“Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.” – Ruth 2:1
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What is a Man?
Why Boaz Is a Role Model of Virtue for Men Today
Not all men stay. I learned this early in my young life.
Some walk out. Some drink their way through life. Some grow cold. Distant. Some stay, but retreat into gaming, or porn, or the role of judge and critic. And the wreckage and loneliness they leave—for women, for families, in children, in churches—is heartbreaking.
We see this all over our culture today. Fatherlessness. Single parenting. Serial marriages. Reckless sex.
That’s what makes Boaz such a remarkable man.
When the Bible introduces him in The Book of Ruth, it doesn’t tell us about his wealth or his looks or his influence. It gives him a different title: a worthy man. And as the story unfolds, we see what that means.
Strength under control.
Faithfulness in action.
Protection and provision.
Love for the benefit of another
A man whose presence brought blessing.
Yesterday, I wrote that virtue is not an idea floating in the air. Its strength, power, and initiative are lived out in a person. And when we open The Book of Ruth, we don’t just find a beautifully told story with passion, poetry, and pathos. We see ordinary people—Ruth, Boaz, Naomi—whose obedience pulled a whole nation out of chaos and darkness and set it on the path of strength.
And they didn’t even know about it. They didn’t realize their obedience and decisions would change the course of a dark nation in a time of chaos.
That’s what makes the book so compelling. Human virtues in Ruth are not abstract. They are embodied. A virtue is never just an idea, biblically speaking. It’s always in a person. Always in a life. Always in a man. Or a woman.
So let’s ask the question that confounds our culture today.
What is a Man? What is a Woman?
Before we get to the twelve virtues, I want to stop and talk about men and women. Today’s post is called, What is a man? Next time we’ll ask, What is a woman? The answers shouldn’t shock anybody. They’re straight out of Scripture. But let’s be honest, in our day, they still need to be said out loud.
Look at Ruth and Boaz. You see manhood and womanhood the way the Bible means them. Strong. Godly. Embodied. Not caricatures. Not culture-war slogans. Real models. Boaz shows us something of what a man should be. Ruth shows us something of what a woman should be. Together, they show us what happens when God’s design actually takes flesh in real life.
By the way, today’s post and Thursday’s are open to everyone. After that, the series will continue for paid subscribers. If you want to walk with us through all twelve virtues, you can join in here.
Marriage in the Bible
Now, this is something worth noticing: If you search the Scriptures for godly marriages, you won’t find many. Even the best-known couples—Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Rachel, David and Abigail—have glaring failures. The Bible gives us plenty of teaching about marriage, but very few examples to imitate. That’s what makes Ruth and Boaz shine. Of all the marriages in Scripture, is there one more admirable than this brief glimpse of a righteous man of Judah and his Moabite bride?
Scripture in Focus
When Boaz first appears, we’re told straightaway: he is a worthy man (Ruth 2:1). That’s the Bible’s headline. Not rich. Not handsome. Not powerful. Worthy.
And we see what that means immediately. Ruth is gleaning in his fields. Boaz notices her, asks about her, and then says:
“Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women… Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” (Ruth 2:8–9)
Instead of ignoring her, he provides. Instead of exploiting her, he protects.
Later, at the threshing floor, Ruth lies at his feet. In the middle of the night, alone with a vulnerable young woman, Boaz could have taken advantage. Instead, he shows restraint, honor, and integrity:
“Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.” (Ruth 3:11)
Notice this: the worthy man recognizes a worthy woman. Her courage, her loyalty, her faith, her initiative—seen and admired by the whole town.
A Word from “The Ordinary Ways of God”
I write about this in my book. I have a whole chapter on Boaz. He greatly impressed me.
“Boaz never assumes he has the upper hand with Ruth. Quite the opposite: he is humbled that she pays him any notice. When he wakes to find the young woman literally lying at the foot of his bed, he does not take advantage of her. Many men would read Ruth’s proximity as an invitation for promiscuity; some even work overtime to exploit vulnerable women. But this worthy man is different.”
That’s masculinity at its best. Not weakness. Not arrogance. Not passivity. Strength under control.
A Truly Worthy Man
Boaz’s worthiness shows up in four ways:
Protecting. “I have charged the young men not to touch you” (Ruth 2:9). A godly man takes responsibility for those under his care.
Providing. “When you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn” (Ruth 2:9). Worthy men notice needs and step in with glad provision.
Kindness. Naomi blesses him: “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” (Ruth 2:20). Strong, yes. But tender. Paul said, “The Lord’s servant must be kind to everyone” (2 Timothy 2:24).
Redeeming. Ruth asks, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (Ruth 3:9). And Boaz does: “Ruth the Moabite… I have bought to be my wife” (Ruth 4:10). A foreshadowing of Christ, who redeems His bride by His own blood (Ephesians 5:25–27).
Meekness, Not Weakness
The old word for this strength is meekness. Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Paul appealed to the Corinthians “by the meekness and gentleness of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:1).
Boaz is meek. Not weak. Not swaggering. Strong, but his strength is turned outward—for others.
My Story
When I think of manhood, I think of my own story. I grew up without my natural father in the house. My mother raised us in Nogales, Arizona. My stepfather, whom she married when I was seven, was distant and disengaged. Alcohol was crippling for him. Violence was his love language, as it were.
He provided the best he could. But he couldn’t protect us from himself.
That shaped me. As I grew older, I knew I wanted to be a different kind of man. Not flawless. But present. Faithful. And when I met Fran, I knew she deserved the best I could be.
She needed someone strong enough to stay…strong enough to bear burdens and strong enough to protect, not exploit.
After we got married, I began searching for mentors and models of men I could emulate. And by the grace of God, I found the church filled with these kinds of men.
Very few of them would know I was looking at them, but I did. They didn’t need to shout about masculinity. They lived it. They were steady, hard-working, faithful to their wives and present to their children. Their hands were busy and their hearts were kind.
They were Boaz for me. The name means ‘swiftness’ and ‘strength’. And Solomon named a pillar at the entrance of his Temple Boaz—a sign of strength and stability.
That’s what manhood should look like today.
Our Cultural Confusion
Our culture stumbles here. We caricature masculinity as aggression and dominance, or erase it altogether as irrelevant. Or worse, toxic. Neither honors God.
Men and women are equal in dignity, both made in the image of God. But they are not interchangeable. God gives men strength, not to dominate, but to serve. And He gives women dignity, not to be hidden, but to nurture. Of course, men can nurture and women can serve—Scripture shows plenty of examples of both. But in the story of Ruth and Boaz, we see their qualities and their virtues shining in distinct ways. (More on Ruth next time.) Together they reflect the fullness of God’s design.
Boaz never apologizes for being a man. Ruth never apologizes for being a woman. Their differences are not flaws. They are the very means by which blessing flows and culture is corrected.
Virtue Embodied
This is where Boaz matters for the rest of this series. When Scripture calls him “a worthy man,” it’s pointing to a man in whom the virtues of God’s people were embodied—courage, integrity, restraint, generosity, loyalty. Many of the twelve virtues we’ll trace through The Book of Ruth can already be seen in him.
And that is God’s way of turning the world around—of correcting culture. Not by dazzling displays of strength, but by ordinary men and women who embody virtue in the grit of daily life. Boaz did. Ruth did.
Their obedience pulled Israel out of chaos and into renewal. And the same God still does His work through men of virtue and women of virtue today.
The world may be confused about manhood. The Book of Ruth is not. God’s ordinary way of manhood became the hinge of redemption.
It’s not just that Boaz was a worthy man. His quiet obedience reshaped history.
A Question for You
Men: Where is God calling you to be strong, not for yourself, but for someone else’s good?
Women: How has God used the strength of a man to bless, protect, or encourage you?
Grace and peace,
PS: In future posts, we will not be as long as the first two.
The Anglican is the Substack newsletter for LeaderWorks, where I share insights, encouragement, and practical tools for clergy and lay Christians. I’m also an author of over a dozen books available on Amazon.
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