OT Sermon 50 Getting Your Boaz
Boaz was a real turn around for Ruth who was a young widow. She must have got married with the
idea that she would enjoy many years with her husband. She obviously liked the family she’d
married into as she was happy to stay with Naomi after her husband’s death. Life did not turn out
the way Ruth expected and she like her mother-in-law could have become very bitter. We do not
hear of Ruth complaining about the bad hand she’d been dealt. Instead we see her commitment
and ability to come alongside Naomi. These qualities would make her an ideal life partner for Boaz.
1. Before Your Boaz You May Experience Loss
Ruth did not just run into Boaz without going through anything in her life. She had already had one
marriage before she met him. This marriage ended with the death of her husband.
Ruth 1:4-5 (GW)
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Each son married a woman from Moab. One son married a woman named Orpah, and the
other son married a woman named Ruth. They lived there for about ten years.
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Then both Mahlon and Chilion died as well. So Naomi was left alone, without her two sons
or her husband.
A 10 year marriage is significant enough to have really got used to a spouse. To lose her husband
who we assume she was happily married to was a loss. Many of us in life have been through the
process of losing something before we gained. God is a God of restoration. The good thing about
this is that he always restores things better than they were originally. He ends up giving Ruth not
just a husband but a Boaz. Boaz is someone who knows about you and notices you. He favours you
and wants to be a blessing to you. This is restoration when you have been stolen from or cheated by
the enemy. God says to us:
Joel 2:25-26 (GW)
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“Then I will repay you for the years that the mature locusts, the adult locusts, the
grasshoppers, and the young locusts ate your crops. (They are the large army that I sent
against you.)
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You will have plenty to eat, and you will be full. You will praise the name of the Lord your
God, who has performed miracles for you. My people will never be ashamed again.
The large army that was sent against Ruth devoured her husband and her wealth. This is why when
they get to Bethlehem they have to glean to get food to eat during the barley harvest. When you
experience loss of a person who was close to you this is all compounded by other problems such as
financial difficulties. What used to be a responsibilities shared by a couple suddenly become
concerns for one person to manage on their own. This is why what Ruth does for Naomi in following
her back to Bethlehem was very noble. The two of them are blessed because of this decision and
Naomi is helped by Ruth being able to glean for the two of them in her early days back in Bethlehem.
2. Before You Receive Boaz Your Attitude Will Be Tested
We can tell from the way Ruth helps her mother-in-law that she was a humble lady. She decided to
stay with Naomi rather than dwelling on how young she was and how easily she would attract
another husband.
Ruth 1:12-16 (GW)
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Go back, my daughters. Go, because I am too old to get married again. If I said that I still
have hope.... And if I had a husband tonight.... And even if I gave birth to sons,
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would you wait until they grew up and stay single just for them? No, my daughters. My
bitterness is much worse than yours because the Lord has sent me so much trouble.”
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They began to cry loudly again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth
held on to her tightly.
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Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Go
back with your sister-in-law.”
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But Ruth answered, “Don't force me to leave you. Don't make me turn back from following
you. Wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my
people, and your God will be my God.
Naomi makes it very clear that there won’t be any remarriage for these women through her
offspring. She makes it clear that the hope of having a husband through Naomi’s line is nonexistent. Orpah eventually gives in to this and says bye but Ruth cleaves to Naomi. Ruth commits to
going wherever Naomi goes, to becoming one of her people and having her God. Although Naomi
wasn’t exactly a great example when she lost her husband and sons obviously Ruth saw something
on her. Maybe before she experienced the death of her husband and sons she had been a joyful,
vibrant Christian. Or perhaps she just carried the presence of God. Ruth wants to know her God
more and obviously feels she can learn from Naomi. Being teachable is a big part of having the right
attitude.
3. Before Your Boaz You Will Need to Show Commitment
Ruth wanted to serve Naomi’s God. She showed commitment to this by going with Naomi instead
of staying in Moab. She also showed commitment to providing for Naomi in Bethlehem by gleaning
for both of them. She was a very good example of someone who would love God even when it
didn’t feel good. Don’t think the enemy didn’t try to tell her that she would have been better off
back in Moab rather than gathering food with the poor in Bethlehem. There would have been
temptations for self pity, dwelling on the fact that other young women had their husbands, even
children and there she was without either and now with a former mother-in-law who needed her to
pick up leftovers so they could survive.
Commitment qualifies you for your next blessing level. Because Ruth could commit to God in such
difficult circumstances God knew the blessing of Boaz would not ruin her. She could marry a
wealthy man and still be good to others because she’d been through hard times herself and knew
God had brought her through. Her commitment to God during bad times meant she could be
trusted. The son that she has with Boaz is Obed who is the grandfather of King David. She gave
birth to one who would produce an heir to the throne. Before Boaz arrives your commitment to
God, marriage and the people God puts on your path will be tested.
