James 3:3-12 – “Set on Fire”

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

³Observe the horses: We place the bridles into their mouths into them obeying us and we turn about their whole body. ⁴Observe also the ships, being so great and driven by fierce winds, and turned about by a very small rudder, wherever the impulse of the pilot purposes. ⁵Thus also, the tongue is a tiny member and boasts great things. Behold! A small fire ignites an entire forest, ⁶and the tongue [is] a fire, the world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, defiling the whole body, igniting the circle of the life, and being ignited by hell.

⁷For every nature of creature, whether birds, reptiles, or sea creatures, is tamed or has been tamed to the nature of humans, ⁸but no one is able to tame the tongue, an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless the Lord and Father and with it we curse the men, ones made according to the likeness of God. ¹⁰Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things ought not thus to be. ¹¹A spring never produces the sweet and the bitter out of the same opening. ¹²My brothers, a fig tree is not able to do olives or a grapevine figs, thus neither sweet water to do salt.

This passage has been an interesting study to me. There may be several thoughts I want to record before I leave it. However, there is one thought I definitely want to gather up and try to put into some orderly expression: I am amazed how much this is a “heart” passage.

Let me try to communicate what I mean. I’ve been reading this very passage for years and have actually taught through it numerous times. I believe I sincerely wanted to “do” what it says and have urged other people to do the same. When I studied it and memorized it and taught it and read it again and again, I was always looking for “rules” or “principles” to follow, rules I could take with me throughout my day to help me “control my tongue.”

But I’m different now. I believe, when I studied Galatians, the Lord helped me to finally repent of my legalism. He helped me to see that life isn’t about keeping rules; the Bible itself isn’t about God giving us “better” rules to follow. My whole Christian life I said I believed in grace, yet I always approached the Bible looking for rules to follow. But that isn’t what any of it is about; it’s about understanding His heart and living out an intense love relationship with Him. “Laws are for lawbreakers.” “My son, give Me thine heart.”

The message of the Law is “Do this and live.” When I approach the Word looking for rules, that is exactly how I’m reading it: “Do this and live.” I’m looking for “What wilt Thou have me to do?” and it’s so close to the truth, the difference is almost indiscernible. But … and this is a spiritually monumental BUT … I am NOT under Law. I am under grace. And what is the message of grace? “Live … and do this.” It is NOT “Do this and live.” Grace first imparts life, then it empowers action. The Law does not work because it is speaking to dead and broken hearts. It says, “Do this and live” to people who cannot do it. It’s like giving orders to a cadaver. Like Paul, when I hear the “rules,” I can even “agree the Law is good.” But I find another law at work within my members so that I cannot do the things I would.

And who shall deliver me from this body of death??? “Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” … because “through Him the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death.”

It isn’t about “the rules.” It’s about my wonderful Savior’s heart. It’s about His blessed Holy Spirit living in me and empowering me to see the world through His eyes, to actually want what He wants, to love like He loves.

And so this time, as I’ve studied this passage what strikes me more than anything is that God is not trying to give us “rules” to follow. He’s wanting to awaken our hearts!

I could come away with thoughts like “I need to do a better job bridling my tongue,” or “I need to be careful not to both bless and curse, to be more consistent,” etc. I could come away thinking, “I’d better read through Proverbs again and review the verses on the tongue.” BUT BUT BUT did I not hear what He said???? “The tongue is a fire, an unruly evil, full of deadly poison … No man can tame the tongue!” He’s not trying to give me rules to follow, He’s trying to help me see the ENORMITY of the problem. What He struck me with more than anything this time is first of all just how serious the whole matter is. “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. And the tongue is a fire … and it is itself set on fire by hell!” “Set on fire by hell!” Yikes!

What I need is not rules. I need a Savior!!! These verses make me run to the Throne and bow my heart before Him and cry out, “God deliver me! I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell amongst a people of unclean lips!” Please, please, please take a coal from Your altar and touch this mouth of mine!

I don’t want to have a mouth set on fire by hell! “Lord, listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need! Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me!”

