’t rest tonight until this matter is settled.”
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