Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 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. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” (Ruth 3:1-5)
The married state should be a rest, as much as anything upon earth can be so, as it ought to fix the affections and form afor life. Therefore, it should be engaged in with great seriousness, with earnest prayers for direction, for the blessing of God, and with regard to his precepts.
Parents should carefully advise their children in this important concern, that it may be well with them as to their souls. Be it always remembered that is best for us which is best for our souls.
The course Naomi advised appears strange to us; but it was according to the laws and usages of Israel. If the proposed measure had borne the appearance of evil, Naomi would not have advised it. And if there had been any evil in it, Ruth was a woman of too much virtue and too much sense to have listened to it. Law and custom gave Ruth, who was now proselyted to the true religion, a legal claim upon Boaz. It was customary for widows to assert this claim, Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
Adapted from Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
Comments