Do Not Go Empty-HandedRuth 3:10–18

Introduction 42:05

Welcome. If we have not met, my name is Pastor Tim, and I am what is called an expository preacher. That simply means I go book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and sometimes even line by line and word by word, and break down what the Scripture is teaching us to the best of our knowledge. I don’t generally preach on topics. There is nothing wrong with that, but I like to go through books. Today we continue our series through the book of Ruth, which is toward the front of your Bible. Last week we were in chapter 3, and today we pick up in verse 10.

The story so far 42:59

Before we read, I want to give you the fastest preview I can, because there is a lot to cover today. There was a woman named Naomi. She was married, and her family lived in Bethlehem of Judah with their two sons. The Scriptures say there was a famine in Bethlehem, so the family left and went to Moab. In Moab the two boys married Moabite women, and everything seemed to be going well. They stayed about ten years, and then all the men in the family died. Naomi was left a widow, and so were her two daughters-in-law.

Naomi tells her daughters-in-law, “Go back to your hometown. Go back to your family and let them support you. You are still young. Maybe you can find a husband and go on with life. Don’t worry about me.” She calls herself bitter. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, listens and goes home. Ruth says, “Not going to happen. You are stuck with me. Where you go, I will go. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die.” The Scripture says Ruth clung to Naomi. I picture a dad who comes home from work, and his toddler runs to the door and wraps around his leg, and he is trying to walk with the child stuck to him. That is the picture I get.

So the two of them have to figure out how to make this work. Ruth had been taught the Jewish customs and laws, which said that people who owned fields were not supposed to take every last bit of the harvest for themselves. The edges, the corners, and anything that fell to the ground were to be left for travelers, widows, and people with no income, so they were at least taken care of. Gathering what was left is called gleaning. Ruth goes out and gleans all she can.

Boaz sees her and asks, “Who is that out there?” One of his servants says, “That is Ruth. She has been working hard. She only took a quick break.” Boaz wants to meet her. They share a meal during the break. He tells his workers to let her come into the center of the field where the good crops are, and even to drop some of the good grain on purpose so she can find it and carry it home to the mother-in-law she is caring for.

She gets home with about thirty pounds. That is a full day’s work, not what you would normally glean. Naomi sees it and says, “Whose field did you go to? Praise the Lord.” She did not even wait for an answer. Ruth explains everything, and Naomi tells her what to do next. Last week we read how Ruth went to the threshing floor, the community place where the grain is prepared after harvest. Boaz was sleeping there, protecting his crop. He had eaten and had a little wine, and he was merry. He was not drunk. He was joyful after a good harvest and relaxed after a long day’s work. Now let’s pick up the story.

Reading the passage 49:08

[Pastor Tim reads Ruth 3:10–18 from the New King James Version.]

Now we know how it ends. Let’s go back and break it down.

Verse 10: more kindness at the end 51:30

[Reads Ruth 3:10.]

The word “kindness” here is hesed in the Hebrew. It means a loyal, covenant-keeping kind of love, the kind that keeps showing up over and over, well beyond what it is supposed to. It is a gracious, loyal love.

Boaz is comparing two things. The first is the kindness Ruth showed Naomi by sticking with her. Ruth could have left as Orpah did and found a new husband, and that would have been fine. But she showed that loyal love to her mother-in-law. When Boaz first asked who she was, the people in town were already talking about her. They knew how loyal she was.

Now he is saying, “You continue to do it. I am an old man. I am not a young buck who could be big and strong for you like Gaston. Yes, I was gracious to you, but I did not give you the grain so you would come and want to be my wife. I did it because I was being kind. Now you are going above and beyond and showing an old guy like me loyalty and kindness. You do not have to. Rich or poor, you could find someone younger. You would probably be happier and have a better chance at having children.”

Both choices cost Ruth something personally. For weeks we have talked about Boaz’s character. Today we talk about Ruth’s.

Verse 11: a virtuous woman 55:21

[Reads Ruth 3:11.]

Notice that he does not think it over. The Scripture does not say he sat back and weighed every consequence. He answers without hesitation: “Do not fear. I will do for you all that you request.” How can he do that? His confidence comes from the fact that she is a woman of character. All the people of his town know it.

Remember, Ruth is a Moabitess. She is from a completely different country, an outsider keeping the customs and laws of the Hebrew people. And he can have confidence in her because her character has been observed by his people in his town. It is the whole town’s opinion, not just his. I was going to make a joke about a gold digger, but that is the point. He is saying, “You are not coming to take my money. You are not seeing me as a way out of a bad situation. The town knows you are a virtuous woman.”

I am not a Hebrew linguist, so I may butcher this, but the term “virtuous woman” is eshet chayil. It literally means a woman of chayil, and chayil means strength and substantial worth. Here is the part I love. This same word is used to introduce Boaz in chapter 2, verse 1, where he is called a mighty man of chayil, a man of valor. The same descriptive word is used for both of them.

Verse 12: a closer relative 59:00

[Reads Ruth 3:12.]

