Where do you place your trust? This question lies in Ruth chapter 3, a beautiful story about finding rest in the right places.
Before diving into chapter 3, let’s remember where we are in Ruth’s journey:
The chapter can be divided into four sections using the acronym REST:
Naomi presents Ruth with a plan that involves some risk. She wants security for Ruth’s future and sees Boaz as the potential answer:
“My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash yourself therefore, 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. It shall be when he lies down that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down. Then he will tell you what you shall do.”
This might sound strange to our modern ears, but within their culture, this was Ruth’s way of signaling her interest in Boaz as a potential husband. She wasn’t being forward or inappropriate—she was following cultural customs to indicate she was ready for the next step.
The threshing floor was primarily a male domain. By going there, Ruth was stepping outside her comfort zone and taking a risk.
Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions faithfully:
“When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. And she came secretly and uncovered his feet and lay down. It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. He said, ‘Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.'”
Ruth’s request is beautifully connected to a blessing Boaz had previously given her. In chapter 2:12, Boaz had blessed Ruth by saying she had come under the wings of the God of Israel. Now, Ruth asks Boaz to spread his wing over her—a beautiful callback that would not have been lost on him.
Ruth isn’t proposing marriage directly, but she’s “proposing that he propose”—signaling her willingness to be redeemed by him as a kinsman-redeemer. This wasn’t Ruth taking charge but humbly indicating her interest.
Boaz first affirms Ruth’s character:
“Now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.”
This is the same Hebrew term used for the “virtuous woman” in Proverbs 31—remarkable considering Ruth was a foreigner and poor. This reminds us that godly character transcends circumstances.
Then comes the plot twist:
“However, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives.”
Imagine being Ruth in this moment! Just when she thought the path forward was clear, there’s another kinsman who has first rights to redeem her. Despite what must have been his own desire, Boaz remains committed to following God’s law properly.
Boaz protects Ruth’s reputation by sending her home before dawn: “Let it not be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” His character shines through—he’s the same man in the dark as he is in the light, a man whose desires align with God’s.
Before Ruth leaves, Boaz gives her six measures of barley to take to Naomi:
“Then she went into the city. When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’ And she told her all that the man had done for her. She said, ‘These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, “Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”‘”
The six measures may symbolically point to the seventh day—the coming rest. After years without rest, Naomi and Ruth are approaching completion and resolution.
Naomi encourages Ruth to wait patiently:
“Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.”
Ruth’s story challenges us to examine where we place our trust:
The Bible teaches that we are all guilty before God, but when we come to Him on His terms—like Ruth going to Boaz and resting at his feet—we can find true rest.
We cannot know the future, but God does. Can we trust Him with it? Jesus has done His part not because of who we are but in spite of it. Like Ruth, who went “all in” with the Lord even when the future wasn’t clear, we can place our trust in Him.
Well-placed trust leads to a heart at rest. Ruth trusted Naomi’s plan, she trusted Boaz to do what he promised, but ultimately, her trust was in the Lord. That’s where our trust belongs too.
When we trust God with our future, we can rest.
