At a time when Israel had fallen almost hopelessly away from their God, Jeremiah spoke God’s words to them: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom, or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:23-24) At first I was surprised that Jeremiah spoke of having the understanding to “know” God, and of God expecting His people to “know” Him, even before He sent His son. But then I remembered a man who lived the very words that God spoke to Jeremiah about six hundred years before Jeremiah recorded them for the people of his time.

Boaz was a land owner and farmer in Bethlehem in Judah. He owned a large property and employed a number of workers. One day he rode into his fields and found a new follower of his reapers: Boaz asked the overseers of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” (Ruth 2:5) Even before this exchange, Boaz had greeted his workers with, “The Lord be with you!” to which they responded , “The Lord Bless you!” (“Ruth 2:4) This was a salute in the name of Israel’s God, perhaps the first that Ruth had heard since arriving in Bethlehem. Boaz extended his protection and even favor to Ruth while she gleaned. Boaz, like David, was a man after God’s own heart.

The story of Ruth is a st0ry o f rescue for hope and a future. It’s the unfolding of a soul, Ruth, to find the long awaited fulfillment of her life, and the lives of Naomi and of Boaz himself. Ruth’s choice to travel with Naomi from Moab to Israel after the deaths of both of their husbands, was an act of loyalty that brought Ruth to the attention of Boaz and displayed her character of devotion. Ruth remained obedient to Naomi in visiting Boaz to ask for his protection to fulfill a rule in Israel that a deceased man’s nearest relative should marry the widow. Boaz, who loved kindness, justice, and righteousness, married Ruth and they had a son named Obed, who grew up to be David’s grandfather.

About six hundred years after Jeremiah spoke the words of God, the apostle Paul wrote,

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 6:14)

Paul knew Jeremiah’s words well; and Boas,Ruth, Jeremiah, and Paul were living evidence of God’s truth to His people. These each received that truth and knew God.

Love in Him,

Prue