Redeemed: When God Writes Your Love Story

The day had finally arrived. All the work and waiting is done. All the obstacles have been overcome, and now we celebrate. This is the day that Boaz and Ruth marry. Redemption has come for Ruth and Naomi and joy has replaced sorry.

The story of Ruth opens with darkness, loss and despair, but even at the lowest point there was a glimmer of hope. Ruth desire to pursue Naomi’s God, the God of Israel, and to serve Naomi brought hope in the midst of loss.

We have learned from Ruth’s story that life is hard and things don’t work out the way we expected. We learn that character and godliness is displayed brightly through suffering. We see that when life seems out of control, God is working in the background for those who are faithful to Him.

Ruth was faithful. She was willing to wait on God and trust Him for all her needs. She was willing to risk everything for a greater hope. And God rewarded her.

Boaz was brought up in Bethlehem. He knew what the social and religious expectations of the day were and he faithfully walked in them. He managed what God had given him and his lands produced bountiful harvests that allowed him to employ many and care for the poor. Yet he had no wife.

He did everything he was supposed to do. He could have allowed his lack of relationship to disrupt his joy and bring anger and bitterness against God, but he didn’t. He faithfully served God and his community. Even as he began to age, he still kept a humble and compassionate attitude.

That’s when he saw her, Ruth the Moabitess. It was love at first sight, but he knew little about her. After observing her character and her faith, he desired her to be his wife. In a very untraditional way, to his joy and excitement, she proposed to him. Only one problem, there was a redeemer closer then him.

Boaz knew his responsibility and duty as a man of God was to confront the relative. He risked his relationship to honor God, and God honored him! The relative refused and allowed Boaz to take Ruth as his wife.

What joy this day brings! When all the questions and uncertainties begin to dissipate in the joy of seeing God’s faithfulness to His children. They celebrated, the loved and they married.

God’s redeeming love brought Boaz and Ruth together and He granted them a son, Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, who had 8 sons, the youngest was a shepherd boy named David. This was King David, the great great grandfather of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Boaz and Ruth could never have imagined that their life circumstances would bring them together and that through their line the Messiah would come. We can never know what our faithfulness to God will bring about. What we do know is that God is working behind the scenes to create a story that is beautiful and for our good.

Our job is to trust God, to be faithful to Him, to honor His commands and wait patiently on Him. That we obey Him in our singleness, in our dating relationships and in our marriages. Don’t think for a minute that if you disobey God before marriage, that you will suddenly obey God in marriage. Every day you are establishing a pattern for your life. Be like Ruth and Boaz, choose faithful obedience, find your satisfaction in God and watch as He begins to work the impossible in your life.

Responsibility, What's That?

Our last episode ended with Boaz’s promise to settle things today. Settle what? Remember Ruth proposed to Boaz and he is excited to marry her, but there is another relative closer to her that has rights to redeem the land. At the very onset of this newly forming relationship is a huge obstacle, but Boaz shows determination and promises to find out right away where they stand.

The custom of the day was that the closest relative could redeem Elimelech’s land, but in redeeming the land would also include marring Ruth. Boaz had observed Ruth’s faithfulness, heard her reputation and has known her character, therefore he is willing to redeem her. However, he had a responsibility to God’s law to make known the opportunity to the relative closer then he.

Responsibility isn’t a popular word these days. The temptation is always to do whatever we want to do without worrying about the consequences. Responsibility recognizes that everything we do carries consequences and acting appropriately in response. An old Christian punk band once wrote, “responsibility, what’s that, responsibility not yet…I’m still young and I want to stay that way…”

My dad and mom raised me to “run” toward responsibility. That a sign of maturity is to be willing to take on responsibility when others wont. As a teenager I got a job as soon as I could. I became a counselor at camp. I was the van driver for my ministry team. And so on. Each decision I made to take on responsibility limited my freedom but trained me to become the man I am today.

Boaz took up the charge to put aside his feelings and desires and to responsibly proceed according to the law.

