Bringing Forth Christ – Part 8 – Boaz and Ruth

The next ancestors of Christ that we will look at are two whose characters shine both individually and collectively as some of the best in the Bible – Boaz and Ruth. Like many life stories though it did not start out happily. It began with a famine which caused Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion to leave their home at Bethlehem and live in Moab. It seems that neither Mahlon nor Chilion ever enjoyed much good health if their names are any indication – Mahlon means sickly, and Chilion means wasting away. The two sons married Moabite woman Ruth and Orpah. Elimelech died and then the two sons leaving only Naomi and the two daughters in law. It says something about Naomi’s character that both of her daughters in law wanted to return to Bethlehem with her, and this even in her time of great disappointment and grief when she by her own confession would rather have been called Mara – bitter, than Naomi – pleasant. Somehow God manages to use His people even in their struggles to draw people to Him. Naomi obviously was struggling with bitterness at this time, but yet in spite of that the light of God still shone through her life, and eventually God turned her situation.
Naomi told Orpah and Ruth the dismal prospects awaiting them in Bethlehem and tried to discourage them from going with her. At this Orpah turned back, but Ruth remained. Ruth was loyal to Naomi with no prospect of any recompense from her for that loyalty. It was a true loyalty born of love. It was here that she made her statement of devotion which irrevocably joined her to Naomi’s people and Naomi’s God.
When they arrived in Bethlehem Ruth immediately began to take responsibility to care for them. Naomi had given her no prospect of a reward for her service, yet God would not let her remain unrewarded. It says that when she went out to glean, she happened to go to a field belonging to Boaz (Ruth 2:3).
Boaz appears to be an ideal landlord in Scripture. He was a very pious man, who was diligent to see the state of his fields. He was also a caring and generous person. Rather than merely giving Ruth and Naomi food, he allowed Ruth to glean, but had his reapers intentionally drop some grain for her, and even to let her take some from among the sheaves. He also allowed her to partake of the meal he had had prepared for his reapers. His heart was very open towards Ruth because he had heard of her loyalty to Naomi and also had heard from his foreman how industrious she was (Ruth 2:7,11).
At Naomi’s instigation Ruth went down to the barley threshing floor and by asking Boaz to spread his mantle over her asked him to play the part of kinsmen redeemer. Even in this her loyalty is seen in that instead of looking for her best prospects she chooses to follow the custom of the kinsman redeemer by which the first born son would be counted heir to her first husband.
One further interesting note on this story is that both Ruth and Boaz were not chosen by default. Orpah started to follow Naomi and turned back, and there was a nearer kinsman who refused to play the part. I think this shows the importance of character. Ultimately character, which is formed in life’s little choices, determines life’s larger choices. Ruth by her loyalty and devotion to Naomi and Naomi’s God, and by her hard work set herself up to unintentionally to be noticed by a man like Boaz. Boaz by his diligent oversight of his business and generous and caring nature was disposed to help her. Thus God brought them together. It is only fitting that He that is faithful and true should have sprung from someone loyal, and that One who longed to gather Jerusalem under His wings would come from a caring and kindhearted person.