He Did What Now? February, Family Redeemers, and... Feet?

February - a month of love, over-priced chocolate, and pink hearts. February comes with a mix of emotions for every type of person. It might bring stress to those who are dating or married to plan the perfect date or Valentine’s excursion. It might bring a striking sense of loneliness to those who are single or who have lost a loved one. It especially brings joy to the cheapskate who likes to buy chocolate for 75% off on February 15th. 

All these emotions bubble up because February is the month of love. Love is plastered over every marketable avenue one can imagine in the form of stuffed animals, red & pink decor, Hallmark cards, and (you guessed it) ridiculously priced chocolate.

This begs the question - is that all love is? Just sweets, dates, and gifts? I’m inclined to think, rather hope, that it’s not. That type of love is a puddle… I’m talking about a well. Where can a deeper love be found?

The pages of a Bible.

The Bible reveals many stories of relationships, partners, and love through the Old and New Testament. This month, we’re going to explore a love story that explores love, loyalty, patience, and divine intentions. 

Ruth & Boaz

When I think “Biblical romance,” the first couple I think of is Ruth and Boaz. This is probably due to the fact that every time a friend or family member gets a new boyfriend/girlfriend, gets engaged, or gets married, there’s always that one person wistfully saying, “Wait for your Boaz!” While this sentiment used to bug me, I’ve found that just waiting for my Boaz is SO much better than the alternative - settling for Broke-az, Lame-az, Smart-az, Crazy-az, or Dumb-az.

The story of Ruth and Boaz is filled with a divine sense of loyalty and patience, romantically and non-romantically. To set the scene, a Moabite woman Ruth and her Hebrew mother-in-law Naomi are grieving the loss of each of their husbands. Naomi begs Ruth to “go back to her mother’s home,” because there is nothing Naomi can offer her widowed daughter-in-law - not a new husband, not children, nothing. Ruth, however, refuses to leave Naomi saying,

UGH! MY HEART! Talk about a VOW! There are a few things that strike me about this verse. (1) True love doesn’t have to be romantic. (2) Love inspires action - Ruth loved Naomi so deeply, that it inspired her to follow Naomi wherever she went, even down to where they would one day be buried. (3) Vows are precious and sacred to the Lord, whether they are for marriage or not; Ruth asks that the Lord “punish me, and do so severely” should she break her vow to her mother-in-law. Not only is this because she loves Naomi, but because she respects the Lord and knows that upholding a vow is to honor Him.

Ruth sticks with Naomi, and Naomi leads her out of Moab and back to her own homeplace, Judah. Ruth knows she and Naomi have to live somehow, so she asks Naomi if she can gather grain in the field “behind someone with whom she’s found favor.” Already, you see what kind of hard-working woman she is, but I can promise you that she will exceed your expectations. Usually, harvesters would go out into the fields as groups and gather as much grain as they could. Ruth, however, wasn’t a part of this initial group of harvesters… She, as a widowed woman out of work, was gleaning the grain. What in the world is gleaning? Gleaning is the process of gathering the leftover grain. Usually, this would be the grain that had either fallen to the ground or grain that was left on the edge of the field unharvested (i.e. the worst of the crop). To really put this into perspective, here’s a picture of how small the grain that Ruth is gleaning is…

Ruth is out here WERKING. Ruth goes out to glean, and wouldn’t you know it, she winds up in Boaz’s fields. (Literally the verse reads “She happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz,” I see you, God.) Boaz decides to check in on his workers and his fields, blessing His harvesters with a “Lord be with you.” (A+ employer right here.) As he’s checking everything out, a particular young woman catches his eye… Any guesses here? Boaz nudges the servant in charge of the harvesters, “Brother, whose is she?” You know, because a righteous man will make sure you’re single before approaching you.

The servant tells Boaz that Ruth asked to follow behind the harvesters, gleaning all the dropped or unharvested grain. “In fact, she came with Naomi, and she’s been out here since the early sunrise, besides a small break. She’s worked like a d-a-w-g.” Boaz, being the kind and considerate boss that he is, went to Ruth and told her not to gather grain in any other field and not to leave his fields. He tells her to stay with his female servants…. Because he’s ordered his male servants not to touch her (Author’s note: Every time I read this, I kick my feet and giggle and squeal because… well because I’m a hopeless romantic - now back to R&B!) Outside of just allowing her to work in his field, Boaz also offers her water and rest, telling her to drink water from the jars his servants will provide.

