Boaz acted as a kinsman redeemer by marrying Ruth after ensuring that one closer to kin did not want to marry her (Ruth 4). He did it in decency and in God ordained order. Ruth and Boaz were blessed with a son named Obed who was the grandfather of King David. Ruth is also mentioned in the lineage of Jesus (Matt. 1:5). God honored Ruth and exalted her name!
If we look back at the beginning of Ruth’s story, we find a broken, poor, & a young widow. This young woman acted selflessly and followed her mother-in-law to her Jewish homeland. She was sincere in her devotion to her mother-in-law and her God. The scripture tells us, ” Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Ruth 4:14-15
What a huge statement by these women to Naomi! I grew up in this kind of culture where sons were the only ones valued. Families looked to sons to be their provider and protector in old age. For these women to recognize that Ruth not only took the place of a son for Naomi, but that she was better than seven sons clashed against all the stereotypes and wrong mindsets about women! They considered Ruth’s son, to be Naomi’s son as well. Naomi gained heritage because of Ruth’s faithfulness to her.
Ruth fought every battle with love and sacrifice. The bible doesn’t mention Ruth having dreams of success or calling. She just loved and she gave. In the midst of a hopeless situation she did what she could. She didn’t feel sorry for herself. She didn’t seem to have been in depression. She didn’t have high expectations in life, but she knew even in the midst of her bad situation, her mother-in-law was in a worse situation than her. This allowed her to stand and be a hand and a voice for the one who was in greater need than herself.
The disappointments of life have a way of sifting us like nothing else can. It is in those times that we find who we are and where we’ve placed our trust. The more we trust man instead of God the more disappointments we will face in life. If we use the disappointments as opportunities to reaffrim our trust in God above all else, we have just made a major progress in our spiritual walk with God. Our identity becomes stronger and more deeply rooted in Him. He is patiently waiting for us to come to Him.
Today, as we look around us, we have a choice: to concentrate on those who seem to have it all in life, or to focus on those who have greater needs than us. If our eyes turn to the right place, our compassion will move us beyond our situation to places where not only we can bless others, but at the end we can be richly blessed as well!