Read Ruth 2

Last week we talked about what God’s word has to say about finding a God-fearing man and what we as men can learn about becoming a God-fearing man. This week will be looking at the same section of scripture and seeing what God’s word has to say about finding a God-fearing woman and what it also says about becoming a God-fearing woman. I have to admit though, being a man and writing this message is very hard because I am a man. But bear with me and let’s see key features of a God-fearing woman in the life of Ruth. 

As many of you know, I was in a  car accident this past week. As an uber driver, a car is an important source of income. Without a car, I’m unemployed. So that’s where I am right now, unemployed and waiting. Waiting for good news. In the days of Ruth, we know that those days were classified as oppressed and famine days. Ruth’s own life was lost. She lost her husband, at a time that having a husband meant a lot to a woman. The thing about Ruth that is so amazing is she doesn’t just give up and die. She gets up and finds work to provide for the family she does have. So that is one mark of a God-fearing woman, they work and try to be a productive member of society. Solomon point’s this out in Proverbs 31:13 “She selects wool and flax and works with willing hands.” Don’t confuse this verse with slavery or maid. A woman is neither, a woman should be the partner in a relationship. Using her skills God gave her to help her be a productive member of society and of the family. 

In verse 11 we notice that Boaz respects Ruth for leaving everything she knows and following Naomi. If we look at verse 10, we see Ruth bowing down to Boaz. Bowing down to leadership was common in those days. Guy’s and Girls both did it. We see it a lot when people enter the Throne Room of a King. It’s just like in our own day we shake hands or we call our bosses Sir or Ma’am. It was a cultural act of respect. Ruth shows respect to Boaz, because of his leadership as the manager or owner of the field, and Boaz gains respect for Ruth because of what kind of Woman she was known to be. So the next key point is that Ruth is Respectable. So as a Woman, are you respectable? This is for both Men and Women. Both people need to be respectable, but when we see Ruth’s background and story and who she was as a person, it caught the eyes of Boaz. He saw she was a very respectable woman. Proverbs 21:19 says, “Better to live in a wilderness than with a nagging and hot-tempered wife.” 

As we read more into the book of Ruth, we will find more key things in the Life of Ruth and Boaz that we as men and women can take with us and use to change our lives and to draw ourselves closer to Christ through God’s word.