True Love–Illustrations in Ruth
Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” Ruth 2:8-9
Boaz was a man of many virtues. Among them were his powers of observation and attention to detail. After his arrival in the field, he called his foreman over and inquired, “Whose young woman is this?” (Ruth 2:5) He had distinguished between Ruth and all other female gleaners and employees, recognizing that she was new. He observed her young age, assuming some sorrow lay in her background–either the loss of parents to care for her, or the premature loss of a husband to provide for her.
When the foreman informed Boaz she was “the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi” (Ruth 2:6), he approached Ruth directly, yet with deference—not demanding but suggesting a course of action, which would safeguard her person and satisfy her needs. True love, after all, seeks to protect and provide for others! Boaz suggested: “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
The choice was now Ruth’s. She could accept the gracious offer of protection and provision, or she could seek her fortune elsewhere. Recognizing that the LORD’s hand had guided her to the field of this kind man, Ruth gratefully accepted his most gracious offer!
Dear Father in heaven, please guide our lives as You guided Ruth to the fields of Boaz. Grant that we, too, might exercise true love as we seek to protect and provide for others as You give us opportunity. Amen.