Ruth and Boaz

“So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son…They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Ruth 4:13, 17b)

After Rahab joined Israel, she and Salmon had a son named Boaz and God continued to align the pieces of his plan for the redemption of his people. In the land of Moab, three widows were faced with a challenging decision. Naomi was originally from Israel but left with her husband during a famine. Ruth and Orpah were the Moabite wives of her sons. Following the deaths of the men of the family, Naomi chose to return to Israel. Orpah chose to remain in Moab with her people where her chances of a good future were greater, but Ruth chose to go with Naomi to a land foreign to her.

In Israel, Ruth got right to work, gleaning crops from the field of Boaz, the son of Salmon and Rahab. It is here that Boaz takes notice of Ruth, giving her special care. As it turns out, Boaz was a member of the tribe of Naomi’s former husband, making him an eligible candidate to redeem and marry Ruth. And that’s exactly what happened. Boaz took Ruth, a woman who for her whole life had been a foreigner to God’s people, and married her. Before this, her future in Israel seemed bleak and was certain to have been challenging, but she was redeemed. Both she and Boaz were key pieces in God’s plan to bring about our great Redeemer. In the generations to come, Jesus was born. As the celebration of his birth draws nearer, let us remember our faithful Bridegroom who redeems his church as his bride.