Bible Stories – Ruth and Boaz

Bible Stories Ruth and Boaz is the concluding part of our series on Ruth. She meets Boaz and is rewarded for her years of diligence. In this Bible Story – Ruth and Boaz get married and are blessed with a son to carry on the family name of Elimelech. The Bible Story of Ruth and Boaz is truly inspirational and gives hope that seeds of kindness will be repaid with good in the end. Enjoy reading Bible stories – Ruth and Boaz.

 

Bible Stories – Ruth and Boaz

Ruth’s heart jumped at Naomi’s words. Naomi had been telling her how she wanted to make sure she was settled and provided for, and she was talking about Boaz being a close relative. Ruth did not want to feel hopeful in that regard, she was afraid to have her heart broken again. She had settled down nicely at Bethlehem, and she and Naomi were doing okay. They were comfortable and happy with their new life. Ruth did not want to shake the table again….

 

“No Naomi, you really shouldn’t do anything.” She said, “Boaz has been kind to us and we don’t really want to cause him any more trouble than is necessary.”

“Hush Ruth, listen to me and do as I say. Tonight, Boaz will be sifting Barley on the threshing floor. I need you to take a bath, put on some perfume and dress up in your best. Then go to the threshing floor. Do not let him see you till he is done feasting…”

“Wait, you are not suggesting I try to seduce him, are you?”

“Listen, my child, Boaz is a wealthy man and he is no fool. I am sure he has had young women try to throw themselves at him before. That is not what I am telling you to do.”

“Ok, because I was getting worried when you said I should wait till he was lively with food and wine before I make myself known to him,” Ruth said

Naomi instructs Ruth

“Have I ever stirred you wrong before?”

“No, you haven’t,”

“You spent three months working on that man’s farm, and I am sure he knows how hardworking and well-behaved you are. He may not have wanted to come across to you as presumptuous. Or maybe he was just too preoccupied with work to see what was right in front of him. Either way, If you do as I tell you, I assure you, Boaz will do the right thing and request your hand in marriage. He is our family redeemer and this is my way of ensuring that you will be provided for long after I am gone!”

“Ok Naomi, I will do as you say. Tell me what to do.”

“Just make sure to keep an eye on him and take note where he lies down to sleep for the night. Then you can go to him after he has slept, uncover his feet, and lay down there. He will tell you what to do”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, that is it”

“What if he wakes up in the middle of the night and thinks I am a harlot?”

“Then you will make sure he does not continue to think that”

“Really?”

“It’s not that complicated, Ruth. You will be fine”

“Ok, I trust you and will do everything as you have said”

 

Ruth takes a bold step

So, She went down to the threshing floor that evening and followed her mother-in-law’s instructions. After Boaz had eaten and drank and was in good spirits, he went to lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and promptly went to sleep.

Ruth came quietly to where he slept and raised the blanket with which he covered himself at the feet and lay down there. At about midnight, Boaz woke up and turned over and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.

“Who are you?” he asked

“It is me Ruth” she replied “Spread the corner of your covering over me because you are my family redeemer”.

“Oh, God bless you, my dear,” he said “Because you have shown your devotion and loyalty to our family by not going after younger men, rich or poor.”

“Now, don’t you worry about a thing,” he continued “I will do what is necessary because everyone in town knows you are virtuous. But even though I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, I will go talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, then very well, he will marry you. But if he is not willing, then as the Lord lives, I will surely redeem you myself. Now lie here till morning” he finished and they both went back to sleep.

 

A plan is underway

In the morning, she got up before it was bright and Boaz was up too.

He requested for her scarf and measured large bowls of barley into it, tied it, and gave it to her.

“Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed” he said “And ensure no one knows you were here tonight” he said.

She thanked him and left before the sun came up. When she got home, Naomi asked her how it went.

“Well, he was shocked, as expected, when he woke up in the middle of the night and saw me there. But after I told him it was me; he spoke kind words and asked me to stay till morning. And he sent me home with this huge amount of Barley for us”. She said.

“He did mention another relative though. He said that person is also a family redeemer and is closer to us than him. Do you know who it is? And please explain to me again how the family redeemer works.”

 

The Family Redeemer

“In Jewish law, if a man dies leaving a widow without a son to be his heir, the man’s brother or closest male relative would marry the widow to provide for her and produce an heir for his deceased relative.”

“So, what if this other relative refuses to marry me?”

“Then Boaz will marry you”

“What if the other relative decides to marry me?” Naomi asked again realizing she could end up with a total stranger! At least she knew Boaz was a kind man. What if this other relative only married her out of obligation? What if he neglected her after she bore a child? That was all the law required of him; he was not required to love her. What type of life would she have then?

She looked at Naomi as worry creased her forehead.

“Hush now, don’t worry my child,” Naomi said “Boaz is a trustworthy man and he will not rest until this matter is settled”.

Ruth tried to stay calm, but there was no getting the matter out of her mind. Her whole future would likely be decided today. How could she stay calm?

