John Mark Hicks

God Has Spoken

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

We persevere because God has spoken. In the past (and continuing into the present) God has spoken through prophets and angels as well as other messengers. And also God has spoken through a son who will inherit all things, a son who is the wisdom of God from teh beginning and became human in order to become a royal priest for our sakes.

Though the NRSV translation, like most, offer their translation in several sentences, the Greek text is one magnificent sentence. It is like a thesis statement. Its auricular impact with alliteration and other rhetorical devices escapes English readers. We miss the effect the original rhetoric would have had on its first readers. Nevertheless, the theological point is evident in English as well as Greek: God has spoken.

More specifically, God has spoken through the prophets and has, in these last days, spoken through a Son.

It is not that the God has spoken in the past and no longer speaks through prophets and in various ways. Rather, God has now also spoken through a Son (there is no article “the” before Son, though it is clear the preacher is describing a particular Son). There is no “but” in the Greek text of 1:1-4, which the NRSV and NIV among others provide at the beginning of verse 2. A conjunction is perhaps needed (though there is no conjunction in the KJV, CVS, NET), but it should be something like “and now” (NLT, or “but also”). It is a contrast between prophets and Son but not a contrast in the fact that God has spoken.

The content of the speech is not contrasted, but the means or mode of speaking is. God still speaks through the prophets (often quoted in Hebrews), and what the prophets spoke, the Son also speaks. It is the voice of God, the word of God through both the prophets and the Son. The message—the good news—is the same (Hebrews 4:2, 6). The message of the prophets and the Son does not stand in contrast but in typological continuity, fulfillment, or eschatological meaning. The preacher uses the Hebrew Bible to substantiate, expound, and ground the role of the Son. The Hebrew Bible, as the product of the prophets, speaks of the Son.

At the same time, even though the era, recipient, means, manner, and times are contrasted, there is still an assumed continuity. There is one people of God who has lived with God in history and heard the voice of God. This is a shared familial relationship. God has not changed, God has spoken, and continues to speak.

The contrast is in the particularity of the son’s message. The Son speaks in the “last days,” that is, at the end of the ages. He speaks to us in the present rather than prophets in the past. He is a son, not just a prophet. He spoke as an embodied person at a particular time during his ministry (Hebrews 2:1-4) rather than through dreams and visions in the past over a long period of time.

The preacher does not diminish what God said through the prophets. The contrast does not mean the rejection of what the prophets said or that there are no more prophets. Rather, it is about the wonder of the incarnation that God has now spoken through a son rather than through mere prophets. There is something climactic about this speech through a son; it has a finality as the criterion by which all the thoughts and intents of the heart are judged. It is spoken in the last days as an embodied presence. In effect, God has spoken in person in addition to speaking through prophets. God still speaks through the prophets, through the Spirit, and the climactic and full revelation of God is in a son, who is the heir of all things. Given that it is God’s own self-expression, the speech (revelation) of this son is the message that forms the criterion by which we discern the mystery of God in Christ.

This does not contradict the prophets or what God has earlier said but confirms it, fills it, and completes it. What God said in the past is true and is still true, and now we see it more clearly through the self-revelation of God by a son.

The contrast between prophets and son includes a contrast between the function of prophets and the function of a son. Both speak, but they are different. A prophet is God’s messenger who speaks the word of God and represents God among the people. The Son is a divine messenger who shares the nature of God and is the heir of all things. The person and work of the Son far exceeds the person and work of a prophet.

This son participates in both the divine and human natures. The description, it seems, applies to the exalted son, the one who “sat down” at the right hand of God. But some of the characteristics are also appropriate to the son as an eternal person while others are only true in terms of the exaltation. The point is the preacher describes a son who now sits at the right hand of God, and that one was both the agent of creation from the beginning and was made human for the sake of purification. He is both the heir from the beginning and in light of his exaltation. In sitting down, he becomes the fullness of all that God intended from the beginning.

The preacher’s description of this son begins with his status as heir of all things. This is the final status of this son but it also the intent from the beginning since the creation, according to Colossians, was made “by him and for him.” He inherits as son, the one who is exalted to the right hand of the father.

This Son. . .

The preacher describes this son in divine terms. The Son is the agent of creation. The term is more literally “ages” rather than “worlds,” but it refers to the history of creation itself. The ages through which the creation has progressed are actualized through the work of the Son. He made the ages, the worlds, or the creation itself.

This son is the reflection (or better, radiance) of God’s glory. The Greek word is apaugasma, which only occurs here in the New Testament. And it occurs only once in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek Bible of the early church in Wisdom 7:26: “For she is the brightness (apaugsama) of the everlasting light, the unspotted mirror of the power of God, and the image of his goodness.” In the context, Wisdom is describing God’s wisdom, a personification of God’s agent in creation (much like Proverbs 8:22-31 uses Lady Wisdom in a similar way). God is never without God’s wisdom, and God’s wisdom is the means by which God created the world. The wisdom of God is the “radiance” or “brilliance” of God’s own glory, being, and presence. Glory is the revelation of God’s essence. God and the Son are intricately tied together.

This son is the imprint or exact representation of God’s being. He is the exact representation, the strict image, of God’s own essence. There is no distinction in their essence. He re-presents God’s very being. He is divine. In some ways, glory and being are overlapping synonyms in Hebraic thought, and in this way radiance and imprint reflect similar ideas. The upshot is that the very nature of the Son is divine and is intimately connected to God through that shared nature.

This son sustains (“bears”), just as the Son created, all things by “his word.” This refers to the son’s speech. The Son speaks and creation obeys. The creation is sustained by the speech of the son, his (the son’s) powerful word. This is often placed in the context of providence as God through the son governs the creation towards its goal and sustains the creation in its existence. He “bears” or “carryies” the creation itself. In effect, this son is the speech of God that originates, sustains, and brings the creation to its goal.

The preacher also describes this Son in human terms. His language assumes the incarnation of the son. When the son “made purification for sins,” he did so as High Priest. Through his incarnation, obedience, and sacrifice the son purified a people for God from their sins (Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:11-14).

Having made purification through sacrifice and entrance into the heavens as High Priest, this son set down at the right hand of God (cf. Hebrews 9:13-14, 22-23; 10:2, 22). This alludes to a major Hebrew text in this sermon, Psalm 110. This son, having made purification as priest, sat down at the right hand of God as king. This is union of king and priest into a royal priesthood. This son, through whom the worlds were created and by whom they are sustain, sits enthroned over the creation by virtue of having made purification for sins.

This Son, in terms of both his person and his name, is better (superior) to the angels. His person is radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being from before creation itself. His name (“Son”) is given to him in connection with his inheritance. The eternal Son inherits a name, which is “Son”. He is Son both in terms of an eternal relationship with God, and he is also Son in terms of his incarnation and subsequent exaltation to the right hand of God.

