Boaz: A Protector’s Tale.
Imagine waking up after a wild night out on the town celebrating the conclusion of a very satisfying deal, and there’s someone in your bed. From the initial adrenaline surge that will escort the terror in your heart, to the utter confusion that follows, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that wedding bells would be the last thing on your mind at that point. Right?
Well, we’ll be talking about someone who experienced something really similar and then went ahead to marry the nutcase involved, because who even goes to lie down in another person’s bed in the dead of the night sef? But let’s take it from the top and tell this story from the beginning, because it’s one of those ones. You know what I mean, the tales we think we know until they’re presented to us again.
Right off the bat, welcome, and thank you for coming back. The love of the Word compels us, even when we admit weakness in our flesh. Life has generally had more downs than ups recently, but if you grew up in church then you know that when men say there is a casting down… you know the rest.
Today, I’d like to introduce us to someone I personally find very intriguing. He’s not mentioned a lot in the Bible, and his story is pretty wrapped up in his relative’s, but he has always fascinated me, and I’ll try to explain why. This man’s name Boaz, and his entire story is described in the book of Ruth, chapters 2-4. Pretty short ba? Well we’ll see. Let me give you a bit of a backstory before we meet Boaz.
There was once an Isrealite named Elimelech (Ruth 1:2). Elimelech was a married man with a wife and 2 sons. At the point where they lived in Isreal, there was no food. Which is wild considering that these were the same people that God had fed morning and night for 40 years in the wilderness a few generations ago, but we’ll get into that ignorance later. So Elimelech decided to move his babe and their kids before hunger cut their hair in Israel. They moved to Moab, one of their neighbouring countries, and were managing themselves like Nigerians are currently managing themselves in this economy. After moving, his sons got married and all looked like it was moving in a straight line but unfortunately, it’s like Elimelech’s village people were wide awake and active because in one decade he and his sons were dead, leaving his wife, Naomi, and his daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth (Ruth 1:3-6). So when Naomi heard the gist that her people now had food, she decided to pack her load and go home. To the matter at hand, the summary is that Naomi went back to Israel with Ruth, but Orpah went back to Moab, her own home (the fact that this is so loaded, but if we start it we won’t leave here, so all in it’s own time). Back with her own people, Naomi was depressed, which isn’t at all surprising considering the circumstances of her return, but to keep body and soul together Ruth decided to go out and hustle (Ruth 2:2-3). Luckily for her (it was purely by divine Providence, luck had absolutely nothing to do with it), the spot she chose to start her hustle of gathering grain happened to belong to none other than Boaz, her mother-in-law’s relative. Now, this is where the main thing starts.
As a big boy, Boaz had workers in his farm, labourers that harvested for him and he didn’t even need to be there everyday so they knew what they were doing. So one fine day, Boaz showed up, presumably to check in and see how far (Ruth 2:4). It’s a testament to how in touch Boaz was with his business that he immediately noticed the stranger in the midst of his labourers, and asked who she was (Ruth 2:5-7). Then again, he could have just seen a fine girl and favored her. Regardless of why, he was kind to her, and gave her access to not only his field to gather grain but also his water (Vs 9), food (vs 14) and protection (Vs 9). Now, this man had never met her before, he had no reason to even bother himself, considering the fact that she was a foreigner, a moabitess at that. He relationship with Naomi could easily have counted for nothing since he wasn’t responsible for either of them. He admitted to having heard about her through the grapevine (olden days BBC update), so maybe that was why (Ruth 2: 10-12). But no matter what he had heard, he chose to be kind towards her. Hold on to that nugget. She went home after work and downloaded the whole thing to Naomi who was understandably grateful for Boaz’s generosity.
Throughout the harvest, Ruth doubled her hustle among Boaz’s harvesters. She worked hard and lived with Naomi (Ruth 2:15-23), and she remained under his protection. Imagine that for a second, the freedom to come and go as a foreigner among strangers without worry or fear. Simply because 1 person had offered you his protection. What a relief it would have been for this young woman.
