Bold faith. Fierce faith. Intelligent faith. Determined faith. God’s Beloved walks in power. Beauty. Ferocity. Energy. She cowers to nobody.

“She equips herself with strength – spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task and makes her arms strong.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31:17‬

God likes my powerful side. My sweet side. My audacious side. My front side. My back side. Because He knows how to find me there and match me in intensity.

“If the Lord had not been on our side” – let Israel say this!” Psalm 124:1‬ ‭

Let God’s people speak for themselves. Think for themselves. Learn for themselves. You cannot control others’ lives and paths. God alone is the orchestrator of love and divine destiny.

Wise women stand in the love of their King and only Him.

Silence the voices of bad advice.

In the Bible, Ruth makes a wise decision to reject Naomi’s advice because it was antithetical with God’s wisdom. We read about this story in the book of Ruth.

“But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.”
‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1:16‬ ‭

Ruth was determined. Tenacious. Hard-working. Persevering.

But Naomi was hopeless. Dismayed. Spiritless. Faithless.

Naomi tries to convince Ruth to give up because of her own tragedy, saying…

“The Lord’s hand has gone against me.”
‭‭Ruth‬ ‭1:13‬ ‭

The Lord’s hand is never against His Beloved. Don’t speak that over yourself. God is with you! God is on your side! God is still working miracles! God is faithful! God is worth pursuing! God wants to love you!

Don’t let someone else’s tragedy be yours. It’s not.

Ruth is still a vibrant, gorgeous woman with zealous faith and passion for life, so she keeps going. 

Zeal for life energizes you with joy.

God’s Beloved loves life and brings Him joy from hers.

A joyful spirit is attractive. 

“When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.”

Ruth 1:18

Silence bad advice through your tenacity to follow what you know is the best path. Naomi does not try to dissuade her after this. If you need to filter out someone’s bad advice in your life, make a decision based on what you know is true and what God says and then nobody can tell you their opinion on the matter. It’s already done. It’s your choice. And your life.

No one can tell you where to go or what to do except for you and God. God is your compass. God is your guide. God is your leader. God is your King.

Heaven’s zeal is my natural habitat.

“The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.” Proverbs 12:26

Sometimes, people give bad advice because of their own ignorance, jealousy, bitterness, despair, hopelessness, faithlessness. Don’t listen to just anyone’s advice. Discern the heart and spirit. Know God’s word enough to be able to tell the difference. 

Read God’s Word for yourself so that God can speak to you specifically in a way only he can. God’s word is so alive that you can read a verse and it will speak into your life at the moment by the Holy Spirit illuminating it to you. Spend time with the Lord and reading His Word. This is where your inner strength and wisdom is developed.

Ruth presses on and soon they begin to work in a field of a man named Boaz. 

“Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

Ruth 2:5

Her inner strength and outward beauty enchants his gaze. Of all the women working, he notices her. Then he calls her over to himself and begins to give her instructions that will protect her, provide for her and ensure she stays there with him. He demonstrates the heart of the King by taking care of Ruth by his own initiation and heart of valor.

“Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maids.”

Ruth‬ ‭2:8‬

Boaz wants her close to him. With him. This is a natural and God-given desire that Boaz displays in his intrigue for Ruth. He just met her, but he’s drawn to her.‭ He notices where she came from and all she has done.

A godly man notices the gifts and attributes of a woman in such a way that uplifts her.

Ruth listens. Although she is very independent in her thinking and her actions, she follows what Boaz says because he has a Kingly heart.

A godly woman does not cower to anyone by her King. And this yielding is not one of begrudging submission nor forced affection. It’s a joy to love and honor a King. To give him respect and trust that his guidance is good. 

Ruth became The King’s Beloved when she gave her life to His sovereignty at a monumental moment in her life’s trajectory. When she could have turned back but she decides to go somewhere that teems with new hopes and promises attached the God of Jacob. She become’s God’s Beloved. In faith. Soon, she will become Boaz’ beloved, a man who symbolizes the King’s heart.

Let God be the King, and then you will find blessing when you give in to His love.

“Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm!” Psalm 47:6-7

He is The King. And I let him be.

Respect your man. Don’t ask him to bow down to you. Bow for him first. Only Him. And then He will want to please you as his queen for you make him feel like The King. Every man deserves to feel like he is the King to his lover. That is the joy of love.

Esteem your lover.

God honors you as you honor him.

“I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”

Ruth 2:11-12

Boaz takes care of Ruth as a noble man. But He also speaks a blessing over her as a faith-filled man. He says “May the Lord, the God of Israel… bless you.” Boaz identifies himself as one who follows Yahweh. He’s not shy about his faith, and this is good for Ruth to hear because she just made the same declaration in chapter 1 where she told Naomi “your God will be my God.” Now she meets a man who also believes in this God. The One true God.

God orchestrated their meeting, because they were a great match. They both followed God. And God knew Boaz would be the perfect match for Ruth. God saw Ruth’s singleness and already placed her in the field of the man she would marry, right here at the beginning of her entry into Bethlehem. God writes your story and He knows exactly what He is doing and where you are going. So that He prepares the steps for you ahead of time. 

Don’t cower to fear. Rise in faith that beauty is on the horizon. Ruth did. Now she is going to have a new husband soon all because she decided to go with Naomi in faith.

Go in faith. God will meet you with His provisions.

“At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the wine.” So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat. She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.”

Ruth 2:14

Boaz is noticing her… more and more. Everywhere she goes. And He is already one step ahead of her, strategizing what he can do to take care of her. He gives her not just enough, but more than enough. Verse 14 says she still had some left over.

