The story of Boaz who married Ruth in the Bible is a wonderful story of redemption, love, and loyalty. Tim Mackey calls it a ‘beautiful work of theological art’ and this post will explore why.
The book of Ruth in the Old Testament is one of the lesser-known books of the Bible, yet it holds incredible wisdom and wonderful lessons for modern readers. Ruth is a woman of loyalty who gets woven into God’s people (the Israelite nation). This book shows God’s heart for all the nations of the world to come to Him and to get to know Him.
Who married Ruth in the Bible?
Photo by KiwiHug
If we turn in our Bibles to the book of Ruth, chapters 2 to 4 we’ll find the story of Ruth and Boaz. Ruth came from the country of Moab to the land of Judah because she was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a Jew. Ruth’s husband had passed away (both of Naomi’s sons were deceased), but instead of going her own way, Ruth went to Naomi’s homeland with her. There, Ruth walked in the fields of Boaz, an Israelite farmer, looking for food. And that was their meet-cute…
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But before we can understand the intricacies of their relationship, we need to get to know Ruth. Who was this young Moabite woman who became part of the family of God?
Ruth, who echoed God’s loyalty in the Bible
Oftentimes in the Bible, we see a characteristic of God in people. The loyalty of God is more often than not described as faithfulness. God does not change His mind. He never abandons us. He is steadfast and trustworthy. God’s character is displayed in this story because He is busy behind the scenes, weaving a beautiful story.
Psalm 36:5
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“Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds”
Lamentations 3:22-23
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”
Why is Ruth described as a loyal young woman?
Loyalty becomes important later in the story as well when Boaz shows great loyalty towards Ruth and Naomi, so it is important to pause and learn about the loyalty of Ruth.
Let’s see what the Bible says in Ruth 1:7-17
“With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the Lord show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.”
Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloudand said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!”
At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
The meaning of Ruth’s loyalty in the Bible
After the death of her husband, Elimelech, the childless widow, Naomi, did not expect her daughters-in-law to come with her. Ruth’s first husband (Naomi’s son) had also died, so there was no reason for her to accompany Naomi. The customs of the time and common sense would have been for Ruth to turn her back on Naomi, walk off into the sunset, and away from the people of God.
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
– Ruth 1:15
But, in being part of Naomi’s family, Ruth has experienced nearness to God. She is devoted, not only to Naomi but to the God of the Israelites. Before the Bible tells us about Ruth getting married to Boaz, we learn about her loyalty.
Ruth’s step of faith in the Bible
Loyalty is such an important characteristic in the Bible because it is part of who God is. The book of Ruth begins with death and devastation. There is no hope for Naomi or her daughters in law, but just as they are about to part ways, Ruth boldly takes a step of faith. She could have gone back to what was familiar, but, by choosing to follow Naomi, she is setting something new in motion.
“Any faith that must be supported by the evidence of the senses is not real faith.” ― A.W. Tozer
Imagine the kind of faith that Ruth must have had, to blindly follow Naomi into the life of an immigrant! She knew that the people in Judah may not like her because she was a Moabite woman, yet she decided to go there anyway. Ruth did not know it at the moment, but her loyalty would become the reason she found favor in her future husband’s eyes too. This brings us to the big question of this post: Who married Ruth in the Bible?
The story of Ruth and Boaz
There are quite a few epic love stories in the Bible, and the story of Ruth and Boaz is definitely one of them. It is a moving story that is rich with culture too. We’ve already seen how Naomi and Ruth came to be traveling to Judah, so let’s discover what happened next.
“So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.” – Ruth 1:22
Can you imagine this dynamic duo? Naomi and Ruth, two grieving widows, traveling together. Naomi was consumed by grief to the point of wanting to change her name to Mara (meaning bitterness), and Ruth had just left everything that was familiar to her behind to go to a new place.
The two women did not have money or food, but Ruth decided to make a plan.
“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.”
– Ruth 2:2
So, Ruth went into a random field and started gleaning behind the harvesters. The field that she went to happened to belong to a man named Boaz.
