The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1

The Pulpit Commentary · Joseph S. Exell and contributors · Public domain

Thoughtful love.

"Shall not I seek rest for thee?" How natural. We cannot ever be with those we love. Marriage is God's own ideal, and it is the happiest estate if his fear dwells in our hearts.

I. THERE IS NO EARTHLY REST LIKE THE REST OF HOME. Judges, warriors, statesmen enjoy the honors of life, and are conscious of pleasure in promotion and distinction, but their biographies tell us how they turn to home as the highest joy of all. Yes! Nothing can compensate for the loss of a happy home, and we should seek in every way to make it a refreshment and a delight by doing our best to promote its peace and purity.

II. THE EARTHLY HOME IS A PARABLE OF HEAVEN. Our Savior touches our hearts at once when he says, "My Father's house," and when he speaks the exquisite parable of the prodigal son. No analogies of city or temple are so powerful in their influence over us as the analogy of home.—W.M.S.

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commentaryMatthew Henry on Ruth 3:1-5The 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 pray…Matthew Henry commentaryRuth's Visit to Boaz. (b. c. 1312.)RUTH'S VISIT TO BOAZ. (B. C. 1312.) Here is, I. Naomi's care for her daughter's comfort is without doubt very commendable, and is recorded for imitation. She had no thoughts of marrying herself, Ruth 1:12. But, though s…Matthew Henry commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1Marriage, a woman's rest. If Ruth was unselfish, so also was Naomi. The mother-in-law acted towards the young Moabitess as if she had been her own daughter. In seeking a husband for her daughter-in-law Naomi followed th…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1-18Naomi's maternal solicitude. This is one of those paragraphs of Scripture which require delicate handling, but which, for that very reason, are full of suggestiveness that comes home to the bosom. Under strange, old-fas…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1There is something radically wrong in every home which is not a "rest" to its inmates; and life without a home is emphatically a life of unrest.Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, shall not I seek out for thee a rest, that it may be well with thee? When Ruth had nothing more to do on the harvest-fields, where Boaz appeared daily, and was unr…Joseph S. Exell and contributors commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:1-18EXPOSITIONJoseph S. Exell and contributors