Under His Wings (Boaz, Ruth, David, Jesus)

Here is an excerpt from a recent sermon I shared on Ruth 2. I haven't seen much study on the connection of "wings" in the book of Ruth with the similar phrase as it appears in the Psalms, so here is a quick overview. -BH

Ruth 2:12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 

I find the whole idea of Lord’s "wings" of refuge to be pretty exciting. It occurs 10 times in Scripture, and this metaphor starts with Boaz, in Ruth 2:12 as he speaks to Ruth. Later, Ruth picks up the phrase for herself-- further showing the typological connection between Boaz’s redemption and the Lord’s Redemption:

Ruth 3:9 - [Boaz] said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a red

After the book of Ruth, we don’t see the phrase again until the Psalms. I remind you, these are the Psalms inspired by God and penned by David. David, the Great Grandson of Ruth and Boaz.

Psalm 17:8 - Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings...

Psalm 36:7 - The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings...

Psalm 57:1 For in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge…  

Psalm 61:4 Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! 

Psalm 63:7 In the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy... 

Psalm 91:4 Under his wings you will find refuge…

Now, where do you think David picked up this wing-metaphor? Nowhere else in the Old testament do we find this comparison until Boaz says it to Ruth. Then, Ruth says it back to Boaz. After that, their great grandson, David, sets it down in poetry and song in God’s Word.

Then, generations later, Jesus-- divinely conceived in Mary, the descendant of Ruth and Boaz --connects the dots for us in Matthew 23 and Luke 13:

“How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37, Luke 13:34)  

 Jesus is showing us here: 

• I AM the one who provides the shadow of my wings
• I AM the fulfillment of David’s Songs
• I AM the fulfillment of Boaz’s “kinsman-redeemer”
• I AM the fulfillment of Ruth’s faithful servanthood.

“The shadow of your wings” is their family-phrase, passed along from generation to generation, and set forth in Scripture so that it also becomes our family-phrase. Ruth’s gleaning has led her and now, us, to something more for our lives than simply picking up the pieces for ourselves. 

Instead, we willingly acknowledge weakness and the shortcomings of our own work, and day after day call out to our Redeemer “let us take refuge in the shadow of your wings!”