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PROVIDENCE, RELATIONSHIPS AND MARRIAGE (10)
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
Ruth 4:1-10

Proverbs 31:10-31

 

“Who can find a virtuous woman?

for her price is far above rubies.”

 

PROVIDENCE, RELATIONSHIPS AND MARRIAGE (10)
 
The declaration Boaz made in the presence of witnesses acknowledged and identified Ruth the Moabitess as his wife. He was not ashamed to mention her by name or by her ancestry. Yet, in marrying her, he had not gone against the law of God. This was not an unequal yoke, for he knew well that she had come to trust in, and find refuge under the wings of the LORD. The marriage also was sanctioned by the provisions of the Levirate marriage.
 
“…Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife…” (Ruth 4:10). The declaration was one of acceptance of responsibility. It was also a declaration of principles and spiritual values of life. His boldness and confidence were not based on the future, which was still unknown to both Boaz and Ruth then, but was rather based on obedience to God’s Word and will as revealed in the Law. How any marriage will turn out is a mystery, and no one enters into marriage determined to make their lives and that of their spouses a nightmare. But many hopes have been dashed, and the increasing rate of divorce points to the uncertainty of the future. Boldness and confidence must, therefore, be placed on the spiritual principles and values used in choosing one’s spouse and in the process of acquiring and formalising the marriage. Boaz was confident because he had considered spiritual values and he had done what the law of God has instructed.
 
The purchase of Ruth to be his wife also pointed to the value Boaz had placed on her. As Proverbs points out, the value of a virtuous woman is “far above rubies” (Prov 31:10). Boaz had referred to Ruth as a virtuous woman in Ruth 3:11, and had agreed to do all that she requested based on that. All that he would do and spend in fulfilling all the requirements of the law would not be regretted because of the value of the woman he had espoused to be his wife. “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised” (Prov 31:30). Boaz, having found such a woman, gladly fulfilled all responsibilities.
 
THOUGHT: Virtue adds value to life. Seeking virtue never brings loss.

PRAYER: Father, may I always be guided by Thy Word.

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