Then he said, "May you be
blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be
better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. Now,
my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people
in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. Now it is true I am a
close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night,
and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if
he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie
down until morning."
Do you know anyone who is known
as “A Woman of Excellence”? Proverbs 31 gives us a glimpse of such a woman. An excellent wife, who can find? For her
worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will
have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life…
Strength
and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth
in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the
ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children
rise up and bless her; her husband also, and he praises her, saying: Many
daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all. Charm is deceitful and
beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. (NASB, verses 10-13 and 25-30) I
like to think this passage is descriptive of Ruth—and what her life may have
been after she married Boaz. She certainly raises the bar for all women.
Today is my 40th
wedding anniversary—so I personally would like to think that I have attained at
least a small level of this woman of excellence status—but I am only human and
know my own weaknesses. I’m not there yet! It gives me a goal for which to
strive—to reach, but not with my own strength. I am reminded that it is only in
Christ’s strength that I can ever attain such a goal. A friend of mine’s favorite verse is
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things
through Him who strengthens me. Holding up her hands she calls it her ten
finger verse—one word for each of her ten fingers. And with her hands in the
air, she glorifies God, who gives her strength to do all things. Like Ruth, she is an amazing woman of excellence!
Do not fear—Boaz was once again
protecting and honoring Ruth. By asking him to cover her, she has “asked” him
to be her goel, her savior, her husband. It was so important in that time to
have a husband and family for their hope of immortality is in having offspring.
Now Boaz is going to “redeem” Ruth, if her closer relative will not redeem her.
He didn’t escort her home in the dark of the night, but told her to lie down
and that he would take care of this situation in the morning. What a man of
honor Boaz is! Just lie down and rest and let me do the worrying, the
arranging. She would be safe.
We depend on Christ for our
spiritual salvation, for our hope and future safety. He has promised that He
will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and He gave His life that we
might have eternal life with Him For God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have
eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,
but that the world might be saved through Him. John 3:16-17 NASB The
redemption that Jesus provides for us was foretold in the redemption of Ruth by
Boaz, with love, honor, respect and full devotion.
Dear
Jesus, Thank you for being our Savior, for redeeming us from a world of fear,
weakness and chaos. Thank you for the strength and hope we have in You.
© 2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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