Let’s pause, for just a moment. There are a few things I want to note here. Ruth is in a waiting season, which is something we’re all going through or will go through. If you’re waiting, technically that makes you a waiter… and what do waiters do? They SERVE. Just because Ruth was in a season of uncertainty, of waiting, of grief, of singleness, of working in not so glamorous conditions, it didn’t mean that she stopped serving. Flipping over to our man Boaz, take notice of his qualities. He blesses his workers and allows his faith to shape his work. He’s observant, understanding his environment, the people in it, and their needs. He’s a bold provider - he didn’t have to provide work for or watch out for Ruth, but he did with intention and boldness. Do you know what these traits have in common? You can find them all in a MOG, a man of God.

Back to our favorite couple, Ruth is so shocked that she falls face down at Boaz’s feet. She doesn’t understand why Boaz would take notice of her - a foreign, childless widow who lives with her mother-in-law. Boaz replies that he knows that Ruth has done everything and more for her MIL - how she left everything she knew and vowed to follow Naomi. He blesses her, saying,

At mealtime, Boaz takes care of her yet again, offering her food. After Ruth is finished eating, Boaz privately tells his male servants to leave some of the grain stalks unharvested, so that Ruth may glean them without humiliation. Just when you think Boaz can’t get any better, he does. This move allowed Ruth to keep her independence, and Boaz to provide for her at the same time, all while sparing her from unnecessary humiliation/shame. Boaz really has his eyes on her!

His male servants did just this. Ruth gathered late into the evening, and at the end of the night, she was able to bring back 26 quarts of barley for her mother-in-law Naomi. Not only that, but she brought Naomi the leftovers from her meal with Boaz. With Ruth’s arms heavy-laden with grain and leftovers, Naomi is in awe: “Who was the man you worked for today? God bless him!” Ruth replies,  “You know, that guy down the street… Boaz.” Naomi responds by blessing Boaz, asking that the Lord may remember him because Boaz hasn’t abandoned his kindness to the living or dead… You might be thinking, why would she include the living and dead? Naomi continues, “This man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.” BOOM! A family redeemer, or kinsman redeemer, is a male relative who can act on behalf of a family member who is in trouble, danger, or need, according to ancient Jewish law. This man can essentially deliver, rescue, or redeem property…or a person/family. This is why Naomi mentions both the living and dead; Ruth and Naomi are both grieving the loss of their husbands, so not only is Boaz showing kindness to Ruth and Naomi, but he’s showing respect to their husbands, his family, by taking care of them.

Ruth goes on to tell Naomi that she is to stay in the fields of Boaz with his workers until the time for harvesting is over. Naomi tells Ruth that it is good for her to work, especially with Boaz’s female servants so that nothing will happen to her in the fields. And Ruth, knowing good advice when she hears it, stays with her mother-in-law and sticks close to Boaz’s female servants 

After some time passes, Naomi pulls Ruth aside: “Shouldn’t I find rest for you, so that you will be well taken care of?” Naomi tells Ruth to visit Boaz that evening, when he’s preparing all that he’s harvested, wearing her best clothes and perfume. She tells Ruth to wait until Boaz is finished eating and drinking… then after Boaz has lied down for the evening, Ruth is to uncover his feet and lie at his feet. Then Naomi leaves the rest of the plan to Boaz, telling Ruth, “Then he will explain to you what you should do.”

(Author’s Note #2: Some scholars believe this passage is literal, that Ruth genuinely uncovered his feet, while other scholars have some.... different theories (I’ll let you look those up yourself). For the purposes and intents of this blog, ‘feet’ will actually mean feet, considering the strict laws of the time surrounding sex and marriage accompanied with the fact that Boaz describes Ruth as a noble woman.)

Ruth just fully sends it, doing everything her mother-in-law has proposed. Boaz was in very good spirits after eating and drinking, and as he laid down at the end of a pile of barley, Ruth came to him secretly and uncovered his feet. She laid down.

At midnight, Boaz becomes startled and wakes up - lying at his feet is a woman! Still probably pretty groggy, he asks the woman, “Who are you???” 

“I’m Ruth,” she replies, “your servant. Take me under your wing; you’re my family redeemer.”

Now, Boaz is surprised, albeit pleasantly, at her boldness. “You could have chosen younger men, richer men… Let the Lord bless you because you have shown me kindness by not pursuing either. Whatever you say, I will do, because everyone in our town knows you’re a noble woman.” He continues, “It’s true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer more closely related than I am… Stay here, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, he will redeem you. But, if he doesn’t redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will.”

So Ruth laid back down at the feet of Boaz for the rest of the night. She left early in the morning, before the sun came up. Boaz said to her, “It can’t be known that a woman came to the threshing room... Hold out your shawl.” Ruth held her shawl out for Boaz, and he proceeded to fill the shawl with barley, so that Ruth did not have to go home to her mother-in-law empty handed.

