As you know, My husband is my Boaz. And one of the things I just love is how Boaz is a man of his word. When Daniel and I were about to get married we discussed much of what we wanted our marriage to be like. One thing we always said and still do is, “Mean what you say and say what you mean.” This means always be a person of your word and don’t be passive aggressive or beat about the bush with something. Because of this, we have grown to trust and lean on each other more than any other relationships in our lives. Boaz also embodies this phrase. Right after Ruth heads back to Naomi with a shawl full of barley, Boaz wastes no time and travels into town, just like he said he would.
Ruth 4:1-12 New International Version (NIV)
4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you[b] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the[c] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
Boaz is ready to make good on his word. He will do everything in his power to bring redemption to both Ruth and Naomi’s lives. From the Scripture, we see Boaz is not only able to meet with this nearer, unnamed kinsman-redeemer, but he is also able to gather the ten elders of the town to hold this important meeting.
At first, this man seems eager to redeem Elimilek’s property. My heart screams out, “No!” Even though I know the story, I tend to get caught up in the narrative. Until he hears that Ruth a Moabite comes with the redemption.
The cost is too much.
The potential sacrifice to his own estate too high.
He is only willing to redeem that which will benefit him and carry on his name… not the name of someone else.
Should he step into this redemption kinsman-redeemer role and take on Elimilek’s land and “property,” this man would risk putting his own heritage at stake. So he counts the cost and decides to pass on the opportunity. And of course, all of us cheer with excitement for what this means for Ruth and Naomi!
Boaz steps in and makes good on his word. He accepts her, loves her, and joyfully takes on the responsibility of caring for both Ruth and Naomi. He does not worrying about Ruth’s Moabite past. Just as Jesus steps in as our Redeemer with no worries of our sinful past.
How ironic that the first kinsman-redeemer was more concerned about protecting his name and his inheritance, yet we don’t even know his name. Boaz, on the other hand, didn’t care about those matters. He chose to love, accept, and help those who didn’t have the power to help themselves, and his name has been kept through generations because of his obedience and the good he did. Boaz’s name and deeds live on through Scripture.
We all have a choice to make just as Boaz and the nearer kinsman-redeemer, the choice to live for ourselves or to live in obedience to God. We can choose to live lives that are ordinary in our own strength and what we can accomplish, or we can choose to live out God’s truth and live lives that are extraordinary because of how we allow God to work through us.
We can choose to play it safe, or we can choose to live lives in complete obedience to God. Our choices dictate the type of legacy we leave behind.
Boaz’s name is preserved in Scripture and the other man is never heard of again. What he thought he was saving, he lost. What Boaz didn’t care to save, he kept.
May we choose to be like Boaz, people who are not only willing to obey God, but have a passion for it. Be someone who is willing to redeem, love, and protect those rejected by the world. May we be people who love and care for the least in our midst. May we be people who are like Boaz. And in turn be more like Jesus.
Let’s Talk: Who has been a “Boaz” to you and what impact did this person’s kindness have on your life?