Seventh:Don’t be silly, Boaz. You Could Never Be Ruthless!

There are all sorts of reasons why people go abroad.

Some go for “higher” studies, some go because it is a family tradition, some go for better opportunities, some go seeking freedom from shackles at home and some go because it is “so clean out there”. Some of course don’t need a reason at all. They ‘simply’ go! In the case of Elimelech the Ephrathite (the Book of Ruth in the Bible), it was famine in the home land – a good enough reason.

And the expectation, always, is that you fare better abroad than at home and come back with something fancy to show for your sojourn there, that leaves your home-towners with a touch of envy – even if it is only an accent!

No such pressure for Elimelech; he died.  His sons, Mahlon and Chilion didn’t last long either. Perhaps a plague got them. The only notable thing mentioned about these two guys is that they married.

One funeral followed by two weddings followed sadly by two more funerals left three distraught widows to fend for themselves.

A beginning that looks like the end.

Poor Naomi, protected in the past as wife and mother, suddenly found herself the head of a truncated family, now comprising three adult women, doing God knows what. There wasn’t a great deal to keep them engaged. At least had there been a baby in the family, the women could have focused on the little spark of life and hope.

No such pleasure either.

There was God of course, but what was the use?

But wait a minute. Naomi might not have had a glorious testimony to share about God’s goodness in her life (Ruth 1:13), but to be sure, she was well aware of His greatness, His power, His sovereignty (Ruth 1: 6,8,9) – the Lord,  God Jehovah.

Shaken she surely was and shattered, by all the dreadful events that had overtaken her, but Naomi hadn’t lost her faith. It would have been perfectly understandable, had she turned around and asked a few tough questions about God’s vision, wisdom, loving kindness and tender mercy. But Naomi bore her grief with great dignity, fortitude and, faith.

Standing in her faith amidst ruins all around! She may not have been rejoicing a la Habakkuk (3:18) in times like these, but make no mistake, she was resolute. Hallelujah!

Here’s a woman who for nearly ten years had been talking to her ‘gentile’ daughters-in-law about the God she worshipped. Not only did she talk, it is obvious she walked. She treated her daughters-in-law with kindness and affection, and they reciprocated. The much hugging and teary eyed kissing described in verses 9 – 14 of Ruth Ch.1 were not a onetime exhibition of manufactured farewell bonhomie played to the gallery but a demonstration of deep bonds that tied them together in love, and it could be added, shared faith.

We have a problem, don’t we about sharing our knowledge of the living God with people of other faith? It is easy sometimes to keep a safe distance and shout it from the roof tops. But living it daily is a different ball game; Naomi shows you how. The way she deported herself and the word she spoke were in perfect harmony. No dichotomy. No disingenuous dramatic dialogues. What you saw was what you got.

Yes, practicing your faith at home and producing fruit is no less a demanding task than preaching to the world at large.

And when that faith was sorely tested, she didn’t fail. We see these aspects surfacing in the way she sought to send her daughters-in-law away (Ruth 1: 8, 9) and later in the painful parting with Orpah (v.15).

Are they mother-in-law, daughters-in-law or what? Where is the traditional, adversarial relationship? The eastern culture would even have tolerated the branding of such brides as agents of death and a curse on the household, not fit to live.

But Naomi was marching to a different drum beat. She had no hesitation granting her daughters-in-law release and freedom from the many restrictions imposed by tradition. And it is the daughters-in-law who were reluctant to let go of her. A powerful picture of uncommon affection!

A good time to ask ourselves the question if we let tradition dictate to us, culture hand-cuff us, society suppress us?

Emancipation.

Considering that Naomi’s goodness and boldness are functions of her deep faith in God, there isn’t much remaining if you take God out of the equation. Getting on with the story, we see this aspect manifesting in Naomi’s very human argument in verses 11 and 12 of Ch.1. All of this proves somewhat overwhelming for Oprah who departs.

