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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>R U T H</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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We found it very easy, in the former chapter, to applaud the decency of
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Ruth's behaviour, and to show what good use we may make of the account
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given us of it; but in this chapter we shall have much ado to vindicate
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it from the imputation of indecency, and to save it from having an ill
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use made of it; but the goodness of those times was such as saved what
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is recorded here from being ill done, and yet the badness of these
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times is such as that it will not justify any now in doing the like.
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Here is,
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I. The directions Naomi gave to her daughter-in-law how to claim Boaz
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for her husband,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. Ruth's punctual observance of those directions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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III. The kind and honourable treatment Boaz gave her,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:8-15">ver. 8-15</A>.
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IV. Her return to her mother-in-law,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:16-18">ver. 16-18</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ru3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ruth's Visit to Boaz.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1312.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter,
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shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
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2 And now <I>is</I> not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou
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wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.
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3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment
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upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: <I>but</I> make not thyself
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known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
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4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the
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place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his
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feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt
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do.
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5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will
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do.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. Naomi's care for her daughter's comfort is without doubt very
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commendable, and is recorded for imitation. She had no thoughts of
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marrying herself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+1:12"><I>ch.</I> i. 12</A>.
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But, though she that was old had resolved upon a perpetual widowhood,
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yet she was far from the thoughts of confining her daughter-in-law to
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it, that was young. Age must not make itself a standard to youth. On
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the contrary, she is full of contrivance how to get her well married.
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Her wisdom projected that for her daughter which her daughter's modesty
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forbade her to project for herself,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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This she did
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1. In justice to the dead, to raise up seed to those that were gone,
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and so to preserve the family from being extinct.
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2. In kindness and gratitude to her daughter-in-law, who had conducted
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herself very dutifully and respectfully to her. "<I>My daughter</I>"
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(said she, looking upon her in all respects as her own), "<I>shall I
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not seek rest for thee,</I>" that is, a settlement in the married
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state; "shall I not get thee a good husband, <I>that it may be well
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with thee,</I>" that is, "that thou mayest live plentifully and
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pleasantly, and not spend all thy days in the mean and melancholy
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condition we now live in?" Note,
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(1.) A married state is, or should be, a state of rest to young people.
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Wandering affections are then fixed, and the heart must be at rest. It
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is at rest in the house of a husband, and in his heart,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+1:9"><I>ch.</I> i. 9</A>.
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Those are giddy indeed that marriage does not compose.
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(2.) That which should be desired and designed by those that enter into
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the married state is <I>that it may be well with them,</I> in order to
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which it is necessary that they choose well; otherwise, instead of
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being a rest to them, it may prove the greatest uneasiness. Parents, in
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disposing of their children, must have this in their eye, <I>that it
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may be well with them.</I> And be it always remembered <I>that is best
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for us which is best for our souls.</I>
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(3.) It is the duty of parents to seek this rest for their children,
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and to do all that is fit for them to do, in due time, in order to it.
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And the more dutiful and respectful they are to them, though they can
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the worse spare them, yet they should the rather prefer them, and the
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better.</P>
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<P>
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II. The course she took in order to her daughter's preferment was very
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extraordinary and looks suspicious. If there was any thing improper in
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it, the fault must lie upon Naomi, who put her daughter upon it, and
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who knew, or should know, the laws and usages of Israel better than
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Ruth.
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1. It was true that Boaz, being near of kin to the deceased, and (for
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aught that Naomi knew to the contrary) the nearest of all now alive,
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was obliged by the divine law to marry the widow of Mahlon, who was the
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eldest son of Elimelech, and was dead without issue
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Is not Boaz of our kindred,</I> and therefore bound in conscience
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to take care of our affairs?" This may encourage us to lay ourselves by
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faith at the feet of Christ, that he is our near kinsman; having taken
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our nature upon him, he is <I>bone of our bone and flesh of our
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flesh.</I>
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2. It was a convenient time to remind him of it, now that he had got so
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much acquaintance with Ruth by her constant attendance on his reapers
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during the whole harvest, which was now ended; and he also, by the
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kindness he had shown to Ruth in smaller matters, had encouraged Naomi
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to hope that he would not be unkind, much less unjust, in this greater.
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And she thought it was a good opportunity to apply to him when he made
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a winnowing-feast at his threshing-floor
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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then and there completing the joy of the harvest, and treating his
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workmen like a kind master: <I>He winnoweth barley to-night,</I> that
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is, he makes his entertainment to-night. As Nabal and Absalom had
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feasts at their sheep-shearing, so Boaz at his winnowing.
