Ruth and Boaz: A Story of Redemption

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. “He 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 guardian-redeemers.” -Ruth 2:19-20

Ruth and Naomi felt abandoned and forgotten by God. When they returned to the land of Israel, widowed and destitute, Naomi told the people to call her “Mara” (meaning bitterness) because God had treated her bitterly. But God was still by her side. God was still working in her life and in the lives of the people around her to protect and provide for her needs. When Ruth tells Naomi in whose field she had worked that day, she asks for God’s blessing to fall upon Boaz. Naomi has been hurt and struggled with what life has handed her, but she has not completely abandoned her faith in God. She continues to seek God, even in her struggles.

In your own life have you ever experienced that lowest point, where you felt like changing your name to “bitterness” and leaving town? I know I have. Who were the people that stepped in and helped you to rejoice in God’s provision? Who was the Boaz in your life? Or, to whom have you been that God-sent blessing in another persons’ life? You may have been the Boaz to someone who really needed an extra hand.

As we continue through the Covid isolation, perhaps there are ways we can see the “other” not as an enemy, but as a hurting person, just needing another chance. Last Sunday, we asked several questions in an attempt to discern how we know if God is on our side? That may be the wrong question to begin with. Perhaps there is another way to see that God is with us, by our side, and not be as concerned about which side of the conflict we find ourselves.

Instead of asking the question, “Is God on my side?”, the real questions are:

“Am I for who God is for (which turns out to be a pretty expansive list)?”
“Am I about what God is about?”
“Am I loving in the way Jesus is loving?”
“Am I erring on the side of goodness and justice and mercy?”

Let’s do our best to believe that God is by our side, not on our side—and to let that be enough. Just as Ruth and Naomi experienced God’s provision and redemption, may we see and experience God’s presence by our side through whatever trials may come.

This week’s question: How has God comforted me and given me a new hope for life?

The earth is yours, O Lord, and everything in it belongs to you. We confess that we have treated “our own” as exclusive property and cut off those in need from the gift of your abundance. We have ignored orphans, widows, and foreigners, as if there were someone else to care for them. We confess that we have not looked closely enough at others, and we have failed to see in our own lives the abundant gift of your love. Forgive us. Restore us to wholeness, and call us back to your way, through the grace of Jesus Christ. Amen.