“Better” or “more excellent” is a common word in Hebrews (thirteen times; only six other places in the NT):

• better than angels, 1:4;
• more than Moses, 3:3;
• better gifts than the present, 6:9;
• betters bless inferiors, 7:7;
• better hope, 7:19;
• better covenant, 7:22 and 8:6;
• better promises, 8:6;
• better sacrifices, 9:23;
• better possessions, 10:34;
•  better country (heavenly one), 11:16;
• better resurrection, 11:35;
• provided something better to perfect us, 11:40;
• better blood than Abel, 12:24). 

It is important to remember that this is not “better” in contrast to “bad” or “evil,” but better in contrast to good. What is better is more than the other rather than saying something was wrong with the other. It is a qualitative such that it identifies something superior. Typically, the contrast is more like what is temporal or finite in contrast to what is eternal or everlasting. It is not a contrast between what is material and what is spiritual since the incarnate son is material and gives everlasting life to materiality through his resurrection body.

Why contrast the Son to angels? Is it because someone was worshipping angels? Or that the preacher was responding to an angelic Christology (as in, Jesus was just another angel or even a high ranking angel). There is little to no evidence in Hebrews for either of those alternatives. Rather, the angels are messengers like the prophets, and the angels mediated the Torah spoken by the prophets. The Torah was delivered by angels at Mt. Sinai (Acts 7:38-39; Gal. 3:19, which is a common tradition in Jewish Second Temple literature). In other words, the Son is superior to the other messengers, whether prophets or angels.

So, to whom does creation belong? Who is the heir of creation? It is given to this son rather than to the angels. But why? We have already been given the answer: this son is heir of the cosmos because he is the eternal one who through his incarnational priesthood has been crowned as king. That is not the place of the angels; it belongs to this Son.

Hebrews is most probably a sermon, a “word of exhortation” (Hebrews 13:22; cf. Acts 13:15), offered to a specific community that was discouraged by faith-fatigue and their social dislocation. He encourages them to persevere based on what God has done for them.

Essentially, the sermon says: “Since we have this great gift from God, let us persevere in our service to God and each other.”

A full schedule of the lessons and a more detailed outline are available here.

There are several unknowns about this document.

• The author of the written sermon is unknown and anonymous, though its preacher knows the recipients well, and both know Timothy (Hebrews 13:23).
• The timing of the sermon is unknown, whether it is even before or after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
• The specific community is unknown, though the community and the preacher both know some people in Italy or from Italy (Hebrews 13:24).

Though these are significant unknowns, they do not hinder the message of the sermon because we learn so much about the recipients from the document itself. 

The community is at a crossroads moment that endangers and weakens their living faith. They are on the verge of apostasy, and some have already abandoned their faith.

• They are drifting from their original fervent embrace of the God’s word (Hebrews 2:1).
• They are in danger of failing to reach the land of promised rest (Hebrews 4:1).
• They must move beyond their immaturity and press on to maturity (Hebrews 6:1).
• They are slowly giving up meeting together, and some already have (Hebrews 10:25).
• They are in danger of giving up their inheritance like Esau did (Hebrews 12:16-17).

But what was the occasion of this danger? Why are these believers in such danger? What are the circumstances of this crisis?

Many have read Hebrews through the lens that the danger the congregation faced was a potential return to Judaism or some had already returned to Judaism. As far as we know this perspective began with Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople (d. 407). The preacher, Chrysostom thought, was attempting to persuade Jewish Christians to persevere rather than abandon Christianity in order to embrace once again the Judaism of their past. While this cannot be ruled out absolutely, and there is some reason to think some might have moved in that direction, I think that focus is too narrow. Hebrews does not say anything about a return to Judaism. That is an inference that is not explicitly supported by the sermon.

Perhaps rather than rejecting Judaism, this is a Christian attempt to deal with the nearing or recent destruction of the temple and its cultus. Just as Judaism in the post-temple era had to reimagine and reinterpret sacrifices and relationship with God, so also Christians had to think theologically about it as well. After all, while the temple still stood, Jesus-followers still participated in the rituals and worshipped God at the temple (for example, Acts 2:46-47; Paul in Acts 21).

Even if the above alternatives have any merit, the struggles of discouragement, persecution, and social dislocation are explicit. The preacher in Hebrews characterizes their journey as a wilderness experience. They are like Israel trekking through the wilderness in search of a permanent home (Hebrews 3:7-18). Like Israel, they are in danger of not receiving the promised rest if they do not persevere in faith (Hebrews 4:1-13). Their social location means they experience the hostility and suspicion of a culture that does not understand them. They are shamed by their neighbors. They are a persecuted people, though not yet unto blood (Hebrews 12:4). There are no martyrs in their circumstance, at least for the moment. Nevertheless, they can expect this as they follow Jesus who was shamed in his death. Given such social pressures—shaming and persecution—it is not surprising that some have decided to abandon Jesus community. Faith can waste away in a hostile culture. It is difficult to hang on when the dominant culture is shaming you, persecuting you, and hostile to your way of life.

The fundamental reason for the sermon, then, is to persuade believers to persevere, and it does this by providing reasons to stay. It answers the question, “Why stay? Is it worth it? What is the benefit?” While there are many supporting points, the outline of the sermon identifies at least three reasons.

• God has spoken to us through a Son (Hebrews 1:1-4).
• God has provided a great High Priest for us (Hebrews 4:14-16).
• God has invited us to enter God’s sanctuary (Hebrews 10:19-25).

These are three grounding moments in the sermon, and they provide a thesis supported by the following material. Stay because God has spoken not only through angels and prophets but has spoken through the Son who became human and shared our suffering as a pathfinder through the suffering into glory. Stay because God has provided a High Priest for us to deal with sin not only in his death but through his continual intercession for us at the throne of God. Stay because God invites us to serve in the sanctuary as royal priests who will inherit all that belongs to the Son.

Believers are exhorted to continue their life of faith despite their dire circumstances because this is how God has come to humanity in a dramatic way through the incarnate God who died for sin and was raised to present his offering before God for the purification of all things. This is what is really real. Everything else, even the good things like the Levitical sacrificial system and its tabernacle, is a shadow of this reality.

An outline of the sermon, then, may be something like this, and it will be the way I will unfold the message of Hebrews in coming weeks.

I. The Sonship of Jesus: God’s Spoken Word (1:1-4:16).

Thesis: God has spoken to us through the Son (1:1-4).

1. The Person of the Son (1:5-2:18).
2. The Prophetic Function of the Son (3:1-4:13).

II. The Priesthood of Jesus: Our High Priest (4:14-10:18).

Thesis: Jesus, the Son of God, is our High Priest, including exhortation (4:14-16).

1. The Priestly Office (5:1-7:28).
2. The Priestly Function, An Exposition (8:1-10:18).

III. Faithful Participation: Our Response to God’s Gift through Jesus (10:19-12:29)

Thesis: We enter the holy sanctuary through Jesus, including exhortation (10:19-25).

1. Follow the Faithful (10:26-11:40).
2. Endure the Hardship (12:1-17).
3. Participate in the Eschatological (Heavenly) Reality (12:18-29).

