BOAZ: A LOVER AND REDEEMER

A friend recently sent links to Videos he thought I would gain insights from, they were messages by Bishop Brian Keith titled ‘Sanctified Sexuality’ and dealt with Sex and how God intended for it to be.

By the time I was through watching and listening intently to the messages, I had written 4 pages full of nuggets – it was a thoroughly researched sermon infused with humour.

Bishop Keith talked about connections between a man and a woman, noting that most supposedly divine connections are actually flesh connections masked with a cloak of spirituality.

Then he proceeded to talk about my second favourite love story – the story of Ruth and Boaz in the Bible.

He talked about the connection between Ruth and Boaz being divine and listed several roles that Boaz played in the life of Ruth – this is the crux of this post.

I decided again to study the story of Ruth and I learnt valuable lessons.

So here goes the story and the lessons…

Ruth was a young widow who remained loyal to her Mother In-law Naomi. Naomi lost both her sons and husband in a land they had relocated to in a bid to escape famine. After the death of her husband and sons, Naomi sought to return to her homeland – empty.

She bid her daughters-in-law (Ruth and Orpah) farewell but Ruth chose to stick with Naomi in spite of her protests that she returned to her family and start a new life. Ruth accompanied Naomi back to Bethlehem where she had to do ‘menial’ work to make ends meet.

She went out to pick leftover grains after reapers and happened to stop at a field that belonged to Boaz.

There she met Boaz – a man of high standing.

When Boaz saw her, he didn’t see a poor widowed foreigner but a noble and hardworking woman of excellence who had given herself to service – she worked to cater for her Mother in-law.

Boaz was extraordinarily kind to Ruth and here’s how the Bible records her reaction:

“Then she kneeled face downward, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner?” Boaz answered her, “I have been made fully aware of everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for your kindness, and may your reward be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants.” – Ruth 2:10-13.

Ruth found grace in his eyes.

Boaz protected Ruth by giving instructions to his men not to touch her.

He provided for her asking her to glean in his field and gave her more than enough to take home to Naomi.

Boaz became like a father to Ruth, he instructed not to go to any other field but to work with his maids so she would not be assaulted and asked his servants to purposely pull out stalks from the sheaves for her, leave them where she can find them and not rebuke her.

Boaz appreciated Ruth. He focused on her sterling qualities and confirmed that everyone in their town knew she was a woman of noble character – Ruth 3:11. He also invited to dine with him and drink from his Water Jars.

He was like a Priest to her, he blessed her praying God’s compensation and kindness upon her. He also gave her proper covering and security.

Ruth was a foreigner with a lot of needs and was also a Moabitess – an enemy tribe to Israel but Boaz handled her baggage with care. That is a man worth waiting for.

Ruth acted on Naomi’s instructions and approached Boaz to be her Kinsman-redeemer. She risked having her heart which was already broken by her husband’s death open to more heart break but Boaz did not take advantage of her vulnerability instead he blessed, reassured her and promised to redeem her.

Boaz kept his promise, he upheld her excellence, respected the law and his relatives and paid a price for her.

Ruth stood with her Mother-in-law bonded with her and fended for them both. That is strength.

Ruth didn’t go out of her way to get Boaz. She simply made her intentions known to him, stepped back and waited for him to play his part.

The story of Ruth and Boaz shows also that love isn’t always found once in a lifetime. Ruth lost her first husband but found Boaz again.

Separate yourself from the world, wait purposefully, mind your own business, be intentional in building relationships and continually seek to please God – lessons I learnt from Ruth.