Ruth at the Threshing Floor - Continue

 Ruth crept closer, her heart racing. She could tell that the man was sound asleep. So just as Naomi had said, she went over to his feet, uncovered them and lay down by them. Then she waited. The time passed. To Ruth, it must have felt like an eternity. Finally, around midnight, Boaz began to stir. Trembling from the cold, he stretched forward, likely to cover his feet up again. But he sensed that someone was there. As the account reads, "Look! a woman lying at his feet! " - Ruth 3:8.

"Who are you he asked. Ruth replied, perhaps with a tremor in her voice: "I am Ruth your slave girl, and you must spread out your skirt over your slave girl, for you are a repurchaser." (Ruth 3:9) Some modern interpreters have sought to imply that there were some sexual undertones in Ruth's actions according to the customs of the day, many of which are long lost to us. So it would be a mistake to view her actions through the warped lens of today's debased moral standards. Second, Boaz responded om a way that clearly shows that he saw Ruth's conduct as morally chaste and highly commendable.

Next time: Ruth at the Threshing Floor - Continue

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