Ruth & Boaz

 from Bethlehem, the family was forced to leave their homeland because of a terrible famine. But more tragedy soon followed, leaving a woman named Naomi, and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, as widows.

It’s hard for us living in the 21st century to comprehend the hopeless situation in which the women found themselves. They were cast out of their clan, and thus cut off from its protection, provision, and community. In the ancient Near East, options for such women were few. 

Naomi decided to return to Israel after the famine was over. She was a survivor, but she returned with nothing. Ruth loved Naomi and decided to go along, leaving Moab behind and putting her fate in the hands of the Israelites. It’s important to note that the Moabites were perpetual enemies of the Israelites.

In Bethlehem, Ruth was an outcast, focused solely on survival. She spent her days in harvested barley fields, looking for leftovers to feed her and Naomi. One day, she met Boaz, the owner of a field, who showed her kindness and compassion. Over time, Boaz learned about Ruth’s humble situation and offered her food and safety in his fields. In the midst of struggle, a love affair developed.

To make a long story shorter, it turns out that Boaz was a relative of Ruth’s deceased husband, and according to Jewish law, he had the right to step-in and take care of the foreign widow. Boaz made a commitment in front of Bethlehem’s town leaders that he would act as Ruth’s “kinsman redeemer” and marry her. 

Boaz and Ruth were married and soon had a son named Obed. Misfortune had turned to joy. But this story goes much deeper than the love shared between two people. In the midst of struggle, God was orchestrating an amazing plan that generations later would affect all of humanity. 

Remarkably, Obed went on to be the grandfather of King David, who was a direct ancestor of Jesus Christ. That means Ruth, a foreigner, was the great-grandmother of Israel’s heroic king. Incredibly, after God used Israel to redeem Ruth, she joined in the mission to redeem others. Her marriage to Boaz demonstrated that a foreigner could be completely assimilated into God’s family and become his instrument for redeeming the world.

Over 1,000 years later, Ruth and Boaz appeared in the genealogical line of Jesus at the beginning of the New Testament. Jesus Christ descended from David’s family in both blood through His mother, Mary, and legal kinship through His father, Joseph. This ancestry gave Jesus legitimacy as Israel’s Messiah, while Ruth’s role made it clear that the Messiah would redeem all of humanity, not just the Jewish people. 

In the end, Boaz was a model for Christ when he became the “kinsman-redeemer” for Ruth. As a demonstration of Agape Love, Boaz brought Ruth into the family of God’s people by paying the price for her redemption, just as Jesus Christ paid the price for us on the cross. The New Testament tells us that Jesus redeemed us — purchased us – with the price of his shed blood in order that we might become part of the eternal family of God.