06.04.05 Ruth and Boaz: A Story of Purity and Self-Control in a Vulnerable Moment : A Biblical Revelation

Ruth and Boaz: A Story of Purity and Self-Control in a Vulnerable Moment – A Biblical Revelation

The story of Ruth and Boaz is found in the Book of Ruth, the eighth book of the Old Testament. The narrative is an epitome of purity and self-control, as demonstrated on the night Ruth and Boaz spent together.

Naomi, a woman from Bethlehem in Judea, migrated to Moab with her husband, Elimelech, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, due to a famine. While in Moab, Mahlon married Ruth, a Moabite. However, following the death of Elimelech and both sons, Naomi resolved to return to Bethlehem. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, chose to remain with the mother-in-law, committing herself to Naomi’s people and to her God. This was how Ruth, a widowed foreigner, arrived in Bethlehem with no material security and very little social protection. Her decision placed the young widow in a vulnerable position, especially since the two women were nearly penniless and the Jews had long regarded Moabites as enemies. On arriving in Bethlehem, the Moabite widow began gleaning in the fields to provide for both of them.

Boaz, on the other hand, was a man of standing, provision and influence; a landowner with social authority and economic power in Bethlehem. Interestingly, the bible narrates how Boaz was a close relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased husband. A descendant of Judah, Boaz was the son of Salmon and Rahab (Ruth 4:21; Matthew 1:5), the Canaanite woman from Jericho who had hidden the Israelite spies. And, Salmon is traditionally believed to have been one of those spies. Since Elimelech and Mahlon had died in Moab, Boaz, a ‘kinsman-redeemer’, was one of the relatives tasked with the responsibility of marrying Ruth and protecting the interests of her deceased husband’s family in accordance with the Law of Moses.

The defining test of Ruth and Boaz’s purity and self-control came when the young widow showed up on the man’s threshing floor in the dead of night. Back in the day, the floor was a raised area on the outskirts of Bethlehem where harvested grain was separated from chaff through winnowing. It was common for landowners such as Boaz to sleep at the threshing floor during the harvest season to prevent theft, oversee operations and facilitate the process. The setting was secure, cold, quiet and private. The fact that there were no witnesses within the vicinity placed both Ruth and Boaz in a position that required a high level of physical and emotional restraint. Ruth 3:8–14 records how the young widow remained focused on her request for redemption in accordance with the provision of the law, without deviating to any other ‘agenda’. Likewise, Boaz responded by committing to address the matter in the proper manner, ensuring that Ruth left before dawn so as to preserve her reputation. Neither of them acted outside the expected moral standard, despite the inviting and potentially seductive setting.