Ruth's Love Story

As one who has asked Christ to be their Savior, do you believe that God has guided you and will guide you toward your life mate? Personally, I believe this; in the Bible there is a story of a man and woman who God brought together and blessed. This love story is my favorite from God’s Word; it can be found in Ruth chapter two.

The heroine of our story is Ruth who was a widow from the country of Moab and lived with her widowed mother-in-law, Naomi who was an Israelite. In order to support and provide for herself and Naomi, Ruth gleaned out in the surrounding fields of Bethlehem.

Gleaning is the action of collecting crops that remain after a field has been harvested; to early cultures gleaning was part of what we could call "a welfare system". A good example of this system during this period took place in ancient Jewish communities where they required farmers to not harvest the edges of their fields so as to leave some for the needy.

In Leviticus 19:9-10, 23:22, and Deuteronomy 14:28-29, God commands His people, the Jews, not to harvest all that was in the fields; what they left behind was for people like Ruth and Naomi, widows. Ruth would gather what she could from what was being harvested at the time. When the story opens grains were being harvested; Ruth asks permission of Naomi to go into the grain fields and gather what she could. Naomi gave Ruth permission, and Ruth chose a field; it so happened that this particular field belonged to a man by the name of Boaz who was a close relative to Naomi’s deceased husband’s family.

One day, Boaz, who was a rich landowner, comes out to his fields and notices Ruth gleaning grain from his fields; he enquires of his servant, who is over the harvesters, who this lady was? The servant replies, "It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now". Boaz had heard of Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi; he knew of the difficult circumstances she and Naomi were in.

Boaz goes to Ruth, and tells her to not leave his fields but stay; he invites her to eat with him and his workers during mealtimes; he also commands his servants to deliberately leave grain for her to glean. Boaz kept a protective eye on Ruth; the first day in his field, Ruth gleaned into the evening and returned home to Naomi where she gave her all that she had gathered. Naomi was astonished; she asked Ruth where she had gone to glean; Ruth told her of Boaz’s kindness. Naomi was ecstatic with joy; she told Ruth that Boaz was kin to her; Ruth gleaned in Boaz’s fields till the end of the harvest season.

Boaz and Ruth become friends that later leads Ruth to asking him to marry her; Boaz accepts, but warns her that there is a member in the family who has more of a right to her than him. Boaz arranges a meeting at the city’s gate with this relative and in the company of ten city leaders, Boaz persuades him to purchase Naomi's late husband's land; the monies would of course go to Naomi. After the relative agreed to purchase or redeem the land, Boaz informs him that in redeeming the land he must also take Ruth as his wife; the laws of Israel demanded this. After hearing this, the relative refuses to purchase the land and withdraws his offer in apprehending that it could cause chaos among his own personal inheritance or estate. This decision was made for if Ruth gave birth, her child would inherit Naomi’s late husband’s land and all monies he paid out to Naomi would in the end be lost along with the land. After making this decision, the relative gave his right to purchase the land to Boaz; this act was performed by removing ones sandal and handing it to the one who wanted to buy the land; thus the transfer was complete and valid; Boaz could now marry Ruth. Redemption was not only a social concept in Israel; it was also one of religion; Israel was aware of its social responsibility toward one another to protect its weak and unprotected; the action of redemption secured individuals that in turn secured the entire community. Land for an Israelite was of great importance; without it, one could sink down into the state of poverty; if this occurred, the law of Leviticus 25:25 obliged a kinsman to buy it back for his family. Boaz became Ruth and Naomi’s kinsman-redeemer; the marriage of Boaz and Ruth was known as a levirate marriage.

Because of Ruth’s love for Naomi, she meets Boaz, marries him and together they have a son; they name him Obed who became the father of Jesse who bore David who became the king of Israel. Ruth became part of the lineage of Christ. As I read the story of Ruth how can I not believe that God has a plan for the lives of His children?