Photo by Julian Zwengel
How did Ruth come to marry Boaz in the Bible?
“Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”” – Ruth 2:4-5
When Ruth was in Boaz’s fields, he took notice of her. He blessed her, prayed for her, extended his welcome, and provided water for her. So Boaz did what the Torah commanded and he showed generosity to the poor immigrant Ruth.
At the end of the day, when Ruth returned home to Naomi, she told her all about her day and Naomi surprised Ruth by saying Boaz was their near kinsman. He was a relative of Naomi’s husband who’d passed away. Naomi got a little hopeful for the first time because Boaz was their ‘family redeemer’*.
*This was a cultural practice by which widows were protected. If a husband died, there was a designated family member who was called the family redeemer. That person could pay the relative’s debts at their own expense. It included marrying the woman and protecting that family. Redemption is a theme throughout Scripture that foreshadows Christ.
Naomi the match-maker who got Boaz to marry Ruth
Now, Naomi was overjoyed! She told Ruth to accept Boaz’s welcome and to stay with his harvesters until the end of the harvest season. So, Ruth went into the wheat fields to gather grain and she stayed with her mother-in-law.
“My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.”
– Ruth 3:1
Naomi devised a plan to make Boaz aware of their situation in the hopes that he would redeem their family. The love story truly begins when Naomi tells Ruth to dress up and go to Boaz.
“Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.”
– Ruth 3:3
It was in the middle of the barley harvest and Boaz was asleep on the threshing floor with the other men when Ruth suddenly woke him up. By doing a specific action of uncovering the garment at his feet and lying down, she boldly asked him to be their family redeemer and he promised to make the arrangements needed so that they could get married (Ruth 3:9-13)
Two guardian redeemers for Naomi’s family
(Like in any great love story) There was just one minor hiccup: Somebody else was a closer family-redeemer for Naomi than Boaz!
“Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.”
– Ruth 3:12
This person was interested in Naomi’s land so he wanted to go through with the deal, but then Boaz told him about Ruth. The person did not want to marry her because she was not one of his own people and he backed off from the deal. But Boaz showed loyalty to Ruth and Naomi and said he would redeem their family.
““I will redeem it,” he said. Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the[c] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.””
– Ruth 4:4-6
How does the story of Ruth in the Bible end?
After this, Boaz married Ruth and she conceived a child.
“The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
– Ruth 4:14-16
So, Naomi is no longer bitter. She is refreshed with life and a happy woman. Even though the book begins with Naomi grieving and thinking there is nothing left for her; the story ends with rejoicing.
But, even after all that, the story is not quite done just yet… There is one very dramatic climax right at the end of the book of Ruth…
Now, you might be wondering, why does Ruth’s loyalty matter and what makes the marriage of Ruth so important? This passage above tells us that Boaz became the father of Obed. But what follows is a genealogy that explains that Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. This makes Boaz the great-grandfather of King David.
Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David!
King David is an important figure in the Israelite family of God. The reason why this matters is that the Lord Jesus Christ comes from the Davidic family line. When the genealogy of Jesus Christ is given in the Gospels, Ruth is mentioned in it! (see Matthew 1:5) This is amazing!
What does the Bible story of Ruth marrying Boaz mean for modern believers?
The Holy Bible is chock-full of many more stories like this one that show us how the God of Israel is deeply involved in the ordinary lives of His people. Even though God is hardly mentioned in the story, His hand is in every scene and He was busy working on something much, much bigger.
The story of Ruth and Boaz shows us that God is interested in the minute details of our lives as well. He cares about the most intricate, tiny, and seemingly insignificant moments. And that’s not all… He also weaves these details into His BIG story and make it into something more beautiful than we could have ever imagined.
Reflecting on the message of the Bible book Ruth
Photo by Vasilis Caravitis
“My life is but a weaving, between my God and me, I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily,
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper, and I the under side.
Not till the loom is silent, and shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the skillful Weaver’s hand,
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.”
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
