"1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings[a] over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Ruth 3:1-13
Naomi's whole background provided a driving force for her to redeem the 're- proach' of her family. With such a background we can imagine how difficult it was for her to rest until her daughter-in-law's interests had been attended to. The RSV rendering of 1 brings out her concern very graphically: 'should I not seek a home for you...?' This was part of the merciful and humanitarian legislation in the Mosaic code, in its provision for the poor.
If these things were not known, this chapter might read more than a little like a pas- sage from a somewhat dubious modern novel that had some unsavoury thoughts associ- ated with it. But with the background of the passages in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, it reads rather differently. Even so, it has greatly perplexed commentators how to justify Naomi's actions in inveigling Ruth into such a situation. They have been at pains to sug- gest that there was nothing unusual or unworthy about what Naomi arranged here for her daughter-in-law and that in the light of the law it was perfectly natural. But there is nothing in Deuteronomy or Leviticus, or anywhere else, for that matter, to suggest that this was the way for the law concerning the kinsman to be 'worked out and fulfilled’. Granted it was the law of Moses that Boaz should be a husband to Ruth; granted she had a right to claim his protection; granted Naomi was within her rights in expecting that this arrangement would receive the blessing of the Lord - but why create such an embarrass- ing situation, for Ruth and for Boaz too, and one that but for God's over-ruling grace might have led to serious repercussions? Was it necessary to have approached Boaz in this secretive way, that could well have caused scandal? Does the answer to these ques- tions lie in what some maintain about Naomi -that she was a very 'managing' person, and that, whether deliberately, or by an instinct that was 'second nature' to her, she was seeking to 'force God's hand' in the whole matter? We shall consider this further in the next Note.