And even as I’m praying and crying out to Him, I know in my heart He is helping me. He is helping me to see the world through His eyes. He’s helping me to see that “life and death” really are “in the power of the tongue.” He’s making me want to use my mouth to do good, to love, to bless and not curse. But in so doing, does anyone else see that when He’s done this, I don’t need “rules.” Oh, they’re fine if you like, but I see the problem and I see how important my words are, and I see what He sees … and that changes me, not from the outside in like rules try to do, but from the inside out … like grace. “Live … and do this!”

After all the times I’ve read this passage, and memorized it, and reviewed it, and taught it, this is the first time I can honestly say, “I see.”

I’m shocked I never really “saw” it before. But then that is what legalism does. It eclipses the face of God in our hearts; it hides His heart from our eyes.

 I am so thankful for grace, so thankful for Jesus, so thankful for His blood, so thankful for His Spirit in me, so thankful that He would allow me to rise above my incorrigibly legalistic heart and actually know Him. “For this is eternal life, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

God deliver me from this mouth set on fire by hell. May it today be set on fire by Heaven. Help me to see.   ... Change my heart, O God.

James 3:1,2 – “Another Dangerous Tool”

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

¹My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we will receive greater judgment, ²for all stumble much. If someone does not stumble in word, this one is a mature man, able also to bridle the whole body.

I’m reluctantly leaving my study of Ruth (and Hebrew) to come back to James (and Greek) for a while. I’ll probably work through James chapter 3 then go back and study the last chapter of Ruth. Of course, returning here, I’m immediately met with some challenging thoughts – which is exactly what I’m looking for!

Hmmmmm. My mouth. What a subject! There have been commentaries almost ad infinitum written on these very verses in James. I have enjoyed many of them for years. I fondly remember early in my walk with God engaging in studies on “the tongue.” I memorized this entire chapter in James along with many proverbs and sincerely tried to let God change what I did with my mouth. I found early that one of the best strategies to keep me out of trouble was what David said in Psalm 39:1, “I will … keep my tongue from sin.” It was amazing to me how much it helped throughout my days to be determined not to sin with my mouth. It helped me function on a maturity level which was frankly far beyond myself. I simply didn’t say all the stupid things I was thinking!!

All that said, unfortunately, over my 57 years, my mouth has been a huge contributor to my “Hall of Shame.” There have been a hundred thousand million dumb things I’ve said, words I wish I could recall or “right-click-delete.” I seriously have to run for shelter into the Lord’s love just to keep that flood of regrets from overwhelming me.

Before I came to know the Lord one of the things that horrified me was the sudden realization that I could not control my mouth. I would often find myself saying things I knew I would regret, yet be seemingly powerless to stop it. It was a terrible, sinking, hopeless feeling to know I’d said really stupid things (again) but to know in my heart I would only do it again and there was nothing I could do about it. There are not words enough to thank the Lord for this one thing – that as soon as He saved me, He actually gave me the hope that I could “put a lid on it.” I knew the second He entered my life that I wasn’t a slave any more, that somehow He would help me control my mouth. As I said above, I’ve still managed to say a lot of stupid things since then, but the Lord gives me hope. I know that He has helped me change a great deal and He gives me hope I can change more. I know I will always have plenty to regret but, still, with the Lord in my life, I have hope.

So I see it in the Bible and in my own life – this is in fact a subject of considerable importance. What do I do with my mouth? James already said, “Do you see a man who seems to be religious but doesn’t bridle his tongue? His religion is worthless” (1:26). Solomon said, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue” (Prov 18:21). So we wade back into James 3, this major Bible passage on the mouth, hoping to learn more.

What probably strikes me most about these first two verses is this thought: Our mouth is another one of those tools the Lord has given us that can be used either for good or for evil. We saw it in chapter one in regards to wealth. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just a very dangerous tool. Like a gun or a chainsaw or a very sharp knife, our mouths can be very helpful tools. They can help us do a lot of good; but only if we use them with the deepest respect, knowing even as we use them, they are very, very dangerous. As with wealth, as with sharp tools, so our mouth is an instrument capable of great good but also great harm.