IV. Epistolary Epilogue (13:1-25).

1. Serving as Priests in the Community of Faith (13:1-6).
2. Application of the Sermon’s Point (13:7-17).
3. Concluding Epistolary Notes (13:18-25).

Guest Sermon post by Becky Frazier

Texts: Luke 1:46-55; Psalm 126; John 1:6-8, 19-28; Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11.

This week, we gather to celebrate the third week of advent. The meaning of advent is the arrival of something or someone important. And during these four weeks leading up to Christmas, Christians around the world practice the discipline of waiting, of anticipating, of holy longing for the arrival of Christ. We light one candle, and then another and another until the whole wreath is full of light. We count down the 25 days leading up to Christmas with advent calendars full of treats like chocolate or if you go to Costco, even things like cheese, wine, and jellies. 

We decorate our houses while listening to a Christmas playlist. We buy gifts and wrap them, placing them under the tree, adding to the joyful anticipation and excitement of finally getting to open them on Christmas morning. We sing songs about hope, peace, joy, and love. During advent, we practice waiting. As we reenact the awaiting and arrival of Immanuel, God with Us, Christ, the Messiah into the world each year, we also acknowledge that we are a people still waiting as we anticipate his return. He has come and he will come again. We are a people who wait. 

I think all of our texts this week point to this kind of waiting. The kind of waiting that takes a lot of faith. The kind of waiting where you don’t know how long it will be. Or what it will really ultimately end up like. 

Isaiah 61 written to a people leaving exile, a people who had waited for home for a long time. And now they continue to wait for God to be faithful to his promise to send a messiah and usher in a new garen and a new Jerusalem. 

In Mary’s song we find Mary waiting for the arrival of the child that was growing inside her, perhaps no bigger than a peanut at this time.  But she is also waiting the fulfillment of God’s promise “The promise he made to our fathers, *to Abraham and his children for ever.”

In our gospel reading John the baptizer shares about the coming of one greater than him. He is not the one they are waiting for, but he is preparing the way for the one to come. The wait is almost over. 

And our Epistle shares what to do in the midst of waiting. Rejoice, pray, hold fast. “The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.”

I don’t know about you, but waiting isn’t really my favorite thing. Around Christmas, waiting to get to open presents is fun, but waiting for word back from the doctor is not. Waiting for a job to open up when we don’t have one is stressful. Waiting for our marriage to get better or for finances to not be so tight for our house to sell or for a loved one to be reconciled to us is painful and anxiety producing. In seasons of waiting, when we don’t know what is next, when we can’t plan for the future because we don’t know what to expect the waiting is difficult and stressful. We know that Jesus was born into the world. We read about it and his life and his ministry and his death and his resurrection. We celebrate it each Christmas time. So the wait is easy. December 25th will come and go as it always does and every year it seems to come more quickly.  But waiting for his return might be a bit harder for us. At least it is for me. 

Isaiah and Mary tell us about what the kingdom of heaven will be like. What the new Jerusalem will be like. What new creation will have in store. It’s liberty to the captives. It’s comfort to the brokenhearted. It’s help for the hurting. Hope for the oppressed. And food for the hungry. It’s justice and righteousness and a new garden and a new city where shalom, love, and mercy reign. 

And I look around us and I see war in Ukraine and Palestine and South Sudan. Civilians and women and children killed and hospitals the target of bombs. I look at the fact that one in ten people in our city struggle with food insecurity and the fact that 25,000 people around the world die of hunger every single day. I look at the gun violence that is rampant in our nation and the racism and misogyny that seem to grow unchecked. I see a badly broken prison system more focused on retribution and satiating corporate greed than on restoration and justice. I see friends and loved ones hurting from infertility, loss of loved ones, illness, domestic violence, messy divorces. It seems like everywhere we turn we are face to face with all of the terrible things that people can do to each other and the brokenness of the world that we live in. 

We are still waiting. Waiting for war to end. Waiting for sickness to end. Waiting for oppression to end. Waiting for violence to end. Waiting for all to be made right.  Waiting on the church to get it together and be who Jesus called us to be. If I’m not careful, the waiting can turn to despair and hopelessness, to resignation or to rage.  

I wonder if the reason that the church has intentionally set aside one whole month out of every year to practice waiting is so that we can learn together what sort of people we are to be when we wait. The kind of waiting we are called to is an active participation. Not something passive that is happening to us. Something that we are victims of. We wait with hope.  With the arrival of Christ, the kingdom of God is now here, it is at hand. We can reach out and touch it and catch glimpses of it in thin spaces here and there. Advent is our yearly opportunity to relearn how to wait. 

As we wait for a kingdom of peace, we practice anew being a people of peace.  As we sang last week :Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.”  We practice forgiving even when it seems impossible. We turn the other cheek. We reject war and terrorism and violence in all of its forms. We assume the best about others and are quick to offer grace. We let that car merge for goodness sake! 

As we wait for a time when suffering ceases, we seek to be a people who ease suffering wherever we can. We give a cup of cold water. We share our food. We comfort the broken hearted and do what we can to not inflict suffering on anyone else. Taking care in the things we buy and the way we respond to our servers and baristas. We take food to those who had surgery and remind those who have suffered loss that they are not alone.  

As we await a kingdom where the proud are scattered and the lowly are lifted up and justice prevails, we refuse to align ourselves with the kingdoms of this world.  We don’t seek wealth or power or privilege because that is no kind of currency in the kingdom of heaven.  Instead, we welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and offer hospitality to the unhoused.

We wait but as we wait, we participate. Perhaps this double meaning of advent, the remembrance of the waiting for the birth of Christ while we also sit with the reality that we are still waiting for Christ occurs together to remind us that the one we are waiting on can be trusted. God has been faithful to his promises and always will be and nothing represents this more fully than God-enfleshed, Immanuel, the infant born in a manger, fully human and fully god. God has promised us that he would dwell with us and that he would save us and in Jesus God has done what he promised he would do. We are not waiting from a posture of crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. We wait with assurance that the God who revealed himself to us in Christ is the kind of God that he says he is. One who is trustworthy. One who is kind. One who is faithful. One who longs to be with us. One who is loving and who is love itself. 

Many times in scripture this waiting is likened to a woman in the  midst of childbirth. When a woman is with child, the baby is both here and not here yet. Something is happening. Something is growing. There is evidence of that in a fluttering feeling and a stomach growing larger, almost imperceptibly at first. And in the meantime, there is work to be done to prepare. To get a nursery ready to welcome a child home. To pick a name. To buy clothes and toys and diapers and all the things babies need. To adjust life and schedules for this new season. 

And there is work that must happen in the body – a metamorphosis into mother – ready for birth and then the task of nourishing and feeding her child. My understanding is that none of this is comfortable to say the least and some parts are incredibly painful. There are backaches and swollen feet and doctors appointments where you have to drink gross stuff and sleepless nights and kicks to the ribs. And that’s before the actual birth. But the joy and the love and the sheer wonder of new life is worth it all. 

