Dear Hanna

If I hear one more Christian girl talk about “waiting for her Boaz” or comment, “sometimes you’ve just gotta pull a Ruth!”  I’m going to lose my ever-loving mind.

Despite what you may think, the story of Ruth & Boaz is not a romantic comedy.

 It’s not the best Boy-Meets-Girl love story of all time. 

It’s not a Biblical lesson on “taking a calculated risk on love.”  (I didn’t make that one up.  I heard a preacher say that in a sermon series on Ruth.  Part of my soul died that day.)

It’s not a Biblical example of how sometimes a girl should initiate and show her interest in a man. 

When we make these haphazard observations about this book, we are missing the cultural and historical context, and the author’s overall record of the story.1. You are not a 16-24 year old girl who’s husband died from starvation.  Okay, I’m guessing you aren’t.  I’m also speculating that’s how Ruth’s husband died, but it’s a good assumption.  We know that there was a famine (Ruth 1:1) and Naomi (Ruth’s mother in law) lost her husband AND two sons… most likely all due to the famine.

2.  You are not helpless without a man.  Ruth was a vulnerable widow in a culture and time where she was at great risk.  She needed to get married again because she needed a protector/provider.   In that day, unmarried women were cared for by their fathers.  Then, they were married and their husband took that responsibility.  Because Ruth’s father-in-law and brother-in-law had also died, she had no provider.  She couldn’t go get a job and focus on her career.  As a widow, she was destined to a life of poverty until a man chose her.  This is not your circumstance.

3. You are not property.  Culturally, women were considered property in this time period.  Now, it is obvious from the text that Boaz does not look at Ruth as acquiring property.  But there is another relative in the story who absolutely does.  In fact, the closer relative – unnamed we notice – is very interested in inheriting her father-in-law’s land but once he realizes that Ruth is part of the deal, he bows out; he does not want the responsibility of caring for a widowed woman.

4. You are not trying to marry a distant relative of yours in order to keep your family’s inheritance.  Or I hope not.  At this time in Israel, when a women’s husband died, the closest male relative was required by the law (Deut. 25:5-10) take her as his wife. He was her “Kinsman-Redeemer” to protect her, to carry on the deceased’s name, and if Ruth’s husband had any possessions, they were then part of the inheritance.   Think of it like keeping the estate in the family’s name.1.  Nowhere in the book of Ruth does it ever, I mean ever say, “because Boaz loved her.”  You actually can’t even find the word LOVE anywhere in this book.  Those of you whose heart is breaking right now, I’m sorry.  I really am.  Now, there is no doubt Boaz is a wonderful man.  We see dozens of examples in the book of Ruth that show his character, generosity, care, integrity, not to mention his love of God’s law to “do the right thing.”  But Boaz doesn’t see Ruth in his fields or sleeping on his threshing floor and fall in love with her.  He sees a woman (who has a great reputation) that he knows needs a provider.  Out of compassion and a desire to do what is right (what the law calls him to do), he sets out to marry her.

2. Boaz is way older than Ruth.  Okay calm down.  I’m not really implying you can’t marry someone 10 years older than you and it be love.  My purpose is to break the illusion that Ruth was a beautiful, middle-aged woman who fell in love with a handsome, similar-aged man.  Ruth was probably somewhere between the age of 16-24.  Boaz was much older.  We don’t know how much older, but he blesses Ruth because she didn’t look for a younger man (Ruth 3:10).  That tells us he was older than what might be culturally normal for them (which was already out of whack.  Men in their 30’s would marry teenage girls.)

3.  The book of Ruth is about God’s Sovereignty, His presence in the smallest details, and His plan to send His One & Only Son to our world.  I could list miles of evidence in this book about how God provided and had His hand in every twist and turn of the story.  But most importantly, God planned to include Ruth (a Moabite, who was specifically excluded from the nation of Israel– Deut. 23:3) into His family by marrying Boaz, which fulfills the prophecy that Jesus would be born in the lineage of King David.  WHAT?!  I know. Stay with me.  Ruth and Boaz had a son who was King David’s grandpa.  God’s plan all along for Ruth was to marry Boaz and to have a child that would secure Jesus’ lineage in the Davidic line just as the prophets had declared.  THAT is the point of this story and the purpose of it being in the Bible.

4. The book of Ruth is an analogy of Christ’s love for His people.  Okay, I tricked you a little bit.  It is a love story, but not in the way we usually make it out to be.  Boaz is a picture of Christ. Ruth could not save herself.  She needed a provider and Boaz did just that.  He redeemed her, provided for her, and sheltered her.  A beautiful picture of exactly what Christ does for you and me.  We are destined for poverty; we are vulnerable; we are in trouble with no way to help ourselves, but He steps in and chooses to redeem us.  The story of Ruth & Boaz is an analogy for the greatest love story of all time: Christ’s love for His people.

So please, please, please.  Stop making Ruth and Boaz a Hollywood romance.  Stop using Ruth’s story as an excuse to make a move on a guy.  Stop praying for your Boaz to appear.  Your Boaz has already come.  His name is Jesus and He already offers you everything you will ever need and more.