Ruth and Boaz : The Story of Faith Hope and Love

Do you want to know how faith hope and love is evident in the story of Ruth and Boaz? Reviewing the redemptive story of Ruth will make it very clear. Let’s examine Ruth to see how she went from broken to redeemed, by the grace of God.

The biblical story of how Ruth and Boaz met and united in marriage is truly one for the books. You can see that God’s love and provision is written all over it. God took a situation that looked as if there was no hope nor coming back from and made something from nothing. Their love story is truly an inspiration and everyone can see the significance of God’s hand in it. The wonderful love story of Ruth and Boaz is filled with: faith hope and love.

In this post, you are going to learn about Ruth’s journey from widowhood to remarriage, and how God took her negative circumstances and turned them around so that she was blessed to find love again.

After reading this post, you will know that even in the most impossible-looking circumstances that ANYTHING is possible, with God!

This post is all about faith hope and love.

Faith Hope and Love

What does the Bible say about faith hope and love?

In 1 Corinthians Paul wrote a letter to the church of God in Corinth. In the letter he addressed a number of things, such as: marriage, spiritual gifts, worship, wisdom, and love. 1 Corinthians 13, is an entire passage about love, and what it is and what it isn’t. The last verse in Chapter 13 is the culmination of how important love truly is. It says, “And now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)

What symbolizes faith hope and love —Ruth and Boaz

In life, some of the worst things happen to the best people. In the case of Ruth, she became widowed after losing her husband to death. Later, her mother-in-law, Naomi lost another son and her husband and became a widow as well. The pain from losing their husbands could’ve torn them apart, but instead it brought Ruth closer to Naomi. Naomi chose to leave the land of Moab to return to her hometown. Originally, she wanted Ruth and her other daughter-in-law to go with her, then she changed her mind. She preferred that the women stay in their hometown, of Moab and try to remarry. But, Ruth chose to go with Naomi—despite Naomi’s resistance—while her other daughter-in-law stayed in Moab.

Ruth and Naomi Arrive in Bethlehem

It’s important to note that when Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem it was the beginning of the barley harvest. I love how the Bible included this special little detail in Ruth 1:22. It is very symbolic of the season that Ruth was actually in and she probably had no idea. Ruth was at the beginning stages of her harvest season. She was in the beginning stages of being redeemed, remarried, and starting a family with Boaz. She just had to find Boaz’s field to begin reaping her harvest.

Ruth finds Boaz’s Field

Ruth decided to find a field to pick up leftover grains, known as gleaning. Guess whose field she stumbled upon? Boaz! Her first day of gleaning, she met Boaz after gleaning all day. He instructed her to stay with his female servants as she gleaned to ensure her safety. She ended up earning the respect of Boaz when he learned that Ruth was a widow, who left everything behind to follow after her mother-in-law, Naomi. He admired Ruth for her hard work and sacrifice, and was extremely kind to her because of it. Boaz always made sure that Ruth left with plenty grains. She continued to stay in Boaz’s field to glean until the harvest season was over.

Ruth and Boaz Love Story

After a while, Naomi wanted Ruth to find love again so she gave her instructions to present herself to Boaz. Naomi knew Boaz was a great candidate because he had already proven himself to be a good man by looking after Ruth. To make things even better, Boaz was also a kinsman-redeemer who was related to Naomi’s deceased husband, so he was actually qualified to redeem Ruth. Boaz accepted Ruth’s offer to redeem her after she presented herself to him on the threshing floor. There was just one thing standing in their way, though. Legally, another man could redeem Ruth because that man was a closer-related relative than Boaz was.

Boaz being the good man that he was took care of the problem. He went and spoke to the man about the matter. The relative decided not to redeem Ruth, (which required him to purchase the land that belonged to Naomi’s deceased husband) so that left an opportunity for Boaz to do it. And he did, happily! Ruth came with the purchase of the land and she married Boaz the same day that the transaction took place. She found love in a hopeless place and went on to create a family with her love, Boaz.

Ruth didn’t let her pain and loss stop her from remaining faithful and committed to God. She was a strong faithful woman who stayed loyal when it mattered most. Her loyalty to God blessed her in the end. She went from a hopeless widow to a redeemed wife. God is so good! The wonderful love story of Ruth and Boaz is filled with much faith hope and love.

What is the moral of the story of Ruth and Boaz

The moral of the story of Ruth and Boaz is similar to an interesting story I just heard. It blew my mind! Here’s a quick summary:

A game of chess between Satan and a man is being played in the renowned painting, “Checkmate.” To the untrained eye it looks as if the man is losing the game. However, that common perception was shattered after a professional world champion chess player closely observed the painting during a museum tour. As he found himself deeply staring at the painting, the tour guide asked him if something was wrong. His response, “Either you have to change the picture, or change the name of the picture.” Wondering why he just said that, the tour guide asked him “Why?” His response, “The King still has one more move!” What he made known to everyone that day, is that the man in the painting could actually win the game, if he played his next moves correctly. In fact, there was no “checkmate” happening at all, because the King wasn’t trapped from all sides without an escape, like a checkmate requires. The King could still could still escape. So the game wasn’t over.

The moral of the story continued…

Just like the man playing chess against Satan, Ruth’s story wasn’t as hopeless as it seemed. The King had the last say! God redeemed Ruth’s life when it looked as if all her options had dried up and there was no more hope. Her story went from hopeless to one filled with hope, and a love lost to a love redeemed! She had all the odds stacked against her. Ruth was a foreigner, a widow, and had to start life all over again, but her story wasn’t over. God wasn’t finished. He had more blessings in store for her. He turned her life around and showed us that there’s still hope even when it looks as if there none. Not only was she redeemed and remarried, but she helped advance the Kingdom of God in a major way. She was blessed to birth someone in the lineage of Jesus, her son Obed—King David’s grandfather.

What we can all learn from Ruth and Boaz is just like the man playing chess: the King still has one more move! It isn’t over, even when it looks like it is. God can turn a lose-lose situation into a straight win!

Helpful Scriptures

Isaiah 43:1-3, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”

Isaiah 60:2-3, “…to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD, for the display of His splendor.”

Isaiah 43:4-5, “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid for I am with you.”

Thanks for reading this post about faith hope and love. Hopefully, it helped you. Your comments are greatly appreciated!