I see all this in James’ opening admonition not to be “many teachers.” And why not? Because a teacher is a talker, yet …, “Life and death are in the power of the tongue!” I think back over my own life. Pretty early in my faith, people wanted me to get involved in teaching. As I read James 3:1 and think about it, I wonder if that was a good idea. I actually enjoy teaching, enjoy public-speaking of any kind, and am apparently at least entertaining, but the fact is back then I didn’t have a lick of sense. A great deal of my Hall of Shame is the things I said teaching. It seems like I would have been better off to keep my mouth shut and just learn until I was about 50 years old.

I think, in American Christianity, we very deliberately propel people into teaching positions -- but James’ words make me wonder if that is a good idea. ^“My brothers, let not many become teachers, knowing that we will receive greater judgment, for all stumble much.” Perhaps we’d be better off to have far fewer teachers -- and then have a smaller group actually saying wise things -- than our proliferation of immature teachers disseminating foolishness? It would be easy to hear James and just think we need to cut way back on teaching in the American church. But this is that good/evil balance. One side of me is saying I shouldn’t have been teaching at all and the other side of me wants to say that’s going too far. Just like with wealth, it’s easy to take the Bible admonitions about its danger and conclude we should just avoid it altogether. Yet that isn’t the point of the warnings. The point is to realize these are very dangerous tools – very useful but very dangerous.

David tried this approach in Psalm 39: “I said, ‘I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; …’ So I remained utterly silent, not even saying anything good. But my anguish increased; my heart grew hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue.” He thought the answer was to say nothing at all, but quickly found there were things which needed to be said. Once again, it’s not that the tool shouldn’t be used. It’s just that it has to be used with great care.

I suspect we should be far more sober than we are about entering into teaching if we really take to heart the Bible’s warnings, but not to the point we refuse to do what good we can. Like me, there will always be people around who can teach, or what I mean is, there will always be people around who can get up and speak and do it well enough that others will listen. The problem is that the ability to stand up and speak – and do it well – has nothing to do with whether a person has the maturity to actually say anything worth hearing. At minimum, like me, a person may not have walked with God long enough to be able to teach without mixing in a lot of stupidity. At worst, a good public speaker can literally and deliberately lead masses of people astray.

Back to James’ words, “… we will receive greater judgment.” The plain simple fact is “we all stumble much” and our mouths contribute a great deal to that problem.

So, once again, it seems like it would be best just to let no one teach in church until they’re like 80 years old(!). Obviously that is going too far, but I suspect we need to be far more discerning in who we do allow to teach – with youth being a major liability. But then, again, it’s just like a very dangerous, but very useful tool. The answer isn’t to lock it in the shed. We need to put it to good use – all the while realizing this tool we’re using is very, very dangerous and can also do great evil.

To speak or not to speak? To teach or not to teach? Us and our mouths. It is a tricky subject -- one more place where we need the Lord’s wisdom as we grope along the maze of these earthly lives. We just really, really, really need Him, need to stay close to Him, beg His protection, and proceed very consciously in His presence. He alone can take a coal from the altar and touch our unclean tongues so we can say, “Here am I Lord, send me.”

Ruth 3:16-18 – “Amen”

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

¹⁶and she went to her mother-in-law and she said, “Who [are] you, my daughter?” And she told to her all which the man had done to her. ¹⁷And she said, “The six of the barley the these he gave me because he said to me, ‘Do not go empty to your mother-in-law.’” ¹⁸And she said, “Sit still my daughter, until which you know a matter will fall because the man will not rest until he completes the matter today.”

First of all I have to make a comment which includes verse 15. The end of verse 15 has caused no end of consternation to many commentators because it reads in Hebrew, “and he went to the city.” For some reason, when we read v15, in our minds it should end “and she went to the city.” But the pronoun is not feminine; it is masculine. In support of our intuitions, there are in fact a few old manuscripts which read it as a feminine and the KJV translated it, “and she went …” (in spite of the fact they were usually very faithful to the exact wording of the original). However, the predominance of evidence supports the masculine, “he went.”