Let’s take another pause here to note a few more things. (1) In the year 2024, Naomi’s plan sounds a bit wild… sneak into a guy’s place and lay down at his feet and then… wait for further instruction? Why in the world would Ruth follow Naomi’s instructions? Because Ruth trusted that Naomi knew what was best for her. (2) Be a Boaz - show your character through your actions. This entire story, we’ve watched how time and time again, Boaz has shown his respect for Ruth through what he’s done. He made sure there was grain left for her to gather. He gave her barley for Naomi. He promised to seek out the closer family redeemer, and then vowed to be her redeemer should anything happen. No need to put anything in reverse, because Boaz has already backed it up.

When Ruth goes back to Naomi the following morning, Naomi immediately asks to know what’s happened. Ruth spills everything to her, giving her the barley Boaz sent and making sure to tell Naomi that it was specially sent for her. Naomi tells her daughter-in-law, “Wait and see how this plays out… he won’t rest until this is resolved.”

Meanwhile, Boaz is about the town looking for the other family redeemer. Once he finds this man, he invites the man and TEN of the town elders to sit and have a little chat. Boaz doesn’t bring up Ruth right away. Instead, he says to the initial redeemer, “Naomi has returned from Moab and is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother, her husband. I thought I should inform you, in front of the elders seated with us. Do you want to buy the property back to redeem it? If you do, that’s okay, but I need to know since I’m next in line after you.”

“Land? In this economy? I’ll take it!”

Boaz, though, hits him with a quick 1-2 punch. “The day you buy the field from Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.” Perpetuate the man’s name on his property? What the heck does that mean? According to ancient Jewish law, the children of the family redeemer, though biologically his, would be known as the dead male’s children in order to preserve the family lineage. Basically, Boaz is saying, “Listen man, you can have the land and get the girl… but you’ll also get the future children, oh and then there’s the mother-in-law, too…”

“Brother, I can’t redeem it myself! I’ll ruin my own inheritance! You redeem it; it’s yours!” 

It’s not hard to imagine reality hitting this guy like a truck. More than likely, he already had a wife and children, and redeeming Ruth and Naomi would mean splitting assets and inheritance between far too many family members. Or maybe he wasn’t as wealthy as Boaz… land is one thing, but a wife, mother-in-law, and future children? That takes a lot of dough.

Regardless, as soon as this man passes, Boaz swoops in. It’s custom in Israel at this time to… take off your sandal and give it to the person you want to make a deal with in order to make it legally binding, at least in the matter of family redemption and property exchange. The man takes off his shoe, handing it to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.”

Boaz, being the smarty pants he is, has gathered 10 elders, remember? They’re watching all this go down, along with everyone else at the city gate. “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah! May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring this woman will give you!” (Tamar has an even more wild “family redeemer” story than this one… you can read about it here.)

Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and together they conceived a son named Obed… who eventually fathered Jesse… who eventually fathered none other than King David the Psalmist. The women from town came to Naomi saying, “Blessed be the Lord, for He has not left you without a family  redeemer. May his name be known all through Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age! Your daughter-in-law, who has given birth to a son - she is better than seven sons!” And Naomi became like a mother to Obed, her family redeemed.

-

Where did you see God in this story? God’s name was barely mentioned in this story, yet I saw Him everywhere! I saw Him through the way Boaz treated Ruth and his other servants. I saw Him through Ruth’s work ethic and boldness. I saw Him pull a family out of the darkness of grief and into the light of redemption. 

What will you take from this story and apply to your life? Here’s what I’ll be implementing:

1. Be as observant as Boaz. Know your environment and the people in it, and bring your faith with you wherever you go.

2. Follow God as Ruth followed Naomi. Ruth’s vow to Naomi will be pinned on my heart, as a promise to follow God with the same boldness and loyalty that Ruth followed Naomi with.

3. God can work it all out for the good. Ruth was a foreign woman, a childless widow, who followed her mother-in-law back to a foreign land with no promise of a future. Boaz was a single man, with a wealth of money sure, but of love to give and no one to give it to. Now, I’m sure that each of their paths were difficult, tumultuous, and riddled with strife. And yet, God orchestrated every part of their suffering not only to bring them together, but also to redeem a family and eventually the world through the lineage of David… that’s right, Ruth and Boaz are a part of the genealogy of Christ. This love story wasn’t just a romantic tale, but a piece of the puzzle in God’s plan to save the world through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God has plans, always.

What do you want to hear about next month? I hope this story encourages you!

Thank you for reading!