by John O’Malley
“And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman” (Ruth 3:11).
“And now, my daughter, fear not.” With these six words, Boaz prepares Ruth’s heart to receive his declaration of love. He wanted her to know how important she was to him. He wanted her to trust him as he explained the initial difficulty in his full commitment to be her goel. He needed her to know when he would act.
These words, when spoken by Boaz, are more than just an announcement of their new beginning; it is a message to calm her fears. They are the six words her heart needed to hear. Perhaps Ruth held her breath as he spoke. For the third and last recorded time in this book that bears her name, Boaz says, “My daughter.”
This term, when spoken by Boaz, displayed the contents of his heart and delivered to her a message of affection, acceptance, and assurance. It was appropriate for him to address her in this fashion, for it was an indicator that his intentions were pure and his motives were right. Hearing the phrase served as a comfort to this widowed stranger in Israel.
“Fear not”—how appropriate for Boaz to say! Today, Ruth graduates from daughter in the harvest to darling of his heart. Ruth’s fears of being a widow for life and struggling to survive in a harsh political and economical environment will now be whisked into the wind. Her loneliness and living day to day is being evicted with his six words.
For the child of God, we too had a moment when our Eternal Boaz looked at us and spoke similar words. Throughout Scripture, His “fear not” has cancelled fear, brought courage, and renewed hope. The darkest clouds escape when hope breaks across the horizon to shed light on the promises of God.
Does your future seem uncertain? Consider the words of Edmund S. Lorenz’s hymn, “Tell It To Jesus”:
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.
Our Eternal Boaz cares deeply about what is on our hearts. His reply is still the same: “And now, my child, fear not.”