the strength of boaz

Having been raised in a home with an alcoholic father and bumping into the wrong kind of men in my twenties, I had a bit of a suspicion towards men and their strength.  That was until God blessed me with a man who changed my view of Godly strength ... 

I think Boaz did the same for Ruth.  In the culture of her day, I am sure she had her fair share of run ins with men who made sure she “knew her place.” And after relocating to Judah I suspect her Moabite status would have made this even more likely.  I can only imagine the fear she felt meeting the Landowner himself, Boaz, face to face her first day gleaning in his field and later on the threshing floor.

Yet Boaz, rather than affirming her worst nightmare, affirms her - not once but twice - as a woman whose love and loyalty (hesed) towards Naomi and the God of Israel warrants blessing of provision and even protection.  “May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge,” Boaz says to Ruth in 2.12, “reward you fully for what you have done.”

The real strength Boaz shows us is his Godly perspective; a perspective that flexes the muscles of his spiritual sight.  Boaz sees Ruth not just as a woman, Moabite, Widow, or tragic combination of all three. Boaz sees Ruth not as the vulnerable or discarded to be manipulated or forced to do his will … but rather a fellow journey person along a path with God.

That strength of Boaz allows him to become her advocate rather than an adversary or person of indifference; even willing to go so far as to seek out and pursue tangible ways in which God’s best might be made known in Ruth’s life. And what amazing fruit it yields!  Ruth continues to grow as a woman of God, ultimately participating in the full redemption of Naomi and the lineage of Christ.  And the efforts of Boaz to bless her, ultimately brings him lasting recognition and admiration.

I thank God for men like Boaz.  I thank God for my own Boaz who has breathed life into me that I never thought possible.  And I pray emphatically, that the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings these “Boaz Men” have taken refuge by using their strength for the most vulnerable around us, reward them fully for what they have done and may we recipients of their strength participate in making that happen as well.” 

–Ruth 2.12 (reworked)


-Pastor Dawn