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Of course, understanding the customs of the day is very useful to reading this story because the first thing that Ruth does when they reach Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem is to go out into nearby field and start picking up fallen barley. The poor were allowed to do this at harvest-time so they could have something to eat. Lo and behold, on her first day at work, she meets the owner of the field, Boaz, who has heard all about her loyalty to Naomi. He blesses her saying, “May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12 NIV). Ruth chose first to place her trust in the God of Israel before she decided to go with Naomi. Through the following days, Ruth has the opportunity to see Boaz, and he always treats her with kindness. One day her mother-in-law makes the bold suggestion that she should not worry about propriety and ask Boaz to marry her. So she dresses up and sneaks into the barn where he’s sleeping in the night, lay down at his feet, and uncovers them. For us this would be an extremely odd way to propose, but in this culture it was seen as normal. When he wakes up, she asks him to spread his garment over her as well, which symbolized that he would protect and care for her as her husband. He accepts her proposal, but tells her to sneak away before dawn so that no one will know she came because they might think badly of her. That morning, Boaz makes the necessary arrangement for their marriage. Ruth is rewarded with a loving and rich husband, and Naomi is rewarded with a beautiful grandson who happens to be the grandfather of King David. What a story!