For a Christian born like me, or if you usually attend Sunday school, you will know who Ruth and Boaz were. Ruth and Boaz were the great-grandparents of King David. We learned that Ruth was a widow that followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, and refused to leave her after her first husband, Mahlon, passed away.
That's precisely the basic information you need, at least to answer some questions in religion class in high school, LOL. However, being a Jesus follower is not about knowing the Bible's history and details, but how you learn from the Bible, God's Words, and it will guide your way of life and the decisions you make.
Catch up with the Chapters
In my exile time here, I catch up with my daily prayer books and read the bible chapters I missed. Lately (within these months), I have had difficulties praying, including reading my daily prayer book and Bible. I skipped reading from Numbers until Job:
- Deuteronomy
- Joshua
- Judges
- Ruth
- 1 Samuel
- 2 Samuel
- 1 Kings
- 2 Kings
- 1 Chronicles
- 2 Chronicles
- Ezra
- Nehemiah
- Job
They seemed a lot, but it's okay. I think I am blessed to be able to have my whole time learning more about God, guided by the Holy Ghost and my KJV Cross Reference Study Bible.
Reading these all bibles in the sequence, focus, and additional footnotes in the Bible helped me understand more about God. How faithful God is to his covenant, how powerful God, His plan is always above our understanding, and only one thing that God keeps asking us to be obedient to His Words.
Bible in Context
Therefore, when I read all chapters in Ruth, Holy Ghost revealed how important she was and what I can learn from her life and the decisions she made.
Agape (1)
Ruth was a Moabite; she was married to Mahlon in her country for ten years. One day, her father-in-law passed away, his husband passed away, her brother-in-law passed away, and her mother-in-law, Naomi, insisted on returning to her hometown, Israel, alone.
Based on Israeli law, if a husband passes away and has no child yet, his brother may take the widow and marry her as a way to continue the family bloodline. However, in Ruth's case, Naomi had no other son. Naomi was an old widow; there was no way she would marry again and had more children her age.
Naomi asked her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, to leave her. Naomi suggested they have a new life as single in Moab rather than be with her, returning home to Israel. Ruth and Orpah refused to do so, but in the end, Orpah left. When Naomi still insisted Ruth leave her, the compassionate and kindhearted Ruth answered,
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. (Ruth 1:16-18).
In Ruth's context, she was a Moabite, a stranger who was visiting/staying in another country, Israel, which was difficult. People in Israel thought Moab was a country for people who did not know God and worshipped gods/Baal; they were gentiles. Israel was a foreign land to Ruth.
Ruth had choices, whether to have a new life in Moab, she was still young and able to get married again, but she chose to be with her alone mother in law where they were not sure also what would happen in Israel because Naomi was not a wealthy widow. Because of Ruth's agape, she loved her mother-in-law and was confident (faith); this was the Way she chose. She chose to believe in the living God, the same God that Naomi and her family's worship.
Agape (2)
Struck by 'luck' Ruth collected the dropped harvest in a field owned by Boaz. There is an Israeli law for the field owner to let poor widows gather their dropped harvest from the ground. Later, Boaz recognized who Ruth was and how she loved Naomi and followed her home to Israel.
It was interesting that Ruth's author shared how Boaz was a kindhearted man and loved God from the beginning. Boaz's introduction in the Ruth's story was opened by his greeting, "The Lord be with you" to his workers. Boaz was not an ordinary man.
After hearing who Ruth was, Boaz's willing to help Ruth by asking his worker to let Ruth drink water and share lunch from Boaz's table. Boaz's kindheartedness was shown by purposely asking his worker to pull out more grains and let them drop on the ground. He just did it out of respect and showed agape's love.
The 'Matchmaker'
Once Ruth arrived home, Naomi wondered how many grains she had brought. Therefore, Naomi was curious and asked where did Ruth collect the grains? Once she knew the field belonged to Boaz, she realized that Boaz came from the same bloodline on her husband's side. Therefore, Boaz could be a help as part of the Israeli's law, to get married to Ruth and continue their family bloodline.
One day, Naomi asked Ruth to be prepared to wear her best clothes and use perfume to have a midnight 'attack' on Boaz's threshing floor. It was interesting that it never crossed Ruth's mind to seduce or think about Boaz that way, but more on her mother-in-law's creative mind, lol. Vice versa, about Boaz, who respected Ruth.
However, I think the actual matchmaker was not Naomi; it was God! From the beginning, God was the one who guided Ruth to work and come to Boaz's field, where they did not know each other but admired each other's agape!
The Midnight 'Attack'
It was interesting; if we read the Bible text above, it seemed like Ruth was the one who proposed. She introduced herself and Naomi's family blood relation to Boaz and how Boaz needed to consider obeying the Israeli's law by marrying Ruth. Such the woman emancipation in her time! Love it!
If Boaz was not interested at all, he could reject the proposal. But he did not. He thought about it deeply and said he needed to check if there was another man who had closer blood relation with Naomi first. Boaz also did not do something 'naughty' that midnight. He just let Ruth lay down below his feet on the threshing floor.
I believe in Israel's old-time, having a woman sleep below your feet already something romantic and made a man's heart 'explode.' I can't wait to have my romantic story with my future husband; I think holding hands with him for the first time will make me feel crazy, lol.
Ruth and Boaz in Our Context Today
Ok, just what I shared with you at the beginning of this post, I knew the story of Ruth and Boaz long ago. However, I just realized that Ruth and Boaz's story taught us about agape love.
Ruth was a Moabite, a gentile; she was a poor widow and was responsible for an old mother-in-law. No ordinary Israeli's man would take her as any wife in their time's context. However, both Ruth and Boaz's agape loved by God; God was the one who set them up as a couple and blessed their future son, Obed as the grandfather of King David. Their names were recorded in the Bible forever!
Therefore what do I reflect about Ruth and Boaz in our context today? First of all, this whole time, I thought that I was waiting for my Boaz. I thought I was looking for the Godly man who could love me and cover me with his protection. After reading this, I realized that Ruth and Boaz's context is not about gender. One time you can be that Ruth or another, you can be that Boaz for your spouse.
Each one of us is not perfect. We have issues or struggles in life, "the baggages" that come with us, just like Ruth, who came with her citizenship, her status, her economic background, and even alone and old her mother-in-law, but she prioritized the agape love for her mother in law. We wish to have that Boaz who loved us with his agape love, and accepted us with all of our baggages, but can we be that Boaz for our spouse? Or to become Ruth who prioritized the agape love, no matter what?
Agape (3)
Marriage is a real thing! When you decide to marry, can you go the extra miles for the agape love? Marriage is not only to be a happy end story; Marriage needs love, respect, acceptance, sacrifice, hard work, and total commitment from both sides. No one is perfect, everyone can make a mistake, and someone who will hurt you the most is the one to who you are closest. It needs two to tango.
What can make you stand, stay, and fight for the agape love? It is only because of God.
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
Jesus exemplifies how far a sacrifice can go for agape love.
Therefore make sure you and your significant other understand what agape love is, how Christian marriage's purpose differs from this world, ready for that total commitment, and of course, prayers are everything you need.
God bless you, and I wish every one of us (and the SO/spouse) can be Ruth and Boaz in our relationship and (upcoming) marriage. Keep our loved one closer and be faithful in our prayer.
Jakarta, 10 July 2022.