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3. Naomi thought Ruth the most proper person to do it herself; and
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perhaps it was the usage in that country that in this case the woman
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should make the demand; so much is intimated by the law,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+25:7-9">Deut. xxv. 7-9</A>.
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Naomi therefore orders her daughter-in-law to make herself clean and
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neat, not to make herself fine
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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"<I>Wash thyself and anoint thee,</I> not paint thee (as Jezebel), put
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on thy raiment, but not the attire of a harlot, and go down to the
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floor," whither, it is probable, she was invited to the supper there
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made; but she must not make herself known, that it, not make her errand
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known (she herself could not but be very well known among Boaz's
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reapers) till the company had dispersed and Boaz had retired. And upon
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this occasion she would have an easier access to him in private than
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she could have at his own house. And thus far was well enough. But,
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4. Her coming to lie down at his feet, when he was asleep in his bed,
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had such an appearance of evil, was such an approach towards it, and
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might have been such an occasion of it, that we know not well how to
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justify it. Many expositors think it unjustifiable, particularly the
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excellent Mr. Poole. We must not to evil that good may come. It is
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dangerous to bring the spark and the tinder together; for how great a
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matter may a little fire kindle! All agree that it is not to be drawn
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into a precedent; neither our laws nor our times are the same that were
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then; yet I am willing to make the best of it. If Boaz was, as they
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presumed, the next kinsman, she was his wife before God (as we say),
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and there needed but little ceremony to complete the nuptials; and
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Naomi did not intend that Ruth should approach to him any otherwise
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than as his wife. She knew Boaz to be not only an old man (she would
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not have trusted to that alone in venturing her daughter-in-law so near
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him), but a grave sober man, a virtuous and religious man, and one that
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feared God. She knew Ruth to be a modest woman, <I>chaste, and a keeper
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at home,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Tit+2:5">Tit. ii. 5</A>.
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The Israelites had indeed been once debauched by the daughters of Moab
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+25:1">Num. xxv. 1</A>),
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but this Moabitess was none of those daughters. Naomi herself designed
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nothing but what was honest and honourable, and her charity (which
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<I>believeth all things</I> and <I>hopeth all things</I>) banished and
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forbade all suspicion that either Boaz or Ruth would attempt any thing
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but what was likewise honest and honourable. If what she advised had
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been then as indecent and immodest (according to the usage of the
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country) as it seems now to us, we cannot think that if Naomi had had
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so little virtue (which yet we have no reason to suspect) she would
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also have had so little wisdom as to put her daughter upon it, since
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that alone might have marred the match, and have alienated the
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affections of so grave and good a man as Boaz from her. We must
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therefore think that the thing did not look so ill then as it does now.
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Naomi referred her daughter-in-law to Boaz for further directions. When
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she had thus made her claim, Boaz, who was more learned in the laws,
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would <I>tell her what she must do.</I> Thus must we lay ourselves at
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the feet of our Redeemer, to receive from him our doom. <I>Lord, what
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wilt thou have me to do?</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+9:6">Acts ix. 6</A>.
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We may be sure, if Ruth had apprehended any evil in that which her
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mother advised her to, she was a woman of too much virtue and too much
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sense to promise as she did
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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<I>All that thou sayest unto me I will do.</I> Thus must <I>the younger
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submit to the elder,</I> and to their grave and prudent counsels, when
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they have nothing worth speaking of to object against it.</P>
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<A NAME="Ru3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ruth's Reception by Boaz.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1312.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all
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that her mother in law bade her.
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7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry,
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he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came
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softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
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8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and
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turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
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9 And he said, Who <I>art</I> thou? And she answered, I <I>am</I> Ruth
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thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid;
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for thou <I>art</I> a near kinsman.
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10 And he said, Blessed <I>be</I> thou of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, my daughter:
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<I>for</I> thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at
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the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether
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poor or rich.
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11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that
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thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou
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<I>art</I> a virtuous woman.
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12 And now it is true that I <I>am thy</I> near kinsman: howbeit
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there is a kinsman nearer than I.
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13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, <I>that</I> if
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he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do
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the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman
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to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, <I>as</I> the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> liveth: lie down until the morning.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. Boaz's good management of his common affairs. It is probable,
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according to the common usage,
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1. When his servants winnowed, he was with them, and had his eye upon
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them, to prevent, not their stealing any of his corn (he had no reason
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to fear that), but their waste of it through carelessness in the
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winnowing of it. Masters may sustain great losses by servants that are
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heedless, though they be honest, which is a reason why men should be
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diligent to <I>know the state of their own flocks,</I> and look well to
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them.
