Romancing Ruth (part 2)

(NOTE: The first part of the discussion on Ruth can be found here:
http://disciplemakersnc.blogspot.com/2007/10/romancing-ruth-part-1.html )

Okay, so we've seen how godly romance involves imperfect people with needs and how it requires a faithful devotion to God but what does a person with that kind of devotion look like? That is to say, how do they behave in their relationships based on their commitment to God? Well, the answer to that question is found in our next two points...

4. Godly romance requires a woman of godly character.

(Don't worry ladies. The men will get theirs too with the next point. :-) )

As 21st Century American Christians, most of us are sadly just not all that knowledgeable about the Old Testament or the Hebrew roots of our faith. As such, many of us may not even be aware that the ancient Hebrew Bible--while it does contain the same books--is not arranged like our modern Old Testaments. We've seen how Jesus referred to the OT as "the Law [and] the Prophets" (Matt. 5:17). This is actually an abbreviated form of the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanak. The consonants of the word "Tanak" stand for "Torah"--or the Law, "Nebiim"--meaning "prophets"--and "Kethuvim"--meaning "writings." The Law was the five books of Moses, or the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy). The prophets included history books as well as the major and minor prophets. The writings included the wisdom literature and the Psalms but also included some of what we consider history books such as Chronicles, Esther and--you guessed it--Ruth. The books in the writings were considered beneficial to memorize and are often recounted at festivals of the Jews, even today (Esther 9:28). (I know this is a little heady but trust me; I'm getting to a point here.)

In the original Hebrew canon, the book of Ruth is located directly following the book of Proverbs a book that ends with a discussion on "an excellent wife" (Prov. 31:10, NASB). The phrase refers to a woman of virtue and is in fact translated "virtuous woman" in some translations. The phrase only appears three times in the Scripture, once more in Proverbs (12:4) and in only one other book--again, you guessed it--Ruth. In Ruth 3:11, Boaz uses this same phrase ("woman of excellence" in NASB) to describe what he knows about Ruth. So consider this: when you read Proverbs and Ruth together in the ancient canonical order, the book of Ruth is introduced with a description of a woman who looks a lot like Ruth. And the book of Ruth serves as a model for the qualities found in the last several verses of Proverbs. You know what that means? That's right! Ruth is the "Proverbs 31 woman" so many books get written about! (Sadly, most of the people writing those books probably don't even realize this or have a clue about the connection between the two books in the older canon.) But, if that's the case, how do the lofty qualities of Proverbs 31 manifest themselves in the life of Ruth? Here are some of her qualities as demonstrated in her story:

a) The godly woman is kind with a servant's heart. (2:1-7, 11-12)

Ruth sees that Naomi was depressed and that they need to eat. So she asks permission to go work and glean in the barley fields for grain for bread (2:2). Naomi apparently hasn't done anything about their situation. She is bitter ("Mara") and seems to have lost all hope. But Ruth wouldn't leave Naomi before and she won't let her starve now. She's going to go and work. The Law allowed for the poor and sojourners in Israel to glean the grain that was dropped during the harvest to provide for their families (Lev. 19:9-10) and so, this is the track Ruth takes to provide for herself and Naomi.

Her kindness to Naomi and her willingness to serve does not go unnoticed. Boaz commends her and treats her very well for it. Apparently, he was attracted to her primarily on the basis of her kind heart (2:5-7, 11). Lots of women are physically desirable outwardly but inwardly are shallow and selfish (sadly, this is often true even with the "spiritual" ones). But a girl with a servant's heart? That's rare. But that's just what a godly man like Boaz is looking for.

b) The godly woman is pure of heart and modest in her behavior. (3:1-7)

When the time comes for Ruth to express her interest to Boaz, Naomi devises a plan that, to our 21st century eyes, seems a little... odd. Looked at from the perspective of our sex-saturated culture, this idea of uncovering Boaz's feet and lying down on the threshing floor before him might even seem a little suspect. But nothing could be further from the truth.

After all, under Hebraic law there was a far easier (albeit far less reputable) way for a single woman to get a man to marry her. She could seduce him. Then, according to Deuteronomy 22:28-29, he would be required to marry her and he could never divorce her, even though divorce was allowed in other cases. Based on Ruth's character as displayed elsewhere, it's not surprising that Naomi does not suggest such a shameful means to "seek security" (3:1) for Ruth. She does however tell Ruth to pretty herself up a little bit (3:3) but, rather than doing so to draw attention to herself and entice Boaz, Naomi instructs her to lie quietly before him--in other words, to make herself available to him rather than to pursue him (and thus usurp his role as the head in the relationship). How she lets Boaz know she is available is our next subpoint on the godly woman...

c) A godly woman is willing to submit to her husband. (3:8-9)

"Oh, no. He's talking about submission. Time to go." Hang on, girls. Submission doesn't have to be a bad thing. In fact, it's the best way a woman can show her love to her husband (and yes, it is commanded by God for wives; Eph. 5:22-24). It's also what, more than almost anything else, makes a man want to love his wife sacrificially, like Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25; more on that in the next point). That's because men desparately crave respect, especially from the women in their lives. And if submission and respect aren't offered early in the relationship (and--to varying degrees--in other relationships with the men in a woman's life), a woman is not likely to just learn it when she says "I do."

Ruth understands this concept. Having revealed herself to Boaz, she doesn't beg him to marry her and, as we've seen, she doesn't try to seduce him. Instead she asks him, "Spread your covering over your maid" (3:9). The request is a symbolic one. She is asking him to take care of her--to be her provider, her protector, her hero--to spread his cloak over her, as a bird would spread its wing over its chicks to keep them warm and safe. It's an incredibly romantic but entirely pure request. And Boaz responds exactly the way Ruth wants him to. This would be an unbelievably risky thing to do if Boaz were not a man of godly character (which is our fifth point) but, as it is, Ruth reveals strength in her submission to him. Far from losing, she gains exactly what she's looking for: a godly man who can--and does--take very good care of her!

The husband of the Proverbs 31 woman (who would be Boaz based on our little canonical argument above) says of her, "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all" (Prov. 31:29). That sort of nobility doesn't come along every day but it is achievable to the woman who displays godly kindness, modesty and submission as her adornment. And the godly guy who finds a girl like that? Well, he's bound to praise her (and God, since she's a gift from Him--Prov. 18:22) pretty highly and openly, too.

And for more on that godly man, check out the next installment...