The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you but will rejoice over you with singing.” -Zephaniah 3:17
"Debunking Boaz" by Guest Contributor Danee Wright of The Wright Word.
"Debunking Boaz" by Guest Contributor Danee Wright of The Wright Word.
If you’re familiar with the Bible then I’m guessing you’ve heard of the story of Ruth. If not, let me give you a quick summary. Ruth was a woman who married a man from a foreign land and tied herself to his family. Her father-in-law, her husband and her brother-in-law all die (not simultaneously) and her mother-in-law (Naomi) decides to return to her homeland. Naomi tells her daughters-in-law to stay with their own families. Ruth’s sister-in-law Orpah stays. But Ruth clings to Naomi and ends up returning to Naomi’s homeland with her. Ruth then goes to work in a barley field as a means to provide for herself and Naomi. There she meets Boaz who just so happens to to own the barley field Ruth is working in. Long story short, Naomi finds out who Ruth is working for, realizes it’s a relative who can “redeem” Ruth as wife and mother and plays matchmaker between the two. Her instructions and Ruth’s obedience pay off as Boaz marries Ruth and Ruth gives birth to Obed who was King David’s grandfather.
The book of Ruth is one of redeeming love and used as an example of how God can take tragedy and turn it into glory. However, if misinterpreted, it can easily be romanticized and fill people, especially single women longing for marriage, with false hope. For a woman longing for marriage, especially one has endured much rejection and/or abuse, the story of Boaz redeeming Ruth can fill her with the idea that God will use a man to redeem her circumstances also. I want to be clear-Boaz was a kinsman redeemer but he did not redeem Ruth.
