“So bathe, anoint yourself, put on your good clothes, and go down to the threshing-floor; but don’t reveal your presence to the man until he’s finished eating and drinking.”-Ruth 3:3
So Naomi has given crystal clear instructions to Ruth about how to approach Boaz.
Ruth is to stay out of his view and wait until he goes to bed for the night after he has finished eating and drinking.
Now let’s understand that Boaz was a wealthy man.
So when the Scripture goes out of its way to say Boaz was BOTH “eating” and “drinking”, the “drinking” part is most definitely referring to alcohol…
Most likely wine…
Now I’m not saying Boaz went to bed stone cold drunk out of his mind or something.
That’s certainly not the case.
What I’m saying is he was a well-to-do man who could afford to have some wine with his meals and so likely did.
Onward.
Naomi’s next instructions to Ruth are shall we say a bit controversial.
Naomi says…
“Then, when he lies down,
take note of where he’s lying;
later, go in, uncover his feet,
and lie down.
He will tell you what to do.”
-Ruth 3:4
Make no bones about it, this is a full blown seduction scene we’ve got here.
Alrighty, so this is a topic I’ve touched on many times before…
But the Bible can sometimes get very explicit when it come to sexual matters.
And to be honest, I’d say this scene here in the book of Ruth is actually quite mild compared to some other parts of Scripture.
Folks, remember God Himself created sex and it is an everyday part of life…
Especially in those days when everyone was surrounded by farm animals pretty much 24/7…
Every person from childhood would have been intimately familiar with the natural mating process.
I’m not saying modesty wasn’t called for in God’s people.
It most certainly was but there were certain ways in which men and women flirted with each other in those days that from our modern perspective might seem downright vulgar and inappropriate.
Bottomline, the Bible is NOT a prudish book when it comes to sexual topics.
It is quite open and matter-of-fact in dealing with matters of sensuality.
Are you saying they actually had sex in this instance or are you saying Ruth was making her intentions obviously known to Boaz?
Customs change over time. In America 150 years ago, if someone kissed another, it was on the same level as a marriage proposal. Now with the degradation of morals, unmarried couples treat such actions as normal with no intentions of a life long commitment.
In other words, 200 years ago in America, a moral man wouldn’t try to kiss a lady without his intention being to make a lifelong marriage covenant with her, nor would the lady accept a kiss if she had no intention of being married to the man.
That’s obviously not the case in 2022; however, that doesn’t mean the way people act today is right.