"1Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favour.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech."
Ruth 2:1-3
We are now introduced to Boaz, the kinsman of Naomi's husband. Another look at the genealogy in 4:18-22 and 1 Chronicles. 2:1-11 will suffice to place him, so far as the line of promise and the divine purpose unfolded in the book of Ruth are concerned. There are two points to note. The first is that he is spoken of as 'a mighty man of wealth'. In spite of the lean years (but could the famine have lasted ten years?) he had remained in his place, and had finally prospered. From which we may learn that even lean years in the will of God prove far more enriching in every way than any other alternative out of it. 'Wealth' is rendered in some versions as 'valour', and the word may refer to moral as well as material wealth. One commentary suggests that a possible equivalent to the phrase in modern terms would be 'knight'. Boaz certainly is a 'knightly and gentlemanly figure’. The second point lies in the significance of his lineage. His mother was Rahab, who used to be Rehab the harlot. In the cold and friendless world in which we live, it is often, well-nigh impossible to live down a background such as Boaz had. It would not matter to some that she had been converted to God - the stigma would remain, so far as they were concerned, and would be there for good. They would never allow her to for- get it; and doubtless there would be some who would never allow Boaz to forget it ei- ther. But Boaz not only lived it down, he triumphed gloriously over it. This is so impor- tant that we must spend another day considering its implications.