A Good Man

Recently, someone made a crack about men not being like a romance novel hero.  I disagree.  They're out there.  I just reread about one yesterday.  His name is Boaz and he's the romantic hero in the book of Ruth.

Before I begin to share what I learned about him, I want to mention the first thing I noticed as I read. I'm sure everyone's read the book Ruth and perhaps you've already learned what spoke to me yesterday so strongly, I just had to share.  In the aside, I noticed that Naomi's daughter's-in-law each made a choice when she told them to go home.  Orpah, as we all know, returned to her people, but Ruth refused to return.  As I thought of it, it made me think of other events in Scripture that show we have 2 choices. Accept or reject. The two thieves on the cross are a second example.  One chose to accept and went to heaven with Jesus.  The other rejected and I'm sure he is now regretting it or will someday. Cain and Abel were brothers who made different choices.  Cain refused to choose the right sacrifice and God rejected his offering.  Abel chose what he was told to bring and was honored by God-and murdered by his brother.  When it comes to making a choice, there are only 2.  Accept or reject.

On to the story of a good man.  The first thing said about him is that he was a man of standing.  He was respected in the community.  He had a position of influence-what influence I do not know, but the Bible says he was a man of standing.

Verse 3 says, "As it turns out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek," Ruth's father-in-law. Verse 4 says, "Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters" Coincidence?  No way.  Godcidence.  Even in matters of the heart, God is in control.

Now comes the proof that Boaz was a good man. He greeted his harvesters.  Ever work for a boss who doesn't have time to extend courtesy to his employees?  Not so Boaz. He truly cared about the people who worked for him.  It showed in the response of his employees. "The Lord bless you!"  He was so good to his people, they not only worked for him, they loved him.  That's a good man.

Immediately Boaz spots Ruth and asks his overseer who she is.  Hear the violins begin to play soft, romantic music? So often, men seem to make up their mind about the woman they want to spend their life with like they shop.  Snap decision. See it, get it. It doesn't take long. When he learned she was a Moabite, he could easily have snorted in disgust and walked away.  Moabites were not Israel's favorite people.

Instead, he was impressed with her work ethic and told her to stay in his fields.  He was protecting her.  Strangers don't always fare well in new territory, especially a woman alone, a woman without influence.  Boaz was also a pragmatic man.  He knew the way some men treat women and told them to leave her alone. And, he told her what he'd done.  That had to be reassuring.

When she asked why he was being so good to her, he deflected any pride and said it was because she was treating her mother-in-law right. He knew she had done a very brave thing by leaving her homeland and going into enemy territory.  Pronouncing a blessing on her was endearing, I'm sure.

He made sure she had something to eat.  If that wasn't enough, he not only told the harvesters to not embarrass her should she get too close to the area normally off-limits to gleaners, but to pull out some of the sheaves to make sure she had enough grain.  That's a generous man.

Naomi decided to move things along and instructed Ruth to gussy up and go spend the night with Boaz. Something I dearly love about Scripture is that it tells it like it is.  Do I think anything happened? No, I don't but, the intentions were clear.  Ruth needed a husband, and Boaz was her choice.  Some men are intimidated by women and need a little help.  Apparently Boaz was one of them. Waking in the middle of the night to find a woman laying at his feet was the perfect opportunity for him to pounce, but he didn't. He'd have had every excuse. He'd been drinking. She was a foreigner. She started it. Not even after she practically proposed to him.  That's a noble man.

It makes me think of Dennis Rodman.  He was on a show with a psychologist who counsels famous people with drug and alcohol abuse problems.  Video got out of him being rude and abusive to young girls who ventured into his bedroom in the middle of the night. "What did they expect?" was his defense.  Not so Boaz.

He was a discreet man, too.  He made sure no one knew Ruth came to the threshing floor in the middle of the night.  Some people would have delighted in branding her as immoral as well as an enemy. Women didn't have it so good in those days.  If their husbands divorced them, many were forced to turn to prostitution. As a poor widow in a foreign land, it could have been her lot.  It's no wonder she was so grateful for his kind attention and intentions.

Boaz must have been an older man because he praises her for not chasing after a young guy.  And, he's an honest man.  He knows there is a closer relative who has a prior claim on Ruth.  He seems to be a shrewd man, as well.  When he approaches the other man, he mentions the property first and the man jumps at it until he realizes the first child would jeopardize his own estate.  Certainly, he's shown himself to be a righteous man with everyone he's dealt with, from his employees, to Ruth and her mother-in-law, to the relative who had a stronger claim on Elimelek's property.

Of course, Ruth has a happy ending.  It's not a romance novel unless it has a happy ending, right? As I read, I couldn't help admiring a man who's listed in the lineage of Jesus. Boaz was a good man.  He did romance God's way.  God's way is always best.