31 And Naomi her mother-in-law saith to her, 'My daughter, do not I seek for thee rest, that it may be well with thee? 2 and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night, 3 and thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known to the man till he complete to eat and to drink; 4 and it cometh to pass when he lieth down, that thou hast known the place where he lieth down, and hast gone in, and uncovered his feet, and lain down,—and he doth declare to thee that which thou dost do.' 5 And she saith unto her, 'All that thou sayest—I do.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Ruth 3:1-5
Commentary on Ruth 3:1-5
(Read Ruth 3:1-5)
The married state should be a rest, as much as any thing upon earth can be so, as it ought to fix the affections and form a connexion for life. Therefore it should be engaged in with great seriousness, with earnest prayers for direction, for the blessing of God, and with regard to his precepts. Parents should carefully advise their children in this important concern, that it may be well with them as to their souls. Be it always remembered, That is best for us which is best for our souls. The course Naomi advised appears strange to us; but it was according to the laws and usages of Israel. If the proposed measure had borne the appearance of evil, Naomi would not have advised it. Law and custom gave Ruth, who was now proselyted to the true religion, a legal claim upon Boaz. It was customary for widows to assert this claim, Deuteronomy 25:5-10. But this is not recorded for imitation in other times, and is not to be judged by modern rules. And if there had been any evil in it, Ruth was a woman of too much virtue and too much sense to have listened to it.