Teaching a
particular book of the Bible is the best way to learn it! The past few weeks
I’ve had the privilege of teaching the book of Ruth to the youth at my local
church (a very intelligent group of kids, I might add!) While my Hebrew is very
rusty, I’ve read through the book in Hebrew while making use of some top-notch
commentaries (Daniel Block’s NAC commentary is, in particular, outstanding. And
that’s not just my opinion, either).
Studying
Ruth for myself has been immensely rewarding. I’d like to share just one quick
observation that brings out both the master-storytelling in this book and how
our view of God should impact our actions towards each other. In Ruth 2:12,
Boaz blesses Ruth, admonishing the Lord to pay her back for all her kindness
and faithfulness towards her mother-in-law. He then describes her as having
taken refuge literally under the wings [plural form of knph] of the Lord (ESV: “. .
. under whose wings you have taken refuge” I think Block best describes Ruth’s
relief in response to Boaz’s words: “Like a young chick frightened by the
pouring rain, she has come out of her fears and found comfort and security
under the wings of God. Those wings are embodied in the person of Boaz” (Block,
Judges, Ruth,
[NAC; Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman&Holman, 1999], 665).
Now, keep
the word “wing” in mind. Fast-forward to Ruth 3:9. This Moabite widow is
putting into action her mother-in-law’s plan. When Boaz wakes up, shivering,
Ruth identifies herself, and then asks him to “spread your wing [Heb. knph, again!] over your
servant”! (ESV) This was, of course, a marriage proposal (“knph” could also mean
“robe/skirt,” and “to spread one’s skirt over” a woman meant to marry her; cf.
Ezekiel 16:8). Yet certainly Ruth’s bold choice of words is significant! Had
not Boaz wished upon her that the Lord himself would spread his wing over her?
And now, Ruth herself asks that Boaz spread his wing over her, in essence throwing
his own words right back at him, and demanding that he himself become the
emissary of Yahweh in this matter!
It is to
Boaz’s credit that he was willing to seize this role and act as the go-el, kinsman-redeemer, towards
Ruth and Naomi. Yet what about us? Not that we should go out and find widows to
marry, necessarily! Yet do we wish the Lord’s blessing on others and put little
thought into how we ourselves might act as his representative in that regard?
Are we willing to “cover others with our wings,” to shelter them, just as the
Lord has done for us? May we
beware the sinfulness of blessing others with words but not actions, of wishing
the Lord’s blessing on others and not lifting a finger to help bring about that
blessing! As James says, “If a brother or sister is poorly
clothed and lacks daily food, 2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep
warm and eat well,”
but you do not give them what the
body needs, what good is it?
2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself”
(2:15-17, NET).
Truly,
both Boaz and the Moabitess widow exemplified the Chessed of the Lord in the book
of Ruth, and their actions have transformative results for the entire nation.
Ruth, then, is not a modern “fairy tale” romance with knights in shining armor
and damsels in distress, glamorous gowns and evocative emotions! Rather, it
shows us that true love is action—taking others and sheltering them under our
wings from the harshness of life. Only when we live to the standard of Boaz and
Ruth can we truly claim to be the Lord’s servants.