Unshaken (10 page)

“And probably the loneliest.”

Sigal gave a snort of laughter. “The man has no time to be lonely.”

“Still, it’s a pity he isn’t married.”

“Maybe he’s waiting for the perfect woman, someone beautiful and intelligent and who has the faith of his mother. Some men have expectations so high they can never be met.”

“Some men want a wife who will love them.”

“Boaz is loved and respected by everyone in Bethlehem.”

“I mean he might be waiting for someone to fall in love with him.”

“I doubt that. Most men know love takes time. As long as the girl respects her husband, there’s every reason to hope for a happy marriage.”

“You are a wise woman, Sigal.”

“I always was.”

Naomi couldn’t help wondering. Had she hurt Boaz so badly he never dared ask another woman to marry him? She felt grieved at that thought. Surely that wasn’t the reason he had remained without a wife. Boaz was too sensible to give up marriage just because of one foolish girl.

Should she ask him about it?

Her heart lurched. No! Never! She couldn’t say a word about the past without embarrassing Boaz and possibly jeopardizing the future. She wanted to make up for the pain she had caused him so many years ago. Whatever his reasons for not taking a wife, it made her sad to think of him living out his life alone. A man was not meant to be alone. And certainly not a man like Boaz. God had blessed him with land and possessions, but surely it was a sign that He had not blessed the man with the one thing he needed to fulfill his life: a wife who would bear him sons. The man should have a family of his own.

“I remember a rumor I heard years ago,” Sigal said, con-tinuing to grind wheat. “About you and Boaz.” She gave Naomi a teasing smile.

“Rumors aren’t worth the sand we walk on,” Naomi said. If the rumor was revived, it would only serve to humiliate a good man. “Elimelech paid my father the bride-price when I was fourteen.”

“All the young women were envious of you. Elimelech was very handsome.”

“Were they envious of me when he mortgaged the land and took me and our young sons away from Bethlehem?”

Sigal blinked in surprise.

Naomi grimaced at her own harshness. “I’m sorry, my friend. Even after all these years, I still remember the bitterness of that day.”

Sigal stopped her grinding and placed her hand over Naomi’s. “I thought of you many times over the years.”

Tears filled Naomi’s eyes. “I longed for home every day I was gone.” She drew in her breath and released a contented sigh. “But for all that, the Lord blessed me with Ruth.”

“Truly,” Sigal said. “She loves you as though you were her own mother.”

“I could not love her more if she were from my own flesh.”

“God has comforted you through her, Naomi. Everyone says she is a young woman of excellence.”

Naomi was pleased. Ruth was no longer looked upon as “the Moabitess
.
” Surely the Lord Himself had seen that her virtues had not gone unnoticed by those who dwelt in Bethlehem.

The question remained: Had Boaz noticed?

BOAZ came by the barley field every day to see how the work progressed. And every day, he took cautious notice of the young Moabitess working close behind his reapers. He didn’t speak to her, concerned that his attentions might cause his workers to gossip. When he stayed to share a meal with his workers, he made sure he kept his gaze away from the young woman. Never had he found anything more difficult to do!

The barley harvest was over, and the wheat stood tall and ripe, ready for the reapers. In another few weeks, all the grain would be harvested. Had Ruth gleaned enough to carry herself and Naomi through the year? He knew they lived in the cave within the boundaries of Bethlehem. Elimelech had owned the field near it. But did they have enough stored to carry them through until next harvest?

Boaz looked out at the workers. “Has the young Moabitess made any friends among our people?” he asked his overseer.

“All of them look upon her with respect and admiration.”

That was not what he’d asked, but Boaz understood the implication. Ruth was admired from a distance, much as his mother had been.

“What about the young men? Has she taken interest in anyone in particular?”

“She never leaves the company of the maidservants. She pays no attention to the men. Unlike some of our other young women, I’ve never seen Ruth do anything to draw attention to herself. She comes early to the field and works late. And she seems content with the work. I hear her singing with the maidservants.” Shamash smiled. “She always asks me to extend her thanks to you. Is there a reason you don’t speak with her yourself?”

