A Royal Wedding

Boaz was a gentleman here. While opportunity was before him, he took no steps to take advantage of Ruth here. Whatever dishonorable there was that could have happened did not happen.

So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” Ruth 3:14 NIV

And he sends her home before daylight so no one would see she had been there and jump to the wrong conclusion. Boaz states his full intention of and commitment to marrying her proper.

BEHAVE HONORABLY

A recent US News and World Report article says that more than half of today's newlyweds live together before tying the knot, compared to 10 percent in 1965. What’s so bad about that? Only this:

Research has found that unmarried cohabitors have more cheating done by both partners, experience more domestic violence and more cases of depression, a higher divorce rate and a less fulfilling sex life.

If the trend of our society urges young adults to live together as an experiment, buck the trend. It’s directly opposed to God’s plan, and it’s a recipe for trouble. Don’t go there. If you’re there now, have a conversation this afternoon and talk about commitment. God Himself may have brought you here this morning just to present that challenge to you.

Boaz sent Ruth away with a huge supply of barley, saying, “Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.”

He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and put it on her. Ruth 3:15 NIV

Why? Because Boaz realized, instinctively, that the relationship between Ruth and Naomi was a key part of his relationship with Ruth. He couldn’t separate his relationship with Naomi. It was a package deal. Remember, at this time Naomi was not the easiest person to love. She had changed her name to Bitter. She stayed reclusively inside while Ruth went out and worked the fields.

LOVE THE FAMILY TOO

We marry people for better or worse. You may think of your spouse’s family as either better or worse, but you got them, the whole family. You have fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers. If you want some advice, take a quality tip from Boaz. He invested in Ruth by being generous to Naomi.

Whether in courtship or in marriage, you cannot go wrong by being generous, considerate, courteous to your loved one’s family.

· A father of three daughters told about a suitor who came courting one of his girls. He brought a birdhouse he had made as a gift. A few days later, he sent a thank-you note for their hospitality. The romance was short lived and the daughter sent the boy packing. But the parents kept the birdhouse!

Boaz was true to his word. He went up to the city gate where business was always transacted. Remember, marriage is a contract. There was a closer relative to Naomi who would have the right of first refusal to redeem Elimelech’s land and to marry Ruth. Boaz pressed him to a decision saying, If you will not be the redeemer, I will. At first he says, I’ll take it! Oh NO! This man wanted the land. But when he came to know that with the purchase of the land came the responsibility for Ruth, he declined.