Ruth 3:17

_AND SHE SAID, THESE SIX MEASURES OF BARLEY GAVE HE ME; FOR HE SAID TO ME, GO NOT EMPTY UNTO THY MOTHER IN LAW._ Six measures of barley - Hebrew, six seahs; a scab contained about two gallons and a half, six of which must have been rather a heavy load for a woman....

14-18 Ruth had done all that was fit for her to do, she must patiently wait the event. Boaz, having undertaken this matter, would be sure to manage it well. Much more reason have true believers to cast their care on God, because he has promised to care for them. Our strength is to sit still, Isaiah 30:7. This narrative may encourage us to lay ourselves by faith at the feet of Christ: He is our near Kinsman; having taken our nature upon him. He has the right to redeem. Let us seek to receive from him his directions: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Acts 9:6. He will never blame us as doing this unseasonably. And let us earnestly desire and seek the same rest for our children and friends, that it may be well with them also....

EXPOSITION RUTH 3:1 AND NAOMI, HER MOTHER-IN-LAW, SAID TO HER, MY DAUGHTER, SHALL NOT I SEEK OUT FOR THEE A REST, THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH THEE? When Ruth had nothing more to do on the harvest-fields, where Boaz appeared daily, and was unremittingly gracious to her, she may have fallen into a pensive mood. Naomi was quick to note the varying '_nuances_'_ _of feeling, and said "_My _daughter, shall I not seek out for thee a rest?" The expression _rest_, or _resting-place_, though in itself of generic import, was, when used in such circumstances as environed Ruth, quite specific in application, and would be at once understood. It was _a home _to which Naomi pointed, a home for her daughter's heart. In such a home, if warm and pure, there would be repose for the affections. "That it may be well with thee," or

AND SHE SAID, THESE SIX MEASURES OF BARLEY GAVE HE ME,.... Which she laid down before her, which was a proof of his kindness to her, that she was acceptable to him, and had well sped; of these six measures, see Ruth 3:15 which by some are allegorically interpreted of six blessings that should be bestowed upon her, as the spirit of wisdom, understanding, c. as Isaiah 11:2 so Jarchi or of six persons that should spring from her, as David, Daniel, and his companions, and the King Messiah, as the Targum: FOR HE SAID UNTO ME, GO NOT EMPTY UNTO THY MOTHER IN LAW; which, as it expressed a regard to Naomi, and a compassionate concern for her support, so would give her assurance of the success Ruth met with, she would relate to her....

CHAPTER 3 AT THE FEET OF BOAZ _ 1. Naomi instructs Ruth (Ruth 3:1)_ 2. At his feet (Ruth 3:6) 3. The discovery (Ruth 3:8) 4. The six measures of barley (Ruth 3:14) 5. He will not rest until he have finished the thing (Ruth 3:18) What follows in the realization of redemption must be connected with Leviticus 25, the law concerning the redemption of an inheritance and the other law about the marriage of a brother-in-law as given in...

RUTH 3. BOAZ AS A GOË L. Elimelech and his two sons were dead. Would any member of the family have enough right and proper feeling to save his name from extinction? The nearest relative was in this case silent and inactive. But, with the originality of love, Naomi devised a plan not merely for the redemption of her late husband's estate and the continuation of the family succession, but for the happy settlement of Ruth in a Judæ an home. Ignorant of the customs of Bethlehem, Ruth follows her mother-in-law's instructions to the letter. According to the sentiment of the time there was nothing immodest or unwomanly in their bold and unusual line of action. Rightly understood, it was only a gentle and delicate way of appealing to a kinsman's chivalry; and Ruth did not appeal in vain. Ruth 3:1. Better a resting-place (_mg._); the beautiful Heb. word (_mĕ? nûḥ?â_) has much the same ass

_Ruth Returns to Naomi Ruth 3:14-18_ 14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. 15 Also he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law. 18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. _8._ Why did Ruth rise so early?...

THE APPEAL TO BOAZ 1. Marriages are always arranged by the parents in Eastern lands; here, of course, the mother-in-law must intervene. 2-7. Grain is winnowed in the evening, to avoid the heat of the day and take advantage of the cool sea-wind, which blows in Palestine from 4 p.m. to half-an-hour before sunset. As a rule the threshing floor, which is an open space of clean, hard, dry ground, is on an elevated spot. But at Beth-lehem it was necessary to go 'down' to it, because the town is on the summit of the ridge and higher than any of the surrounding eminences. Ruth is to wash and anoint herself and put on the _simlah_, the long outer robe of ceremony, for this was to be a formal and important visit. Every precaution, too, was to be taken to ensure Boaz being in a genial frame of mind; the day's work was to be at an end, and he was to have eaten and drunk: cp. Genesis 27

THERE IS A *REDEEMER BOOK OF RUTH _GORDON CHURCHYARD_ Words in boxes are notes on the Bible text. CHAPTER 3 V1 Naomi, Ruth’s husband’s mother, said to her, ‘My daughter, I am looking for a home where you can rest. So then you can be happy. V2 Now Boaz is a *relation of ours. You have been with his young women. Tonight he will *winnow *barley at the *threshing floor. V3 Now, have a bath and make yourself smell nice. Then dress in your best clothes. Go down to the *threshing floor. Remain hidden until he finishes eating and drinking. V4 Notice carefully the place where he lies down to sleep. Then go there and uncover his feet. And lie by his feet. He will tell you what to do.’ V5 ‘I will do everything that you have told me’, Ruth said to Naomi. V6 So Ruth went to the *threshing floor. There she did everything that her husband’s mother had said. v7

וַ תֹּ֕אמֶר שֵׁשׁ ־הַ שְּׂעֹרִ֥ים הָ אֵ֖לֶּה נָ֣תַן לִ֑י כִּ֚י אָמַ֣ר _אֵלַ֔י_† אַל ־תָּבֹ֥ואִי...