A Study of the Book of Ruth

Why Did Naomi Send Ruth To Boaz At Night?

A Study of Ruth 3:1-5

"Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do." And she replied, "All that you say I will do.""

Ruth 3:1–5 ESV

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

Naomi tells her young, widowed daughter in law Ruth that she wants to "seek rest" for her so that it may "be well with her." By this Naomi meant she wanted to seek out a husband for Ruth. Naomi then pointed out that Boaz was a relative of theirs (a relative of Ruth's because of her previous marriage to Naomi's now deceased son), and that he would be winnowing barley that same night at the threshing floor. So, she told Ruth to wash and anoint herself, and go to the threshing floor, but also to not make herself known until after Boaz had finished eating and drinking after the evening's work. After he had finished and laid down to sleep, Naomi told Ruth to uncover his feet, lay down and then do what Boaz would tell her to do. Ruth then told Naomi she would do as she said.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In the chapters leading up to this we read of how Naomi's husband took her and their two sons from Bethlehem in Israel to the country of Moab to escape a famine. While they were there, their two sons married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah, but Naomi's husband died, along with her two sons, leaving Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth as childless widows. Childless widows in this culture and time were among some of the most vulnerable and destitute people on the socio-economic ladder, so their situation was quite desperate. Around this time Naomi also heard the famine had ended in Israel, so she decided to go back, but she urged Ruth and Orpah to stay in Moab with their families and their gods, where they would find new husbands. Naomi said this because she was too old to hope for another husband, and Ruth and Orpah might struggle to find husbands as foreigners in Israel.

Naomi also correctly acknowledged it was the hand of Yahweh, the one true God, who had orchestrated these calamitous events, but as she understandably struggled with bitterness and grief, she also incorrectly told Orpah and Ruth to return to their land and their false gods to avoid the calamities Yahweh had brought upon her. In a tearful goodbye, Orpah decided to return to her land, family, and gods, but Ruth loyally declared she would stay with Naomi no matter what, and that she would go to Israel and Yahweh would be her God. Evidently, in the years Ruth had lived with Naomi, she had learned much of Yahweh and His covenant people Israel, and she wanted to leave her old gods behind to follow Him, even if it meant severe hardship as a widow in a foreign land.

When Naomi and Ruth arrived in Bethlehem, the people remembered Naomi and also took note of Ruth's admirable character and loyalty to Naomi, because Ruth stayed and went to work gleaning grain in the fields, conducting herself with honor and humility. Yahweh also orchestrated events so that Ruth gleaned in the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi's deceased husband who was well known as an honorable man, and he took notice of Ruth's hard work and honorable character. To this point there had been no romantic advances, but Boaz had invited her to glean with his young women workers where Ruth would be safe and protected, and he also made sure his servants provided her with far more grain than one could usually expect from gleaning.