When the harvest was drawing to a close, Naomi started thinking about how to secure Ruth’s future and she came up with a very unconventional idea to bag her a man, a man who had proven himself to be good. She called baby girl and told her to arrange herself properly (their version of packaging, dear), and go and wait for Boaz. Ruth, dutiful as ever, didn’t even ask any questions (can never be me sha, but okay). She just agreed and went to obey her mother-in-law’s instruction. Boaz, on the other hand, had no idea that he was about to buy market that he did not price (Ruth 3:1-5) . He was just having good time, flexing the end of a successful harvest and drinking to his heart’s content. When he was fully satisfied, the Bible says his heart was merry, he went to look for where to rest. Then Ruth snuck in, shifted his blanket, and lay down at his feet (Vs. 7). The significance of this position is funny because only servants sat or lay at their masters’ feet in those days. So she was presenting herself to him as a servant, wholly in his power and utterly vulnerable, subject to his any and every desire. While the 21st century independent woman in me bristles at this, I marvel at the complete trust Ruth must have had in Naomi’s love for her and her ability to make the right decisions on her behalf. Because when Boaz woke at midnight and found her there, she was without any form of protection, and if he wasn’t the man of integrity that he was and had taken advantage of her, she would have been surrounded by strangers and I can already hear them asking what she was doing there, why she was dressed that way, and all the other judgemental forms of victim-shaming that are still in play today.
But anyways, Boaz protected her again, letting her sleep, waking her so she could leave before dawn to prevent the early bird busybodies from using her to do Breaking News, and he gave her food from his harvest to take home (Vs 8-13). What a man! He had her completely in his grip, but he feared God so thoroughly that he swore by God to do right by her (Vs. 13). So now let’s do a quick recap of the character traits Boaz has shown since we met him; Kindness, Integrity, Protection and Generosity. Ladies, I hope you’re jotting things down.
The next day, after sending Ruth off, Boaz immediately set about settling the business. A focused king, indeed. He went to the city gate to wait for his relative, another man that had closer ties to Elimelech and his inheritance. Normally, when a man died in those days, his nearest male relative would inherit everything he had if he had no son, including the women in his house, and any children they had wouldstill bear the dead man’s name so that his lineage would not just disappear like that. So Boaz wanted to know if this man was interested. If not, he needed him out of the way so that he could proceed with Ruth. When the man came, Boaz gathered witnesses and brought up the topic, but like a man, he didn’t go straight to the main issue and was busy beating about the bush, talking about land like he didn’tknow what he was chasing (Ruth 4:1-4). The relative, thinking it was just a business opportunity, said he was interested, only to be hearing that if he bought the land, he’ll inherit a wife from nowhere. That one quickly declined, to avoid jeopardising his own inheritance, and gave his right to inherit to Boaz (Ruth 4:5-6). As a sharp guy, Boaz sealed the deal in the presence of the witnesses, and that was how he got a new wife, free of charge. She even came with property sef. Talk about a sound business decision. But regardless of what he gained in marrying someone who had already demonstrated loyalty and obedience, I’d like to focus on his intentionality in making sure he kept his word to her, and honoured his vow to God.
There’s so much to learn from Boaz, and although he seems like he was just living life until he got set up and found himself with a wife, it’s more than that. All the traits he demonstrated in these 3 chapters were built over the period of his life. He didn’t magically become kind when he met Ruth, his generosity wasn’t a product of infatuation with her, and we can see this clearly in his throwing a feast for his labourers. His intentionality, willingness to protect and provide, and his integrity weren’t just spontaneous acts, they had to have been developed and refined over time. For Boaz, it was not about wanting a wife, nothing even points to the fact that he did. It was more about his preparedness to be a husband. He protected her physically during the harvest, protected her financially by providing for her and Naomi, he even protected her reputation during their scheme (which some could call hare-brained). Boaz wasn’t just a man, or Naomi would not have had to be so ingenious in her planning. Men were everywhere, but she knew the difference. He was a good man.
I know Someone else who is good, who has been good from the very beginning, providing and protecting, generous and so kind, intentional above all else about us. Someone who sacrificed His Holiness to wait at the gate and redeem us from our lawful inheritance of sin, death, hell and the grave. Someone who takes us as His own, His Bride, and chooses us every day with the same mercy and love as when He first made us. As strangers, he spread his garment of protection over us. As His own, He is patient, He is kind, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-6). He is Love personalised, sent be a restorer of life like Obed was sent to bring joy and life to Naomi (Ruth 4:15). We both know Who I’m talking about, but if you don’t, I’d love to introduce you to the Lover of my soul. His name is Jesus, and guess what? He loves you too. Why? Because He made you, He saved you, and He’s so ready to walk with you every day for the rest of your days. And what’s even wilder? He’s gonna be there to give you a hug when you’re done with earth, and you’ll get to spend forever with Him. Sounds crazy, right? But I promise you it’s true. Oh, it’s so true. And every time I think about it, my heart is merry, so I understand Boaz a little more (lol).
“…and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee,” Isaiah 62:5(b) says, and I don’t know about you, but the One who made the entire world and all in it rejoicing over me sounds like a pretty good deal. A pretty good deal indeed. And because I know His character, I know He’s able to exceed your every expectation. So why not give Him a chance today?
Besides, what do you have to lose?
Calvary Greetings from my heart to yours,
Gabrielle…