My assertion is that, if we disregard the verse divisions, it actually makes perfect sense and flows nicely to accept it as it is written, as a masculine pronoun. In Hebrew (and without noting the verse division) it would read, “… and he went to the city, and she went to her mother-in-law…” Makes me want to say, “Duh,” but that is my cynical side. I was surprised in reading commentaries how many people debated the evidence but apparently never paused to consider the question leaving out the verse divisions. I suspect, to a large extent, it is because they did not take the time to look closely at the Hebrew text. Places like this are exactly why I wanted to study Greek and Hebrew and why I always start my study by carefully scrutinizing the original text itself. If we simply let the Hebrew or Greek say what it says, it often answers the very questions our English translations (and artificial verse divisions) create.

I’m not alone in my conclusion, as I found it written in the Pulpit Commentaries, “If there had been no division into verses, then the departure of both Boaz and Ruth on their respective routes, or in their respective order of sequence, would have been recorded close together: ‘and he went to the city, and she went to her mother-in-law’…” Glad someone else noticed! Obviously, not everyone can have the opportunity (nor the aptitude) to learn the original languages and work in them; but I wish that people who take it on themselves to write commentaries would take more seriously their responsibility to “rightly divide” the Word of Truth. But then again … I am an Engineer. I love to study and actually enjoy scratching around on the bedrock of the original languages. Others have their own aptitudes and probably find my scratchings to be too tedious. “The foot (me) shouldn’t say to the eye, ‘I have no need of you!’” It’s always true that we all need each other.

But, back to our delightful story … One can only imagine the excitement as Ruth arrives home to a waiting Naomi. Interesting how these events occur very early in the morning, yet Naomi is apparently awake and waiting when Ruth returns. In all likelihood, Naomi didn’t get much sleep either – a loving parent anxious and praying through the night for the welfare of this beloved daughter. In the Hebrew, Naomi literally asks, “Who you, my daughter?” Once again, people debate the possible meaning of these words, but I’ll say I strongly suspect this is just a Hebrew way of asking, “How did it go?” As I often note, they thought in pictures, while we think in logical sequences. Often when considering the meaning of an obscure or difficult passage, it seems like it helps a lot to deliberately get into their “picture” mentality and then it makes perfect sense.

Ruth replies by telling her “everything.” Sounds like two ladies! If Ruth was a man, she probably would have walked in the house and said, “Yeah. Looks like it’s a done deal. Is breakfast ready?” Men, it seems to me, generally love to “bottom-line” everything and move on. It’s the ladies who want to (need to) talk through the various details. And so they do here. Ruth tells Naomi “everything!”

I suspect it is significant to note that v17 includes the last recorded words of Ruth, saying “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” It is interesting that Naomi’s lament when she and Ruth first arrived back at Bethlehem were “I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” It was the same Hebrew word for “empty.” Naomi (Israel), in her grief, thought the Lord had left her empty, but now Boaz (the Redeemer) wants to make sure she, in fact, is not empty and he does it through Ruth (the Gentile). I don’t know if the pattern is simply fractal or if the Lord is deliberately painting a prophetic picture, but it is interesting to note.

Interesting too that Ruth’s last words are actually repeating Boaz’s words – the betrothed bride speaking the Redeemer’s words. How like the Church, yes? Our great Redeemer is the very Word of God, and yet He has called us His bride to speak and live out His words here on earth. Back to pictures – how does the world know of the great kindness of the Redeemer? When the Bride says, “He gave me these … and He doesn’t want you to be empty.” We are blessed to bless, yes?

Then it is of interest to note that v18 presents to us the last recorded words of Naomi. She says, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.” I often think it interesting to note that the Bible was recorded for us entirely by Jewish writers. Even for this church age, this age of glory for us Gentiles, yet the Lord’s words come to us from Jewish hands. And what would be the counsel of our Jewish friends to us Gentiles? “Be patient, then, brothers, unto the coming of the Lord … be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near” (James 5:7,8). A Jewish writer (John) ends the Scriptures with the words, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” And the last recorded words of this Jewish woman to her Gentile daughter are in effect, “Be patient, my daughter, for, in just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay” (taken from Hebrews 10:37, quoting Habakkuk 2:3,4). The prophetic similarities between all of this and our heavenly Redeemer are striking, yes?