“You know how people talk.” Boaz mounted his horse. “You like her, don’t you, Shamash?”

“Everyone admires her, Boaz. I’ve never known a young woman more worthy of praise. I haven’t heard a word said against her, even in the city.” Shamash looked out at the young woman working in the field. “She would make a good wife.”

Boaz felt a pang of discomfort. Was Shamash falling in love with Ruth? Boaz didn’t like the sinking feeling in his stomach. Should he begrudge another man happiness? Who knew better than he that a man alone was often lonely, even among friends. “A good wife is worth more than her weight in gold, Shamash. She is a crown on her husband’s head. The young woman out there would bring honor to any man.” He saw Ruth look up and averted his gaze. He was startled to find Shamash staring at him with an odd smile. Frowning slightly, Boaz gave a nod. “May the Lord bless you in your endeavors, Shamash.”

Shamash bowed. “And may the Lord grant you your heart’s desire, Boaz.”

It was a long ride back to Bethlehem. Boaz gave charge of his horse to a waiting servant and talked with the elders at the gate. He was occupied with various disputes and business affairs of the city until he saw the maidservants returning to the city. His pulse quickened when he saw Ruth among them. She was walking along the road with his girls, listening and smiling over their carefree chatter, but not joining in. He was startled when he saw Naomi pass by. She went out the gate to meet her daughter-in-law. They kissed one another in greeting and talked briefly as the other young women walked through the gate into Bethlehem. When Ruth and Naomi turned toward their humble home, Ruth glanced his way. She smiled and bowed her head respectfully. Naomi was looking at him. He looked away from the two women and forced himself to listen to the elders. What fine point of the Law had they been discussing? Closing his eyes for a moment, he pretended to be deep in thought, when in truth, he was trying to calm the wild gallop of his heart.

Naomi studied Ruth’s manner each day when she returned home from gleaning in Boaz’s fields. She relished every detail Ruth told her about her time with the maidservants and reapers, and she was hungry to hear her every thought about Boaz. But Ruth said nothing about the landowner. She talked about the work and the pleasant maidservants. Sometimes she sang the songs she’d learned while working among them.

But now, Naomi had cause for hope. Today she had stood just inside the gate waiting for Ruth. Boaz hadn’t noticed her there, but she had been in a good position to watch the man. Oh, how his head had come up as his maidservants returned. She knew the moment he spotted Ruth.

“Does Boaz come often to the field?”

“He came four times this week and three times the week before that.”

Oh!
Naomi thought with deepening satisfaction.
The girl keeps count of the landowner’s visits!
That was a good sign. “Does he speak with you each time?”

Ruth shook her head. “He hasn’t spoken with me since the first day when he gave me permission to glean. He’s a very busy man.”

“Ha. Not so busy he couldn’t show you a little courtesy.” She watched Ruth closely to see her reaction to such talk and was satisfied when Ruth protested.

“Oh, Mother, no. Boaz has shown me courtesy beyond measure. Was it not Boaz who made my work easy by telling his reapers to drop grain for me to glean? We’re both indebted to him for his kindness. Every grain of barley and wheat we have is due to his kindness.”

“You like him?”

Ruth lowered her eyes. “No more than all those who work in his fields.” She sat at the mouth of their cave, gazing out at Elimelech’s fallow field. “I wonder why he never married, Mother. How is it God has blessed this man with such prosperity but not given him a wife and sons?”

Naomi smiled to herself. Ruth saw past the plainness of the man to the lion’s heart of faith that beat in his breast. Why not test her a little more and see if her compassion could not be refined into tenderness of another kind? “There was never anything in his appearance to commend him.” When Ruth glanced back in surprise, Naomi hastened on. “A pity he is so homely.”

“He’s not handsome the way Mahlon was, but I don’t think he’s homely.”

“Did you find him the least attractive when you first saw him?”

Ruth blushed. “I never considered . . .” She shook her head. “Surely you’re not saying you think Boaz ugly.”

