The Lord Provides Up and Beyond

 Hope is stirring now in Ruth's heart, but then we see a minor glitch in the plans in Ruth 3:12, there is another relative who is closer than Boaz and it is by law his responsibility to be the kinsman-redeemer. 

However, Boaz reassures Ruth in verse thirteen that she will have a redeemer – if the other relative did not want to fulfill his duty as the redeemer then Boaz would marry her and be the kinsman-redeemer. 

My friend, Boaz, being a noble man acted responsibly in two ways:

1. He did not send her home in the middle of the night. He protected her but did not lay hands on her. (You know how gossip starts – Boaz wanted to protect Ruth from the village gossip so he made sure no one knew she came to the threshing floor.)

2. He protected the rights of her nearer kinsman. If he wanted to redeem Ruth that was his right. But he promised she would be redeemed whether it be the other relative or him.

Here again in Ruth 3:15 -17 Boaz is providing for Ruth and Naomi giving up and beyond – he measured six ephahs! Remember an ephah measured out to be approx. 5.5 gallons – a basket full. Can you imagine 6 ephahs – that would be 33 gallons – that is quite a heavy load and a lot of barley. This showed that he was not only providing for Ruth but also for Naomi as he said “do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law”.

Praise be to our Lord as He is always meeting our needs up and beyond what we could even imagine. My friend, we need to keep our lives pure so that the Lord will be glorified in our lives.