Also in a (perhaps) more immediately practical vein, I think it interesting to note Naomi’s words to Ruth. Here is an older woman, counseling a young woman, an older believer counseling this young one. Her counsel is to say, “Be patient. You can count on Boaz.” I think it admirable of Boaz that Naomi apparently knows of his character, that his word is his bond, that he will do exactly what he said he would, and that he will do it diligently. But then, what Naomi is teaching Ruth is that this is a man you too can admire, a man you can count on. Certainly for all of us, patience and waiting are virtues to be cultivated. They don’t come naturally to any of us and certainly not to the young. But there are people in this world we can count on and it behooves us all to figure out who they are! (and aren’t!) I think of Paul’s instruction to Titus to teach the older women “to teach the younger women to be sensible …” (Titus 2:4) That is precisely what Naomi is doing here. The strength of the young is their energy, but that energy begs wise disposal. Sometimes it simply needs to be corralled and the young person counselled to “sit still and wait.” Even those of us with far less energy need that counsel!

Of course, too, we can note the application to our waiting on the Lord. F.B. Meyer said,

In times of difficulty--be still! …hast thou not heard His voice saying: "This is the way, walk ye in it"? Then leave Him to deal with thy foes from whatever quarter they come. He is thy Rock, and rocks do not shake. He is thy High Tower, and a high tower cannot be flooded. Thou needest mercy, and to Him belongeth mercy. Do not run hither and thither in panic! Just quietly wait, hushing thy soul, as He did the fears of His friends on the eve of Gethsemane and Calvary. "Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him." "Be still, for He will not rest, until He hath finished the thing this day." If this day I should get lost amid the perplexities of life and the rush of many duties, do Thou search me out, gracious Lord, and bring me back into the quiet of Thy presence. AMEN.

Amen. And also, before leaving this post, I would like to include an extensive quote of the venerable old Robert Hawker (ca. 1790) who wrote of these verses:

“… I do not know any passage in the whole bible more interesting, considered in reference to the person of the Lord Jesus, and his love and attention to his people, than this; in which Naomi saith: the man will not rest until he have finished the thing this day. A word which every true believer may use. The God-man Christ Jesus will not cease; doth not even now in glory remit one moment his priestly office, in the carrying on, and completing that redemption in his people, which on earth he finished for his people; when by righteousness he justified them, and by the one offering of himself once offered, he perfected forever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 10:14. Lord! help both Writer and Reader to believe the record which God hath given of his Son! 1 John 5:10-12. And there is one circumstance more in those precious words, considered as applicable to the person of the God-man Christ Jesus, which I could wish ever to keep in view myself, And which I would affectionately recommend to every lover of Jesus: namely, that the seeking soul is not more earnest for a speedy issue in his treaty with Jesus, than the Lord Jesus himself is. Reader! it is equally true in the case of every humble follower of Jesus, as in the instance of Boaz and Ruth, and may be said with equal truth and confidence, the God-man will not rest, until he have finished the thing, in this day of salvation. And what a relief would such a thought bring in every dark and trying hour, if cherished with full faith and affection under the influence of the Holy Ghost in the heart, that the soul is not more desirous to win Christ, than Christ to reveal himself to that soul, and to form himself there the hope of glory.

… My soul! In the perusal of this chapter, I would say to thee, as Naomi did to Ruth, Shall I not seek rest for thee? And can there be any rest on this side the grave, but in Jesus? is he not the rest wherewith the Lord will cause the weary to rest, and is he not the refreshing! And as an encouragement to go to him, may I not say as sine did: Is he not of my kindred? Hath he not married our nature: united it to himself, and become bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh? And can I go to one nearer and dearer than he? And doth he not hold a constant feast in his harvest seasons? And are they not in his church perpetual? Oh! for grace to anoint myself, and the sweet washings of the Holy Spirit, that I may go forth and lie low at his feet, and seek from the blessed condescensions of his love, that he may spread his skirt of righteousness, and his garment of salvation, over me, and betroth me to himself forever, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies: yea betroth me unto himself in faithfulness and that I may know the Lord.