“Would I call a man ugly who puts grain in my hands? May it never be! But I won’t pretend to be blind either. Boaz is a good man, a man who lives the Law and doesn’t just preach it. But he’s wanting in the assets that would win a girl’s heart.”

“He has dignity and character.”

“Was it dignity and character that made you fall in love with my son? If Mahlon had been plain, short, and thin, would you have been attracted to him?”

“Mahlon was more than a handsome face, Mother. You know that as well as I.”

“We aren’t talking about love growing in the bonds of marriage, my dear. We’re talking about what you thought the first time you saw Mahlon striding along the streets of Kir-hareseth. God was merciful to my son. At least Mahlon knew the love of a good wife.” She shook her head. “Poor Boaz.” She clucked her tongue. “He has no one, and it’s too late now.”

Ruth looked troubled. “Why should it be too late?”

“He’s old.”

“Oh, Naomi!” Ruth laughed. “You were telling me yesterday that Abraham fathered Isaac when he was one hundred years old, and Boaz can’t be more than half that age.”

What a jewel Mahlon had received in this girl. If only Mahlon had given her a son, Naomi would not have so many worries. As it stood now, Mahlon’s name and the name of Elimelech would die out. Naomi couldn’t sit by and let it be so.

Oh, Elimelech, had you been stronger in faith, your sons would be gathering in the wheat from that field down there. You would be enjoying the inheritance God gave you. You would have claimed the promises and lived by the Law and been blessed like Boaz. Instead, my beloved husband, you took us away from our inheritance and gave your life to dreams of wealth. And everything you worked so hard to gain for yourself is gone, used up, blown away like dust. Your life was as fruitless as that fallow field out there. There’s nothing to show for all the work you did. Even the fruit of your loins has died. You left nothing behind that will last.

And I’m angry, so angry with you, Elimelech. My very blood cries out against you for wasting our lives. I’m angry with myself because I was so easily swayed by your handsome face, your winning ways, your sweet words that went down and turned sour. You’ll never know the full extent of the pain you caused because you wanted to take the easier road rather than the right one.

But as God has forgiven me for my sins and brought me home, I forgive you, too. Because I loved you to the end, no matter the manner of man you were. And besides, you suffered more than anyone for the choices you made.

As much as Naomi had loved her husband, she knew better than anyone that Elimelech had never been the man Boaz was. Her husband had rejected the promises of God, left his land, brought up his sons in a foreign country. When Elimelech had died in Moab, he’d left his family stranded there. His two sons, the fruit of his loins, had taken foreign wives and died in Moab. Through eyes of love, Naomi could see the truth. Elimelech had sinned against God, cast blame on Him for the consequences, and looked out for himself rather than repent. Her husband had believed he could prosper by his own power.

Oh, the foolishness of man
.

Boaz was the other side of the coin. He’d chosen to stay in Bethlehem during the hard years when God was punishing His stiff-necked people for bowing down to the baals. He’d claimed the promises of God and lived an upright life before the Lord. And God had blessed him for his steady, stubborn faith. Boaz was wealthy now, a man of high standing in Bethlehem. He sat at the city gate with the elders and made decisions that affected the entire city. Yet he hadn’t become puffed up with pride because of his exalted position. Humility was his mantle. He looked out for others less fortunate, even a young widow from Moab.

The cry of Elimelech had always been “God has abandoned us, so
I
will provide!” Boaz’s life made his declaration: “God is my provider, and I will trust in Him.”

Surely the wife of such a man would have cause for rejoicing. Naomi wanted Ruth to be happy. She wanted this precious girl, who had given up everything to take care of an aging mother-in-law, to have
joy!

But there was a problem.

Boaz was not the only relative left. Naomi had learned during her visits in town that there was another man more closely related to her than Boaz. A younger man that made the women roll their eyes and smile.

A man like Elimelech.

Ruth was disturbed by what Naomi had said about Boaz. When he came to the field the next day, she watched him surreptitiously and felt a strange tenderness for him. Everyone respected him and had great affection for him, but it was the kind they would have for a father or an older brother.