The Romance at the Root of All History

These posts are based on notes from our sermon series on Ruth.

Reading:  Ruth 2:8-17

8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 

Boaz is providing for Ruth.  There’s an obvious, immediate connection between them.  It’s inherently romantic.  Boaz and Ruth is one of the great romances of literature. 

In the romance is a point.  In the providence of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, this story comes to us for an example of Christ and the Church.  Boaz is Christ and Ruth is the Church.

So Boaz is drawn to Ruth, and we can already see the joy of their eventually marriage taking root.

10Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

This is the heart of the faith—we aren’t worthy, and we are just trying to understand God’s love for us.

 11But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.

Look at Ruth’s reputation here.  Boaz has heard of her beautiful reputation.

We hear so much from un-churched neighbors that the Church is hypocritical.  And there’s a lot to that, to be fair.  We know of hypocrisy in the Church.  But the true character of the Church is beautiful and it is faithful.

Ruth’s reputation of faithfulness goes before her, and so should ours.  Here’s our lifegoal as a Church and as individuals.  And I would just say that this is a humbling group to be a part of, because you all have this kind of reputation in your communities.

 12The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 13Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.

This is communion.  Boaz has a meal with Ruth.  Christ sits down to eat with us every Lord’s Day.  The end of history is the wedding supper of the Lamb.

Ruth ate until she was satisfied and had left-overs—just like when Christ fed the 5,000 and the 4,000.

15When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephahb of barley.

An ephah is a little less than 40 quarts, would fill up about 2 five gallon buckets and weigh in an almost 40 pounds.

Nobody in that day would ever glean that much.  So Ruth is getting a completely un-subtle signal from Boaz.  Going forward, we see that Naomi notices that Boaz has noticed.  Boaz is being completely forward here.

I think this is a lesson for husbands and for men who will be husbands.  Boaz here wants something, and he’s going and getting it.  Christ wants his bride as well, and Christ is going out and he is getting it.  Boaz is being completely honorable—there’s no hint of crudity here and it’s not inappropriate at all, but it was probably a little shocking to see it first-hand if you were there.  Ruth is definitely blushing. 

None of us is Boaz.  And none of us is Jesus Christ—the God-Man.  But Christian does mean “little Christ.”  So these are man-goals.  If you have the faith of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.

This is normative for husbands and for men.  Normative meaning, this is the way, ideally, we men are supposed to be—specifically when it comes to pursuing our wives or our prospective wives.  Again, I’m sparing a lot of nuance and context—this is a sermon and not a counseling session.  But all things being equal, just as Boaz pursues Ruth with purpose—like it’s his job; so must we men pursue our wives like it’s our job.  That’s how Boaz seeks Ruth—that’s how Christ seeks his Church, and it couldn’t be more clear than Ephesians 5:25-- Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church ….

And women, set your expectations accordingly.