When he encounters his relative at the city gates, which would be like going to the court room to complete legal transactions today, he sat down with him and presented the offer. He told him, “Elimelech’s land and property is available to be redeemed and you are the closest relative and have first rights.” What was Boaz leaving out? Oh the marriage to Ruth.

Nowhere in the story up to this point has the family’s land been the object of discussion. There is a romance between Ruth and Boaz that has been growing, but Boaz doesn’t open with that. Instead, he brings attention to the land and properties of Elimelech.

The relative, like any other savvy businessman of the day, responded with a desire to redeem the land. It was only then that Boaz revealed that redeeming the land would also require marrying Ruth. The relative responded with “in that case, I cannot redeem the land lest I impair my own inheritance, it is yours.” In front of the town leaders, Boaz was able to get his cousin to pass on the opportunity and promise it to him.

I like to think that Boaz new his cousin’s situation. He knew that being a redeemer was a weighty matter and he hoped that his cousin would be unwilling to follow through with it. There would be a lot of responsibility placed on whoever was the redeemer.

Even in this part of the story we see a beautiful illustration of God’s love for us. A redeemer had to be willing to redeem his people, and God showed His willingness in His Son Jesus Christ. He took on the responsibility of our sins and provided a way for forgiveness and reconciliation.

Boaz’s willingness to redeem Ruth is a picture of Christ’s love for the church. True love is a sacrificial love, a responsible love and a love that takes on responsibilities, even when they are not convenient or fun. That’s why Paul says in Ephesians “husband’s love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

 Boaz kept his promise that very day. He was able to control his own desires and emotions to risk the very thing he wanted by fulfilling his duty to make known the option to his cousin. His obedient faithfulness to God’s law was rewarded when his cousin was unwilling to be the redeemer freeing up Boaz to marry Ruth. When we obey God’s in all circumstances we are positioning ourselves to see His blessings in our lives.

Should a Girl Pursue a Guy or Wait for Him?

“Should a girl pursue a guy if she sees godly qualities? Or should she wait for a guy to pursue her?”

This is a great question and it was submitted to our “Anonymous Question Box” that I put out every dating series. While the traditional codes of chivalry would seem to dictate that a woman should wait for a man to pursue her, we have an example in Scriptures of a virtuous woman pursuing a godly man. Let’s look at Ruth 3 as we consider the answer to the question above.

The chapter opens with Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, scheming of a way to get Boaz to notice the bigger picture. We have seen in chapter 2 that Boaz has noticed Ruth and found her to be a woman of character and he respected her a lot. They seem to even have had a date night and he continued to provide and protect Ruth. But then Boaz drops the ball, nothing happens.

We are not immediately told why Boaz didn’t do anything to further the relationship, but Ruth, with Naomi’s advice, sees fit to bring the issue directly to Boaz. So Naomi tells Ruth to get cleaned up, put some perfume on and change her clothes from that of a mourner to clothes that shows the time of mourning are over. Remember, that in chapter 1 we see that Ruth’s first husband has died.

Here is the plan, Ruth is to go to the threshing floor of Boaz at night, right after Boaz lies down to sleep, and uncover his feet and lay at his feet. Naomi told Ruth that Boaz would tell her what to do next.

What?! Right?! How many of you would think this was a good idea? Haha yeah, talk about creepy.

There doesn’t seem to be any cultural equivalent to this. Ruth was probably thinking,” can’t I just Snapchat him?” Back in Moab they would have just “swiped right” and everything would be cool. But she wasn’t in Moab anymore.

Ruth told Naomi that she would do whatever she was told to do. Think about it, Ruth was willing to risk an awful lot in this scenario. What kind of things do you think she was risking?

Security, provisions, reputation, honor, friendship, to name a few. Boaz had made provisions for her to glean in his fields, if he rejected her, would he take that provision away. She had already lost a husband and moved to a foreign land, could she bare another insult if rejected. What would the towns people say? So many other thoughts could’ve prevented her from risking it, but she did.

