Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” The foreman replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?”
Ruth 2.4-10
As the story of Ruth unfolds we are introduced in more detail to Boaz whose name we know from v.1
This morning I just want to explore his character from what we are told of him in the text.
He is a Godfearing man. See how he greets his workers. The LORD be with you. LORD in capitals – YHWH – The Name of the Almighty, Sovereign Lord.
He is respected by his workers as they reply “The LORD bless you”
He is v.1 again a man of standing – he has a foreman over his workers
He is a good employer – v.4 he is aware of and cares for his workers.
He is perceptive – he notices Ruth
He is, we are told, from the Clan of Elimelech – a kinsman – and later a Kinsman Redeemer, the significance of which as we shall discover as we proceed, is key in the unfolding story. A story which has implications far beyond the family of Elimelech in Bethlehem.
Reflect this morning on the sovereign acts of God as the characters in this, on the surface, local story of an otherwise unknown family, are put in place as a key link in the story of redemption.
As you do so, reflect further on your place in God’s plans.