Ruth: Go Find Your Boaz—Ruth Chapter 2
Typically, when churches have turned to the scripture of Ruth 2 and discussed the beginnings of the relationship between Ruth and Boaz, it has been discussed in the context of relationship advice. I can remember growing up and the Youth Pastor cringeworthily telling the girls in the class to “go find your Boaz.” Now, in my current ministry context, this might be a bit of a wasted sermon opportunity if I approach it that way.
The church congregation here is generally a bit beyond the years of youthful romance, and for the most part either in committed relationships or decidedly single. In fact, I can hear it now, “I’ve been single for 36 years—why am I about to sit through a sermon on dating advice?” So, perhaps it’s not the relationship advice we should look at in Ruth. Instead we look to the person of Boaz himself. A person ought to be judged by the content of his or her character; therefore, we must look today at the level of character Boaz had. Then, perhaps, we can all listen to the advice, “Go find your Boaz.”
If we look at the beginning of this scripture, we see that Boaz had no reason or need to engage with Ruth given his wealth and power, but he did so anyway. We read in Ruth 2 that he was a wealthy and influential man. He had what appears in context to be a significant amount of land, workers, and would have been considered a fairly prominent man in town. Ruth by contrast was poor. She was out to gather grain that had fallen off when the workers were harvesting, so she and Naomi could have a little food. Essentially, she was begging. It wasn’t the kind we see on the street corner; however, it was gathering scraps and remnants left behind, nonetheless. She was also a Moabite, and as we mentioned last week, the Jewish people and Moabite people were not friends.
And yet, we see Boaz stoop down from his lofty position to speak to Ruth, to offer her food and shelter, to make sure she gathered as much as she needed to feed her and Naomi. True, that he and Naomi were loosely related by marriage, but that didn’t require him to go out of his way to be nice to Ruth. We see the same example in Jesus, who came down from his lofty place to Earth here with us. Jesus did not come as King and Lord, instead, he spent his time here teaching fishermen, healing lepers, visiting with the Samaritan woman, and caring for the outcast and the stranger. The lesson for us is that Boaz checked his pride and his status in order to care for Ruth, who was far beneath him in society and in economic status.
Next, we see that Boaz gave Ruth food, shelter, and extra grain to harvest, and he expected nothing in return. Boaz tells the workers, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some of the heads of barley…and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time.” Not only did Boaz allow Ruth to gather the food needed, he made sure she had an abundance from his own fields. He did this because he knew her heart. Verses 11 and 12 tell us that Boaz tells Ruth he has heard of her sacrifice and care for Naomi.
Jesus tells us in Luke 6: 33-34, “And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get any credit? And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.” We live in a world consumed by this idea of “what’s in it for me?” We hear it from all around us people saying, “What about me, what about what I want, I, I, I…” and so on. I worry sometimes we won’t be able to find anyone in the world who is a Boaz because we have become so self-focused that we have forgotten about empathy, kindness, and love. We’ve forgotten that phrase in Ephesians4:32, “Be ye kind one to another.” It does NOT tell us be ye kind so long as you get something good out of it.
We should not live our life where we struggle to remember the last time we thought of others before we demanded what we wanted. Likewise, every good thing we do should not be plastered on Facebook, twitter, or Instagram as if it were some kind of “good deed porn” for all to view. Jesus lived and died, loved and saved not because we could pay back the debt or work off what we owed, but because he loves us. Oh, how he loves us.
Lastly, Boaz realized in Ruth that every person is vulnerable in some way and needs someone in their life who truly cares. In verse 22 Naomi tells Ruth to stay with Boaz during the entire harvest because she “might be harassed in other fields, but…will be safe with him.” We are not told what level of harassment could befall Ruth in other fields, but from the strength of Naomi’s warning, we are left to imagine that it would be very bad.
It was startling to me to hear from female friends that, before they go on first dates, they have a check-in time with a friend, let them know what type of car the date drives, what restaurant, what he looks like, and so on, just in case they end up in danger from a predatory man. It’s not a new warning. Naomi told Ruth to stay with Boaz because he was safe and would not let the young men harass her.
Ultimately, even though we’re not going on first dates, we crave a feeling of safety and security from the people around us. That’s one of the reasons we trust Jesus; we know we are safe with our trust in him. Jesus tells us Matthew 11: 28-29, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Jesus goes on to say, “I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” One of the greatest aspects of Boaz was the fact that Ruth was safe with him.
We must also be the kind of people who make our presence safe for others. We should not be piling burdens on people to make them weary and from the old wording, “laden down with care.” Such people are the equivalent of spiritual vampires, sucking the life and spirit right out of others. Instead, we should be like Boaz who provided food, shelter, and safety to Ruth. We should be like Jesus who lives up to the words of being humble and gentle at heart, and in whom our souls and spirits find rest.
In his “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about people being judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Boaz’s character is above reproach. He is a model of what is good, of how to show love, and redemption, and welcome. There are other models for us: Jesus, maybe a father or mother, mentors, pastors, or teachers we look up to. What they have in common is one defining characteristic—that second commandment—love your neighbor as yourself.
And so we learn from Boaz that we must reach out to those who are often times socially or economically beneath us even when it’s humbling or a struggle for us. We must give to others in need without expecting a return or reward for our good actions. Lastly we must remember that every person needs love and care, and we offer a presence of trust and love where faith and hope can grow. So, what is your character? There we find the measure of one’s faith.
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