Set Apart: Ruth and Boaz

We all have those items we’re unsure whether to keep or toss. Perhaps it’s an old clock that no longer keeps time, a “vintage” car that refuses to run, or even a house that has fallen into disrepair. This possession may have been beneficial, even quite valuable, in the past. But now, not so much. Time plus use (or misuse), plus the wear and tear of life, and maybe even a catastrophe or two, often leave things dented in, scratched up, and broken down. Something in the human heart sees those formerly shiny with promise but now desperately dilapidated things and longs for restoration. Can the usefulness, beauty, and value be restored? My husband is one of those people. He’s had a decades-long hobby of restoring broken things, especially antique clocks. He sees the value of investing in items others would throw away. Many people build wildly successful businesses around the process of restoration. We all love a good comeback story!

Question: Do you know anyone who restores items in disrepair? What types of broken-down things do they bring back to usefulness and beauty?

What the Bible Says

A Broken Life

Ruth 1:1–5 MEV

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the land of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelek, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there. Now Elimelek, the husband of Naomi, died, so she was left alone with her two sons. They took Moabite wives for themselves; the name of one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years. Then Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.

Naomi’s life had been dented in, scratched up, and broken down. The first three chapters of the Book of Ruth chronicle her years of brokenness, which included fleeing from famine, living as a foreigner in a strange country (Moab, known for its idolatry and cruelty), becoming a widow, and then losing both of her adult sons to death while still in that foreign land.

Question: Life has many unexpected twists and turns, some leading to disappointment and even bitterness. How have you seen that played out in the real world? Question: What helps people get past disappointing circumstances?

Relationship Leads to Restoration

Ruth 1:14–16 MEV

Then they raised their voices and wept aloud once more. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and her gods. Return with her!” But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people and your God my God.

While living in Moab, Naomi developed a crucial relationship with her daughter-in-law Ruth, a Moabite who would play a major role in Naomi’s own restoration. The vital elements in their relationship caused a young widow to leave her homeland to travel with her mother-in-law into the unknown. They were sure to face the prospect of loneliness, poverty, and maybe even starvation since they had no apparent prospects for a male relative to be their provider.

Ruth 2:8–12 MEV

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field and leave this one. Stay close to my young women. Keep your eyes on the field in which they reap and follow after them. I have commanded the men not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should acknowledge me, a foreigner?” Boaz answered and said to her, “I have been told all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, and how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to a people you did not know before. May the Lord reward your deeds. May you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

As the story of Naomi and Ruth progresses and they arrive in Bethlehem, a wealthy landowner named Boaz becomes part of the story. Naomi agrees with Ruth’s request to go out and glean in the barley fields after the harvesters. She “just happens” to land in the field of Boaz, who “just happens” to be a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, Elimelech. The fingerprints of God are all over these “happenings!” As such, Boaz has the authority to be a family redeemer who can restore Naomi’s security and standing in her community. By God’s design, relationships are often key to authentic restoration.

Question: How have you seen overlapping stories through relationships bring restoration to someone’s life—maybe even your own?

The Family Redeemer

Ruth 3:1–4 MEV

One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, why should I not find a home that will be good for you? Now is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you have been working? Tonight he winnows barley on the threshing floor. Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Go in and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what you will do.”

Ruth 3:8–13 MEV

At midnight, the man was startled and rolled over; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Spread your cloak over me, for you are a redeeming kinsman.” He said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last act of kindness to be greater than the first, because you have not pursued young men, whether poor or rich. So now, my daughter, do not worry. All that you ask me, I will do for you. All of my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. Now it is true that I am a redeeming kinsman. Yet there is another redeemer closer than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning if he wants to redeem you, very well. Let him do so. Yet if he does not want to redeem you, then I will redeem you. I will, as the Lord lives! Sleep here until morning.”

Naomi knew the concept of a “family redeemer,” also known as a kinsman redeemer. This redeemer’s duty was to advocate for family members who needed help and to protect family inheritance in jeopardy. Although there is no specific Bible verse in the Law that requires marriage as part of the kinsman-redeemer process, since Naomi’s sons were dead, she realized Boaz might step in as the family redeemer and marry Ruth. Naomi instructed Ruth to use this ancient custom to, in effect, propose marriage to Boaz. After legally clearing the way with another relative, Boaz married Ruth. Families struggle, and life breaks. We all need unlikely champions who will step in and step up for us, too.

Question: Which of your family member(s) comes to mind when you hear the words “unlikely champions”?

God Restores

Ruth 4:13–22 MEV

So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a redeemer. May he become famous in Israel! He will be a comfort for your soul and support you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child, laid him on her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

In these verses, Boaz had married Ruth, and they now have a baby boy, Obed. The women of Bethlehem sum up the restoration work God had done in Naomi’s life: He provided a redeemer, He restored youth and security in her old age, He gave her a grandson to cuddle as if he were her own, and He gave her a daughter-in-law who cared for her and was better to her than seven sons. Naomi didn’t know it, but she would be the great-great-grandmother of David, Israel’s greatest king. Remarkably, Jesus, the King and Redeemer of all humanity, would be a distant descendant of this lineage.

Matthew 1:5–16 MEV

Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. David the king was the father of Solomon, by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were exiled to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. And Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Now, that is a remarkable restoration!

Question: Tell about a time when you have seen God restore a person or a situation that seemed broken beyond repair.