Ruth’s Initiative

"She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in law had commanded her."Ruth 3:2, 3:7, 3:9, 2:12, 3:11After the winnowing was done, one of the farm workers would spend the night on the threshing floor to guard the grain. Naomi knew that Boaz would be guarding the grain that night (3:2). And when Ruth went to the threshing floor, she found Boaz sleeping at the end of his heap of grain.Ruth pulled the blanket off Boaz’s feet and lay down (3:7). Perhaps it was the cold on his feet that awakened Boaz. “Who are you?” he asked.“I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (3:9). In plain English, Ruth said to Boaz, “Marry me!” There is something very beautiful in the way Ruth framed her proposal. The first time Boaz met Ruth, he said to her, “The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (2:12). Ruth used the same language.So, Ruth was saying, “Boaz, when we first met, you prayed that I would find rest under the wings of God. I want you to be the answer to your own prayer and the means by which I experience the blessing of being under the wings of God.”Ruth was a woman of extraordinary virtue (3:11). Her faith was strong. Her love ran deep. Her hope and joy overflowed. Boaz did not hesitate. He accepted her proposal.She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.Think of someone for whom you could be the means for extending the blessing of resting under God’s wings.