We will never run out of lavish blessing with God orchetrating our steps and us taking them. You have to take them though. You have to be willing to step forward and go where God tells you in order for you to see God provide and move. Ruth also had a decision when it came to Boaz. When he called her over, she could have ignored him, but she doesn’t. She carries confidence, both here, at the onset and throughout the whole book. Ruth walks with confidence because she knows who she is. 

“When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her. And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her. Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”

Ruth 2:15-16

Although Boaz and Ruth are not yet in a relationship, Boaz treats her as if she is his. He takes ownership of her wellbeing. He watches out for her. He orders the young men to respect her.

A godly man protects his beloved. 

A godly man tames other men from mistreating his beloved. 

This story is beautiful because we see the nature of Boaz’ honorable heart in how he interacts with Ruth. To go out of his way for her and not the other young women tells us he finds her attractive to him and worth giving his protection to. He wants to look out for her. He is starting to love and adore her.

“So Ruth worked alongside the women in Boaz’s fields and gathered grain with them until the end of the barley harvest. Then she continued working with them through the wheat harvest in early summer. And all the while she lived with her mother-in-law.”

Ruth 2:23

The story tells us that Ruth works for many months under Boaz before their love story develops. They don’t rush into anything, nor does Ruth feel the necessity to pursue him yet. She is level-headed and mature. Wise and competent. But soon, she makes a move on Boaz and goes to him wishing for him to marry her. He likes it.

“Then he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made your last kindness better than the first; for you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.”
‭‭Ruth‬ ‭3:10‬

Boaz is flattered by her advance. The next day, he does to the towncenter to inquire about the logistics of who can redeem Ruth for marriage. He talks to the lawyers and checks on what will need to be done. In this social construct, a widow had to marry a man who was first in line in the family lineage of the husband. 

“Then Naomi said to her, “Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.” Ruth 3:18

This tells us Boaz loves Ruth. Naomi can see it. She tells Ruth “the man won’t rest until he has settled things today.” If he is not going to rest, then he is going to be busy doing whatever it takes to get Ruth. Boaz wants Ruth. He loves her. He wants to be with her. And her advancement is the spark that provokes him to make her his, and get the legalities of it done. 

“Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.”

Ruth 4:2-4

I notice Boaz brings not just 1 witness, not just 2 witnesses, but 10 witnesses to this meeting!

Boaz is saying here that he wants to make sure everyone knows who he is about to marry, if indeed he can redeem her over the other man in the running.

Boaz wants Ruth.

Unashamedly. Publicly. Heart-evokingly. 

“Arise! For this matter is your responsibility, but we will be with you; be courageous and act.” Ezra 10:4

To redeem, or marry, Ruth, Boaz has to buy the land that belongs to her husband and that will also mean he has to marry her so the land can stay in her family. Another man has first dibs but he is going to pass because he does not know Ruth and does not need a wife. But Boaz loves her… and is waiting on the edge of his seat for the man to pass so that he can claim her.

“So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.” Ruth 4:8

If Boaz wants Ruth he is going to have to buy the land too. Thus adding to the costs of this impending wedding. But Boaz makes no mention of it. He is eager to claim it and purchase whatever he needs to so that he can have Ruth. Money is not a problem. She is the treasure to him.

So you see your lover as most valuable? 

Love will make you sacrifice everything for your lover.

Love will make you so happy money doesn’t matter.

In verse 8, it was a custom to take off a sandal and give it to the other party when defering in a sale of land or deed. Now the man takes off the sandal and gives it to Boaz, symbolizing his rights to marry Ruth.

This is beautiful parallelism and imagery here that the writer includes about Ruth and Boaz because when Ruth goes to Boaz at night to talk to him about marrying her, she purposefully uncovers his feet. Now the man is giving him a sandal symbolically showing that his feet will no longer be bare. He has this sandal to signify the marriage transaction being allowed for him to redeem her, and he will have new pair of feet in his bed now… Ruth’s feet to keep him warm at night when he sleeps. Soon they will have a baby.

With Ruth, he is now walking on a new foundation. The sandal can represent marriage, love, fruitfulness, blessing and a life shared with her. 

The King’s Beloved adorns her man with splendor and confidence even more than before.

The King’s Beloved is worth fighting for.

The King’s Beloved is valuable and pricey.

The King’s Beloved is worth it to the King in love with her.

“Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”

Ruth 4:9-10

With all the 10 witnesses there, Boaz also ensures that there is no mistaking the legitimacy of this moment so that he can marry Ruth and not have anyone ask questions. It’s done. Sealed. Final. Just how he wants it. 

Boaz shows us the qualities of a brave and honorable man who fights for the woman he loves. He waits but he also persists. He holds true to the process by which had to be observed and God honors him for that, and now he gets Ruth. 

Ruth and Boaz have a son together named Obed and that son is cemented into the lineage of Jesus. 

Ruth refused to cower to the tempation to retreat to her homeland and he decided to go to Bethlehem and make Yahweh her God. She did not cower to fear, nor despair, nor anguish, nor hopelessness. She propelled forward with confidence and peace. Diligence and determination. Bravery and courage. Thus, she captured the heart of Boaz, the Christ figure in the story. The King in this story.

A woman’s boldness plays a significant role in her destiny.

A woman’s boldness inspires the boldness of a man to rise.

A woman’s boldness writes love stories.

Dance in the zealous love of the King… His love is your oxygen, your oceans, your fire, your passion. 

fearless love

my heart moves towards you

with fearless love

because I want to

and I know you 

want it too

 

my heart it beats for you

my soul it lights the moon

the stars recants the tune

of lovers dreams

in the midnight hues

I wont give in to anyone by You

 

“All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.”

Psalm 45:13