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2. When he had more than ordinary work to be done, he treated his
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servants with extraordinary entertainments, and, for their
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encouragement, did <I>eat and drink with them.</I> It well becomes
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those that are rich and great to be generous to, and also to be
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familiar with, those that are under them, and employed for them.
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3. When Boaz had supped with his workmen, and been awhile pleasant
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with them, he <I>went to bed in due time,</I> so early that by midnight
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he had his first sleep
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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and thus he would be fit for his business betimes next morning. All
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that are good husbands will keep good hours, and not indulge themselves
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nor their families in unseasonable mirth. The Chaldee paraphrase tell
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us
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>)
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that <I>Boaz ate and drank and his heart was good</I> (and so the
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Hebrew word is), <I>and he blessed the name of the Lord, who had heard
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his prayers, and taken away the famine from the land of Israel.</I> So
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that he went sober to bed, his heart was in a good frame, and not
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overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. And he did not go to bed
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without prayer. Now that he had eaten and was full he blessed the
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Lord, and now that he was going to rest he committed himself to the
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divine protection; it was well he did, for he had an unusual temptation
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before him, though he knew not of it.
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4. He had his bed or couch laid <I>at the end of the heap of corn;</I>
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not because he had set his heart upon it, nor only that he might watch
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and keep it safe from thieves, but it was too late to go home to the
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city, and here he would be near his work, and ready for it next
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morning, and he would show that he was not nice or curious in his
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lodging, neither took state nor consulted his ease, but was, like his
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father Jacob, a plain man, that, when there was occasion, could make
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his bed in a barn, and, if need were, sleep contentedly in the
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straw.</P>
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<P>
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II. Ruth's good assurance in the management of her affair. She observed
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her mother's orders, went and laid herself down, not by his side, but
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overcross his bed's feet, in her clothes, and kept awake, waiting for
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an opportunity to tell her errand. When he awaked in the night, and
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perceived there was somebody at his feet, and enquired who it was, she
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told him her name and then her errand
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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that she came to put herself under his protection, as the person
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appointed by the divine law to be her protector: "<I>Thou art he that
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has a right to redeem</I> a family and an estate from perishing, and
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therefore <I>let this ruin be under thy hand:</I> and <I>spread thy
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skirt over me</I>--be pleased to espouse me and my cause." Thus must we
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by faith apply ourselves to Jesus Christ as our next kinsman, that is
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able to redeem us, come under his wings, as we are invited
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+23:37">Matt. xxiii. 37</A>),
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and beg of him to <I>spread his skirt over us.</I> "Lord Jesus, take me
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into thy covenant and under thy care. <I>I am oppressed, undertake for
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me.</I>"</P>
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<P>
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III. The good acceptance Ruth gained with Boaz. What she did had no
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ill-effect, either one way or other, so that Naomi was not mistaken in
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her good opinion of her kinsman. He knew her demand was just and
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honourable, and treated her accordingly, and did not <I>deal with</I>
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his <I>sister as with a harlot,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+34:31">Gen. xxxiv. 31</A>.
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For,</P>
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<P>
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1. He did not offer to violate her chastity, though he had all the
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opportunity that could be. The Chaldee paraphrase thus descants upon
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it:--He <I>subdued his concupiscence, and did not approach to her, but
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did as Joseph the Just, who would not come near to his Egyptian
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mistress, and as Phaltiel the Pious, who, when Saul had given him
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Michal, David's wife</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+25:44">1 Sam. xxv. 44</A>),
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<I>put a sword between himself and her, that he might not touch
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her.</I> Boaz knew it was not any sinful lust that brought her thither,
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and therefore bravely maintained both his own honour and hers.</P>
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<P>
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2. He did not put any ill construction upon what she did, did not
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reproach her as an impudent woman and unfit to make an honest man a
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wife. She having approved herself well in the fields, and all her
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conduct having been modest and decent, he would not, from this
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instance, entertain the least suspicion of her character nor seem to do
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so, perhaps blaming himself that he had not offered the service of a
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kinsman to these distressed widows, and saved her this trouble, and
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ready to say as Judah concerning his daughter-in-law, <I>She is more
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righteous than I.</I> But on the contrary,</P>
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<P>
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(1.) He commended her, spoke kindly to her, called her his
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<I>daughter,</I> and spoke honourably of her, as a woman of eminent
