Reading: Ruth 3
Commentary: What’s happening in this passage? Ruth has
pledged her support to Naomi, followed her back to Israel, and been responsible
for taking care of them. Naomi has the connections in this place, her hometown.
If she can find a righteous man to marry Ruth, Naomi will have the
grandchildren for whom she has longed and she will know that Ruth will be taken
care of as a wife. It will have to be just the right man for Ruth- because he
will have to recognize the risks and efforts she has made with Naomi. He will
also have to be willing to give Ruth children who will also be understood to be
in the line of her dead husband. (Otherwise the grandchildren wouldn’t really
be Naomi’s.)
Boaz
is just such a man. He has seen Ruth’s care for Naomi. In the verses we just
heard, Boaz acknowledges Ruth’s forethought and risk-taking. As a widow, Ruth
could have chosen a different husband, possibly even a younger man. However,
she honors Naomi and Naomi’s needs and goes to lie with a man who can provide
for them. Boaz has already shown a willingness to do that.
Boaz
is honored by Ruth’s actions and rewards them. He will make every effort to get
someone to care for her and Naomi. He is also careful to be sure that Ruth’s
reputation is protected. It is certainly arguable that Ruth is a little bit
mercenary and Boaz is not turning away a pretty young thing that shows up in
his bedroll. Be that as it may, the upshot of this passage is that
righteousness and faithful action are rewarded by God and by people.
Of
course, it doesn’t always seem like that’s the case. We certainly know many
situations wherein it seems that evil is rewarded, that other people are a
means for getting ahead, and that no one is willing to speak out for the
widows, orphans, travelers, the unemployed, or the hungry. Isn’t anyone willing
to be the Boaz to these people, to stand up, support, lift up, encourage, and
redeem for life?
We
understand salvation to have been achieved for all creation through Jesus.
There is still on-going work- the spreading of that news, the building of God’s
kin-dom, and the reconciliation of creation with the knowledge of God. In our
culture, it is all too often that people who are in tight spots are not given
the extra boost they need. Boaz does not tell Ruth that things will work out if
she just keeps trying. He doesn’t take advantage of her vulnerability and then
send her away. He doesn’t push off her request until he had more time.
As
Naomi says, he does not rest until things are made right for Ruth (and for
Naomi). We are also called to be “redeeming kinsmen”, to be the one who supports
our brothers and sisters. We are to press on for the cause of our family, the
family of God, and not to rest until all understand who has spoken for them,
who has claimed them, and in whose hands their future rests. God's.
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