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"And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law
bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie
down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and
laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned
himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she
answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for
thou art a near kinsman" (3: 6-9).
In verse 8 for `afraid', the word is "startled", and in verse 9 `skirt' should be translated
"wing", as in chapter 2: 12, implying his protective care, in view of the fact that he was
her kinsman-redeemer! Ruth is not trying to seduce Boaz. He would understand that she
was asking him to redeem Elimelech's inheritance, the land that had become lost. Also,
as that would mean his marrying her in order to save the name of the dead man from
being blotted out in Israel, that she would be willing to keep her part of the transaction.
How many times in Scripture do we read of the covering protection of the wings of
the Lord. In Matt. 23:, the Lord Jesus Christ denounces the unbelief and the hostility
of the religious leaders of His time. He upbraids them for their omission from and their
adding to the Word of God, their intentional misinterpretation as to His worship. He
whips them with His words for their infidelity, their self-exhortation, their hypocrisy, and
denounces them as a generation of vipers, children of them that killed the prophets,
closing His words to them in verses 37-39.
"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!" (Matt. 23: 37).
David loved to sing of the safety and protection of the divine wings. Psa. 17: 8,
"Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings".
Psa.xxxvi.7, "How excellent is Thy loving kindness O God. Therefore the children of
men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings". Psa. 57: 1, when he fled from
Saul to 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 will I make my refuge, until these
calamities be overpast". Psa. 61: 1-4, "I will trust in the covert of Thy wings".
What a wonderful thing it is that you and I today can echo the words of David and
find refuge, aye, and courage and strength beneath the shelter of those wings. Whenever
we have doubts or fears; whenever we have failed; whenever we are depressed or
overwhelmed, what a source of strength it is to be able to shelter beneath His wings.
Isaiah's words in chapter 40: leap to our mind in this connection:
"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the
Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of
His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He
increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall
mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint" (Isa. 40: 28-31).