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virtue. She had shown in this instance more kindness to her
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mother-in-law, and to the family into which she had matched, than in
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any instance yet. It was very kind to leave her own country and come
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along with her mother to the land of Israel, to dwell with her, and
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help to maintain her. For this he had blessed her
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+2:12"><I>ch.</I> ii. 12</A>);
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but now he says, Thou hast <I>shown more kindness in the latter end
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than at the beginning</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>),
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in that she consulted not her own fancy, but her husband's family, in
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marrying again. She received not the addresses of <I>young men</I>
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(much less did she seek them) <I>whether poor or rich,</I> but was
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willing to marry as the divine law directed, though it was to an old
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man, because it was for the honour and interest of the family into
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which she had matched, and for which she had an entire kindness. Young
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people must aim, in disposing of themselves, not so much to please
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their own eye as to please God and their parents.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) He promised her marriage
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
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"<I>Fear not</I> that I will slight thee, or expose thee; no, <I>I will
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do all that thou requirest,</I> for it is the same that the law
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requires, from the next of kin, and I have no reason to decline it,
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<I>for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous
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woman,</I>"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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Note,
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[1.] Exemplary virtue ought to have its due praise
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+4:8">Phil. iv. 8</A>),
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and it will recommend both men and women to the esteem of the wisest
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and best. Ruth was a poor woman, and poverty often obscures the lustre
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of virtue; yet Ruth's virtues, even in a mean condition, were generally
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taken notice of and could not be hid; nay, her virtues took away the
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reproach of her poverty. If poor people be but good people, they shall
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have honour from God and man. Ruth had been remarkable for her
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humility, which paved the way to this honour. The less she proclaimed
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her own goodness the more did her neighbours take notice of it.
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[2.] In the choice of yoke-fellows, virtue should especially be
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regarded, known approved virtue. Let religion determine the choice, and
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it will certainly crown the choice and make it comfortable. <I>Wisdom
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is better than gold,</I> and, when it is said to be <I>good with an
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inheritance,</I> the meaning is that an inheritance is worth little
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without it.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) He made his promise conditional, and could not do otherwise, for
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it seems there was a kinsman that was nearer than he, to whom the right
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of redemption did belong,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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This he knew, but we may reasonably suppose Naomi (who had been long
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abroad, and could not be exact in the pedigree of her husband's family)
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was ignorant of it, otherwise she would never have sent her daughter to
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make her claim of Boaz. Yet he does not bid her go herself to this
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other kinsman; this would have been to put too great a hardship upon
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her: but he promises,
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[1.] That he would himself propose it to the other kinsman, and know
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his mind. The Hebrew word for a widow signifies <I>one that is
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dumb.</I> Boaz will therefore <I>open his mouth for the dumb</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+31:8">Prov. xxxi. 8</A>),
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and will say that for this widow which she knew not how to say for
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herself.
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[2.] That, if the other kinsman refused to do the kinsman's part, he
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would do it, would marry the widow, redeem the land, and so repair the
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family. This promise he backs with a solemn oath, for it was a
|
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conditional contract of marriage
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>):
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<I>As the Lord liveth.</I> Thus keeping the matter in suspense, he bade
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her wait till morning. Bishop Hall thus sums up this matter in his
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contemplations:--"Boaz, instead of touching her as a wanton, blesseth
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her as a father, encourageth her as a friend, promiseth her as a
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kinsman, rewards her as a patron, and sends her away laden with hopes
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and gifts, no less chaste, more happy, than she came. O admirable
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temperance, worthy the progenitor of him in whose lips and heart there
|
|
was no guile!"</P>
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<A NAME="Ru3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ru3_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ruth Sent Back in Peace to Naomi.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1312.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
|
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up
|
|
before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known
|
|
that a woman came into the floor.
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15 Also he said, Bring the vail that <I>thou hast</I> upon thee, and
|
|
hold it. And when she held it, he measured six <I>measures</I> of
|
|
barley, and laid <I>it</I> on her: and she went into the city.
|
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16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who <I>art</I>
|
|
thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to
|
|
her.
|
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17 And she said, These six <I>measures</I> of barley gave he me; for
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|
he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.
|
|
18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how
|
|
the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he
|
|
have finished the thing this day.
