Hidden Spiritual Gem #9: Boaz’s Skirt
Introduction
In Ruth Chapter 3, we find what can be viewed as a somewhat strange historical account where Ruth the Moabitess softly approaches the sleeping landowner, Boaz, lying on his threshing floor in Bethlehem. She uncovers (and lays down at) Boaz’s feet, whereupon he abruptly awakens, questions her, and then Ruth responds with a request that Boaz spread his “skirt” (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671) over her because Boaz is a “near kinsman”(גָּאַל (gā’al))H1350 to both her dead husband and her dead father-in-law.
The spreading of Boaz’s skirt over Ruth, what does that signify?
In the Book of Ruth chapter3, verse 9, we read where Ruth did as she had been earlier instructed by here widowed mother-in-law, Naomi, to go to the threshing floor where the elder Boaz would be sleeping in a petition for redemption. In the course of that encounter, Boaz awoke, and was startled, and then we read of the following dialogue: “And he said, Who [art] thou? And she answered, I [am] Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671) over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman (גָּאַל (gā’al)H1350).” By announced herself to Boaz, Ruth was also stating that she was a gleaner in Boaz’s fields of barley, but more importantly the “Moabitess”, who was also the daughter-in-law to Naomi, the widow of Elimelech and also the mother of Mahlon (Ruth’s dead husband who left no progeny).
Ruth response was to make it clear to Boaz, by her appearance in this setting at the threshing floor and her obeisance to him in seeking to be covered by his “skirt”, that she was willingly offering herself to be Boaz’s wife, and petitioning him to please serve as a kinsman redeemer for both her dead husband (Mahlon) and her dead father-in-law (Elimelech), by marrying her in order to bear children and raise them up in the name of Boaz’s dead kin folk according to Deuteronomy 25:5&6, “¶ If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. And it shall be, [that] the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother [which is] dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.”
The Hebrew Word for “Skirt” Also Means “Wings”
The Overspreading With a “Skirt” Is Like Covering With “Wings” and Has Important Spiritual Implications
We must take particular note here that the original Hebrew word used for “skirt” (כָּנָף (kānāp̄;H3671) is most commonly translated as “wings” exactly as it reads back in Ruth Chapter 2, verses 11 & 12, where we read of an earlier discussion between Boaz and Ruth, “And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and [how] thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671) thou art come to trust.“
Seeking to Come Under the Wings of God
We can see more clearly how this correlates with it being the desire of every believer in seeking mercy from God to come under the shadow of God’s “wings”. Note that the King James translators interpreted כָּנָף (kānāp̄) H3671 in the following manner: wing (74x), skirt (14x), borders (2x), corners (2x), ends (2x), feathered (2x), sort (2x), winged (2x), miscellaneous (8x).
This is just as we read in the Book of Psalms:
Psalm 17:8, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671),”
Psalm 36:7, “How excellent [is] thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings (כָּנָף(kānāp̄)) H3671;”
Psalm 57:1, “¶[[To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.]] Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄)H3671) will I make my refuge, until [these] calamities be overpast.“
Psalm 61:4, “I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄)H3671). Selah.” This could also be interpreted as saying “I will seek refuge under the covert of thy wings“.
Psalm 63:7, “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄)H3671); will I rejoice.
Psalm 91:1-4, “¶He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, [and] from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671) shalt thou trust: his truth [shall be thy] shield and buckler.“
And let us not forget the words of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:37, “¶O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!“
In the last four verses in Ezekiel 16:60-63, God says that He will remember His covenant and promises to establish a new and everlasting covenant (with the spiritual eternal Israel, the true believing Christians, the Church, which includes those out of all the world saved by grace and not by the works of the law).
And is it not interesting that the cherubims’ wings covered the “Mercy Seat” of God in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple of God? Exodus 25:20, “And the cherubims shall stretch forth [their] wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671) on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄; H3671), and their faces [shall] look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.”