Here we see two women from the same stock as it were, suffering similar misfortunes in life, pushed to the point of decision. One woman opts to return; you cannot fault her for choosing to go back to her family, the familiar and the known. But in that process, she was prepared to forgo her new found faith in the living God. And that is sad.

The other woman was unflinching and wouldn’t budge to peer pressure. Her convictions were strong and she was prepared to leave her comfort zone for a higher calling. Yes, Ruth was bitten by the bug of faith in the living God – for good!

So it is that we see two women walking towards Bethlehemjudah. One, an older woman in the evening of her life, well worn and weary, wondering what kind of homecoming it will be – with so little to show for 10 years of living abroad.

The other, in the prime of her life, willingly giving up everything she could call her own in pursuit of the unknown, walking in sprightly steps towards an undisclosed future, sustained only by her sense of devotion to her kind mother-in-law and an inexplicable faith in the God of Israel.

Naomi delivers her prepared speech (Ch1 v.21) upon arrival at her hometown: “I went out full and the LORD hath brought me home again empty”.

Sometimes people of God get carried away by the cadence of rhetoric, the beauty of rhyme and in the bargain, sacrifice sensitivity.

Come again.

Empty? With Ruth by her side! How could she disregard the one woman who could make a difference in her life?

Get it – one woman can make a difference in your life!

Ruth let it pass.

It would have been easy enough for Ruth to ask some uncomfortable questions of her own at this point concerning the visual acuity of the older woman and her lack of perception of the human form standing right next to her as being of little or no consequence.

I can just imagine the pride of Moab welling up in militant reaction to the thoughtless slur. The situation indeed was potentially explosive (“after all I’ve done for you – you call me empty?”). But she didn’t mar the ‘Mara’ moment of her mother-in-law, choosing not to make an issue of it.

Many a time it is sensible to ignore insensitive statements by people you love. Loving mothers-in-law might be particularly prone to this malady; full of themselves and wanting in sensitivity. They don’t mean to hurt you; they may just be taking you for granted!

So let it be.

And so the duo reach their destination. What next?

Nobody seems to know. By all evidence, the future was bleak. There was no road map, no plan, no nothing, not even any idea as to where the next meal is coming from.

Blank

Faith they had, but you can’t it, right?

Naomi in particular seems absolutely clueless as to how to go about keeping body and soul together and it is Ruth who takes the initiative, proposing practical measures like picking some grain, just for that day (Ruth 2: 2). And it so happens (Ruth 2:3) that Ruth lands on Boaz’s field.

Aha – a mere happenstance?

As we so often see in the scriptures and experience in our lives, God begins to act when we reach the end of our tether. There is no more food. “The wine has run out” (John 2:3). “Your daughter is dead” (Luke 8:49)

He leads Ruth to the field of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Elimelech’s. Something is happening here. The story of her kindness to her mother-in-law has preceded her.

What is your story? Do people have something good to report about you – while you are alive?

Ruth is then introduced to Boaz who instructs his staff to treat her with favour. She went only to glean but she ended up gathering. She was thinking only of that day’s food but God started providing for all her tomorrows.

Faith delivered, but Work was surely involved! (Ruth 2:7)

Yes, all along God had a plan for Naomi and more especially for Ruth which now begins to unfold. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.(Jer.29:11)

Naomi hears the account of Ruth’s first day at work, and catches a glimpse of God ‘s plan. And almost for the first time, her expression changes. She tells Ruth that Boaz is “next of kin to us”, our relative.

Language that is inclusive. Not kinsman of my husband Elimelech’s but “Ours”. In using that sense twice in the same verse (Ruth 2:20), Naomi appears to be  trying to make amends for her “empty” remark in her own way, and  impart  a sense of belonging to Ruth.

Makes one think what kind of language we use in our families. Do we emphasize our differences or celebrate our relationship? Remember, Ruth was an outsider.

It takes time, but there she is – Ruth, well and truly accepted in the Elimelech household.