What better image at Christmastime is there for the coming of the Christ. And so we wait. And we prepare. We ready the world. We ready ourselves. Because God is faithful to God’s promises and a new creation is waiting for us. May you wait with hope, with peace, with joy, and with love. 

The Blessedness of Naomi (Ruth 4:13-22)

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When they came together, the LORD made her conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom, and became his nurse. The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron of Ram, Ram of Amminadab, Amminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon, Salmon of Boaz, Boaz of Obed, Obed of Jesse, and Jesse of David.

The narrative of the book of Ruth begins with the tragedies that befell Naomi, and the narrative ends with her blessedness.

The tragic circumstances of Naomi’s life left her bitter (1:20-21). She wanted to be called “Bitter” (mara) rather than “Pleasant” (Naomi). Yahweh had dealt “bitterly” with her and returned her to Bethlehem “empty.” She experienced her tragedy as Yahweh’s harsh treatment, and she named God as the one who “brought calamity upon” her.

How might we describe her feelings and situation? Shamed? Disappointed? Frustrated? Wounded? Hopeless?

However, through the hesed (mercy, loyalty) of Ruth and Boaz as well as the hidden footprints of God throughout the narrative, the book of Ruth ends with blessing rather than curse, hope rather than despair, and fullness rather than emptiness.

Ruth and Boaz marry, and Boaz “came to her” (consummating the marriage, we might say), and Ruth conceived. In fact, Yahweh “made her conceive” (literally, Yahweh gave to her pregnancy or conception), and the result was a son. What Ruth had never known in her barrenness and what Naomi had lost in death was renewed in the family of Elimelech—a son to bear the name, inherit the land, and support the family.

It is important to note that Naomi is blessed by the women rather than Ruth as the one blessed. Naomi has always been central to the story; it is about the honor and continuance of her family, particularly her husband’s name. A child is born! Indeed, “a son has been born to Naomi!” In fact, she became his nurse.

The women bless the newborn: (1) a renowned name; (2) a restorer of life for the elderly Naomi; and (3) his mother who is more to Naomi than seven sons. Most likely, the “name” is not Boaz, but the child will have a name, that is, a reputation that brings honor to the family. This “name” will ultimately include David, the second king of Israel. This son will provide and support Naomi in her old age. And Ruth will still be there as one whose love for Naomi has no measure.

The genealogy provides a hint as to why we have this story. It details the lineage of David, perhaps affirming his reign.

But the genealogy is not simply about David, though it climaxes there. Beginning with Perez (rather than Judah) it reminds us that Perez is the son of Tamar (already named in 4:12). Though unnamed, Rahab also lies in the backdrop. She born a son to Salmon, from whom Boaz descended (perhaps even the son of Salmon). These non-Israelite women—both were Canaanites—are part of the lineage of David, and remember Ruth is a Moabitess.

Ruth, a worthy character and filled with hesed, is the agent of Naomi’s redemption, just as Rahab redeemed her family and Tamar continued the lineage of Judah. To one degree or another, sexual scandal was associated with these women, and yet they are the ones whose initiative secured the lineage.

Perhaps in addition to the genealogy securing David’s position in the history of Israel/Judah, another important point is about women in Israel/Judah. While Judges 19-21 highlights the violent narratives against women as a witness to the chaotic and immoral condition of Israel, the story of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz affirms and honors women. This is, in part, an antidote to the violence present in Judges.

This antidote is found in hesed, which is an inherent characteristic of Yahweh, the God of Israel!

Boaz at the City Gate (Ruth 4:1-12)

No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, “Come over, friend; sit down here.” And he went over and sat down. Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here”; so they sat down. He then said to the next-of-kin, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.” So he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth^a the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” At this, the next-of-kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”

Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.” Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

On the previous night, Ruth courageously and boldly proposed marriage to Boaz for the sake of Naomi and the house of Elimelech. Boaz accepted the proposal and vowed to honor his role as kinsman-redeemer. But another has the first right of refusal, and, consequently, Boaz immediately goes to the city gate to settle the matter. Who will redeem the house of Elimelech by purchasing the land, caring for Naomi, marrying Ruth, and providing that house with a heritage of children? The two kinsmen will negotiate a resolution before the city elders at the gate.

Boaz Honors First-Right of Refusal

The city gate is communal space. At many gates, benches were carved into or attached to the walls. There the city elders would sit, bear witness to transactions, hear disputes, and adjudicate cases as needed. Ten elders, in later Jewish tradition, was a necessary number to establish a quorum for synagogue meetings or starting a synagogue. This number apparently legitimated the action, and this is probably why Boaz gathers ten elders to witness what he is about to do.

Arriving at the gate, Boaz sees the other potential kinsman-redeemer and gathers the elders together. Interestingly but significantly, the other kinsman-redeemer remains unnamed. In fact, though translations often represent Boaz as calling him a “friend” (NRSV; 4:1), the Hebrew is indefinite and literally means “a certain one.” The narrator deliberately omits his name. It is the name of Boaz that will be remembered, and not this “certain” kinsmen-redeemer.

When they sat down at the gate with the elders, Boaz names what most probably was already rather well-known to the community. The town is well-aware of Naomi’s situation, and they knew about Elimelech; his kinsmen especially knew. But no one had acted to help Naomi as a kinsman-redeemer, or perhaps were unaware of her desire to sell Elimelech’s land. Boaz is now going to force the issue. How will the community respond to Naomi? More particularly, will a kinsman-redeemer step up and take responsibility.

The first issue Boaz raises is land. In Israel, Yahweh owned all the land. It was distributed to clans and families as an inheritance to steward and use, but it belonged to Yahweh. At the same time, so that there would be no poor in the land, the land would belong to the clans and families in perpetuity. Due to famine or dire circumstances (like Naomi’s), the land could be sold. A kinsman-redeemer could buy the land to keep it in the clan, but ultimately if it were sold outside the clan, it would return to the clan in the Year of Jubilee (which is every 50 years).

In essence, this land belongs to Elimelech, not Naomi. Widows did not inherit in Israel (or in most nations until the last couple of centuries). Selling the land would provide some security for Naomi, but without land there is no lasting security in ancient Israel. Perhaps the land was unfallowed and unkept due to the absence of the family who went to Moab. But land is valuable, and it is more valuable when it is worked to produce crops. Apparently, the land was barren and unkept.

Boaz says, the land is available for purchase. And the primary kinsman-redeemer has the right of first refusal.

Our no-name kinsman-redeemer is excited to purchase the land. It would enlarge his holdings and increase his profit. Moreover, there is no obligation to marry Naomi because she is beyond child-birthing years. In essence, the no-name kinsman-redeemer could enrich himself without the danger of the land disappearing into the hands of Naomi’s heir since both of her sons were dead. While the land would remain in the clan (a kinsman), Elimelech’s name would disappear even as the no-name kinsman-redeemer grew wealthier by the acquisition of more land.

But there is a catch!