And, dearest Jesus! give me grace while I wait at thy feet, that I may lie passive until the morning. Oh! for the lively actings of faith to believe what my God hath promised, and that he will do the kinsman's part, for he hath said it.

Amen and amen.

Ruth 3:14-15 – “Walk With the Wise”

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

¹⁴And she lay down from his feet until the morning and she arose before a man notices his friend and he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” ¹⁵And he said, “Give the cloak which upon you and grasp to it,” and she grasped to it and he measured six of barley and he set upon her and he came to the city.

From reading commentaries, people put a lot of spins on Boaz’s warning, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Some suggest he’s actually talking to his workers who may have been nearby. Others suggest he’s actually talking to himself. The obvious understanding would be that he’s talking to Ruth. But no matter what, the question is also asked why is that important? Again, many views are offered. Since I think that is what is actually important, and just to confuse the world, I’ll offer my opinion: Somewhere over the years I have read that it was very common for prostitutes to hang around the threshing floors. The end of the harvest was a time of celebration for the men, the workers perhaps got paid their wages, they all had a feast, the men were all away from their wives and families and I think it obvious that would be a prime opportunity for prostitutes to cash in. Again, somewhere in my memory banks I have read that was in fact the case.

Here is what I suspect: Boaz is a good man – a very good man. This is his threshing floor and these are his workers. I think he had a hard fast rule that no prostitutes were allowed anywhere near his threshing floor, and everyone knew it. For Ruth, a woman, to be seen near the threshing floor, especially in the wee hours of the morning, would immediately suggest she’d been playing the prostitute and it would malign Boaz’s good reputation that he did not allow such things. I would suggest, understanding these aspects of their culture, it is obvious why Boaz did not want her presence known. He’s just being a good man, again.

Another interesting observation from the Hebrew text is that at the end of verse 13, Boaz had told Ruth to “lie here till morning.” Immediately after that it says, “So Ruth lay there till morning.” The Hebrew verb in Boaz’s command to “lie down” in verse 13 is exactly the same verb describing Ruth’s response in verse 14. Then in verse 15, he tells her to “hold out” her shawl and, in Hebrew, her response is to “hold out” her shawl – again exactly the same verb from his command. I can’t help but think the Hebrew is deliberately highlighting how compliant Ruth is. She does exactly what she is told to do and she does it immediately. Ruth’s response to Naomi earlier in the chapter was, “All that you command me, I will do.”

Now I don’t believe for a minute that Ruth was stupidly obedient to just anyone who issued her a command. I rather suspect the exact opposite – that she is very intelligent and very aware of every action she takes. But with Naomi, again, this Moabite girl Ruth is smart enough to let this older wiser Jewish woman give her specific directions how to conduct herself in this Jewish culture. And Boaz is now a man who may be her husband in just a few hours. Given that Ruth is a very wise and virtuous young woman, in the right times and the right places, she knows how to be very humbly compliant. I would suggest the very fact that she is so immediately compliant probably only made Boaz all the more hopeful she’d soon be his wife. It’s a wonderful thing to have a wife who is very smart, very talented, very capable of independent thinking, but who also knows when it’s time to simply “do as she’s told.” The same of course applies to husbands – there are times when clearly our wife knows better than us or perhaps it’s her project and we’re the ones helping. Then real faith will make us humbly pleasantly compliant people. A submissive spirit is a beautiful thing – not a stupidly submissive spirit, but rather a wise and capable person humbly acquiescing at the right time and in the right place. That’s our girl Ruth! She’s just a good young woman.

