WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE? — DAY 36
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned and there was a woman lying at his feet!” Ruth 3:8
WAIT… THERE WAS A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET?!
Imagine this.
Boaz has finished a long day at the threshing floor.
He’s eaten.
He’s settled down beside the grain.
He’s fast asleep.
Middle of the night
Something wakes him.
He rolls over.
Looks down
AND THERE’S A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET.
BIBLICAL JUMP SCARE.
Boaz:
“AHHH—WHO ARE YOU?!”
And honestly
that’s basically what happens next.
Verse 9:
“Who are you?” he asked.
Poor Boaz.
No romantic music.
No candlelight.
No carefully planned first date.
Just:
Middle of the night.
Sleeping peacefully.
Wakes suddenly.
SURPRISE RUTH.
If this were a movie, this is the exact moment the music would go:
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
But
Context REALLY matters with this one!
Ruth wasn’t hiding at Boaz’s feet because she wanted to scare ten years off his life.
Naomi had instructed Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshing floor.
When Ruth asks Boaz to “spread the corner of your garment over me,” she is essentially asking him to take the role of kinsman redeemer and provide protection for her.
This wasn’t some random midnight encounter.
It was connected to Israel’s customs surrounding family responsibility, redemption and marriage.
And Boaz responds honourably.
He doesn’t take advantage of Ruth.
Instead, he recognises her character and agrees to pursue the matter properly, while acknowledging that another relative has a prior claim.
So what initially reads like:
“WOMAN STARTLES MAN AWAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT”
becomes part of one of Scripture’s beautiful stories of faithfulness, redemption and ultimately marriage.
And it gets even bigger.
Ruth and Boaz eventually have a son named Obed.
Obed becomes the father of Jesse.
Jesse becomes the father of David.
And generations later, this family line leads to Jesus.
So there is a beautiful redemption story unfolding on that dark threshing floor.
But still
Spare a thought for Boaz.
He went to sleep thinking:
“Another good day’s harvesting.”
And woke up thinking:
“WHY IS THERE A WOMAN AT MY FEET?!”
Sometimes biblical love stories begin with beautiful poetry.
Sometimes they begin with romance.
And apparently sometimes
THEY BEGIN WITH A MIDNIGHT JUMP SCARE.
Context still matters!
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned and there was a woman lying at his feet!” Ruth 3:8
WAIT… THERE WAS A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET?!
Imagine this.
Boaz has finished a long day at the threshing floor.
He’s eaten.
He’s settled down beside the grain.
He’s fast asleep.
Middle of the night
Something wakes him.
He rolls over.
Looks down
AND THERE’S A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET.
BIBLICAL JUMP SCARE.
Boaz:
“AHHH—WHO ARE YOU?!”
And honestly
that’s basically what happens next.
Verse 9:
“Who are you?” he asked.
Poor Boaz.
No romantic music.
No candlelight.
No carefully planned first date.
Just:
Middle of the night.
Sleeping peacefully.
Wakes suddenly.
SURPRISE RUTH.
If this were a movie, this is the exact moment the music would go:
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
But
Context REALLY matters with this one!
Ruth wasn’t hiding at Boaz’s feet because she wanted to scare ten years off his life.
Naomi had instructed Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshing floor.
When Ruth asks Boaz to “spread the corner of your garment over me,” she is essentially asking him to take the role of kinsman redeemer and provide protection for her.
This wasn’t some random midnight encounter.
It was connected to Israel’s customs surrounding family responsibility, redemption and marriage.
And Boaz responds honourably.
He doesn’t take advantage of Ruth.
Instead, he recognises her character and agrees to pursue the matter properly, while acknowledging that another relative has a prior claim.
So what initially reads like:
“WOMAN STARTLES MAN AWAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT”
becomes part of one of Scripture’s beautiful stories of faithfulness, redemption and ultimately marriage.
And it gets even bigger.
Ruth and Boaz eventually have a son named Obed.
Obed becomes the father of Jesse.
Jesse becomes the father of David.
And generations later, this family line leads to Jesus.
So there is a beautiful redemption story unfolding on that dark threshing floor.
But still
Spare a thought for Boaz.
He went to sleep thinking:
“Another good day’s harvesting.”
And woke up thinking:
“WHY IS THERE A WOMAN AT MY FEET?!”
Sometimes biblical love stories begin with beautiful poetry.
Sometimes they begin with romance.
And apparently sometimes
THEY BEGIN WITH A MIDNIGHT JUMP SCARE.
Context still matters!
WAIT… THAT’S IN THE BIBLE? — DAY 36
A lighthearted look at some of the wonderfully unexpected things you discover when you actually read your Bible, context still matters!
“In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned and there was a woman lying at his feet!” Ruth 3:8
WAIT… THERE WAS A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET?!
Imagine this.
Boaz has finished a long day at the threshing floor.
He’s eaten.
He’s settled down beside the grain.
He’s fast asleep.
Middle of the night
Something wakes him.
He rolls over.
Looks down
AND THERE’S A WOMAN LYING AT HIS FEET.
BIBLICAL JUMP SCARE.
Boaz:
“AHHH—WHO ARE YOU?!”
And honestly
that’s basically what happens next.
Verse 9:
“Who are you?” he asked.
Poor Boaz.
No romantic music.
No candlelight.
No carefully planned first date.
Just:
Middle of the night.
Sleeping peacefully.
Wakes suddenly.
SURPRISE RUTH.
If this were a movie, this is the exact moment the music would go:
DUN DUN DUUUUN!
But
Context REALLY matters with this one!
Ruth wasn’t hiding at Boaz’s feet because she wanted to scare ten years off his life.
Naomi had instructed Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshing floor.
When Ruth asks Boaz to “spread the corner of your garment over me,” she is essentially asking him to take the role of kinsman redeemer and provide protection for her.
This wasn’t some random midnight encounter.
It was connected to Israel’s customs surrounding family responsibility, redemption and marriage.
And Boaz responds honourably.
He doesn’t take advantage of Ruth.
Instead, he recognises her character and agrees to pursue the matter properly, while acknowledging that another relative has a prior claim.
So what initially reads like:
“WOMAN STARTLES MAN AWAKE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT”
becomes part of one of Scripture’s beautiful stories of faithfulness, redemption and ultimately marriage.
And it gets even bigger.
Ruth and Boaz eventually have a son named Obed.
Obed becomes the father of Jesse.
Jesse becomes the father of David.
And generations later, this family line leads to Jesus.
So there is a beautiful redemption story unfolding on that dark threshing floor.
But still
Spare a thought for Boaz.
He went to sleep thinking:
“Another good day’s harvesting.”
And woke up thinking:
“WHY IS THERE A WOMAN AT MY FEET?!”
Sometimes biblical love stories begin with beautiful poetry.
Sometimes they begin with romance.
And apparently sometimes
THEY BEGIN WITH A MIDNIGHT JUMP SCARE.
Context still matters!
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