by John O’Malley
“Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day” (Ruth 4:10).
Five times in this book have we have heard the phrase “Ruth the Moabitess.” It seems that no matter how pleasant her present, they attached her past to it in this manner: “Ruth—the Moabitess.” However, today, this will change for her. From today, she will be called the bride of Boaz. Although her heritage was formerly Moabite, because of her faith’s confession and heart’s commitment, the present will now override the past.
Ruth’s socially imposed title gives us insight to the times in which she lived. She was a visitor to Bethlehem-judah. The inhabitants of the city knew she was an outsider. The tendency amongst such a close-knit group was to use a title that would distinguish her from another. The only problem with this is that Ruth was seeking to identify more with her beliefs, not her background.
Boaz’s wedding announcement would give Ruth a position and title that would override her past. A review of the text chronologically shows the usage of “the Moabitess” title. It was used in moments of introduction (1:22), identification (2:2), instruction (2:21), and inspection (4:5). However, the last use of this title that anchored her to the past is used in a wedding invitation—her own.
His announcement of grace would erase and evict the reminder of Ruth’s racial identification. It introduced a title of a romantic identification. In Boaz’s announcement and invitation, the Moabite one becomes the married one, a widow becomes a wife, and the poor one becomes the purchased one.
For the child of God, this section of Scripture brings a peaceful moment of reflection. We who were once outcasts and alienated from God had a title that anchored us to our past: “sinner.” However, the invitation to be part of His bride, signed with His blood, brought us a new title: “sinner saved by grace.”
Look closely at something else in this moment of reflection and see the titles we as believers use with people who come into our fellowship. We identify them more with their past, and not with their position in Christ. This social sin of labeling God’s people by their race, past relationships, and positions is wrong. At times, even more subtly, we exclude on the basis of birthplace, background, or bank accounts. We strive to open our hearts to sinners, but to the saved we are clannish. The announcement of Boaz’s purchase changed Ruth’s designation by others. Shouldn’t the announcement of the Eternal Boaz’s purchase change our designation of others? If the purchase of our redemption changed God’s view of man, shouldn’t yours change too?
Think about it…