Monday, April 15, 2013

Reflections on Ruth 4


    Ruth 04 (Contemporary English Version)
  1. In the meanwhile, Boaz had gone to the meeting place at the town gate and was sitting there when the other close relative came by. So Boaz invited him to come over and sit down, and he did.
  2. Then Boaz got ten of the town leaders and also asked them to sit down. After they had sat down,
  3. he said to the man: Naomi has come back from Moab and is selling the land that belonged to her husband Elimelech.
  4. I am telling you about this, since you are his closest relative and have the right to buy the property. If you want it, you can buy it now. These ten men and the others standing here can be witnesses. But if you don't want the property, let me know, because I am next in line. The man replied, "I will buy it!"
  5. "If you do buy it from Naomi," Boaz told him, "you must also marry Ruth. Then if you have a son by her, the property will stay in the family of Ruth's first husband."
  6. The man answered, "If that's the case, I don't want to buy it! That would make problems with the property I already own. You may buy it yourself, because I cannot."
  7. To make a sale legal in those days, one person would take off a sandal and give it to the other.
  8. So after the man had agreed to let Boaz buy the property, he took off one of his sandals and handed it to Boaz.
  9. Boaz told the town leaders and everyone else: All of you are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi the property that belonged to Elimelech and his two sons, Chilion and Mahlon.
  10. You are also witnesses that I have agreed to marry Mahlon's widow Ruth, the Moabite woman. This will keep the property in his family's name, and he will be remembered in this town.
  11. The town leaders and the others standing there said: We are witnesses to this. And we pray that the LORD will give your wife many children, just as he did Leah and Rachel, the wives of Jacob. May you be a rich man in the tribe of Ephrath and an important man in Bethlehem.
  12. May the children you have by this young woman make your family as famous as the family of Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.
  13. Boaz married Ruth, and the LORD blessed her with a son.
  14. After his birth, the women said to Naomi: Praise the LORD! Today he has given you a grandson to take care of you. We pray that the boy will grow up to be famous everywhere in Israel.
  15. He will make you happy and take care of you in your old age, because he is the son of your daughter-in-law. And she loves you more than seven sons of your own would love you.
  16. Naomi loved the boy and took good care of him.
  17. The neighborhood women named him Obed, but they called him "Naomi's Boy." When Obed grew up he had a son named Jesse, who later became the father of King David.
  18. Here is a list of the ancestors of David: Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hezron, and Perez.
  19. (SEE 4:18)
  20. (SEE 4:18)
  21. (SEE 4:18)
  22. (SEE 4:18)

    This concluding chapter of Ruth is a joyful contrast to its opening chapter depicting loss. Chapter three describes Ruth going to the threshing floor and laying down at Boaz's feet. When he awoke, found her there and asked who she was, she requested that he exercise his role as family redeemer and take her as his wife, "Spread your cloak over me, for you are a family redeemer." (3:9) He assured her that he would fulfill this role, but there was a closer relative than he and he must first give this relative the option of redeeming her. After this exchange between them, Ruth remained at his feet until just before dawn, and then got up and went home to Naomi. When Ruth told Naomi of all that happened, Naomi assured Ruth that Boaz would not rest until he had resolved the matter that very day.

    Sure enough, once it was fully daylight, Boaz arose and went directly to the city gate where business transactions were conducted in the presence of the city elders. He sat down and waited a short time until the nearer relative, who goes unnamed, passed by the gate. Boaz called the man over to him and conducted his business.  Although the attention to this point was on redeeming Ruth the widow, redeeming the dead man's property was also a responsibility of the family redeemer so the property would not be lost to the family. So it was a package deal for the family redeemer. Boaz revealed the package to the closer relative in two parts. First he presented the land. The closer relative responded to this positively, "I want to redeem it," he answered. (4:4) Then Boaz added, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess." (4:5) To this, the relative said, "I can't redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance." (4:6) We can only speculate as to the reasons for this. The fact that the relative remained unnamed suggests that, at least to the writer of the book, his refusal to redeem the land and widow was looked upon with contempt. In his defense, though, Boaz had already at least suggested his willingness to be the redeemer if this relative refused so it wasn't as if there was no help for Ruth.

    The elders were pleased with Boaz's redemption of Ruth and pronounced a blessing on their union saying, "May the LORD make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel." (4:11) To be like Rachel they hoped that being barren as was Rachel, the Lord might bless Ruth with a son as He did Rachel. They also hoped that Ruth would be blessed, as was Leah, to have many sons. Their blessing also expressed the desire that Boaz would be "famous in Bethlehem." Their blessings were all fulfilled.

    A son was born to Boaz and Ruth who was the grandfather of King David and in the lineage of Christ. Ruth joined the ranks of those God used for His purposes because of their faith and not because of their parentage. Faith, not merit, is always what God looks for. After all, no one merits His favor. It is only in God's mercy, which He chooses to extend to us because of our faith, that anyone is blessed and used by God.

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