Another point in the text that gets a lot of discussion is the “six measures of barley” which Boaz gave to Ruth. What generates all the discussion is that actually there is no “measures” in the Hebrew. As my literal translation above indicates, it was simply “six of barley.” So everyone has to ponder, six what of barley? Depending on what measure people choose, Ruth could be carrying a small amount or 200 lbs! Here’s what I think: the Lord doesn’t tell us what “measures” Boaz used because that isn’t important. What is important is that he gave her six. Once again, just as he used words for “redeem” six times in verses 12 & 13, now he measures out for her six “somethings” of barley. I would suggest they were probably just handfuls, as Boaz would unlikely have some specific measuring device just lying there ready to use. And again, I think what was important was that it was six. In their culture, as he counts out the handfuls, “One, two, three, four, five, six,” he is communicating to Ruth. He didn’t give her the 7^th, and she knows it. Six is the number of incompletion. I think he is saying to her again that he himself will be #7, that he fully intends to redeem her. He’s already communicated it very deliberately using the word redeem six times in only two verses, then he says, “Oh, before you leave, here … and scoops out six handfuls of barley. Six. “I’m not done," he is saying, “But I will be. You can count on me.” I would even suggest that Naomi’s response in v18 supports this understanding. When Ruth tells her he gave her six measures of barley, Naomi responds, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.” Naomi got the point. He won’t rest until there is completion, and he obviously hopes (and Ruth too) that he himself will be that completion.

Once again, to me it is just pleasant to watch these very godly people interact. As I’ve said before, I wish we had volumes written about them. But I’ll have to be content to learn what I can from these four little chapters. Certainly what we do see is enough to keep us all growing for a long, long time! It’s always a blessing to “walk with the wise.”

Ruth 3:10-13 – “A Good Man”

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

¹⁰And he said, “[May] you [be] one blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have done well. Your kindness, the former from the latter, not to go after the young men, either poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, do not be afraid. All which you are saying I will do to you because the all of the gate of my people [are] knowing that you [are] a virtuous woman. ¹²And now because [it is] truth because a redeeming one I [am] and also there is a redeeming one nearer from me. ¹³Remain tonight and it will be in the morning if he will redeem, good, he will redeem and if not he is pleased to redeem you and I will redeem you, [as] the LORD lives. Lie down until the morning.”

Here’s a bunch more miscellaneous notes and thoughts from this passage:

Interesting that Boaz says to Ruth in v11, “Don’t be afraid.” Someone once made the statement, and I don’t doubt it, that “Fear not” or “Don’t be afraid” is the most common command in the Bible. Just think how many verses begin with “Fear not.” It seems like the older I get, the more I realize how big a problem fear is, how much it is the very emotion which holds me back and ruins me. The Bible teaches us “Perfect love casts out fear,” and “God has not given us a spirit of fear,” but learning how to appropriate the Lord’s strength and overcome it turns out to be a lifelong challenge. The Lord of course knows all of this and so He often (very often, it seems) prefaces what He says to us with “Don’t be afraid.”

What strikes me is how quickly and naturally those same words come out of Boaz’s mouth. A girl wakes a man up in the middle of the night and startles him, and some of the first words out of his mouth to her are, “Don’t be afraid.” Once again, I personally think it is very revealing of this man’s character. Even startled, this man talks like Jesus! When he speaks with another human being, he talks like Jesus – and I would suggest that is because he has long made a deliberate habit of loving God and others. As Jesus said in Luke 6:45, “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart … for out of the abundance of his heart a man speaks.” Interesting how fractal all of this is. Ruth, the foreigner, hears from her Jewish redeemer, “Don’t be afraid,” while us Gentiles often hear our great heavenly Redeemer say, “Don’t be afraid.”

While I’m on the subject of Boaz and his words, another thing I find instructive is to consider just in general that everything he says to Ruth in this passage, he says as a man startled awake in the middle of the night. Once again, what a good man he is. Go back and read what he says to Ruth, deliberately noticing that these are not words he rehearsed or had time to think about. Ruth had no doubt rehearsed her words over and over and over in her mind until finally she gets her chance and says, “Spread the corner of your garment over me.” But Boaz has no such opportunity. He awakes in the middle of the night startled, only to be confronted with a question of enormous importance – the kind of question he is probably in the habit of thinking through long and carefully.