The night finally came and Boaz was in a good mood as he lay down on the threshing floor to protect his harvest. Ruth crept in, uncovered his feet and lay down at his feet. We are not told what startled Boaz, I think it was cold feet, but he awoke and found Ruth at his feet.

I can’t imagine Ruth would have been comfortable enough to fall asleep, probably laying their anxiously thinking about the worst possible outcomes of this ridiculous endeavor. So she was ready when he asked, “Who are you?” She replied, “your servant Ruth. Spread your wings over your servant for you are a redeemer!”

Let me interpret, “I am Ruth, will you marry me and fulfill the duty of the kinsman redeemer?”

No holding back, no veiled innuendo, just straight talk. Now a Kinsman Redeemer comes from the Law in Deuteronomy 25 and Leviticus 25. When a family loses their land or a widow loses her husband, the nearest relative could redeem them. It’s more then just a marriage, it is inheriting all that was Elimelech’s responsibilities.

If Boaz would accept this proposal, he would gain all of Elimelech’s land, property, gain Ruth as a wife and agree to care for Naomi. Only a relative could be the kinsman redeemer.

Boaz is humbled and honored by her gesture and blesses Ruth. We learn a lot about Boaz in the next couple of phrases. “You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether rich or poor.”

The first kindness was when Ruth left Moab and vowed to commit to leave and cleave to Naomi. Here Boaz is recognizing another sacrifice Ruth was making, that instead of just marrying anyone, she was willing to seek a kinsman redeemer that would not only secure her but also Naomi. Ruth’s options were greatly reduced when she agreed to it.

Boaz basically is saying that he didn’t think Ruth would have even considered him. She could have had a younger man, a rich man or anyone. His own insecurities prevented him from pursuing Ruth.

In the dating world, our insecurities can really damage the success of our relationships. It is so important that we develop a healthy understanding of who we are in Christ that will give us confidence to be ourselves. God has specially made you and has a plan for you, never doubt His love for you and the provisions He has in store. Especially learn to take your sins to the cross and allow the power of forgiveness to heal you. Your past mistakes don’t have to define your future.

Boaz promises to do as she asks, but reveals to Ruth that there is another redeemer, a closer relative. Now it get’s really scary! Ruth has met Boaz, seen what kind of man he is and is attracted to him. However, she has asked to be redeemed and the closest relative can now claim that right. She doesn’t know this other man.

Boaz concludes the chapter by giving Ruth a gift of 6 measures of barley, a sign to Ruth and Naomi that Boaz intends to fulfill this duty. He promises that very next morning to find out what the other relative thinks on this.

We learn a lot from Ruth and Boaz in this story. The importance of preparation and getting ready to meet someone, being vulnerable and willing to risk a lot for something we want, dealing with insecurities and being intention in our pursuits.

We also learn, that even godly established men have insecurities and may be oblivious to the potential romance in front of them. Ruth could have waited on Boaz and he may never have pursued her, or even realized that she was interested in him. He was older and had a lot or responsibilities.

So can a woman pursue a guy? Yes, I believe Ruth demonstrates that a godly woman can indeed pursue a guy. But she has to be willing to risk. He may be oblivious, or insecure and therefore needs someone to make her feelings obvious. However, he may not be interested and that is why he hasn’t pursued.

That is why working through insecurities are so important. If take the risk, you might be rejected, but that doesn’t mean God rejects you. Learn from Ruth, have a godly mentor and wait patiently on God. With any risk comes the possibility of being disappointed, but there is also the possibility of gain. The choice is up to you.

As a disclaimer, I think that young men need to step up to the plate and pursue the girl. It can be scary, rejection isn't easy, but it is important for boys to learn to be men and be godly leaders. Even though Ruth made the proposal, once Boaz realized what was going on, he began the steps to pursue her. 

Ladies, if you are pursuing a guy and he never pursues you back, it's time to move on. You deserve to be with a guy who will pursue you and love you the way Christ loves the Church. Christ sacrificed for the Church, He pursed the Church and He demonstrated His love for the Church. Wait on God to find a man who will love you the way Christ does.