Let’s pause. In today’s culture, this is strange. Remember, these are legal terms meant to take care of people. And as much as some of us may not like it, God is a God of order. He created the universe in six days and rested on the seventh. All through Scripture we see that God is a God of order.

Boaz is saying, “I would love to take care of you. But in the correct order of things, someone else has the responsibility before it falls to me.” The duty to redeem a family’s land or name followed an order of priority. The closest living relative had the first right and the first responsibility to step in. A more distant relative became eligible only if the closer one declined or was unable to help.

So Boaz cannot simply claim Ruth as his own. Remember, this is the time of the Judges, when everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Boaz could have said, “I have given you all of this. I have provided for you and your mother-in-law. I, I, I.” But because he is a man of character, he does not do what everyone else was doing. He follows the order. “There is someone closer. Let’s go to him first. If he says no or is unable, I will jump at the opportunity. But we have to do things the right way.”

Verse 13: “As the Lord lives” 61:50

[Reads Ruth 3:13.]

Sometimes we read the Scriptures flat and straight through. Look at the difference in his response. If the other man is willing, “good.” It almost feels like he is resigning himself to it. He is still going to be a man of character, and I believe he means it. But then: “I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives.” He is excited. He wants this. I think it is something he is praying about at this point. “Lord, please. This would be such a blessing.”

He commits to doing things the right way, through the correct legal order, even though it brings real uncertainty into what felt like a settled outcome a few moments earlier. She wants to be his. He wants to be hers. But someone else could step in, and he is willing to take that chance to keep his reputation and hers.

“As the Lord lives.” That is how you know he is serious. Let me ask you: when does the Lord not live? Never. He is always alive. There is a reason we call Him the living God. I can take you to the grave sites of other prophets and so-called gods. I can go to Muhammad. I can go to Buddha. I can go to Joseph Smith. Do you know where you cannot go? To find the body of the risen Messiah. His body may have been dead for three days, but His Father was alive the whole time. Three days later He was resurrected, and right now He is still alive. He is not a ghost. The Scripture says He is seated at the right hand of God, and those who have gone before us are around the throne crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” By the way, they do that on repeat. So if you hate a song that repeats the same seven words eleven times, you are going to hate heaven.

He is the living God. And Boaz says, “As the Lord lives, I will do this.” This is not a casual promise. It is a binding oath.

Verse 14: before anyone could recognize her 66:25

[Reads Ruth 3:14.]

Ruth lies at his feet until just before morning. She rises at what I think is first light, when it is still dark but the sun is starting to come up, and she leaves before anyone could recognize her. Boaz adds, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Is he protecting himself? I don’t think so. I think he is protecting her. Can I be honest with you? Men can be this way too, and I am not being sexist. But from what I have seen in this world lately, women can be vicious to women. It starts young, with young girls. This next part is Tim, not Scripture. It is my thought on what it means. If people see her leave, they are going to start talking and pointing and whispering. And Ruth, who is known through the whole town as a woman of virtue, would be known by a very different name.

I think he is protecting Ruth’s reputation. I think he is also protecting the legal cleanliness of what is about to happen. No one will be able to say they did something wrong or jumped ahead before anything was settled.

Verse 15: six measures of barley 70:00

[Reads Ruth 3:15.]

Let’s pause here. My version says ephahs. The original Hebrew leaves out the exact measurement. It only says he measured out six. I believe the Hebrew leaves it unspecific on purpose. In chapter 2, verse 17, the amount was precise. Here it is deliberately vague.

Whatever the exact amount, it is a generous gift. One scoop would have been enough. Two would have been great. Three is awesome. Four is wow. Five is “what is going on?” Six is “what is God doing right now?” He is being over-the-top generous, continuing the pattern of Boaz’s provision through the whole book.

Here is something that is not direct Scripture. I will tell you what some people think, and you can decide for yourself. Some read the number six as a hint, since seven often symbolizes completeness in Hebrew thought. It is as if she is one step short of finished. “If I give you seven, it is complete and you are mine. But we are not there yet. We have to find this closer relative first.” It is a cool thought. It could be true. I have no idea whether it is.

Verse 16: “Is that you, my daughter?” 72:45

[Reads Ruth 3:16.]

Ruth comes back to Naomi, and Naomi calls out, “Is that you, my daughter?” It is the same kind of eager question she asked in chapter 2, verse 19: “Where did you glean today?”

I can see it. She has seen how much Boaz has already blessed them, and now Ruth has been gone all night. When my kids go off to do something I asked, I wonder the whole time: did they follow my instructions? Did they do it the way I said? Did she have an attitude in her voice when she asked? I can see Naomi doing the same thing all night long. If she is anything like me, she did not get a wink of sleep.

Finally the door cracks open. It is first light and still dark. She cannot flip on a light. So she says, “Is that you, my daughter?” She was eager. She was waiting. And Ruth tells her everything the man did for her. I can see Ruth so excited. God is showing up and showing off.

Verse 17: from empty to full 75:00

[Reads Ruth 3:17.]