 

Boaz’s task

Boaz went home from the threshing floor early that morning, took a shower, and dressed up. He had to organize a quick meeting of the town elders and the best way to do that was at the gate. Respected Jewish elders and leaders would usually meet at the gate to settle matters in the presence of other elders as witnesses. Yes, that was how he was going to settle this matter today. He hoped that his close relative, Naomi’s other family redeemer would be in town today. He said a quick prayer for God’s blessings and a speedy resolution.

 

At the city gate, Boaz sat on one of the chairs they usually used for council meetings and waited patiently.

“Greetings Boaz,” an older man said as he walked towards Boaz where he sat. “You’re here early, it must be urgent,” he said

“Greetings, my good friend” Boaz responded “Yes, it is an urgent matter. I see you are out early yourself, is it business or boredom? Did you finally retire?” he said with a wide grin.

“You know, I’ll never do that” his friend responded “I am going to work on that farm till the day I join my ancestors”

“You know you really should leave your sons to run the farm. They only tolerate your presence because they inherited it from you, they would have butted you out a long time ago” He joked with his old friend.

“A good thing they remember it is an inheritance then, because I can decide to have more children and split it further”. His friend responded.

The elder’s council

“A funny thing you should mention that,” Boaz said “It’s actually the reason for this meeting today”

“I see… it is an urgent matter then” the older man was saying as he noticed Boaz’s attention drawn to someone who was passing.

“Just the person I was looking for” Boaz called out to another man who was walking by “Greetings my brother! I hope you are not too busy to join us for an urgent matter today?”

“You know I always have time to do the right thing, my brother” he responded and greeted Boaz with a handshake as he approached the elder’s meeting spot.

As the three men sat down and chatted, other elders who passed noted the activity and joined them. Boaz called out to a few others to join them and as soon as they had the required ten men, he got up to address the assembly.

 

Big Decisions

“Thank you elders of our city for making the time to attend to this matter today. I will go straight to the point in order not to take too much of your time.”

Then he turned to his relative who was also Naomi’s family redeemer and said to him

“Naomi who came back from Moab is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech,” he said “I wanted to speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then please buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away. Because I am next in line to redeem it after you” he finished.

The man replied “Alright, I will redeem it”

And Boaz added “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the widow of Mahlon, so she can bear children to carry on her husband’s name. And so the land can be kept in the family”

 

A change of heart

“In that case, I am sorry but I will not be able to redeem it” the man responded “Because doing so may put my own estate in danger. You may go ahead to redeem the land,” he told Boaz. Then he took off his sandal and handed it to Boaz as a sign that he was transferring the right to purchase the land to him. This was the custom of the day, and Boaz received the sandal from him. Then he turned to face the elders and other people who were at the gate.

“You are all witnesses today that I have purchased from Naomi all that belonged to my relative Elimelech. And all that belonged to Mahlon and Chilion his sons as well. In addition, I have also redeemed Ruth the Moabitess, widow of Mahlon to be my wife. This is in order to perpetuate the name of the dead and raise heirs to inherit his property. You are all witnesses today” he concluded.

 

A happy conclusion

Then all the elders and people at the gate responded saying “We are witnesses!”

A lot of people congratulated him for rising up to the occasion to ensure Elimelech’s family line was not cut off. And more people blessed him and prayed that his new wife would be fruitful and raise mighty descendants.

Ruth got tired of sitting on the stool outside the house waiting for news. So she decided to go inside and distract herself by tidying and cleaning the little cottage she shared with her mother-in-law. A loud rap on the door made her jump.

“Congratulations Ruth and Naomi” their neighbor shouted in an excited tone as she rushed into the house before she was invited to come in. “Your family redeemer has come through, Boaz has redeemed Ruth”

Ruth and Naomi both looked at each other with joy. Naomi gave Ruth a knowing smile to say “I told you so” and Ruth smiled back in relief. They got the outcome they wanted, and they were both overjoyed that the matter had been resolved so fast. It was indeed a miracle. Other women came in and out at different times offering to help them prepare to move into Boaz’s house. Asking Ruth what she might need for her first night with Boaz, a beauty treatment, her hair done… and on and on friends and well-meaning neighbors came to offer their support and congratulations. Ruth was overwhelmed with all the love.

 

One Year later

“It’s a boy, Naomi” the midwife who had just delivered Ruth and Boaz’s son said. “Would you like to hold him?”

“Yes,” Naomi said as she took the child and held him close to her bosom, and she cared for him like he was her own.

The other women congratulated Naomi with words of greeting like “Ah, Naomi finally has a son again.” “Oh look at the beautiful son of your daughter-in-law who has been better to you than seven sons.” “Praise the Lord who has now provided a redeemer for your family.” And with many such words, they encouraged Ruth and Naomi.

The child was named Obed and he was the grandfather of David who grew to become one of Israel’s mightiest kings!

 

The story is found in the Holy Bible, Book of Ruth, chapters 3 and 4.