When one buys the land, one assumes responsibility for the house of Elimelech, which includes Ruth the Moabitess. [The grammar of the Hebrew has the possibility of Boaz saying, “I have decided to marry Ruth,” which is also problematic if Ruth bears a son in the marriage.] This is a problem. If he marries Ruth, and she bears a son, then the inheritance of the land he just purchased would go to the son. In other words, he would lose money on this deal since he will have expended the funds to buy the land but only to give the land to the son. It would spoil his own inheritance. Moreover, marrying another woman and bearing children with her might create some trouble in his own house. It is better, he concludes, to refuse the offer and let Boaz redeem the land (along with Naomi and Ruth). He is not condemned for this action; it might have been the most prudent thing to do given his circumstances. And the clan responsibility would be fulfilled by Boaz.

Boaz Redeems Elimelech’s House

Boaz is willing to redeem Elimelech’s land and family.

The transaction between the no-name relative and Boaz is symbolized by one taking off his sandal and giving it to the other. This seems like a strange custom for modern Westerners. But feet and shoes are highly symbolic in ancient Near East and still are in much of the present Middle East. To remove the shoe, some suggest, is to acknowledge ownership.

There is evidence in the ancient Nuzi texts that when one transferred property to a new owner that the seller would lift his foot off the land and place the buyer’s foot on the land. “To set foot” on the land is an ownership claim (cf. Deuteronomy 11:24; Joshua 14:9). In Psalm 60:8, Yahweh says he will “cast my shoe” upon Edom, that is, he will take ownership. For example, Moses took off his shoes as did Joshua in the presence of Yahweh which recognized they were standing of ground God owned. Whatever the exact meaning of the symbolism, clearly the right of redemption transferred from the one who is not named to Boaz. This concrete, public act ratified the transaction.

By this transaction, Boaz acquired “from the hand of Naomi” everything that belong to Elimelech and his two sons. This included not only their land and all the inheritance that pertained to it, but also the right to marry Ruth as a kinsman-redeemer.  While the kinsman-redeemer law was specifically aimed at brothers (like in the story of Tamar and the sons of Judah), the spirit of the law is that relatives redeem the widows in their clans or families. This is Boaz’s intent since he specifically names Mahlon, the dead husband of Ruth, as the one whose inheritance he will maintain. Boaz will preserve the name of Ruth’s first husband, the son of Elimelech and Naomi.

The City Blesses Boaz

The whole city—“all the people who were at the gate”—witnessed this, honored it, and blessed the arrangement.

The city offers three blessings.

• May Yahweh make Ruth like Rachel and Leah who built up the house of Israel through their birthing of children.
• May Yahweh bless Boaz with children and bestow a name in Bethlehem.
• May Yahweh bless the house of Boaz as he did Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.

These blessings connect the story of Ruth and Boaz with the history of Israel, particularly in Genesis. Rachel and Leah (along with their maidservants) are the mothers of the twelve sons of Jacob. The “name” attached to Bethlehem of Ephrathah will link Abraham to David whose own birth prefigures the birth of the Messiah (cf. Micah 5:2-4); Boaz will have a name, but the other kinsman-redeemer remains unamed. Naming Tamar reminds us that Ruth is not the only non-Israelite in this heritage. Her son Perez was born to Judah after his two sons failed to give Tamar a child. In other words, the people bless Boaz to be more like Judah than his two sons as he takes a Moabite bride just as Judah fathered a child from a Canaanite woman.

Through these blessings, Ruth is fully integrated into the story of Israel. She is no longer and outsider but included, blessed, and honored. Boaz has redeemed the family.

Remember, however, it was Naomi’s initiative and Ruth’s boldness along with Boaz’s hesed (loyalty) that brought this moment to fruition. And, yet it was God’s hidden footsteps that guided this from Moab to the fields of Boaz to the city gates. Yahweh’s blessing had never forsaken the family of Elimelech, his wife, and his daughter-in-law.

Ruth Seeks Naomi’s Security (Ruth 3:6-16)

So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.” He said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the LORD lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning.”

So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Then he said, “Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. She came to her mother-in-law, who said, “How did things go with you,^a my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”

On Boaz’s threshing floor in the dead of the night, Ruth brazenly (and selflessly) proposed marriage and reminded Boaz of his kinsman-redeemer obligation. Boaz recognized her devout loyalty and her valiant strength which bolstered his opinion of her. With integrity, Boaz committed to discover her availability, protected her from gossip, and supplied her with a generous gift of barley for her and Naomi. Though once “empty,” now Ruth brings abundance to Naomi, and we anticipate more abundance to come.

Ruth Approaches Boaz

Ruth did exactly what Naomi told her to do.

She bathed, perfumed, and changed her clothing. Ruth was no longer in mourning; she is now available for marriage. Naomi wants Ruth to find “rest.” In other words, Ruth needs to find a husband as she has no means of support and no future in Bethlehem in its patriarchal and patrilineal culture.

She went to the threshing floor under the cover of darkness to secure a future by proposing marriage to its owner, Boaz. This was audacious, brazen, courageous, and risky. She exposed herself to potential humiliation, abuse, and rejection. But both Ruth and Naomi know the sort of man Boaz is. They know he is a “worthy” man, and he has demonstrated kindness (hesed) toward them both. He has protected Ruth from abuse and provided for her needs during the harvest.

Yet, Ruth does not approach Boaz directly in public view at the end of a workday. Rather, she waits till he is refreshed with food and drink and contented, beginning his rest with a night’s sleep on the threshing floor. It is the end of the harvest; Boaz stays with his grain. Ruth approaches him in quiet or “stealthily” to uncover his feet (see previous lesson for its meaning). She does not want to awaken anyone or raise an alarm. She only wants to interact with Boaz. While he still sleeps, Ruth lays down at his feet to await his response.

Bathed, perfumed, and dressed in her best, she uncovers his feet and lies down at them as a marriage proposal. This is not an invitation to a one-night stand, and neither is necessarily an invitation for a sexual liaison in the middle of the night. However, it might be an invitation to consummate a marriage on that threshing floor as Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer for the family. That is possible. At the same time, Boaz’s response tells us that there was no sexual consummation. But why not?

Ruth Proposes Marriage

Around midnight, Boaz is startled, turned over, and saw a woman lying at his feet. No doubt this was surprising. His question indicates he had not anticipated this moment, “Who are you?”

Ruth responded with four key points: (1) her name; (2) her work in the field (“your servant”); (3) her intent (“spread your cloak over your servant”); and (4) her relation (kinsman-redeemer). Since it was dark, Boaz did not immediately recognize Ruth, but he knew her from his relationship with her in the fields. She had harvested with his workers for perhaps seven weeks, shared his table, and was generously supplied with food and resources by Boaz.

She identified herself as one of his “servants” (one of his workers, according to Boaz’s kindness). But she had come to the threshing floor to extend her relationship with Boaz—no longer a boss but a partner in marriage.

