If you’ve known me for a decent amount of time, you’ll know that I love weddings. I always have. Not the way that I love pizza and K-pop, though. I thoroughly ADORE them. I was a flower girl on three separate occasions and as a 5 year-old, it was nothing short of wonderfully glamorous. More recently, to my delight, several of my friends have gotten married and it was both a pleasure and an honor to be in their wedding party. I love planning bachelorette parties. I love sweet wedding details. I love the traditions. When I gave my life to Christ, weddings became all the more beautiful to me, especially as I watched godly men stand hand-in-hand with my dearest friends and vow to love their new brides as Jesus loves the church (which, I’ll remind you, is unwaveringly).
Pictured here from top left: Katherine’s wedding (6/30/12), Leah’s wedding (5/26/12), Rebecca’s wedding (4/6/13), and Anna’s wedding (9/8/12).
My team has been reading through Ruth every Sunday, and this week we read chapter 4. Boaz secures Ruth’s hand in marriage by holding an audience with the elders of Bethlehem and meeting with the man who is first in line for the job he wants – the family redeemer. Now, as a girl who loves weddings, you might have guessed that I also enjoy my fair share of romantic gestures. You’d be correct. You go, Glenn Coco! While holding a meeting and discussing the ownership a plot of land may not seem all that romantic to some people, it was an incredibly selfless thing to do on Boaz’s end, and it was absolutely necessary if he desired to marry Ruth (which, clearly, he did). In that way, it was uncommonly romantic.
Ruth was probably not the “most desirable” of women for a bride. She had been married before. She was not a virgin. Before Boaz offered her a job, she was flat broke. She worked hard and was probably (at very least) sweaty at almost every encounter she had with Boaz. Above all of this, she was a Moabite. She was a foreigner. Foreign women were often looked down upon or taken advantage of. Boaz treats Ruth with dignity and care, regardless of her origin, because she is a person God created. Eventually, he comes to love her because not only is she beautiful, she is a woman of character and faith.
As we read this chapter of Ruth, we sat in a safe house for young women who have been forced into sexual slavery. In that moment, being in Pattaya was a very stark contrast to the word of God. We had just read of a man who went above and beyond to treat a foreign woman respectfully, as men from all different nations take advantage of Thai women. I didn’t understand. My heart cried: God, why did you spare Ruth but you refuse to spare my sisters in Thailand of this mistreatment?
Throughout the book of Ruth, it is evident that God’s hand is in everything. Ruth “just happens” to decide to glean at Boaz’s field. Boaz “just happens” to be in line to be a family redeemer, and so on. As I wrestled with anger over the predicament I saw in front of me, Jesus began to reveal something to me: He is still involved in the lives of the women in the bars and strip clubs and massage parlors of Pattaya. He is orchestrating a rescue for them, one woman at a time, and, if only for a few days, he allowed me to be part of it. He is stirring the hearts of men and women alike for the women of Thailand (and all over the world), women who are trapped in an industry against their will. This, my friends, is a miracle.
At the end of the book of Ruth, there is a glorious wedding. Boaz marries his woman! The woman he fought for. The woman he redeemed. The woman he was drawn to. I would submit to you that Boaz is ultimately a reflection of the heart of Jesus. He is the one who fights for us. He is the one who redeems us. I don’t know what it’s like to be a Christian male and be the bride of Jesus, but I will tell you, as a Christian woman, it’s kind of bewildering. He loves us despite EVERYTHING we’ve done or thought, every way we’ve ever strayed from him, and every way we have cheated on him (because idolatry is essentially cheating). He somehow finds us beautiful and alluring STILL, even though our makeup is worn from tears of strife and our dress is tattered from running from him. He is our faithful husband.
I pray that this would wrap itself around the hearts of women everywhere, but especially those who feel guilty, dirty, or unlovable. Darling, there’s nothing you can do to make yourself clean. Take heart, though, because your husband has done the work for you. He has made you worthy. He calls you beautiful, clean, and WHOLE. You are those things because his love makes it so. I pray that you will remind yourself of this daily. You were made to dance in white dresses.
Grace and peace,
Sarah
