I found myself thinking this week about the Samaritan woman who told Jesus, “the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Matthew 15:27). That took me to a thought of Ruth, who collected the leavings of the harvest of Boaz’s fields (Ruth 2), which made a new connection for me.
A native of the land of Moab, Ruth was what was often called in the Old and New Testaments a “stranger” in Israel. She had married into an Israelite family and had surely learned of the true God, but in staying with her mother-in-law Naomi on the latter woman’s return to the land of Israel, she was now surrounded with unfamiliar customs.
Naomi guided her to seek labor in the fields of Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s late husband, Elimelech. Boaz took notice of her. Naomi then helped Ruth gain favor with him and ultimately seek marriage to him.
I find a lot of symbolism in Naomi’s role as Ruth’s guide, but because this is an article about a type of Christ, I want to focus on Boaz and his interactions with Ruth.
It’s possible that Boaz made it his business to know each person who was gleaning in his fields, hence his asking his workers who Ruth was. He became interested in her as a person and wanted to help her. This represents Jesus’s knowledge of and attention to each of us and His desire to bring each of us into His fold. Boaz’s generosity toward Ruth in instructing his reapers to allow Ruth to glean extra grain represents Jesus’s generosity toward us.
Of course, being the Only Begotten Son of God, Jesus is what we could term “near kinsman” (see Ruth 2:20) to us, who “are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Perhaps of greatest significance was the point Ruth reached when she was ready to follow Naomi’s instruction to offer herself as a spouse to Boaz. Her supplication to him to “spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid” (Ruth 3:9) evokes the prophet Nephi’s plea, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” (2 Nephi 4:33).
Jesus Himself compared His unification with His Church as a marriage or marriage feast, and so this step in the relationship between Boaz and Ruth should not be lost on us. Ruth’s offering herself represents a pivotal point in life for us all—that of deciding we want to enter into a covenant relationship with our Redeemer.
In response, Boaz sought to marry Ruth, whom he recognized as “a virtuous woman” (Ruth 3:11). Jesus desires us to show virtuous desires by coming to Him and enter into gospel covenants with Him. Boaz’s kindness toward Ruth reflects the Savior’s own.
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