There is another thing that is changing in Naomi’s language. From the mouth that moaned about her being Mara comes something very refreshing: a blessing, when she hears that Ruth’s benefactor was none other than Boaz.

What is coming out of your mouth? Are you blessing people or are you constantly pulling them down – always able to find something diminishing, derogatory or even damaging to say about them?

The story is already changing colour.

Being a woman who has been around a while, Naomi is quick to detect the seeds of romance that God seems to be throwing at Boaz and Ruth as part of His plan. And she decides to assist Him in implementing it. How very helpful! How very alarming!

It is one thing to recognize God’s plan and align oneself with it and quite another to run ahead of Him. Naomi was like “God, you are rather slow with these things, let us accelerate the process. Now that you’ve given me the direction, move over. Let me take control, sit in the driver’s seat and watch You me press the pedal to the floor.”

Pretty fast, eh?

Sure recipe for disaster.

Fair enough she encourages Ruth to go nowhere else for grain, but she goes further – daring  to put Boaz and Ruth in a dangerously compromising position. But for the man Boaz was – good and God fearing (Ruth 2:4) –  the consequences could have been most unwholesome.

God does not need our short cuts. He can make a way for Himself.

We see this streak later in the life of David. Time and again David resisted the temptation to take advantage of Saul’s vulnerability, even though the plan of God was abundantly clear to him.

Waiting not only for God’s time but also for God’s ways: Difficult, frustrating but quite the right thing to do. “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Phil 1:6), even without our over eager, bumbling assistance. “Stand still and see the salvation of our God” (2 Chron.20:17).

Thus it is that we see Boaz sending Ruth away early upon discovery. Is Boaz teaching us that however lovely the temptation, it needs to be sent packing and early, before it can cause harm?

You might say the Boazes of the world tend to be a bit dumb. Yeah, this guy is meticulous and correct, though all the advantage lies in his favour. Crazily, he resurrects another relative from the wood work for doing the honours viz-a-viz Ruth (Ch.3:13). Not one to adopt foul or questionable means.

The end, does not justify the means.

Our heart stops when that relative agrees to redeem the field (Ruth4:4). Imagine how Boaz would have felt. But relax, lean back and enjoy. God is running the show!

Boaz quickly recovers and points out the fine print in the Proposal. While the other guy is clear that he does not want his name to be forgotten, Boaz takes a bold step. He is willing to lose his identity in honour of his dead cousin; the deal is sealed.

(credit: childrenstory.info)

Talk about nobility of character. Talk about self sacrifice. But what he gave up willingly, is restored to him when the townspeople congratulate him, and bless him with both name and fame (Ruth 4:11,12).

Yet again, convention is stood on its head and credit is given where it truly belongs.

And God blesses the couple with a child straightway. Back when we started we noted there was no child, for close on ten years! What a contrast! Yes, “children are the gift of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). There can be no doubt that God is guiding the events with a sure hand.

Naomi finds herself the centre of a celebration (Ruth 4:14-16) and Ruth as the daughter-in-law comes in for high praise, esteemed more than seven sons!Wow! Naomi is at last rejoicing. The old “mara” is now but a distant memory.

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55: 8 &9)

Yes, God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. Juxtapose Naomi’s initial statements about her marrying and begetting sons for Ruth and Oprah to marry again (Ruth 1:12,13); don’t they look so very ridiculous, almost laughable in the light of the events that followed? Naomi’s thoughts: so very puny, so very human.

If the previous book of Judges (Ch.21:25) ended with a plaintive statement that there was no king in Israel, the book of Ruth ends with the name of David (Ch.4:22), arguably the greatest king of Israel. Yes, our God fashions history with a clear destiny.

Boaz and Ruth find a place in the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5). Elimelech’s line has somehow now become Boaz’s line. Yes, God can change tracks, completely rewrite the narrative.

A long time ago Ruth showed the world it doesn’t matter where you come from. While people may make much of your caste, race or nationality – these things don’t count with God. His ways are higher than ours.

All that matters is whether you have accepted Him and are willing to follow Him.

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