Commentary - Ruth 3:14-18

Bird's-eye view

This short section marks the conclusion of the pivotal night at the threshing floor and serves as the bridge to the public, legal resolution of the story. The clandestine and risky proposal is over, and now we see the immediate results. The character of both Ruth and Boaz shines with glorious propriety and honor. Boaz, having accepted the role of kinsman-redeemer, immediately acts to protect Ruth's reputation and to provide a tangible pledge of his intentions. The gift of barley is not a payment for services rendered, but rather an earnest, a down payment, on the full redemption he is about to secure. The scene shifts back to Naomi, whose shrewd plan has borne fruit. Her final words express a settled faith, not in happenstance, but in the character of a righteous man. She knows Boaz, and because she knows him, she knows he will not rest until the matter is settled. This passage is a beautiful miniature of how God works through honorable people to bring about His redemptive purposes, moving His people from emptiness to a sure and certain hope.

In essence, Ruth comes to Boaz with nothing but a claim on his covenant faithfulness. She leaves, under the cover of darkness, with her reputation intact and her cloak full of grain. This is a picture of our own redemption. We come to Christ with nothing, and He sends us away with a pledge of our inheritance, a foretaste of the full provision that is to come. The passage pivots on the character of the redeemer, Boaz, whose integrity gives Naomi and Ruth, and us, every reason to wait with confident expectation.

Outline

Context In Ruth

This passage immediately follows the central, dramatic event of the book: Ruth's bold approach to Boaz on the threshing floor at midnight (Ruth 3:1-13). Following Naomi's detailed instructions, Ruth has asked Boaz to spread his cloak over her, a symbolic and legal request for him to perform the duty of a kinsman-redeemer by marrying her. Boaz has blessed her for this act of covenant loyalty (hesed) and has agreed to do it, provided a nearer kinsman relinquishes his right. The tension of the proposal is now resolved. What remains is the public and legal execution of what has been privately agreed upon. These verses, therefore, show Boaz's immediate, personal commitment before he moves to the city gate in chapter 4 to settle the matter publicly. The theme of emptiness, so prominent in chapter 1, is here directly addressed by Boaz's gift, setting the stage for the complete fullness that comes with the birth of Obed.

Key Issues

The Earnest of Our Redemption

In our therapeutic age, we tend to think of faith as a leap in the dark, a feeling we have to gin up. But biblical faith is not like that at all. Biblical faith is a confident trust in a trustworthy person. It is grounded in character. And here, Naomi displays exactly that kind of faith. Her instruction to Ruth is to "sit," to wait, to be still. Why? Because she knows the man. "For the man will not remain quiet until he has finished the matter today." Her confidence is not in a vague hope that things will work out, but in the demonstrated integrity and resolve of Boaz.

This is a magnificent picture of the confidence we are to have in our Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. We have seen His character. We have His promises. We have the pledge of His Spirit. And so we can wait, not with anxious fretting, but with settled assurance. Our Redeemer is not idle. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion. He will not rest until He has finished the matter, until He has gathered His bride and brought us home. Naomi's faith in Boaz is a rebuke to our own wavering trust in a Redeemer who is infinitely more powerful and faithful.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

The scene is one of profound propriety. Our cynical and hyper-sexualized culture would rush to find scandal here, but the text gives us none. Ruth's departure in the pre-dawn darkness, "before one could recognize another," is a deliberate act of discretion. Boaz initiates this. He is a man of honor, and his first concern after pledging himself to her is the protection of her reputation. A woman's reputation was a precious thing, and for a poor, foreign widow, it was virtually all she had. Boaz is not being ashamed of her; he is shielding her. He knows how gossips work, how evil minds will twist appearances. A righteous man is concerned not only with the reality of righteousness, but also with its public testimony. He is determined that this great act of redemption will not be marred by the slightest hint of scandal.

15 And he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and placed it on her. Then she went into the city.

This is the heart of the passage. Boaz does not send her away with a mere verbal promise. He gives her a tangible sign, an earnest of his commitment. He tells her to hold out her cloak, and he fills it with six measures of barley. This is not a wage. This is not a payment for the night. This is a down payment on the redemption of a family. It is a sign of his intent and a provision for her immediate needs. The amount is significant. Six measures would be a very heavy load, perhaps thirty to fifty pounds, showing the generosity of Boaz. The number six is also suggestive. In Scripture, seven is the number of completion and perfection. Six is the number of work, falling just short of completion. The work is well underway, the provision is abundant, but the final rest of the seventh day has not yet come. Boaz is telling her, through this gift, that he is working on it and the final resolution is coming soon.

16 Then she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her.

Ruth, as she has done throughout the story, returns faithfully to Naomi. Naomi's question, which can be translated literally as "Who are you, my daughter?", is potent. She is not asking for a simple identification. She is asking about her status. "Are you the same destitute widow who left here last night, or are you returning as a woman with a claim, a woman as good as betrothed?" It is a question about identity and future. Ruth's response is a full report. She doesn't just say, "He agreed." She tells her "all that the man had done for her," emphasizing his actions, culminating in the gift.

17 She said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty.’ ”

This is the key that unlocks the meaning of the gift. Ruth makes it explicit. The barley was not just for her. Boaz's words show that he fully understands his role as a kinsman-redeemer. He is redeeming Naomi's family line. He is consciously and deliberately reversing the emptiness that Naomi lamented so bitterly in chapter one ("I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty"). Boaz, acting as God's instrument of grace, is beginning to fill what was empty. He is providing for both women. This is not just a romance between a man and a maid; this is a covenantal act of restoration for an entire family, a direct answer to Naomi's earlier despair.

18 Then she said, “Sit, then, my daughter, until you know how the matter falls into place; for the man will not remain quiet until he has finished the matter today.”

Naomi's response is one of sublime, settled faith. Having heard the report and seen the evidence of the barley, she understands the situation completely. Her counsel to Ruth is to "sit." This is a call to rest, to wait patiently and without anxiety. Her faith is not a shot in the dark; it is grounded in the character of Boaz. She knows this man. He is a man of substance, a man of his word, a man of action. He is not a ditherer. He will not let this matter drag on. He will pursue it with energy and resolve, and he will see it through "today." Naomi's confidence in the redeemer is absolute. And this points us directly to our greater Boaz, the Lord Jesus. Because we know His character, we too can "sit" and wait with confidence, knowing that He will not rest until He has brought our full redemption to its glorious completion.

Application

This passage is a profound encouragement for every believer. Like Ruth, we come to our Redeemer with nothing to offer. We come in the darkness of our sin and need, and we lay our empty selves at His feet. And how does He respond? He does not send us away empty. He covers us with His own righteousness, protecting our reputation before God. And He fills us with a pledge, an earnest, of our full inheritance. The Holy Spirit is our "six measures of barley," the guarantee that the one who promised is faithful and will bring the whole transaction to completion on the last day.

Because of this, we are called to do what Naomi told Ruth to do: "Sit." This does not mean to be lazy or inactive. It means to cease from anxious striving, to rest in the finished work of Christ and in the certainty of His character. Our Redeemer is not idle. He is not forgetful. He is not distracted. He is at the right hand of the Father, and He "will not remain quiet" until He has finished the matter. He will gather His people. He will settle all accounts. He will bring His bride home. Our job is to trust His character, rest in His provision, and wait with the confident expectation that He will do all that He has promised.