Ruth: romance and redemption

In Israel, the barley harvest began in the spring. The community in Bethlehem observed God’s law concerning harvesting: "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.... Leave them for the poor and the alien" (Leviticus 19:9-10).

Ruth was both poor and an alien. She had few prospects in Judah, as Naomi had warned her. However, she was able to provide for Naomi and herself by working hard gleaning the grain left by the harvesters (Ruth 2:2).

There is an almost idyllic quality to the Bethlehemite community described in Ruth, which — especially when one considers it existed during the turbulent period of the judges — testifies powerfully to the difference a few people living God’s way can make. Bethlehem would later become famous, first as the "town of David" and later as the birthplace of the Messiah (Luke 2:4-7).

"As it turned out, [Ruth] found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech" (Ruth 2:3). Boaz was a "man of standing [Hebrew: ’ish gibbor chail, implying Boaz was physically impressive and had noble character]" (verse 1).

Boaz asked his foreman who the stranger gleaning in the field was. The foreman replied that she was the young woman who had accompanied Naomi back from Moab. Boaz then told Ruth to continue gleaning in his field, and helped her far beyond the demands of the law. He even ordered his harvesters to make Ruth especially welcome, enabling her to gather extra barley.

Ruth then asked Boaz, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me — a foreigner?" (verse 10). Ruth’s expression about finding favor in Boaz’s eyes, used by her on three occasions (verses 2, 10, 13), was a culturally appropriate way of showing respect. Ruth thus displayed the type of attitude the apostle Paul later taught Christians to have, when he said, "In humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3).

Boaz, in turn, was impressed by Ruth’s reputation: "I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband — how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done" (Ruth 2:11). A good reputation, founded on God-centered character, is of great value (Proverbs 22:1; Ecclesiastes 7:1).

At the end of the day, Ruth returned home to Naomi with an exceptionally generous amount of grain. Naomi immediately realized someone had taken special care of Ruth, and upon hearing that it was Boaz, she exclaimed, "The Lord bless him!" and "He [the reader is made to ask to whom Naomi is referring — Boaz or Yahweh] has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead" (Ruth 2:20). Naomi’s bitterness toward God had begun to lessen. She now gladly encouraged Ruth to continue to glean in Boaz’s field.

Ruth continued to glean in Boaz’s field for about seven weeks, until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, around the time of Pentecost. Naomi had earlier hoped that Ruth would find "rest" (Hebrew: minuchah) in the home of another husband in Moab (Ruth 1:9). Now Naomi said to Ruth, "Should I not try to find a home [Hebrew: manoach, which, like the related word minuchah, means "a condition of rest and security attained by marriage"] for you, where you will be well provided for?" (Ruth 3:1). Naomi’s hopes for Ruth now centered upon Boaz, who might act as a "kinsman-redeemer" (verses 1-9).

A kinsman-redeemer was a relative who could redeem a poor person’s inheritance (Leviticus 25:25). In certain circumstances, where there was no heir, a near relative could act as kinsman-redeemer by marrying the relative’s widow to redeem the inheritance. A relative was not obligated to act as kinsman-redeemer, however. If no relative chose to help, the widow would probably live in poverty.

Naomi therefore suggested to her daughter-in-law a plan of action: "Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let [Boaz] know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do" (Ruth 3:3-4).

Ruth did as Naomi told her. Something startled Boaz in the middle of the night, and he awoke to discover a woman lying at his feet. Boaz asked who she was. Ruth identified herself and then seized the initiative: "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer" (verse 9). Ruth was boldly asking Boaz for a pledge from him to marry her. This same expression is used for God’s relationship with Israel: "I spread the corner of my garment over you" (Ezekiel 16:8). Ruth’s action was in accord with the law of levirate marriage, which required the initiative of the widow in seeking the marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5, 7-10).

Boaz felt honored by Ruth’s request because she was "a woman of noble character [Hebrew: ’esheth chail, the term applied to the ‘Proverbs 31 woman’]" (Ruth 3:11). Boaz informed her, however, that Naomi had a closer relative. This man had the first option to marry Ruth and redeem Naomi’s inheritance. Boaz assured Ruth that if this other relative was not prepared to act as kinsman-redeemer, then he certainly would be. Ruth would now have to wait until the matter was settled with the other relative.

Ruth, Boaz and Christ

To appreciate how Boaz foreshadowed Christ, we must first understand the significance of an ancient Israelite law concerning the kinsman- redeemer (Hebrew: go’el). This legal statute helped ensure that inherited land remained within the family. It stated, "If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem [Hebrew: ga’al, the same root as go’el] what his countryman has sold" (Leviticus 25:25).

Both words, go’el and ga’al, occur frequently in chapters 2 and 3 of Ruth. Since Boaz was a kinsman (go’el) of Naomi, he was eventually able to redeem (ga’al) her land through marriage to Naomi’s daughter-in-law Ruth.

Presumably, Naomi and her husband had previously sold the land before they moved to Moab.

The concern Boaz displayed as kinsman-redeemer to the widow reflects an aspect of God’s own character. "Yahweh is the go’el of the fatherless and widow and pleads their cause" (Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 2, p. 353; see also Proverbs 23:10-11 and Jeremiah 50:34).

In the New Testament, we see the ultimate kinsman-redeemer in Jesus Christ, who redeemed us from sin by shedding his blood (1 Peter 1:18-19). In many respects, Boaz typifies Christ. Donald A. Leggett writes, "In the actions of Boaz as goel we see foreshadowed the saving work of Jesus Christ, his later descendant."

Dr. Leggett goes on to explain: "As Boaz had the right of redemption and yet clearly was under no obligation to intervene on Ruth’s behalf, so it is with Christ. As Boaz, seeing the plight of the poor widows, came to their rescue because his life was governed by Yahweh and his laws, so also of the Messiah it is prophesied that his life would be governed by the law of God and that he would deal justly and equitably with the poor and with those who were oppressed (Ps. 72:2, 4, 12, 13; Isa. 11:4)" (The Levirate and Goel Institutions in the Old Testament With Special Attention to the Book of Ruth, Mack Publishing Company, 1974, p. 298).