I'm not impressed with Boaz
Ok so in light of my recent relationship with this girl who for the sake of scandal I will not mention her name, although I know that of the few people that actually read my stuff, you all know about this whole drama, but anyways... with this whole having a godly relationship going on, I have heard that it seems this guy Boaz is quite the role model to follow. That women should look for a Boaz when they're deciding who to be with (in hopes of wedding the guy of course).
I knew about this Boaz guy. I knew that he married Ruth and was all in all a pretty neat guy. I never paid much attention to it simply because...well... Ruth never striked me as a very interesting book... yes yes.. I know.. the whole seeing how God worked out the whole genealogy for Jesus to fulfill all the prophecies and all that, I do realize it's pretty cool, but I'm talking about the character and what he gives us.
So let me give you an idea about Boaz. He is this really rich guy who owns fields all over the place. Ruth is married to this guy who takes her to live with his mom. Her name is Naomi. She had another son who married this other chick and they all live together.
Now Ruth's husband dies, and his brother dies too, so Naomi ends up alone with the two widows. Naomi was a widower too.
So this 3 women were on her own. So Naomi told Orpah (not to be confused with a very famous black millionaire TV host), her daughter in law, to go back to her house with her gods and everything. Orpah left but Ruth stayed out of fidelity, she said in verse 16: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
Ok so Naomi was stuck with Ruth which might not be such a bad thing after all.
Later on Naomi sends Ruth to pick up grain from this field that one of Naomi's relatives had. His name was Boaz.
Ruth went to pick up the leftover grain. This was a tradition, btw. The workers would pick up the real harvest and after they were done, poor people would come to pick up the leftover. This was a cool system if you think about it in God's terms. Poor people still get fed, but they have to work to get their food.
Anyway.. Ruth goes and starts picking up the grain in Boaz field.
So after a little bit Boaz comes by and he says hi to the harvesters and he notices Ruth. Now, Ruth obviously was not the only one there. There were other poor people picking up the slack. Check this out, verse 4 and 5:
The foreman answers who she is and what she's been doing and Boaz makes his move. Verse 8
"My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
Ok so he's being nice. Ok. He's not putting her to shame by giving her free grain. He does realize that she's working for it and he won't take that honor from her. Ok. She asks why is it that she found such favor from him and Boaz answers in no short terms that because he has heard of what kind of an honorable woman she has been and how she wants to serve God.
Very nice. Now here's the real move:
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
So he's taking her to lunch... sounds like a date to me.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying what Boaz is doing is in any way wrong. Not even close. What I'm saying is that he did exactly the same moves that all of us guys do. The difference is that this is a Cinderella story, whereas most of us are not even close to being princes but more like frogs.
Ok so so far so good. The next stuff gets very interesting.
Naomi tells Ruth that she needs to find a better home. So she tells her to put on perfume and go to Boaz after he is done eating and drinking. This Naomi woman knows men very well apparently. Naomi tells her in Chapter 3: When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do."
Ruth answers: "I will do whatever you say,"
So Boaz was there and the Bible says that after he was done he was in 'good spirits'. The man was drunk. He went to lie down and here's what happens:
Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
After this Boaz asks her who she is, Ruth says something about him being a kinsman (which is taht he responds for Naomi's debts in case she can't) and since Ruth was with Naomi then there was this situation going on. At this point, Boaz, 'in good spirits' decides to take Ruth. He tells her there's this other kin who is closer to Naomi than him and tells her that if he doesn't buy her, then he will.
This other kinsman comes, Boaz offers him a pretty strange deal. this guy doesn't take it and Boaz happily, and soberly, buys Ruth. Later he marries her and have a child. His name was Obed who was the grand father of David, as in king David, great great great... grandfather of Jesus the Son of God.
Now... why am I not impressed with Boaz? well... first of all, it is pretty obvious to me that the reason why he was interested is because she was beautiful. Yes the being a hardworker helped, but bottom line, he noticed her because she was pretty. There's lots of hard working poor people. I'm sure he saw tons. Most poor people are hard workers. They're not poor for being lazy they're poor because they were born in the wrong family or just circumstances. He had seen tons of hard working poor people but he noticed her. So the idea that Boaz JUST extended grace to her because he saw her character is just not good enough.
