“There are no accidents” said Master Oogway
Before we start let us talk about Boaz. One commentary said that Boaz was probably a judge from Bethlehem. Indicators for this could be that he owned land, he had lots of servants and he was a respected leader. This story is not about wealth though, I think it is more to do with faith in God and duty to God and his close relatives.
Before we begin let us read Ruth chapter 2 first and then we can go into the text and start to interrogate it reverentially
1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favour.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
Here we learn definitely who Boaz was; He was a kinsman of Naomi’s husband from Jerusalem and he was wealthy. In verse 2 we have the opposite; Naomi and Ruth who have nothing and destitute. Ruth would have known this, and she would have also known that Boaz’ field was the safest due to Naomi being a close relative. Ruth shows complete obedience to Naomi her mother in law when she asked permission to go and glean so that they could have a meal. Naomi gives her blessing for this enterprise, so she went to glean.
We need to be careful when we read this story not to read into it the American dream. It has nothing to do with the American dream and all to do with God’s love for those who are his.
3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the LORD be with you.” And they said to him, “May the LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus, she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”
Verse 3
Ruth did not know Boaz when she was gleaning at first. It says she “happened to come” by chance on Boaz’ field. This was part of the divine plan. In the divine plan there are no accidents such as these.
Verse 4-5
Boaz was not a selfish man and he was a God fearer. We know this because he is fulfilling God’s law by allowing the poor and needy on to his property to glean and have some food as it says in the Torah
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. Deuteronomy 24:19
All three are represented in Ruth. Naomi was a widow and Ruth’s mother in law. Ruth can be considered an orphan because she gave up her parents to follow the God of Israel and she was a foreigner. Boaz acted on this commandment. He was a righteous man and everything about him was righteous. He had pure motives.
Verse 5-7
Boaz wants inside knowledge of the people in his field. He finds out that Ruth was gleaning and was the daughter in law of Naomi a close kinsman of Elimelech her dead husband. He found out that not only did Ruth Glean but she gleaned for the whole day and was weary and tired. Ruth was a hard worker who also had good manners. She didn’t just come onto his property, but she asked the helpers if she could. This is a beautiful romantic divine love story that shows God’s caring hand in it.
Boaz and Ruth! Ancestors of King David. We are now into the second chapter and already God is doing something wonderful. God knows who are his own. Although Ruth is a Moabitess, she has an eternal destiny and as long as this story is told of her she will always be remembered.
Boaz and Ruth are not only important for the Jewish faith but also for the Christian faith.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Matthew 1:5
32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, Luke 3:32
Matthew mentions the women as well who were in the genealogy whereas Luke only mentions the sons.
We started with Kung Fu Panda and the quote that there are no accidents. We can believe that in this story of love it was no accident. We can go further and say that if we love and trust God our lives are destined to go on that exciting journey to be with the Lord Jesus for eternity.
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