4. Before Boaz Takes You He Has to Bless You
Boaz is a man who comes along loaded with blessing. He takes notice of Ruth and knows how good
she has been to her mother-in-law. He allows her to glean in his field and loads her with food.
Ruth 2:5-16 (GW)
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Boaz asked the young man in charge of his reapers, “Who is this young woman?”
The young man answered, “She's a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi
from the country of Moab.
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She said, ‘Please let me gather grain. I will only gather among the bundles behind the
reapers.' So she came here and has been on her feet from daybreak until now. She just sat
down this minute in the shelter.”
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Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don't go in any other field to gather grain, and
don't even leave this one. Stay here with my young women.
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Watch where my men are reaping, and follow the young women in that field. I have ordered
my young men not to touch you. When you're thirsty, go to the jars and drink some of the
water that the young men have drawn.”
10
Ruth immediately bowed down to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so helpful?
Why are you paying attention to me? I'm only a foreigner.”
11 Boaz answered her, “People have told me about everything you have done for your
mother-in-law after your husband died. They told me how you left your father and
mother and the country where you were born. They also told me how you came to
people that you didn't know before.
12 May the Lord reward you for what you have done! May you receive a rich reward
from the Lord God of Israel, under whose protection you have come for shelter.”
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Ruth replied, “Sir, may your kindness to me continue. You have comforted me and
reassured me, and I'm not even one of your own servants.”
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When it was time to eat, Boaz told her, “Come here. Have some bread, and dip it into the
sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he handed her some roasted grain. She ate all
she wanted and had some left over.
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When she got up to gather grain, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her gather grain even
among the bundles. Don't give her any problems.
16 Even pull some grain out of the bundles and leave it for her to gather. Don't give her a
hard time about it.”
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Boaz notices Ruth and wants the Lord to reward you. Your Boaz will be someone who admires you
and believes that you should be blessed. They will go out of their own way to bless you. You will
need to be humble like Ruth and accept that blessing. Some young women would have thought they
didn’t need the pity or the help. Boaz gives Ruth the opportunity to glean and even instructs his
servants to leave extra for her to gather. How beautiful that Ruth’s decision to go and glean for her
and Naomi is met with abundant provision. She goes out expecting leftovers and gets blessed with
more than usual reapers. Plus she meets her husband her sees that she is not a woman who can
only stand in good times. She can cope even when circumstances are not favourable. This is good
for a man to see before he marries a woman.
5. Before Boaz Arrives Submit Yourself To Godly Counsel and Be Ready
Sometimes things do not go well in relationships because we lack the wisdom of God. God can bring
godly counsel to us through various sources which all go back to His Word. Ruth gets some advice
from Naomi. If she hadn’t been humble she could’ve thought well if Naomi knew so much about her
God then how did she end up in this situation? Fancy telling me to put on some perfume and some
decent clothes......
Ruth 3:1-5 (GW)
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Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn't I try to look for a home
that would be good for you?
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Isn't Boaz, whose young women you've been working with, our relative? He will be
separating the barley from its husks on the threshing floor tonight.
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Freshen up, put on some perfume, dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. Don't let
him know that you're there until he's finished eating and drinking.
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When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Then uncover his feet, and lie down
there. He will make it clear what you must do.”
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Ruth answered her, “I will do whatever you say.”
Ruth was able to do whatever Naomi said. She was once again prepared to follow her. Because of
her obedience everything is very easy. Everything works out quickly and smoothly. Relationships
are an area where it can be good to have advice. People in relationship with the one you are
considering can tell you about the person’s character and background. This can all be useful
information. I am not advocating arranged marriages. However, marriages in which the counsel of
parents or those in a position to know the one you want to marry are usually better founded and
grounded than just marrying people we know hardly anything about.
Just because someone is a Christian doesn’t mean that their advice is necessarily correct. James
gives us a good test for the counsel that comes from God. We need to test the character of the one
giving the advice and not just expect what they say to be right because of a title they may have. Also
anything which goes against your conscience as a Christian should not be done no matter who
advises you. When it comes to marriage you’r e the one left to deal with any potential mistakes-not
the one who advised you.
James 3:17 (GW)
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However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle,
obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere.
James 3:17 (AMP)
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But the wisdom from above is first of all pure (undefiled); then it is peace-loving, courteous
(considerate, gentle). [It is willing to] yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is
wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and
insincerity).