As Jesus’ words quoted above would tell us, “A good man speaks out of the good things stored in his heart” and Boaz does exactly that. With barely a moment to collect himself, he utters to Ruth words of blessing, and kindness, and assurance, and praise. And his very first words are “The Lord bless you.” It is all just marvelous to me and so encouraging to know the Lord, to keep striving to know Him better, to let Him change me from the inside out, to let His Spirit control my thoughts, to give Him my desires, to trust Him – and let him make me a man like Boaz, like Jesus. A good man.

Something interesting from the passage is to note that, in answering Ruth, Boaz seems to very deliberately use variations of the word “redeem” six times. As we’ve noted before six seems to be, in a Jewish mind, the number of incompletion. You can’t see it in English, necessarily, but Boaz definitely uses six “redeem” words and the way he does it you can’t help but think he is doing so very deliberately. Read my rather literal translation of verses 12 and 13 above and you’ll see what I mean. Could it be, even in that, he was communicating to Ruth? In both their minds, he would be “Redeem #7” and “complete” it all. Interesting in the book of Revelation, we learn that the number of a man is 666. Incomplete. Incomplete. Incomplete! Until our great Redeemer comes. Without Him we are thrice over incomplete. Hopeless. But He is our Completer and our Completion. Our “Redeem #7!”

Then notice what he says of Ruth: he tells her in verse 11, “All my fellow townspeople know that you are woman of noble character.” The Hebrew word for “noble character” is the same word used to describe Boaz back in 2:1, where the NIV translated it, “Boaz was … a man of standing.” It is a word that is hard to translate into English because it is a picture-word. It is a picture of a person of strength, of sterling character, of stability, possibly of wealth and position, but just in general, a person to be admired. The Lord uses it to describe Boaz in 2:1 and Boaz uses it to describe Ruth in 3:11. Interestingly, it is the same word used in Proverbs 31:10, in the verse, “A wife of noble character (same word), who can find?” Boaz found one and had the good sense to marry her!

A couple more indications of the goodness in Boaz’s heart: Notice in both the beginning and end of verse 13 he tells Ruth to “Remain here for the night.” She would probably be inclined to think she should get up and leave. He even has to make a point of it in the morning, in verse 14, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” But he is too good a man to send this young woman out into the darkness and the dangers of a night. She might be inclined (out of the goodness in her heart!) to get up and leave, but Boaz will have none of that. He risks whatever stigma may have been attached to Ruth’s presence and thinks first and foremost of her safety. He’s just a good man.

Then, he could have simply taken Ruth to be his wife there on the spot, but he will not do it. Why not? Because there is “another.” He obviously loves Ruth and, being a man myself, I can only imagine how badly he would want to just push ahead. But he is a man who respects the Lord and His law too much for that. He simply will not take Ruth – no matter how much he’s attracted to her – unless he can do it in good conscience before God and the community. Here is a man whose character rules him, not his desires. And of course, in the end, he gets what he desires, but only after he first resolves to do right. “Commit thy way unto the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart!” Boaz had already established a life of committing his way to the Lord and once again he practices that priority – only to blessed in ways he could have never imagined. That is a great reminder for all of us. God’s way is always best and the sure path to everything we ever dreamed!

I suppose finally I want to note something from the fractal (what others call typology) of this whole passage. Boaz is a picture of our heavenly Redeemer.  He comes to us wanting to redeem us, but there is “another” and that is the Law. The Law in a sense has “first dibs” on us. “Do this and live,” the Law says. If only we would keep the Law, the whole Law, we would be redeemed. But, alas, what do we find? The “other” cannot redeem us. It gets its chance in our lives. We are born incorrigibly legalistic. We all think the answer is law. If only I can do “better” somehow it will make me right. We try to make ourselves “right,” and we may give it a noble effort, but invariably, the Law says to Jesus, “I cannot redeem them. You redeem them Yourself. I cannot do it.” Fortunately for us, our Redeemer’s intentions were already, “And now, my children, do not be afraid. I will do for you all you ask.”

Boaz is a good man. He was a good man in seemingly a thousand different ways. He was sure good to Ruth. And everything about him reminds us of our great Redeemer, Jesus.

He’s just a good man.