Ruth 3:1-9 – “Living in the Present”

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹And Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek for you a place of rest which will be good to you? ²And now, is not Boaz from our kindred [the one of whom] you have been with his servant girls? Notice, he [is] winnowing [at the] threshing floor barley tonight. ³Wash and anoint and put on your garments upon you and go down [to] the grain pile. Do not let yourself be known to the man until he [is] finished eating and drinking. ⁴And he will be lying down and you must note the place where he lies down and go and uncover his feet and lie down and he will tell you what you are to do.” ⁵And she said to her, “All which you say I will do.” ⁶And she went [to] the threshing floor and she did according to all which her mother-in-law commanded her.

⁷And Boaz ate and he drank and his heart was good and he came in to lie down in the end of the pile and she came in secret and she uncovered from his feet and she lay down. ⁸And it was in the middle of the night and the man trembled and turned himself and behold! a woman lying from his feet. ⁹And he said, “Who [are] you?” and she said, “I [am] Ruth, your maid-servant, and spread your wing upon your maid-servant because a redeeming one you are.”

This is another place where I would suggest we need to slow down and really think about what it is like for these people. What stands out to me is the realization that at the end of verse 9, when Ruth says, “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer,” she has no idea how Boaz will respond. We get to read the whole account knowing “the end of the story” but Ruth does not. Every step of this whole book, from the time she decided to cling to Naomi and go to Israel, Ruth has never known “the end of the story.” She very well could have left Moab and gone to Israel only to starve to death. And yet she went. She went out one day to glean in someone’s field not knowing if she’d even come home with a day’s supply of grain – or perhaps be mistreated and … who knows what?

When Naomi says, “Here’s what you need to do” and sends her down to the barley piles, Ruth responds to her, “I will do whatever you say” (v5). But Ruth did not know the outcome – as she was washing herself and putting on some perfume, as she put on her best clothes, as she walked down toward Boaz’s barley piles and tried to stay hidden, as she watched him lie down and noted the spot, as she crept in, uncovered his feet and lay down herself – and even as he asks in the dark, “Who are you?” and she says, “I am Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me” – she does not know the outcome.

Even up to this very point, as those words leave her mouth, “Spread the corner of your garment over me” she does not know how it will turn out. What if he’s totally not interested? She would get up and walk away having made a complete fool of herself. What if he thinks she’s ridiculous? What if, what if, what if? She is so, so, so vulnerable at this point.

Pause a moment and realize that as Ruth speaks these words her heart is hanging in space.

What strikes me is the realization that this is exactly where we all live our lives. We never know “the end of the story.” In a sense, while we live in the present, we do so never knowing the outcome of whatever it is we’re doing. I don’t know about other people, but I guess my natural bent is to live in fear of the future. Every little thing I do, I’m very aware that there are many possible outcomes, and I am perhaps too aware that some of them are ugly. Every project I start on at work, I don’t know how it will turn out. In a way I have to do like Ruth and step forward in faith, do whatever is right, do the math, fill out the forms, make the phone calls, all the while not knowing the outcome but being painfully aware it could be bad. I have to overcome my fears with faith in God that the assignments are actually from Him, that He will help me to do good for people, that it is actually Him who wants to bless people and I am simply His chosen hands and feet to accomplish it.

I did a project once where a subdivision of homes had always had a terrible problem with flooding in heavy rains. They even showed us pictures of people in boats floating around in their front yards. When we got the project funded, one older lady stood in her yard and cried and said, “I never thought I’d live long enough to see this problem solved.” As we set about the design and then construction, I lost about 10 years of my life worrying about the obstacles that rose up. But in the end we finished the project on time and within budget and now those people’s yards don’t flood any more. I think about, what if Jesus had walked through that subdivision when it was flooded? What if He talked to that lady standing there crying? What would He have done? He would have fixed it for them. In a sense, you see, He did. He just used me and a bunch of other people to make it happen. But it was still Him.

As I go through my day, like Ruth, I don’t know the outcome of anything I do. I just have to say to the Lord, like Ruth, “I will do whatever You say.” I know His two great commands are to love God and love people. Whatever I’m doing, I have to keep love in view. Love and faithfulness. Love people and do what you should. All the while knowing I’m on God’s errands, loving people for Him, doing what He would do if He had my job. If I can just keep that in view, then “perfect love will cast out fear.” I quote often to myself, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a well ordered mind.” But I myself find often that I almost cannot rise above my fears and my fearing, even with those Scriptures to lift me. It is often God Himself who has to give me the strength to go on.

But I don’t want to live in the present fearing the future any more. I want to take every step believing God is in it for good and trusting Him with that future. I don’t know what made Ruth so brave. Somehow it was her faith in God. I don’t know what thoughts went through her mind that allowed her to rise above her fears and to bravely step forward again and again. But I think I see the thoughts I need to be practicing to be like her. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know what she was thinking as she walked into that “scary” situation and as she hung there in space waiting to hear Boaz’s response? Maybe the Lord hasn’t told us because we each need to learn our own thoughts to think to make us brave and keep us going. Perhaps I’m just one of the people who struggle with fear. Maybe others struggle with something else to keep them going. I don’t know. But fortunately the Lord knows me and He’s helping me work through it all. I need to learn how to live well in the present.

He sure helps me. He helped Ruth 3000 years ago and His name is still Jesus, “Savior.”

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.