The story of Ruth is a bright spot in Old Testament history, and we began yesterday highlighting Naomi, whose story starts sadly in chapter 1. Today let’s take a look at Boaz, a pivotal figure in the story. He’s introduced to us in chapter 2:

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” (Ruth 2.1 – 4, ESV)

This short paragraph tells us Boaz is a successful businessman/farmer (and also introduces another key player – God, working behind the scenes, since “…she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”).

We see next that Boaz is a man of integrity and compassion:

Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” (Ruth 2.5 – 9, ESV)

Boaz also goes above and beyond the law of Moses: “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow…” (Deuteronomy 24.19, ESV):

When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” (Ruth 2.15, 16, ESV)

Finally, Boaz is a man of action. After Ruth followed Naomi’s instructions that we looked at yesterday, Naomi told Ruth:

Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today. (Ruth 3.18, ESV)

And Naomi was right. Boaz went to the city gate where business is transacted and fulfilled his role as “kinsman-redeemer,” acquiring Naomi’s deceased husband’s property and marrying Ruth. You can read about it in Ruth 4.

Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at Ruth’s actions, but today we see how God uses a man – Boaz, an ordinary man, a compassionate landowner, observer of the law, and a man of action – to fulfill God’s purposes. Job was such a man also:

If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow), if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, if his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, because I saw my help in the gate, then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder, and let my arm be broken from its socket. For I was in terror of calamity from God, and I could not have faced his majesty. (Job 31.16 – 23, ESV)