Ruth Delivers Marriage Cliffhanger

Dear Foothills Family,

Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” and that’s especially true when Ruth found herself widowed in a foreign land.

As we continue our series on the Book of Ruth, we come this week to chapter 3 where we see an unusual (and risky) marriage proposal. It’s one of the strangest marriage proposals in the Bible! 

If you’re looking for just the right way to ask someone to marry you, the strategy Ruth employed might not be your first choice!

First, it’s a bit unusual that we have a woman asking a man to marry her (especially unusual 3,000 years ago!). And, she’s a female foreigner asking a Jewish man to marry her. 

We also notice Ruth has become an employee of Boaz, and so she is asking her boss to marry her. Plus, she’s a younger woman who approaches an older man, at midnight—on the threshing floor—to ask him to marry her!

All of this is highly irregular, to say the least. Nothing about their meeting or their marriage seems normal, at least by modern standards. But Ruth didn’t have many good options. Today she might write an ad like this: 

“Widowed woman from Moab seeks godly Israelite man of character and means for long walks in the barley fields and quiet evenings by the fire. Must like children.” But that wasn’t an option in those days.

This story teaches us that God has His ways, and sometimes these ways seem very strange indeed.

Ruth 3 tells us how a good man and a good woman found each other and ended up getting married. It’s proof positive that God works in, with, and through our choices to accomplish His will. We’ll see that there’s:

- A Risky Plan

- A Midnight Proposal

- A Providential Pause

Faith means taking a risk for God and leaving the results in His hands. When the sun went down and Ruth left for the threshing floor, Naomi was pacing nervously, not knowing what would happen next. 

That’s how faith works. We take a step forward, following the light we have, trusting God to bring us out in the right place. Sometimes things don’t work out as we planned, but that’s okay too. Our part is to take the first step, God is well able to take care of the outcomes!

In Scene One of this story, we see Ruth stepping into the evening darkness, wondering how Boaz will respond. Her future hangs in the balance.

It’s a cliffhanger, for sure! You can learn what happens to Ruth and Boaz by attending our 11 a.m. Service on Sabbath Saturday. It’s an exciting story about complete faith in God that is truly relevant for us today.

All the best to your family!

Pastor Duff