|
|
</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are here told,
|
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|
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I. How Ruth was dismissed by Boaz. It would not have been safe for her
|
|
to go home in the dead of the night; therefore <I>she lay at his
|
|
feet</I> (not by his side) <I>until morning.</I> But as soon as ever
|
|
the day broke, that she had light to go home by, she got away,
|
|
<I>before one could know another,</I> that, if she were seen, yet she
|
|
might not be known to be abroad so unseasonably. She was not shy of
|
|
being known to be a gleaner in the field, nor ashamed of that mark of
|
|
her poverty. But she would not willingly be known to be a
|
|
night-walker, for her virtue was her greatest honour, and that which
|
|
she most valued. Boaz dismissed her,
|
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|
|
1. With a charge to keep counsel
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
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<I>Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor,</I> and lay
|
|
all night so near to Boaz; for, though they needed not to care much
|
|
what people said of them while they were both conscious to themselves
|
|
of an unspotted purity, yet, because few could have come so near the
|
|
fire as they did and not have been scorched, had it been known it would
|
|
have occasioned suspicions in some and reflections from others. Good
|
|
people would have been troubled, and bad people would have triumphed,
|
|
and therefore <I>let it not be known.</I> Note, We must always take
|
|
care, not only to keep a good conscience, but to keep a good name:
|
|
either we must not do that which, though innocent, is liable to be
|
|
misinterpreted, or, if we do, we must not <I>let it be known.</I> We
|
|
must avoid not only sin, but scandal. There was likewise a particular
|
|
reason for concealment here. If this matter should take wind, it might
|
|
prejudice the freedom of the other kinsman's choice, and he would make
|
|
this his reason for refusing Ruth, that Boaz and she had been together.
|
|
|
|
2. He dismissed her with a good present of corn, which would be very
|
|
acceptable to her poor mother at home, and an evidence for her that he
|
|
had not sent her away in dislike, which Naomi might have suspected if
|
|
he had sent her away empty. He gave it to her in her <I>veil,</I> or
|
|
<I>apron,</I> or <I>mantle,</I> gave it to her by measure. Like a
|
|
prudent corn-master, he kept an account of all he delivered out. It was
|
|
<I>six measures,</I> that is six omers as is supposed, ten of which
|
|
made an ephah; whatever the measure was, it is probable he gave her as
|
|
much as she could well carry,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
And the Chaldee says, <I>Strength was given her from the Lord to carry
|
|
it;</I> and adds that now <I>it was told her by the spirit of prophecy
|
|
that from her should descend six of the most righteous men of their
|
|
age,</I> namely, <I>David, Daniel, his three companions, and the king
|
|
Messiah.</I></P>
|
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|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. How she was welcomed by her mother-in-law. She asked her, "<I>Who
|
|
art thou, my daughter?</I> Art thou a bride or no? Must I give thee
|
|
joy?" So Ruth told her how the matter stood
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
|
|
|
|
whereupon her mother,
|
|
|
|
1. Advised her to be satisfied in what was done: <I>Sit still, my
|
|
daughter, till thou know how the matter will fall</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ru+3:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>)--<I>how
|
|
|
|
it is decreed in heaven,</I> so the Chaldee reads it, for marriages are
|
|
made there. She had done all that was fit for her to do, and now she
|
|
must patiently wait the issue and not be perplexed about it. Let us
|
|
learn hence to cast our care upon providence, to follow that and attend
|
|
the motions of it, composing ourselves into an expectation of the
|
|
event, with a resolution to acquiesce in it, whatever it be. Sometimes
|
|
that proves best done for us that is least our own doing. "<I>Sit
|
|
still,</I> therefore, <I>and see how the matter will fall,</I> and say,
|
|
Let it fall how it will, I am ready for it."
|
|
|
|
2. She assured her that Boaz, having undertaken this matter, would
|
|
approve himself a faithful careful friend: <I>He will not be at rest
|
|
till he have finished the matter.</I> Though it was a busy time with
|
|
him in his fields and his floor, yet, having undertaken to serve his
|
|
friend, he would not neglect the business. Naomi believes that Ruth
|
|
has won his heart, and that therefore he will not be easy till he knows
|
|
whether she be his or no. This she gives as a reason why Ruth should
|
|
sit still and not perplex herself about it, that Boaz had undertaken
|
|
it, and he would be sure to manage it well. Much more reason have good
|
|
Christians to be <I>careful for nothing,</I> but <I>cast their care on
|
|
God,</I> because he has promised to <I>care for them:</I> and what need
|
|
have we to care if he do? <I>Sit still, and see how the matter will
|
|
fall,</I> for <I>the Lord will perfect that which concerns thee,</I>
|
|
and will make it to work for good to thee,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:4,5,138:8">Ps. xxxvii. 4, 5; cxxxviii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Your strength is to sit still,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+30:7">Isa. xxx. 7</A>.</P>
|
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