Bible in a Year - Women’s Thematic Reading Plan | Day 110

Day 110 of the Women’s Bible Plan: Read Ruth Chapter 3 and reflect on Boaz and Ruth, whose relationship shows a beautiful picture of wise, holy, and respectful nearness. Through Naomi’s guidance, Ruth’s courage, and Boaz’s integrity, this devotional helps women consider how love, marriage, and intimate relationships can grow with purity, wisdom, patience, and healthy boundaries.

🌸  Dear Sister, welcome to Day 110 of our reading journey. 

Intimacy is part of God’s good design, but drawing near also requires wisdom. Not every kind of closeness brings blessing. Some nearness is driven by impulse. Some is shaped by control. Some crosses boundaries and leaves hearts wounded, relationships confused, and faith clouded.

Ruth Chapter 3 shows us a different kind of nearness. It is not careless flirtation, nor a self-centered pursuit. It is a movement toward a clearer relationship within the light of God’s law, the wisdom of an elder, the courage of personal honesty, mutual respect, and holy boundaries.

Ruth comes near to Boaz, but she does not abandon purity. Boaz receives Ruth’s request, but he does not take advantage of the moment. Their story contains tenderness, reverence, restraint, hope, and waiting. It reminds us that God-honoring nearness is not about rushing into intimacy or proving love by crossing lines. It is about walking before God with purity, honoring the other person, and allowing the relationship to move forward in the light.

A Minute of Grace

In Ruth Chapter 3, Naomi seeks rest and provision for Ruth’s future. She tells Ruth how to go to Boaz at the threshing floor. Ruth follows Naomi’s instruction and comes to Boaz at night, uncovering his feet and lying down. When Boaz wakes and asks who she is, Ruth makes a deeply meaningful request: “spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.”

This was not simply an emotional confession. It carried covenantal and redemptive meaning. Within the context of Israel’s law and the responsibility of the near kinsman, Ruth was asking Boaz to take up the role of redeemer and become a covering for her and Naomi’s family. Her action was courageous, but not reckless; active, but not careless; sincere, yet still within honorable boundaries.

Boaz’s response is just as important. He praises Ruth’s virtue and recognizes that her request is honorable. Yet he does not use the secrecy of night, the vulnerability of the moment, or the nearness between them for selfish gain. He does not bypass the proper order in order to claim the relationship for himself. Instead, he explains that there is another kinsman nearer than he, and the matter must first be handled rightly. He then protects Ruth’s reputation, gives her grain, and sends her back to Naomi to wait.

This chapter shows us that nearness in marriage and relationships requires both holiness and wisdom. Ruth is not passive to the point of never acting; she expresses her desire at the right time and in a fitting way. Boaz is not ruled by feeling alone; he guards boundaries and order in the fear of God. Their nearness is not hidden lust in the darkness, but a relationship moving step by step toward a promise in the light.

Today’s theme, “Boaz and Ruth: Drawing Near in a God-Honoring Way,” invites us to reflect: In love, marriage, and close relationships, are we willing to let God’s Word govern the way we draw near? Are we willing to speak honestly while respecting boundaries, desire love without sacrificing holiness, take steps forward while waiting for God’s timing and order?

Whispers for the Heart

1 Ruth courageously expressed her request to Boaz under Naomi’s guidance. How do you understand appropriate initiative in a relationship? Have you ever hidden yourself completely because you were afraid of rejection, or moved too quickly because you longed to be loved? How does this passage help you learn to express yourself with both honesty and wisdom?

2 When Boaz encountered Ruth at night, he chose to fear God, protect Ruth, honor the law, and respect boundaries. Do you value boundaries in close relationships? Whether before marriage, within marriage, in friendship, or in ministry relationships, are you willing to let respect, holiness, and responsibility protect both people instead of acting only by emotion?

3 Ruth and Boaz drew near, but they also waited. Can you accept the “not yet” in a relationship? When a relationship needs time, clarity, confirmation, or God-honoring order, are you willing to believe that true love does not need to prove itself by crossing boundaries?

As you read Ruth Chapter 3 today, do not see this chapter only as a romantic story. Let it help you rediscover that nearness can be beautiful in God’s eyes, but it must be holy; initiative can be courageous, but it must be wise; love can be tender, but it must respect boundaries.

Take a quiet breath before you begin. Bring your desires, fears, impulses, waiting, and boundaries in relationships before the Lord, and let His Word meet you there.

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🪕 Response Hymn: 

Ruth Chapter 3 (KJV)

3 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.

6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her.

7 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.

8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

9 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.

10 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.

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.

12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: lie down until the morning.

14 And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.

15 Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city.

16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law.

18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.

🪕 Response Hymn: 

💡 Closing Thought · Let Nearness Walk in the Light

After reading Ruth Chapter 3, we see that the nearness between Ruth and Boaz was not careless flirtation or hidden desire. It moved forward in the fear of God, respect for order, protection of one another, and willingness to wait for clarity. Ruth was courageous in expressing herself, and Boaz was careful in guarding her. They were sincere, and they also had boundaries.

As we close this page and return to real life, perhaps you are learning how to draw near in a relationship. Perhaps you are learning to communicate again in marriage. Perhaps you are learning to wait in singleness. Perhaps you are rebuilding trust after boundaries were crossed or hearts were wounded. Remember this: God-honoring nearness does not need to hide in darkness, and true love does not require the sacrifice of holiness.

May today’s Scripture remind you that truly beautiful relationships are relationships that can walk in the light. May you have wisdom in love, self-control in desire, respect in nearness, and faith in waiting. May God lead your love, marriage, and every close relationship to be built in His holiness and grace.

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