This is the fun part for me. Boaz knows Ruth is caring for her mother-in-law, and he tells her, “You cannot go to her empty-handed.” Not one measure, not two, not three, not four, not five, but six.

Let’s rewind. This is the moment I have been waiting for the entire series. Go back in your mind to chapter 1, verse 21. Naomi says of herself, “I went out full,” talking about leaving Bethlehem with a husband and children, “and the Lord has brought me home again empty.” She said it in bitterness. And Ruth was standing right next to her, the woman who had vowed to give her life to take care of her.

The very next verse, chapter 1, verse 22, closes at the beginning of the barley harvest. A famine at the start of the chapter, Naomi saying “I am empty,” and then a harvest right behind it. In chapter 2, verse 17, Ruth brings home an ephah of barley. That is the first physical answer to the emptiness, though the word itself is not spoken. God starts providing before anyone names it.

Now here, Boaz finally says the word out loud: “Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.” It is the same Hebrew word, reqam, that Naomi used to describe her own life. Boaz is saying, “Do not let your mother-in-law be empty. Take this and make her full again.”

I don’t know about you, but it does not get better than that. God does not only provide. Sometimes He answers back with the exact word we use to describe our own lives.

Verse 18: sit still 79:20

[Reads Ruth 3:18.]

Now Naomi tells Ruth what to do. “You have done everything right. Now relax. Don’t call seventeen times when he doesn’t answer. Don’t move to texting fifty-two times. Let the man figure out what he has to do. He is not going to rest until the matter is concluded, and I am willing to bet he gets it done today.”

“Rest” here is the same word as in Naomi’s blessing back in chapter 1, verse 9, where she prays that her daughters-in-law would find rest, and in her own plan in chapter 3, verse 1: “Shall I not seek rest for you?” The security Naomi prayed for at the start of the book is now something Boaz himself is restless to secure for Ruth.

Naomi’s confidence is not a guess. It is built on weeks of watching this man’s character through the harvest season.

What does this mean for us? 81:49

Those are some great points: the rest, the empty and the full. But I am not lying at a threshing floor. Sara and I are celebrating fifteen years of marriage this week, and she never uncovered my feet. So what does this mean for us today in Gold Canyon?

First, doing the right thing the right way sometimes means accepting real risk. Boaz handles things the right way, in the right order. He does it knowing that this closer relative could very easily say yes and take her as his wife. Boaz could have taken a shortcut. This was the time of the Judges, when people did what was right in their own eyes. He did not. Integrity in the process, not just the outcome, is part of what makes a person trustworthy. As Christians, we need to remember that integrity in the process is just as important as integrity in the outcome.

Second, God can reverse the exact language we use to describe our own emptiness. Naomi named her life empty in chapter 1. Two chapters later, the text brings that same word back with the opposite meaning. We cry out to God, “I am so this, I need that,” and I am not telling you to stop. How many times have you heard me say from this pulpit that God is not afraid of our feelings? “Come and reason with me,” He says in Isaiah. But understand that He can use those very words and open your eyes. “You thought you were alone. Let me show you how not alone you are. You thought you were bitter. You thought you were empty. Let me show you how full you can be.”

And this is only the beginning. Six measures is nothing compared to the rest of the life Boaz is going to give this family. You thought you were empty, but you have no idea what my God wants to do through you. You thought you were too old, not bold enough, that you did not know enough or could not speak well enough. What did Moses say? “God, use Aaron. I cannot speak.” Look what God did. God is not looking for the strongest person, the best speaker, the best singer, or the best musician. He wants someone willing to say, “Here I am, Lord. Send me. Use me.”

Third, restlessness for someone else’s good is a form of love. Boaz will not rest until Ruth’s situation is resolved. That active, cannot-sit-still concern for someone else’s well-being is a model for the rest of us. It is not enough to tell people, “I am thinking of you and praying for you.” When God gives you an action plan, you have to take the steps. Do not wait, unless God is specifically telling you, “Not yet.” He does that too. But too often we think He is telling us to wait when He is telling us to go.

God told Joshua and the children of Israel to cross the Jordan River, and the Scripture says they crossed three days later. It took three days not because they were afraid to obey, but because there were so many of them. They had to tell everyone to pack up the tents and gather the pots and pans, because as soon as they were ready, they were crossing. Do not delay when God tells you to do something. If we see a need and we can step in and do good for someone, we must step in.

Closing prayer 88:35

God, I thank You for Boaz, for the man of character he is, as an example to me and to everyone here and watching online. I thank You for Ruth, a woman of virtue, and for the example she is to all of us.

I pray that we would be a church that does the right thing the right way, even when it means accepting real risk. God, I never want to step out ahead of You or run without You leading me. But I am ready to take action. Help me to do things the right way at the right time.

Thank You that You are able to reverse what we think of our lives. What we see as empty, You say, “Wait. You cannot see what I am doing yet, but I am here. Seek Me with your whole heart, and I will take what was empty and make it full again.”

Finally, I pray that we would be people of action, restless until we do what You have put on our hearts to do. May we not be people of talk only, who say we love our neighbor and say we pray but never act. Forgive us, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.