I know also that Boaz says that he extended his help because of his fidelity to God, but he only learned this AFTER he inquired about her, not before.
Second, when I was thinking about this, jokingly I tagged him as an alcoholic. Being drunk doesn't make you an alcoholic. I've been drunk and I'm not addicted to alcohol. I won't dismiss Boaz as an alcoholic, first of all because there is merit in being in Jesus genealogy, secondly I don't know the guy and third I don't dismiss people based on their addictions or flaws. I have other dismissal criteria.
My girlfriend told me that I could very much be her Boaz. I thought about it and later I told her, babe, I'd much rather be your David or your Joseph (Mary's Joseph). David, a man of hundreds of mistakes and sins. A man of war but also a weak man inside. Adulterer, murderer, liar, abused of his power, selfish and over confident, but also a man whose heart was like God. How is that possible?
David strikes me as a man who is more real. A man who is possible for me to achieve.
After David slept with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, had her husband killed and then the baby was dying, it finally hit him that he had made a mistake. A very big one. He said: I have sinned against the Lord. And then he went and prayed for the kid:
16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
The child ended up dying. David found out when he asked his servants. And what he does later amazes me every time I read it or remember.
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
He got up from the ground. He washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes. In his darkest hour, when everything was over, he got up and made himself a new man. With amazing symbolism we see what happens with redemption. He washed the filth all over his body, he made sure that people around him couldn't tell where he had been by puttin on lotion and he changed his clothes as a new start.
What he does later is even better:
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him
There it is. Redemption. A man who is true to his emotions and his weaknesses. A man who fell down hard, but got up stronger. I don't doubt Boaz was a great man. I just did all this to give strenght to David's character, but truth is, there is just not enough information about Boaz.
I prefer David just because he's more like... well... me.
I knew about this Boaz guy. I knew that he married Ruth and was all in all a pretty neat guy. I never paid much attention to it simply because...well... Ruth never striked me as a very interesting book... yes yes.. I know.. the whole seeing how God worked out the whole genealogy for Jesus to fulfill all the prophecies and all that, I do realize it's pretty cool, but I'm talking about the character and what he gives us.
So let me give you an idea about Boaz. He is this really rich guy who owns fields all over the place. Ruth is married to this guy who takes her to live with his mom. Her name is Naomi. She had another son who married this other chick and they all live together.
Now Ruth's husband dies, and his brother dies too, so Naomi ends up alone with the two widows. Naomi was a widower too.
So this 3 women were on her own. So Naomi told Orpah (not to be confused with a very famous black millionaire TV host), her daughter in law, to go back to her house with her gods and everything. Orpah left but Ruth stayed out of fidelity, she said in verse 16: "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."
Ok so Naomi was stuck with Ruth which might not be such a bad thing after all.
Later on Naomi sends Ruth to pick up grain from this field that one of Naomi's relatives had. His name was Boaz.
Ruth went to pick up the leftover grain. This was a tradition, btw. The workers would pick up the real harvest and after they were done, poor people would come to pick up the leftover. This was a cool system if you think about it in God's terms. Poor people still get fed, but they have to work to get their food.
Anyway.. Ruth goes and starts picking up the grain in Boaz field.
So after a little bit Boaz comes by and he says hi to the harvesters and he notices Ruth. Now, Ruth obviously was not the only one there. There were other poor people picking up the slack. Check this out, verse 4 and 5:
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!"
"The LORD bless you!" they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
I've noticed girls among crowds.. the only reason why I notice is because they're pretty. Maybe I am the only guy who notices beautiful women, but I have the feeling Boaz was not so different in this area than me. I am sure she was all dirty and sweaty and stuff but there's all kinds of girls who look even better when they're working and look all messy. They have this sexyness exuding as their cheeks are reddened and their hair which is usually flawless is all tangly and dusty.
The foreman answers who she is and what she's been doing and Boaz makes his move. Verse 8
"My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
Ok so he's being nice. Ok. He's not putting her to shame by giving her free grain. He does realize that she's working for it and he won't take that honor from her. Ok. She asks why is it that she found such favor from him and Boaz answers in no short terms that because he has heard of what kind of an honorable woman she has been and how she wants to serve God.
