So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” (Ruth 2:8-9, NIV)
Sports psychologist Bob Rotella wrote in his renowned book, Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect, that he had never had a tour professional tell him that they had played well for more than two of the four rounds of a tournament they had won. Even their very best efforts, they knew, were flawed.
By and large, the Bible too is full of this same theme of imperfection when it comes to the character of the men and women whose lives are written there (though, honestly, it shows up more with the men). From Abraham to Moses to David to Peter, James, and John, we see those of supposed strong faith making errors, often egregious ones.
But then we come across a man like Boaz and we smile. We might never go so far as to say that our “faith in humanity is restored,” but it is so good to know that an honorable life can indeed be lived, especially when many around you aren’t living that life.
If you are familiar with the whole story of the small Old Testament book of Ruth, you know that it traces the near lineage of David, and thus the center of the lineage of Jesus. Ruth gets much attention when we look at these four chapters. The book is named for her, she is a picture of uncommon faithfulness, and she too acts honorably throughout. But in our present time, when the sins of so many men have been exposed on big stages, let’s spend some moments considering Boaz and the good a man should do.
It is so good to know that an honorable life can indeed be lived, especially when many around you aren’t living that life.
In only the two verses we highlight today, we see a man who is kind, protective, and generous. Later, we read that he is pure, deferential, and principled.
Kind. Ruth is not Boaz’s daughter. In fact, she is a foreigner. Yet Boaz addresses her at first encounter with this endearing term, giving us perhaps a first glimpse of what it means to be family in Christ.
Protective. The men of Boaz’s time were no different than the men of our time. Too many of them were eager for sex and would take advantage of a woman to get it. Boaz told Ruth just where she would be safe, because he had “shut his men down.”
Generous. In the beginning it was grain and water, but he who was faithful in small things would show up big later, too, redeeming by financial purchase the fields of Ruth’s adopted family.
Pure. The strange customs of the time meant that Ruth needed to approach Boaz after dark to let her wish to be redeemed (and thus married) known. Even then, Boaz treated her with all purity and guarded her reputation.
Deferential and principled. Boaz was actually second in line to the right to Ruth’s hand in marriage, and he did nothing to connive his way around this. He deferred to the man ahead of him, honestly giving him first rights and maintaining the recognized legal processes of the day.
Because of the sin of those who fill its pages, the Bible is no “morality tale.” But it does gives us glimpses of the righteousness that can shine through us when Christ is our King and we serve him with honor in all that we do. Like Boaz.
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Jeff Hopper
March 23, 2021
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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