Literally, her request that Boaz “spread [his] cloak over” her is “spread [his] wing over” her. “Wing” is exactly the word Boaz used when he had earlier blessed Ruth (2:12, Yahweh, “the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” This is clearly a marriage proposal, and it is deeply theological. Boaz asked Yahweh to bless Ruth and find security (a refuge) under Yahweh’s wings. Ruth now turns the language toward Boaz with a question: “Will you be Yahweh’s wings to me?” For Boaz to cover Ruth with his wings is to participate in the blessing of Yahweh toward Ruth (and Naomi as well). Will Boaz show hesed (kindness) to Naomi through Ruth?

Ruth’s response was succinct but powerful, and Boaz caught the point immediately. Boaz did not see this as an invitation to a sexual affair but to marriage. He responds accordingly.

Boaz Responds to Ruth

Boaz’s response highlights Ruth’s character as he blesses her once again. He is not upset that she is at his feet; he does not belittle or scold her. Instead, he blesses her, just as he had done when they first met weeks previously. His blessing is rooted in the fact that Ruth is loyal to Naomi and a worthy woman.

Ruth acts out of hesed (kindness, loyalty). Ruth did not seek what was best for her personally. She did not manipulate the situation out of self-interest. If that were the case, she would have pursued a younger man. Rather, by raising the point of about the kinsman-redeemer, she was seeking security not only for herself but, and perhaps primarily, for Naomi. This is her hesed, her loyal kindness, her loving kindness, toward Naomi for which Boaz blesses her. 

In the second movement of his response, Boaz calls Ruth a “worthy” woman and reveals that the Ruth is known as such at the “assembly of my people” (literally, at the gate). Ruth has gained a reputation in town, particularly among the town elders or leaders. Consequently, Ruth should have no fear since she is respected, and Boaz intends to do as she asks.

“Worthy” is the same word that the narrator of the book of Ruth used to describe Boaz himself in Ruth 2:1. Both Ruth and Boaz are “worthy”. While this may have overtones of wealth and power when it comes to Boaz, that is not true of a barren, widowed, Moabite alien in the land. “Worthy” refers more to character than status, it seems to me. Her hesed toward Naomi is well-known. Her industry in providing for Naomi is also well-known. She has revealed her colors as a devout, self-less woman whose generosity and commitment is exemplary.

That there was no sexual consummation that night at the threshing floor is clear from Boaz’s integrity regarding his role as kinsman-redeemer. He did not presume to take liberties with Ruth as a kinsman when there was another who had the right of first choice (or first refusal). It was not his place. He did not have the right, and he honored that. This is something that must be adjudicated at the gate (or in the assembly of the people). Boaz wants to honor Ruth by acting honorably, and he wants to provide security for her that was untainted by scandal.

Yet, if Ruth is available, Boaz will honor her request. He swears an oath before Yahweh.

Ruth Returns to Naomi.

With Boaz’s reassurance and commitment, she lies down in peace to sleep on the threshing floor. One way or the other (either Boaz or the other kinsman), Ruth will have secured Naomi’s as well as her own “rest.”

Appropriately, Ruth slips out before dawn to protect her reputation. She is known as a “worthy” woman, and Boaz wants to keep it that way. This is not an escape from a sexual tryst but a prudent action to preserve both of their reputations until the matter is resolved publicly at the gate.

Before she leaves, however, Boaz gifts her a further supply of barley. Six measures of barley is probably something like half of an ephah, or probably about 15 or so pounds. Ruth carries the gift with her cloak (a different word than “wing” in 3:9). She does not return to Naomi “empty” (Ruth 1:21).

This is a gracious reversal within the narrative. Remember Naomi complained that Yahweh had brought her back “empty” to Bethlehem, but now from the threshing floor of Bethlehem, Ruth fills Naomi’s hands with abundance. She is no longer “empty.”

When Ruth returns, Naomi’s question for Ruth, in Hebrew, is the same as Boaz’s question, “Who are you?” English translations try to make sense of this; so, they typically provide a paraphrastic meaning for the phrase. Perhaps it is something like, “What’s up” or “What happened” along the lines of “how have your returned [empty or full]?” (or, “what are you doing here”? in the case of Boaz earlier).

Ruth has returned full—not only with barley but also with Boaz’s oath. Their security is firm because a kinsman-redeemer will act: if not the closest one, then Boaz certainly will as the next in line. Boaz will settle the matter one way or another.

Naomi and Ruth, however, must patiently wait for the outcome.

Naomi Seeks Ruth’s Security (Ruth 2:17-3:5)

So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.  She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied.  Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.”^a Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.’” Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.” So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 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.” She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

Ruth, a childless widow and Moabite, boldly and courageously entered a field to glean from the harvest. Luckily (providentially), the field belonged to Boaz who, filled with the kindness of Yahweh, showed her kindness. He invited her to glean with the women of his employ, eat at his table, and protected her from those who might abuse her. Boaz, by the grace of Yahweh, blessed Ruth. While Ruth did not know Boaz and did not know it was his field, Boaz knew Ruth because he had heard about Ruth’s kindness to Naomi and Naomi was a relative of Boaz. As yet, however, Naomi knew nothing about this until that first evening when Ruth returned from gleaning in Boaz’s field.  

Naomi Learns It Is Boaz’s Field

Ruth returned with a cooked meal (the leftovers of her meal with Boaz and his workers) and enough barely to last several months. An ephah is about a bushel of barley, which probably weighed around thirty pounds. This was a huge haul for a single day, and it represents a bountiful and blessed harvest for these two women. It is food security for the two widows as they can make bread and barter for other needs.

Naomi must have been shocked by Ruth’s production. It was, frankly, unbelievable. So, her question is a natural one, “Where do you glean?” Who would let you gather this much? Then she blesses the man who gave her permission to carry away so much of his produce without knowing who the person is. She, of course, assumes a man owns the field, and it is evident to her that the owner showed Ruth a great kindness.

This bounty and Naomi’s blessing is a startling turn of events. Naomi stands at the center of the story at this point. The one who wanted to be called Mara (bitter) because Yahweh had forsaken her is now, blessing the man in the name of Yahweh who showed Ruth kindness. While the tragic circumstances still remain (she is a widow), the bitterness is receding and blessing is on her lips.

And then she learns it is Boaz, her relative. Then another blessing rises from her lips. Boaz represents hope, a hope provided by Yahweh who providentially directed Ruth to the field of Boaz. Naomi recognizes this through her blessing. It was not chance or lucky but the work of Yahweh who has not forsaken Naomi or her family.

The theological significance of her blessing is weighty.  (1) Naomi blesses Boaz by the presence of Yahweh. (2) Boaz reflects the hesed (kindness) of Yahweh’s own life. (3) Yahweh has not forsaken the “living or the dead”—Yahweh still honors their husbands as well as themselves through this bounty. (4) Boaz is a near kinsman who has an opportunity to provide Ruth (and her) with rest and security. That is a mouthful.

Ruth adds that Boaz has also invited her to glean in his field with his workers until the end of the harvest. Naomi accepts this graciousness. Boaz’s field is safe for Ruth while another might be dangerous. Consequently, in safety and prosperity, Ruth worked in the fields of Boaz with his female gleaners until the end of the harvest, which is typically about seven weeks long.

