January 20 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

Without some careful explanation, what transpires in the section we read seems somewhat strange and difficult to defend. Don’t you find Ruth’s behaviour questionable and immodest? Ruth places herself in a position of extreme vulnerability. She is in a barn filled with men who are in good spirits now that the harvest has been completed. Is she acting as a daughter of Lot or a daughter of Abraham? Should a believing woman go out at night, like Ruth did, and lie at the feet of a man after he has been partying? Our questions and concerns are not out of place when we take into account a few background details.

Boaz was with his men at the threshing floor. At the threshing floor the grain was separated from the chaff and made ready for storage. It was in the interest of the farmer to stay with his men at the threshing floor overnight to ward off thieves. People did not have yard lights, so it could get very dark. Keep in mind that the story takes place during the time of the judges—a time of moral decay. During this period of the judges immorality was rampant. The feasting that went on during the harvest often had pagan overtones and was very perverted. Any woman of repute would stay away from a threshing floor during the harvest, especially at night. In the darkness of the night the men and the women who came to visit them did not know necessarily know with whom they were keeping company. Boaz’s men were not totally clean either. Boaz had to warn them not to touch Ruth (2:9).

Was Ruth wise in doing what she did? Would any Christian man let his daughter do something similar?

It is important that we let God’s Word speak for itself. That’s when it will become clear that Ruth put her reputation on the line because of her deep love and affection for the Lord. She goes to the threshing floor because she has the Lord’s service at heart. Naomi, Ruth and Boaz are not naive but they trust in God. Although the actions seem strange to our thinking, God overrules everything that may have been questionable for the well-being of His people. Ruth proceeds with the plan because she wants to be a useful instrument for the advancement of God’s kingdom and the coming of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The Lord in His great mercy sees to it that her desire is met and fulfilled. Our actions today need to have the same motivation. We don’t go out to satisfy our own pleasures but to respond in faith to what God has revealed to us in His good pleasure.