Ruth 3 part 2

When Boaz first met Ruth while she was gleaning in his fields, he blessed her and said, “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” Little did Boaz know that God would use him to fulfill this prayer toward Ruth.

Ruth goes to Boaz discreetly at night, uncovers his feet and asks him to spread his cover over her since he is a close relative. This correlates to Boaz’ blessing that Ruth has put her faith in God, “under whose wings she has come to seek refuge.” This was a near Eastern custom to indicate Ruth’s desire for her close relative (not a blood relative) to marry her and as a widow in a foreign land, be her redeemer.

How does Boaz respond?

Boaz was woken up in the middle of the night and presented with a life changing proposal. God must have been preparing his heart for this moment as he responds immediately with the following: “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter, (Ruth was much younger). You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. Now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.”

Great grandson, Solomon

Boaz acknowledges Ruth as woman of excellence. A description of Ruth that all the people of the village endorsed. She was a special young lady. How exactly would a woman of excellence be described? What are the ageless and transferable characteristics of such a woman? Here’s an amazing insight regarding the principle of a woman of excellence. Approximately 120 years after Boaz uttered these words, Ruth’s great grandson, Solomon, penned Proverbs 31:10-31. Proverbs 31 is a detailed description of a woman of excellence. Solomon begins the description in this way, “An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts her, and he will have no lack of gain.”

I will look at Proverbs 31 in more detail next time. Lord, there’s much you can teach us from Ruth. May we move our lives toward being described as a “woman of God” or a “Man of God”. Amen.