True Wealth

"So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.  And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz."  (Ruth 1:22-2:1)

The name Boaz means 'in him is strength,' and he is called a 'mighty man of wealth.'  The word of God and much of life can often be found in the details.  I heard it said recently that 'God is too great to find anything too small.' The whole of life, it's meaning and purpose are found in simple things becoming profound.  When someone we love dearly passes, it is not their accomplishments or what they did that we cling to, it's who they were and how they touched our lives in a thousand tiny ways that added up to one giant love.  Boaz was more than likely a man of physical strength, but he was also a man of profound character.  He was a man of great physical wealth, but he was also a man who possessed profound wealth of heart.  

You see, both of these women returned to Bethlehem as poor widows.  Naomi had lost her husband and both of her sons.  Ruth had not only lost her husband but was now living in a foreign land amidst a foreign people, having chosen to come back with her mother-in-law to her homeland, rather than to return home to her own family.  Ruth goes out one day to glean after the reapers in the fields; a job she was entitled to do as a widow and foreigner (Leviticus 23:22), and she just so happens to end up gleaning in a field that belonged to Boaz.  Boaz notices her and asks his servants who she is.  Once he finds out, he speaks to Ruth and tells her to stay in his fields and to not go to glean anywhere else, he lets her know that she will be protected, and given a place to eat and to get water while she is working.  He also commands his young men to leave extra for her to glean, so that she will have all that she and Naomi need.  She works for him all through barley and wheat harvest (a few months), and then Naomi says to her, "Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on fresh clothing, and get down to the threshing floor: but do not make yourself known to him, until he is done eating and drinking." (Ruth 3:3)  

Noami knows that Boaz is a near kinsman to them, and as such he can become a kinsman redeemer; one who restores and sets wrongs right.  So, Ruth goes to the threshing floor; the place where grain is crushed and beaten to remove the chaff, and once he has laid down she uncovers his feet and lays herself down there in an act of complete submission.  Ruth could not be sure she would be accepted by Boaz, but she makes herself vulnerable and waits.  When Boaz wakes up and finds her there at his feet, and learns why she has come, he covers her with his skirt which is an act of acceptance, protection, and the acknowledgement that he is willing to marry her and become her kinsman redeemer.  Shortly thereafter Ruth becomes his wife, and now the woman who came to Bethlehem a widow and penniless, is married to a mighty man of wealth, and the field she used to work in now belongs to her.  

And so it is with God...He sees you...He knows how hard it's been....He knows your loss...He knows your hurt...He knows your heart.  He's been leaving morsels for you of His love scattered about the ground...Can you see them?  The people He has put in your life, the friends who helped you when you were having a rough go of things, the card that came at just the right moment, the gorgeous sunrise you saw this morning through healthy eyes, the food you eat, the roof over your head, the clothes you wear...all bits of barley left by a mighty man of wealth who has taken notice of you...and there's much more to behold.  

So when will you go to Him there on the threshing floor?  When will you let Him show you that He was beaten and crushed for you so that He could redeem you and set you free?  (Isaiah 53)  When will you lay at His feet in humble submission and allow Him to cover you with His wealth and protection?  When will you allow Him to marry you, to become one with Him in intimate union? "Now when I passed by you, and looked upon you, behold, your time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over you, and covered your nakedness: yes, I sware unto you, and entered in a covenant with you, says the Lord God, and you became mine."  (Ezekiel 16:8)

He's right there.  He's always been right there.  Get your eyes off the ground, off of your circumstances.  Look up.  Your Kinsman Redeemer has taken notice of you, He is looking at you with loving kindness, and He desires to make you forever His and to share His wealth of heart with you...
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                                                                         Cover Me

Cover me in your wealth
Flow over me in every place
Not with mere riches but
with the beauty of your grace

Cover me with abundance
Let it rain down from above
Flood my emotions, my heart
with your pure, precious love

Pour out your gentleness
As I lay quietly at your feet
Cover me with your splendor
fill my every desire and need

Penetrate my solid surfaces
Melt away the years of dross
My Boaz, come and rescue, 
wealth consuming deep loss

Marry me to your majesty
In you I am forever found
Dressed in mercy's loveliness, 
to your richness every bound



Written by Anne Marie Hawke
May 2020


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