God of Boaz
"Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. 'The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,' she said. 'The LORD bless him!' Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. 'The LORD has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.' She added, 'That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.'" (Ruth 2:19,20 NIV)
Why is the story of Ruth a story worth telling?
Of all the books God could have inspired, and of all the books that could have made the canonical cut, how did a simple little love story like Ruth end up in the Bible as we know it?
One reason, maybe, is that the leading man in this drama—Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer—is quite the hero.
He is kind, observant, charming, respectful, honorable.
But all of that pales when compared with this superlative fact: Boaz points us to the greatest Hero of all.
What Boaz hints at, Jesus is the Whole of.
What Boaz starts, Jesus finishes.
What Boaz suggests, Jesus fulfills.
Boaz was kin, a blood relative, which was necessary to his redemptive work; Jesus, the Son of God, took on human flesh as the Son of Man and redeemed us through His blood.
Boaz was able to redeem one family; Jesus was (and is) able to redeem the entire family of God.
Boaz noticed one woman in need; Jesus noticed a whole world in need.
Boaz was struck by how Ruth left her homeland and came to live with a people she did not know; Jesus left His home in heaven and came to live with people who knew Him not so that He could strike down death forever.
Boaz was generous; Jesus gave everything.
"This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez 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, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah" (Matthew 1:1-6a,17).
Oh, dear ones, trace the line from Boaz, the kinsman redeemer, to Jesus, the Redeemer King! Connect the dots. See the line from beginning to end. We are also on a line. Like Boaz, we may see only the dot we're on. We have no idea, really, where our line may lead. But our job is not to figure that out. Like Boaz, our job is to be faithful, steadfast, and true on the dot we're on. And if we are, we, too, will have a story worth telling.
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God, when I am tempted to have short-sighted vision and see only the dot of life You have me on today, remind me of the story of Boaz. Broaden my view, and help me to see that I am part of Your long line of redemption that stretches to eternity.
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