• Christian Mamahood
  • The Ruth Reflections
  • Breastfeeding, twins & other fun

What Mama Knows

Christian Encouragement For Moms

  • About me & this blog
  • Sign up here
You are here: Home / The Ruth Reflections / The Book of Ruth: Why is Boaz kind to Ruth?

The Book of Ruth: Why is Boaz kind to Ruth?

May 3, 2017 The FB 4 Comments

Is it really because Ruth is amazing?

Ruth 2:1 -13

At the moment I’m reading through the book of Ruth, so I’ll be sharing a few words on Ruth in the weeks to come. These posts are short and unpolished! Let me know your own thoughts on the book of Ruth in the comments; I’d love to hear your encouragements from God’s Word. If you’re looking for a commentary on the book of Ruth, try this great book by Barry Webb, * covering several of my favorite Bible books.

Ruth: still an outsider

Last week I wrote about how wonderful it is to me that Ruth returns to Bethlehem. Even though she’s never been there before, it’s her hometown. She has put her trust in the Lord -so all the promises and the blessings of being a child of God are absolutely hers. 

So it was striking to me as I started to read through Chapter 2 of The Book of Ruth, that she’s still identified as that women from Moab. “Ruth the Moabite said…the young Moabite women…from the country of Moab…” Ruth even refers to herself as a “foreigner“. 

So is she one of God’s people or is she on the outside?

THE BOOK OF RUTH: CHRISTIAN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MOMS

He doesn’t treat her as a foreigner

Boaz answers this question for us. 

This week we meet Boaz. He’s a worthy man, he’s one of the extended family and he’s the owner of the field. He’s a man who leads with his identity as a man of God – look at how he greets the workers in his field: “The Lord be with you!”

He notices Ruth, picking up ears of grain in his field, and asks about her. The young men tell him what they know about the “young Moabite woman”, but Boaz has already heard of her. So he speaks to her; he wants her to stay safe in his field, and when she’s thirsty, to drink the water he provides. 

He treats her with immaculate kindness. 

Ruth falls to the ground in gratitude and questions him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 

As a reader who already loves Ruth for her spirit and her loyalty and her character, it’s easy to see why someone is kind to her. But her reaction reminds me that Boaz’s treatment of Ruth is in some way unexpected. 

Why is he kind?

He has heard about her kindness to Naomi and her faithfulness to the Lord. He has heard how she left Moab in every sense and joined herself to a people she hasn’t met before – how she came home to a place she had never been before. Ruth has clearly been the talk of Bethlehem, and the report is a good one. 

Faithfulness: it’s surprising

But here’s why Boaz is kind to Ruth: it’s because of the faithfulness of the Lord.

Ok, it’s also because of the faithfulness of Ruth – because he heard of her devotion to Naomi and to the Lord, he blesses her. But all this kindness flows from the covenant. That’s why she is collecting grain in the field – because the covenant made provision for the poor. 

And the covenant is the reason Boaz can say: “The Lord repay you for what you have done“. The language of repaying and “a full reward” being given to Ruth by the Lord feels jarring and a little confusing. Surely God is not our debtor? He doesn’t owe us anything, just because we serve Him or His people. But that’s what it says: because Ruth has been kind, the Lord will repay her. 

I understand that to be a little window into the wonder of the covenant, that the Almighty God so graciously entered into a covenant with people He had Himself made. He made promises; He bound Himself to them. The mighty God, with frail people – isn’t that amazing?

He promised that if they put themselves under the shelter of His wings in obedient faith, then He would repay them with kindness. Not because He is our debtor, but because He has promised to do so. Not because we deserve it, but because He has promised to do so. It all depends on the faithfulness of God, and that’s the good news.

I love that image of refuge under the wings of the Lord, the God of Israel. It communicates so much about the tender protection He gives His people. I’m reminded that I take refuge by placing my trust in Christ, by trusting in the One in whom all God’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen”. There is no safer place to be. Because it all depends on the faithfulness of God.

We’re really in the family

Is Ruth still an outsider? No, she isn’t – Boaz makes it clear that Ruth is part of God’s covenant people. And you can’t be just kind of His child, in a backdoor not really part of the family kind of way. But she’s still a Moabite – and that’s part of the miracle. 

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob…
I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

Amazing grace.

THE BOOK OF RUTH: CHRISTIAN ENCOURAGEMENT FOR MOMS

 

Here’s week 1 of The Ruth Reflections: Naomi and the breaking in of grace

And week 2 of The Ruth Reflections: Where is your hometown?

The Ruth Reflections Boaz, Christian encouragement for moms, God's faithfulness, Ruth Chapter 2, Ruth's faithfulness, The Book of Ruth

Comments

  1. Elizabeth says

    May 4, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    Hello Elizabeth, Did you realize that Ruth chapter 3 takes place at Pentecost? Boaz is very thankful for all that God has done for him – including his great harvest. He is preparing to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost. Out of thankfulness to God, he shares his blessings with Ruth.

    Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem at Passover and Ruth gets married at Pentecost.

    Good post. Keep up the studying.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      May 11, 2017 at 3:57 pm

      That is so interesting! I guess it deepens even more how the redemption by Boaz points us forward to Christ. Thank you for commenting 🙂

      Reply
  2. Christin says

    May 13, 2017 at 3:14 am

    Thank you for this post! It is so encouraging to meditate on the faithfulness of God.
    Boaz’ kindness to Ruth meant more to me when someone pointed out that his mother, Rahab, was also a foreigner. I love seeing how God ties these two women-who are both mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy- together through Boaz.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth says

      June 3, 2017 at 10:57 pm

      Christin, thank you so much for commenting – that is such a WONDERFUL point! Amazing to see both those women so central to God’s salvation plan.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow on Pinterest & Facebook

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Keep in touch by email

Sign up for emails: posts & extras!

Recent Posts

  • What’s your motherhood manifesto?
  • Why is motherhood so challenging?
  • Treasure in jars of clay – does this make you a better mom?
  • Because sometimes we do lose heart…
  • Motherhood is physical. And spiritual and emotional, but also physical. 

I am looking for…

You might also enjoy…

Breastfeeding twins - 7 helpful tips

Breastfeeding twins – 7 helpful tips

It's twins! Do you need to buy two of everything?

It’s twins! Do you need to buy two of everything?

4 month old baby breastfeeding, some encouragement when you are learning to breastfeed

My baby is 4 months old: the good stuff about breastfeeding

Biblical ways to deal with disappointment. Christian encouragement for moms.

10 resolutions to make when moving house

Classic kids books: the retro list. These timeless books will take you right back to childhood and they are treasures to share with your kids!

6 classic kids books: the retro list

Which nipple cream is the best

Not all nipple creams are created equal

Keep in touch by Email

Sign up for emails: posts & extras!

I am reading…

On my reading list…

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

What Mama Knows is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. All opinions are those of the author and links cause no extra charge to the readers of this blog. Thank you.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT