Things that make you go “hmmm”

Let us take a look at what some would call two of the most popular love stories in the Bible— (1)Adam & Eve, and (2) Boaz & Ruth.

{Adam & Eve}

“And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” Genesis 2:22 ESV

What we see in the verse above is that God built a wife for Adam and then presented her to Adam. Adam had to choose whether he would taker her as his wife. Recognizing that not only was she the same species as him but also that she was the one he had been looking for (Adam’s “search”), Adam states, “ . . . This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Genesis 2:23. Adam was not privy to information regarding the process by which God created Eve for God had put him to sleep. Further, God had created every other living thing out of the ground. Why did Adam assume that something was different about Eve? Despite his lack of knowledge, Adam seems to have understood that this woman, whom God had presented to him, was different.

{Boaz & Ruth}

“And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.” Ruth 2:4-6

“And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.'” And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.” So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.” Ruth 2:19-23

Due to the recent death of their husbands, Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, moved to Bethlehem, Naomi’s hometown. Ruth, like many of the other poor women, gleaned barley out in the fields. Luck would have it that Ruth just happened to glean in the field of one of Naomi’s close relatives, Boaz. Boaz inquired and was given a brief summary of Ruth’s story. However, apart from this limited knowledge, Boaz noticed that there was something that distinguished Ruth from the other women. Ruth was presented to Boaz but he ultimately made the decision to make Ruth his wife.

Men, would you recognize your wife if God presented her? Have you studied God’s Word to recognize His artistry?

*note: Not every woman who has been built by God is your potential wife. Not every woman who has been built by God is being built for the purpose of being a wife. Use wisdom, brothers.