The theology here is rich. Once exiled (we might say), Naomi has returned with Ruth the Moabitess to find rest and security in the fields of Boaz. This is the work of Yahweh, who has shown God’s own hesed through the hesed of one of Yahweh’s servants, Boaz. Naomi experiences the move from bitterness to joy, from forsakenness to blessedness, through Boaz’s faithfulness to Yahweh. I wonder if Naomi is now on the verge of saying, “no longer call me Mara.” She has hope. This is a turning point in the book as we move from despair to hope in anticipation of rest and security.

However, that rest (pleasantness, the meaning of Naomi’s name) is not yet secured in a permanent way. With the ending of the harvest, what will Naomi and Ruth do now? How can they secure a future in Bethlehem?

Naomi Counsels Ruth

Despite Boaz’s hesed and Ruth’s hard work which produced so much bounty for the two widows, the harvest is coming to an end. The two widows lack long-term security. They do not yet have “rest,” which is a word that describes security and perhaps even prosperity in this context. Naomi recognizes she must be proactive in the securing that rest, a rest for which she prayed for Yahweh to provide for her daughters-in-law in Ruth 1:9.

Boaz is that potential security because he is a kinsman who has the right to marry Ruth and secure her first husband’s lineage and inheritance (see Deuteronomy 25:5-10). He has the capacity to redeem Naomi’s family. A kinsmen redeemer is one who acts on behalf of another in the family, whether brother or cousin, to secure the family’s inheritance or retrieve lost land and property. This arrangement is important for the carrying forward of the family lineage through male heirs. In this case, Naomi recognizes that Boaz can marry Ruth, and thus she emphasizes that he is “our kinsmen.”

Naomi’s plan is proactive and bold. Ruth should bathe herself, anoint herself (with perfume), and put on her best clothes. Some describe these actions as a prelude to Ruth’s prostitution of herself, preparing her for a sexual encounter. Ruth, then, is to seduce Boaz and secure terms with her kinsmen redeemer. However, it is better to regard this as a shift in Ruth’s status as a woman. These actions lay aside mournful clothing; she is no longer a mourner. The time of her grief has ended, and now she is available for marriage (see Ezekiel 16:9-10). We might image that Ruth still dressed as a widow, even as she gleaned in Boaz’s fields. Once, however, she appears before Boaz in changed clothing, he will see her with different eyes as one available for marriage.

And this is the next step of Naomi’s plan. Once Boaz and the men had finished eating and drinking at the threshing floor, Ruth should approach him quietly and “uncover his feet and lie down.”

This is probably the most controversial statement in the whole book of Ruth. What does it mean to “uncover his feet”? It is not as innocent as awakening him from his sleep because his feet got cold. Rather, “uncovering the feet” may be a euphemism for uncovering the nakedness of genitalia (like “uncovering the skirt” in Deuteronomy 27:20). In other words, she may have exposed his genitals. Or, it might be that uncovering his literal feet (perhaps his calf/thigh area) and lying down next to them was an invitation to marriage. Either way, this is a bold move, and it has sexual overtones (just as all the women in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 have some kind of sexual backdrop as well: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and—probably—the rumors that must have surrounded Mary).

This does not necessarily mean it was an invitation to a sexual encounter on that night or that she was seducing him for sex that evening. Given the character of both Boaz and Ruth in the story where honor is an important theme, the metaphor probably only means that this act was a way of proposing marriage (but more on this in the next post). Dressed as an available woman, she made herself available for marriage to Boaz. There was no sexual relations that night as we will see from the next movement in the book of Ruth.

She did this in secret (at night, while Boaz and others were sleeping) so as not to humiliate Boaz as a kinsman (see Deuteronomy 25:9). She is reminding him that he has a kinsman redeemer obligation to fulfill. She did not do this publicly but in private, and her approach is overt and pointed. In effect, she is saying “will you marry me, and fulfill your obligation to your kin?”

At least, that is Naomi’s plan. And Ruth committed to following the plan.  In the next section of Ruth, we will see how this played out and whether the plan was successful or not.

Book Recommendations by John Mark Hicks

I have been doing a lot of reading in this area for years and much more recently. In fact, the first week in October I finished the definitive history of the October 1974 war between Israel and Egypt in the south, and between Syria and Israel in the north. The book was Abraham Rabinovich, The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East (Penguin Random House, 2017).

If you have an additional suggestions, as this is certainly not an exhaustive list or even necessarily the best books on the topic, feel free to add another or more in the comments.

 General Historical Introduction up to 2019.

Dov Waxman, The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: What Everyone Needs to Know (New York: Oxford University Press, 2019). Intentionally balanced and as about as objective as one can achieve.

Scholarly History of Palestine up to 2022.

Ilan Pappe, A History of Modern Palestine, 3^rd edition (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2022). Engages scholarly literature, details the history of Palestine, critiques both Palestinian and Israeli narratives, and provides critical assessment of key historical events and peacemaking attempts.

Contemporary Reflection on “Land” in Current Theological/Political Context.

Walter Brueggemann, Chosen? Reading the Bible amid the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2015). Drawing on both Israeli and Palestinian peace advocates, he critiques both “promised land” ideology and violence in the land, particularly focused on the militarization of the state of Israel. He discourages the use of the Bible as a direct support for the state of Israel and their inheritance as belonging to that state “forever.”

From the Jewish Perspective.

Yossi Klein Halevi, Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor (San Francisco: Harper, 2018). This Israeli author uses personal experience, history, and ethnic identity to describe what it is like to live in Israel. Often empathizing with Palestinians, he defends the need for a morally responsible and democratic state as a Jewish homeland in the Middle East.

Palestinian Perspective on Reading the Bible.

Mirei Raheb, Faith in the Empire: The Bible Through Palestinian Eyes (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014). If you want to understand how Palestinian Christians see the conflict in the light of the Bible, this is probably the best book. He seeks peace from the conflict.

History of Zionist Settlement in Palestine.

Rashid Khalidi, Hundred Year’s War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 (Picador Paper, 2021). Written from a Palestinian perspective, this book tells the story of Zionist settlement enabled by 20th century Western empires. It recognizes the mistakes by both Palestinians and Jewish settlers. It is a dispute about land, not religion or ethnicity.

Biblical Theology of Land in the Light of Jesus.

1. Gary M. Burge, Jesus and the Land: The New Testament Challenge to “Holy Land” Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2010). He denies that Christian Zionism is consistent with New Testament biblical theology. The promises that belong to Abraham belong to all those who trust in the Jewish Messiah, Jesus.
2. O. Palmer Robertson, Israel of God: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (Philipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 2000).  He argues that Abrahamic promise is fulfilled through the Messiah in the Church, who is the Israel of God (Gentiles grafted into Israel), and, consequently, the state of Israel has no perpetual claim to the land they inhabit.
3. Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser, eds., The People, the Land, and the Future of Israel: Israel and the Jewish People in the Plan of God (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2014). Multi-author work which covers the major concerns of those who propose Israel still has a future in the land, perhaps including the state of Israel, and, at the same time, seeking peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Ruth Meets Boaz (Ruth 2:1-16)

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you.” They answered, “The LORD bless you.” Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.  She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. May the LORD reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” Then she said, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”

At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

Ruth, despite her foreign, widowed, and barren status, takes initiative, risks abuse, and works unceasingly for the sake of her mother-in-law Naomi. And Boaz notices. He protects her, sets her among his own reapers and gleaners, and feeds her. He returns to Ruth the kindness she has shown to Naomi.

