The Book of Ruth

When I quote Bible verses from Ruth, I’m using the English Standard Version (ESV).

How do you feel about The Book of Ruth? This isn’t a trap for you dear reader. It’s an honest question. 

Personally, I have an issue with this little Bible book. Please don’t get me wrong and give me time to explain. I understand the importance of the marriage between Ruth and Boaz. Without this union, we wouldn’t have had king David or Jesus. This marriage is very significant for Christianity. 

I have heard sermon after sermon why Ruth is a beautiful Christian story about love, devotion and loyalty. And I get part of that, Ruth was a devoted daughter-in-law to help Naomi the way she did. After the death of Ruth’s husband, Naomi’s son, Ruth clung to her mother-in-law and wouldn’t return to her family. Even at Naomi’s persistence. Ruth chapter 1 

Sermons go on to talk about what a wonderful love story between Ruth and Boaz. This is the point where I fail to see the beauty in this story. In my head, Ruth tricked him on the advice of Naomi. 

Ruth 3: 3 – 4 

“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.”

Boaz got drunk after the harvest, fell asleep on the threshing floor. Ruth got all dolled up, snuck onto the threshing floor, uncovered his feet and fell asleep. He woke up thinking he did something bad. 

Ruth 3: 8-9 

“8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” 

Women weren’t allowed on the threshing floor. 

Ruth 3: 14 

“Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

I had to do some research for myself. One question I had is; what was so important about Ruth uncovering Boaz feet? The answer is she is proposing marriage and asking Boaz to be her family redeemer. Her lying down at his feet, is her willingness to submit to him. 

So I asked some of my married, female Christian friends. The Book of Ruth is held in such high esteem for Christians as this amazing love story, did you trick your husbands into marrying you? They immediately got upset and defensive. Maybe I could have worded my question better and not made it such an inflammatory sentence. Let’s just get to the heart of the matter. Cut to the chase, like so many other Biblical humans, Ruth manipulated the situation?

It is very obvious from the story that Boaz was interested in Ruth. 

Ruth 2: 14 

“And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” 

And

Ruth 2: 9 

“Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”

Here he is; a land owner, it’s harvest time. He has all this pressure for a good harvest. Not only for himself but for the people that work for him. He sees Ruth. He is kind toward her. And very obviously likes what he sees. Boaz saw.  Boaz liked. Who is to say that after the harvest, Boaz wouldn’t have pursued Ruth?  I’m sure he doesn’t have time right now to go chasing tail. 

I get it, Ruth is desperate to secure a future for her and Naomi. Women didn’t fair well in history. Especially women without a male heir. With any story, it’s important to take into account the history of the time it was written. 

This story left me with the nagging question; is this what women have to do, manipulate men into loving us? 

If this is such a beautiful example of Christian love, do we want our daughters acting like this?

In our personal lives, we have heard such stories. Sue got pregnant so Bill would have to marry her. Or she said she was pregnant so he would marry her.

I use a website all the time: Bible Gateway. They have so many different translations. I listened to; NRSV-A, ESV, 1599 Geneva Bible (GNV), and the Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) and they all read the same. Even after the (what I call) deception, Boaz praises her because she came to him and not a young man even if he was poorer. 

It was suggested to me that maybe this wasn’t true. What if this story was just a part of a parable? Not true at all? This is what I found: Flavius Josephus is considered one of the Jews greatest historians. Flavius Josephus covers the story of Ruth in his work Antiquities of the Jews (Book 5, 318–337), treating it as historical fact rather than a parable. He emphasizes the piety, loyalty, and virtue of Ruth, placing her story during the time of the judge Eli and highlighting her legal marriage to Boaz as a redeemer. 

Josephus’s account adheres closely to the biblical narrative in the Book of Ruth but adds specific details about the legal proceedings in the city to underscore the adherence to Jewish law (Halakha) in the story. Google AI overview

Boaz is apparently grateful for Ruth’s forwardness. Him being older and all. 

Ruth 4:10 

“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.”

Am I getting hung up on an unimportant part of the story?

Naomi and Ruth are happy. They no longer have to worry about anything. Boaz is happy. He caught the eye of a younger woman. Humanity is happy; this marriage brought forth Jesus. So am I the one that needs to get over the manipulation in this story? 

I read one commentary that suggests by questioning Ruth’s morality we fail to understand Jewish customs and culture of the day. Ruth did nothing wrong. Though she was trespassing in a place women weren’t allowed. By finding fault with Ruth’s behavior, “we are condescending to a woman whose trust in God may well be greater than our own.” This is a direct quote. 

Tell me in the comments below: how do you feel about the Book of Ruth? Am I getting hung up on a none important detail? Help me enjoy this book.