When you think about engagements, you usually imagine the exchange of rings between the couple as a sign of their future together. Engagement traditions differ from culture to culture. The Chinese include the sending of betrothal gifts to the bride's family on an auspicious day and reciprocal gifts to the groom's family. These gifts include jewellery, red packets containing money, household items (like bedding and even spittoons), and food (like wine, rice cakes, and pig trotters).

Ruth has proposed marriage to Boaz (Ruth 3:9). Though he wants to marry her, Boaz cannot accept the proposal just yet, as there is a nearer relative who has a stronger claim on Ruth. Boaz has to wait until the following day to ask this relative if he will marry Ruth or forego his right to do so (3:12-13).

Before he goes into town to seek out this man, Boaz sends Ruth back to Naomi with a generous gift: six measures of barley (3:15), or about 40 kilogrammes²⁴-triple what Ruth gleaned on her first day in his fields (2:17).²⁵ The romantics among us would probably prefer an engagement ring or a bouquet of flowers. I suspect this hefty load of grain from Boaz is a symbolic gesture, albeit a certain and strong one, to reassure Ruth and Naomi that from now on, he is willing to take on the responsibility as go'el, guardian-redeemer. Given the circumstances, this is Boaz's version of an engagement ring.

The anxious mother-in-law, eager to know if her plan has been successful, asks Ruth, ″How did it go, my daughter?″ (3:16). In Hebrew, this question is literally, ″Who art thou, my daughter?″ Clearly, Naomi wants to know if Ruth remains Mahlon's widow or is now Boaz's wife.

In relating the events of the night, Ruth highlights that the barley is a gift from Boaz to Naomi (3:17). Naomi probably understands the significance of this gift. Assured of her desired outcome, she advises Ruth, ″Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today″ (3:18). Naomi is confident that Boaz will see the matter through. Perhaps she knows that Boaz is a man of his word. Perhaps she is learning to see the Lord's hand in all this (2:20). Her advice to ″wait″ reveals her renewed faith-a confident, expectant belief that only God can bring the venture to a successful conclusion.

Part of being wise and making good and moral decisions is learning to move responsibly, not recklessly. Too often, the call to step out in faith invites an impulse to act recklessly, with disastrous results. To wait is to do so in patient trust that God will act on your behalf. ″Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him″ (Psalm 37:7) is the much-needed corrective to the pragmatic and the impatient in this fast-paced world. Wait. ″Rest in the Lord″ (37:7 NKJV).

²⁴Note on Ruth 3:15 in Arthur E. Cundall and Leon Morris, Judges and Ruth, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (London: Inter-Varsity Press, 2008).
²⁵Footnote on Ruth 2:17 in Barker, NIV Study Bible, 367.