Ruth’s Initiative

Naomi and Ruth are impoverished. They have no fields. They have no food. They have no security.

Ruth takes the initiative to improve their situation. It is a bold and risky move on her part. As a Moabite widow, unprotected by a man (she does not, at this moment, “belong” to anyone), she boldly proposes to enter the fields to obtain some grain, which she is permitted to do. As a woman, however, she risks abuse from the reapers and potentially other gleaners. This is a courageous act that involved hard labor for the sake of her mother-in-law, who perhaps was unable to endure such labor. Ruth made up for it as she worked from early morning into the day without resting. She was bold and industrious.

This was not a secret, illegal plan. The poor were permitted to glean at the edges of a field (Leviticus 19:9; 23:22). Moreover, Deuteronomy 24:19 also says to the owners, “When you reap your harvest in the field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.” However, it appears she was bolder. She did not stick to the edges of the field but followed the reapers themselves, probably alongside the other gleaners. This, too, was bold and risky. She opened herself up for significant abuse, but none is mentioned in the text. This is in strong contrast to how women were treated at the end of the book of Judges. The reapers permitted her to glean what they had reaped.

“As it happened,” the NRSV says, or “as it turned out,” the NIV (2011) says, she ended up in a field owned by Boaz who employed the reapers and gleaners in his field. The Hebrew word has the sense of “chance.” It appears rather lucky that she ended up in Boaz’s field—and may seem that way to secular eyes. But the narrative is quite aware that God is at work in hidden ways. What appears to be “chance” is actually the movement of God.

Boaz is a relative from the same clan as Naomi. He was a man of “standing” (NIV) or of great “wealth” (NRSV). But the claim in the text is not simply about wealth or status, though it includes that; it is also about character. This same word will describe Ruth in 3:11 where Boaz calls her a “worthy woman.” Her worth was her character which she exhibited by her loving kindness to her mother-in-law.

The narrator clues us into Boaz’s character. He greets his workers with a blessing, “The Lord be with you.” This is no mere ritual exchange but an expression of faith in God’s work and a wish-prayer for his workers. While Naomi fears Yahweh is against her (and perhaps also Ruth as she shares Naomi’s dire condition), Boaz prays for Yahweh’s blessing for his workers. And this is the blessing he also seeks for Ruth.

Boaz Converses with Ruth

Boaz immediately blesses her and offers her his protection. She should stay in his field, his workers will not bother her, and she has access to water to quench her thirst as well. This is loving kindness in action toward an impoverished foreign barren widow. Boaz has the power, wealth, and standing, and Ruth has nothing. Boaz shows Ruth the kindness of Yahweh; he shows her “grace” (or favor).

Ruth’s response is gratitude as she falls on the grown in appreciation for his kindness. She knows this is grace. But Boaz sees this blessing as an appropriate response to Ruth’s own loving kindness toward Naomi. He knows what she has done; he knows her story. He must have inquired.

Just as Boaz blessed his workers, so he blesses Ruth with a wish-prayer as well: “May the Lord reward you for your deeds” since she has sought refuge under the wings of Yahweh, “the God of Israel.” Boaz honors her decision to seek the protection of Yahweh (to hid under Yahweh’s wings for protection, Psalm 57:1) when she could have left Naomi alone and returned to Moab.

In response, Ruth humbly asks for continued grace toward her (and Naomi) and gives thanks for the comfort he has given and kind words he has spoken. She knows she is undeserving since she is not one of his servants but is willing to serve him as a servant. There is some discussion about the meaning of speaking “kindly.” Is it the sort of kindness shown to his own workers, or does she see the beginnings of a romantic possibility here?

Ruth Eats with the Reapers

We may presume this is lunch since she will work into the evening take grain and food home to Naomi.

Boaz doubles down on grace toward Ruth. She is invited to eat with the reapers, he parcels out some grain to her, and he instructs his workers to give her full access to the field without any hostility; so much so that she can glean from the standing sheaves. That kind of gleaning is a lot less work. The workers are told twice refrain from any negative actions and talk, and they are even to leave some of their work specifically for her.

Boaz shows Ruth a grand hospitality: invitation into the field, eating with the reapers, relieving the most difficult parts of her labor, and blessing her in the name of Yahweh. The extend of this grace is in absolute contrast to the way women were treated in the last four chapters of Judges, which immediately precedes Ruth in the English Old Testament.

It is difficult to imagine how overwhelming this might be to Ruth. Boaz’s manganous gesture filled with grace and blessing must have seemed otherworldly. And, in one sense it was. It was the grace and blessing of Yahweh in a representative of Israel’s God. It is, ultimately, a testimony to the character of Yahweh and what Yahweh’s people are supposed to be.

As one of my class members suggested, when Boaz provides a field, protection, provision (a harvest), and affection (“my daughter”), he represents Yahweh who has provided the same for Israel in their land. Ruth’s response is the sort of response appropriate for Israel who was an alien in a land and then loved by God by gifting to Israel a new Eden.

Will this relationship remain where it is, or is more in store for Ruth and Boaz? As we will see, it is again Ruth who takes the initiative, not Boaz. Ruth will act, and once again Boaz will respond.

We live in a chilling moment.

Children are dying. War has no end in sight. Political discourse is laced with malice and vitriol.

Yet, it seems to me, our time is no different than many other times in world history. There is nothing unique about the previous paragraph.

This is one reason the Hebrew Bible is filled with lament. Half of the Psalms are lament (two of which Jesus quotes on the cross). Job is an extended dramatic lament. And Israel has given us a whole book, exquisitely crafted in five poems (three of them acrostics), dedicated to lament. We call it “Lamentations.”

We read Lamentations, Job, and the lament Psalms to learn to lament, practice lament, and move through lament into God’s mercy.

Lament is not simply wallowing in one’s sorrow as if it is a function of self-pity. Nevertheless, it is complaint but more. It is also petition and even praise. Lament moves us through grief toward a confident hope in God. It takes time, and it takes practice. We must take the time to talk it out with God and lament with the help of our community.

Through lament the people of God, both as individuals and a community, voice their hurts, offer their petitions, and express their hope.

Indeed, at the center of Lamentations is one of the greatest expressions of hope (Lamentations 3:22-24). When we pray the laments, let us also remember to profess:

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
            his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
            great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
            “therefore I will hope in him.”

Let us lament every evil in the world. Let us cry out to God for help. And let us trust in God’s faithful love, which is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit because we stand in the grace of Jesus, God’s Messiah.

The mercies of God are new every morning, including this morning!

–originally published as an email called “Light for the Day” through Lipscomb University, November 14, 2023.