RUTH 3

As I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but compare Boaz with the men of Gibeah described in Judges 19. Those men went out looking for someone to take advantage of. Boaz, on the other hand, refused to take advantage of Ruth, even though she had placed herself in a very precarious situation.

In coming to his threshing floor in the middle of the night, Ruth was engaging in very unorthodox behavior. Certainly, as she was on Boaz’s property (trespassing, if you will), he would have been within his "rights" to do whatever he wanted with her. He could have abused her, taken advantage of her, even raped her. Not only didn’t he do that, but he even sheltered her from the appearance of impropriety: "So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, 'No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.'" (vs 14) Not only was Boaz not going to take advantage of Ruth, but he was even jealous for her reputation!

What a startling difference between Boaz and the evil men of Gibeah! And what made the difference? Well, I think it’s clear from the text that Boaz was a man of God. In a time when Israel was falling away from the Lord, Boaz remained true to Him. And God gave him a very great reward for that faith. He gave him a wonderful wife in Ruth and a place in the genealogy of the Messiah.

It is God who brings out the best in us. Without Him, we are left to our evil desires and whims. Without Him, we can so easily end up enslaved to the selfishness that resides naturally in our hearts—even when we "think" we’re living good lives as good people. On the flip side, though, we know that God can clean up the dirtiest of hearts. So even if we’re headed in the direction of Gibeah, it’s never too late to turn around! And though the circumstances may not be as dramatic, we all have that choice—the choice to end up like the men of Gibeah or to end up like Boaz.

Who do you want to be?