Ruth

Ruth was married to a man from Judah named Mahlon (I don't know why I know which one she was married to, I just do...) Mahlon's father took his mother, him and his brother from Bethlehem to Moab. There was a famine in the land, so they moved. As time went on, the two men, Mahlon and Kilion took Moabite women to marry. The father dies, then the two brothers were killed 10 years later. It doesn't say how they died. Because her family was dead, Naomi, the mother in law, decides to go back to Bethlehem where she originally was from. She releases Orpah and Ruth, the wives of the sons to go back to their own families. Orpah goes back. Ruth refuses. She tells this woman that Naomi's people are her people and Naomi's God is her God and where Naomi dies is where Ruth will die also. So they go on to Bethlehem.

When they get there, Ruth goes into the fields to glean (pick up scraps basically...) behind the men that are harvesting the grain. There is a man there that owns the field and he asks who Ruth is. The men that are working tell him that she is the daughter in law of Naomi. The man tells the workers to look out for her, to leave extra behind them for her to pick up. He also goes to her and tells her to stay in this field and that his workers will protect her from danger. She drops to her knees before him (there goes that bowing down to a man thing again...) and asks him why would he be so kind to her and that she is exceedingly thankful. She continues to glean in his fields. He continues to watch her and watch over her. It doesn't say that he said anything else to her, just watched over her.
So Naomi, decides to tell Ruth that Boaz (the owner of the field) is in relationship to their family and called a kinsmen redeemer. In those days, if your husband died, you were handed down to the next family member in order to keep the family name going. (yeah... pretty sick.. I know it... ) So she tells Ruth to go the the threshing floor while they are working in there, but to go at night, after everyone is asleep. To lay at this man's feet and that he would cover her. Now to anyone that doesn't know what any of that means... that is really bold... really bold... When I have read this for the last 100 years I really never understood it. But for personal reasons, I decided to go look it up. First of all, a woman should not be in the presence of a man in the middle of the night who is not her husband, basically, she was offering herself to him by even going there. THEN... to lay at his feet... turns out this meant she asked him to marry her... CAN YOU IMAGINE??? Oh I am so sure that she had NO IDEA what this meant when she did it... and when he covered her, he accepts... sheesh... But he tells her that there is another who is eligible to redeem her before him and that he would speak with that man the next day. Luckily, he was a gentleman, he realized that she was clueless about what she really did and so he didn't take her up on the offer of herself physically.... (good grief...)
So Ruth, clueless as can be, goes back to scheming Naomi and tells her what happened and Naomi, beaming says that the man will not rest until it is taken care of.

She was right, Boaz goes the very next day and asks the man who is next in line if he intends to redeem the property of Naomi's husband. Doesn't talk about the woman/women he makes this all about a business deal. What a typical man thought, right? So the other man says yes, he will take the property, then slick Boaz says.. well there is Naomi and her daughter in law involved too... So the other man decides he doesn't want to do it because it would affect his own household. So Boaz says that he will do it then.

Boaz married Ruth and they have a child named Obed. He is the grandfather of David....

What does this story say to me? God will have us do ridiculous things in order to work His will out in our lives. (it is better when we don't even know what we really did...) God will use who he chooses to use. Ruth was a Moabite. There are times when God tells the men of Israel that they cannot marry foreign women. Ruth's 1st husband died. I am sure she was heartbroken at the time, but God works ALL things for the good of those who love Him.