Under the wings of God is where one must trust for mercy to be found! Malachi 4:2, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings (כָּנָף (kānāp̄)) H3671; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.” Note that the word “Sun” is capitalized to highlight that this verse is describing God, and therefore should be understood to be a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The LORD Jesus Christ Is The Believer’s “Kinsman – Redeemer”
The Hebrew term (go el) for kinsman-redeemer designates one who delivers or rescues as we read in Genesis 48:16, where Jospeph is speaking to his father, Jacob/Israel, “The Angel which redeemed (גָּאַל (gā’al))H1350 me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.” and Exodus 6:6, “Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I [am] the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem H1350you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:” or redeems property (Leviticus 27:9-25) or redeems a person under what is known as “The Law of Redemption” in Leviticus 25:23-55). And a kinsman/redeemer is someone who redeems, or vindicates, a relative to raise up children in the relative’s name according to Deuteronomy 25:5&6 and which is best illustrated in the Bible in the book of Ruth, where the kinsman-redeemer is Boaz
Note Also that the words “Near Kinsman” is translated from the Hebrew word גָּאַל (gā’al) H1350 , which is translated 18x in the Bible as “Redeemer” as we find in the following examples which all unequivocally point to the LORD Jesus Christ:
Job 19:25, “For I know [that] my redeemer H1350 liveth, and [that] he shall stand at the latter [day] upon the earth:“
Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. H1350“
Psalm 78:35, “And they remembered that God [was] their rock, and the high God their redeemer. H1350“
Proverbs 23:11, “For their redeemer H1350 [is] mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee.”
Isaiah 44:6, “Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemerH1350 the LORD of hosts; I [am] the first, and I [am] the last; and beside me [there is] no God.” (See also Revelation 2:8 and Revelation 22:13)
Isaiah 48:17, “Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, H1350 the Holy One of Israel; I [am] the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way [that] thou shouldest go.”
Isaiah 54:5, “For thy Maker [is] thine husband; the LORD of hosts [is] his name; and thy Redeemer H1350 the Holy One of Israel;The God of the whole earth shall he be called.”
In Ruth 3: 10, we read the subsequent words of Boaz, “And he said, Blessed [be] thou of the Lord, my daughter: [for] thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.” Boaz realizes that he is old enough to be Ruth’s father and that he would not normally be appealing to a younger woman. Boaz Blessed Ruth in the Name of the Lord and again called her “daughter”! Boaz also was speaking comfortably to Ruth, similar to what we read in Isaiah 40:1 & 2, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’S hand double for all her sins.“
The in Ruth 3:11, “And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman.” The meaning of a virtuous woman can be found in Proverbs 31:10-31 and Titus 2:5. For more on what it means to be a virtuous woman according to the Bible, please see “The Virtuous Woman“. For a more detailed exposition on the spiritual meaning of the Book of Ruth, please see “The Book of Ruth“.
NOTE: The King James Version of the English Bible translates Strong’s H1350 in the following manner: redeem (50x), redeemer (18x), kinsman (13x), revenger (7x), avenger (6x), ransom (2x), at all (2x), deliver (1x), kinsfolks (1x), kinsman’s part (1x), purchase (1x), stain (1x), wise (1x). What is interesting is that on the positive side the “kinsman/redeemer” is found a total of 31 times, but notice that on the negative side, “revenger/avenger” is found 13 times! The revenger/ avenger is someone who is seeking to avenge the death of a close relative by going after the one who killed that close relative. This would seem to be a reflection of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is either someone’s Kinsman Redeemer or someone’s Revenging/Avenging Judge and Executioner, because that person had accidentally caused the death of someone (e.g., a believer). And in 1 John 3:15 we read that even hating someone makes that person a murderer in God’s eyes. But remember also that the slayer could still flee to a “city of refuge”…and that is a picture of the fact that there is still the opportunity for salvation when one repents and asks God for mercy.
Conclusion
Ruth, a stranger and Moabitess, was physically safe with Boaz, just as the believers (represented by Ruth) are spiritually safe with The LORD Jesus Christ (represented by Boaz). For Salvation from sin, everyone must seek to be covered by the Atoning Wings of Jesus, as his or her Kinsman Redeemer (for everyone who descended from Adam whom God chooses to save). Moreover, in serving as Ruth’s kinsman/redeemer Boaz raised up a son, Obed, in Elimelech’s name (Ruth’s dead father-in-law), who became the grandfather of king David, and the progenitor of Jesus Christ (through Mary). It would seem fair to say that Jesus, raised up seed (the believers) in Adam’s name, with Jesus being all believers’ Kinsman – Redeemer.
Finally we should remember what God tells us in Ezekiel 16:8, “Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt (כָּנָף (kānāp̄;H3671 or “wings“) over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.” It is difficult for one’s eyes not to swell up with tears at the reading of these Words of God when realizing that, while God was historically speaking to National Israel, is is more importantly showing us how spiritually God loves every believer who is part of the Eternal Israel of God.
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Tags: Bible, boaz, faith, Jesus, Ruth
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