Very nice. Now here's the real move:
14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar."
When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. 16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
So he's taking her to lunch... sounds like a date to me.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying what Boaz is doing is in any way wrong. Not even close. What I'm saying is that he did exactly the same moves that all of us guys do. The difference is that this is a Cinderella story, whereas most of us are not even close to being princes but more like frogs.
Ok so so far so good. The next stuff gets very interesting.
Naomi tells Ruth that she needs to find a better home. So she tells her to put on perfume and go to Boaz after he is done eating and drinking. This Naomi woman knows men very well apparently. Naomi tells her in Chapter 3: When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do."
Ruth answers: "I will do whatever you say,"
So Boaz was there and the Bible says that after he was done he was in 'good spirits'. The man was drunk. He went to lie down and here's what happens:
Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered a woman lying at his feet.
After this Boaz asks her who she is, Ruth says something about him being a kinsman (which is taht he responds for Naomi's debts in case she can't) and since Ruth was with Naomi then there was this situation going on. At this point, Boaz, 'in good spirits' decides to take Ruth. He tells her there's this other kin who is closer to Naomi than him and tells her that if he doesn't buy her, then he will.
This other kinsman comes, Boaz offers him a pretty strange deal. this guy doesn't take it and Boaz happily, and soberly, buys Ruth. Later he marries her and have a child. His name was Obed who was the grand father of David, as in king David, great great great... grandfather of Jesus the Son of God.
Now... why am I not impressed with Boaz? well... first of all, it is pretty obvious to me that the reason why he was interested is because she was beautiful. Yes the being a hardworker helped, but bottom line, he noticed her because she was pretty. There's lots of hard working poor people. I'm sure he saw tons. Most poor people are hard workers. They're not poor for being lazy they're poor because they were born in the wrong family or just circumstances. He had seen tons of hard working poor people but he noticed her. So the idea that Boaz JUST extended grace to her because he saw her character is just not good enough.
I know also that Boaz says that he extended his help because of his fidelity to God, but he only learned this AFTER he inquired about her, not before.
Second, when I was thinking about this, jokingly I tagged him as an alcoholic. Being drunk doesn't make you an alcoholic. I've been drunk and I'm not addicted to alcohol. I won't dismiss Boaz as an alcoholic, first of all because there is merit in being in Jesus genealogy, secondly I don't know the guy and third I don't dismiss people based on their addictions or flaws. I have other dismissal criteria.
My girlfriend told me that I could very much be her Boaz. I thought about it and later I told her, babe, I'd much rather be your David or your Joseph (Mary's Joseph). David, a man of hundreds of mistakes and sins. A man of war but also a weak man inside. Adulterer, murderer, liar, abused of his power, selfish and over confident, but also a man whose heart was like God. How is that possible?
David strikes me as a man who is more real. A man who is possible for me to achieve.
After David slept with Bathsheba, got her pregnant, had her husband killed and then the baby was dying, it finally hit him that he had made a mistake. A very big one. He said: I have sinned against the Lord. And then he went and prayed for the kid:
16 David pleaded with God for the child. He fasted and went into his house and spent the nights lying on the ground. 17 The elders of his household stood beside him to get him up from the ground, but he refused, and he would not eat any food with them.
The child ended up dying. David found out when he asked his servants. And what he does later amazes me every time I read it or remember.
20 Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.
He got up from the ground. He washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes. In his darkest hour, when everything was over, he got up and made himself a new man. With amazing symbolism we see what happens with redemption. He washed the filth all over his body, he made sure that people around him couldn't tell where he had been by puttin on lotion and he changed his clothes as a new start.
What he does later is even better:
24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and lay with her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him
There it is. Redemption. A man who is true to his emotions and his weaknesses. A man who fell down hard, but got up stronger. I don't doubt Boaz was a great man. I just did all this to give strenght to David's character, but truth is, there is just not enough information about Boaz.
I prefer David just because he's more like... well... me.
posted by Havoc at 6:53 PM
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