by John O’Malley
“Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter?” (Ruth 2:8).
Boaz looked intently at this gentle soul that had come to glean in his fields. Ruth had gleaned far more than Boaz’s harvest; Ruth had also gleaned his heart. He gazed at this damsel who had recently come from Moab. Boaz saw Ruth as he had seen no other gleaner.
Ruth, who had turned to Jehovah by faith, now stood before him vulnerable and transparent. Boaz sensed within his bosom a divine responsibility. God had placed upon him the responsibility of offering his protection and provision to Ruth. Boaz sensed that she was God’s valuable vessel.
Ruth’s heart continued to pound furiously. What would he say to her? She wanted to hear his soothing voice and personal message. Would she have to leave his fields? Would she find that she was unwanted because she was a widow? Inwardly, she might have even convinced herself she would have to leave because she was, by birth, a Moabite.
Ruth’s thoughts were coming fast. Apparently, Ruth’s thoughts were so loud, she might not have heard Boaz’s voice when he first spoke. Notice what Boaz said, “Hearest thou not, my daughter?”
In one statement, Ruth went from a damsel to a daughter. “My daughter”: these two words were heard in her heart. What she lacked in protection and provision had been met in Boaz. Boaz, in one phrase, brought Ruth into his harvest field and into his heart.
The ache of loneliness dissipated in an instant. Security and stability were now ushered into her heart where loneliness once reigned.
Often, my wife Kimberly will ask the story of a couple’s first meeting. She revels in the details of what attracted the one to the other. She loves to hear the occasion of how the man asked the woman to be his wife. My wife has found everyone tells their story with a twinkle in their eye and with joy in their voice.
For the believer, there was a day in eternity past where our Boaz was attracted to us, and He saw our greatest need. We, who had been orphaned, widowed, and even marooned by sin, now were offered the provision of his resources (“my”) and the protection of his righteousness (“daughter”).
We too have a story to tell. It is a story of when we met Boaz. Remember to tell it with a twinkle in your eye and joy in your voice. We must tell others how He brought us from a damsel to a daughter, from a sinner to a saint.