Read verse 1. Boaz goes to the gate which was a place were business was taken care of publicly. "The close relative of whom Boaz spoke" walks by and since they don't even bother to mention his name, it seems rather unlikely that he'll step up as the kinsman redeemer. We also see God's providence at work that this guy even walks by the gate.
Read verse 2. Rather than just having one witness, Boaz has ten men as witnesses to what is about to take place. It was not a previously known custom, but became the standard for Jews in the future (BKC).
Read verses 3-6. It seems funny the way Boaz presents this. He entices the guy with being able to purchase the land (Naomi would get that money.) and soon as the guy says yes, Boaz adds in that he has to marry Ruth as well. the guy says it could mess up his own inheritance. Why? Remember son #1 would be Mahlon Jr, not his own child. Mahlon Jr could end up with some of the guy's estate, not just what he would be purchasing this day. Or maybe he didn't want the possible curses of marrying a foreign woman. Or maybe he was already married. Or maybe he was racist (Moabites were generally black). Or maybe he couldn't afford both the land and the lady. All we know is he said he could no longer be the kinsman redeemer because it could mess up his own inheritance.
Read verses 7-8. This is so random. This means the guy would have walked away with one foot bare. Who cares if they were his favorite shoes (or his only shoes), he now only has one of them. It clearly is a more permanent sign than a handshake and a more noticeable way of making an agreement than signing papers would be. And since he now has just one shoe, he probably needs to head back home to get another instead of going where ever had had been headed to.
Read verses 9-12. Boaz now declares to the elders everything that he has already told Ruth. The elders reply by blessing Boaz and Ruth.
- "like Rachel & Leah" - These were two of Jacob's wives who (along with their maids) bore him twelve sons as well as some daughter (Genesis 29-30). So the elders are saying, "We hope you have lots of babies."
- "act worthily" - At various points in the book we have already been told that they are worthy or excellent, so this is more of a "Keep p the good work."
- "like the house of Perez" - Tamar married Judah's oldest son and he died before they had a son. Even though the second son married her, he refused to get her pregnant, and God killed him. Judah doesn't have his third son marry her and just tries to send her home to her dad. Tamar then dresses up as a prostitute and stands where she knows Judah will walk by. She then seduces him (yes she seduces her father-in-law) and gets pregnant. The son she then has is Perez. What the elders mean by this one, I'm not exactly sure. Maybe the reference is because of the kinsman redeemer connection, but Judah's family didn't really do that correctly...
Read verse 13. Ruth and Boaz get married and God enables her to get pregnant. I've read through Ruth so many times and never really thought that it was weird that in 10 years of marriage her and Mahlon never had kids. Birth control methods were lacking back in the day, so God would have closed her womb. Now that she is married to Boaz, God enables her to conceive and have the longed for heir.
Read verses 14-17a. Naomi is also blessed by this marriage and baby... her family's name is able to continue. They say Naomi is better than seven sons which is the supreme blessing for a Jewish family (BKC).
The women of the town name the baby and Naomi okays it, but no explanation of what his name means is given.
Read verses 17-22. In these verses we see that this family line is eventually the line of King David (which means eventually Jesus as well) and also stems from Perez. Maybe that is why Perez was included in the blessing from the town elders.
Application:
- Trust God's Timing: Ruth was married ten years without having a kid. In 4:13, God enables her to conceive. If Ruth had a kid in those ten years, this whole story wouldn't have happened. She may have never trusted God (1:16-17) and she definitely wouldn't have married Boaz. Being childless wasn't because she was sinful or anything, but that ultimately God would get the glory when He worked things out as He wanted to.
- "Quit playing games with my heart.": Boaz is straightforward and follows through with what he says to Ruth. So often in our relationships (not just romantic ones, friendships too), we play games with texts and posts on social media with passive aggressive meanings. Be real with people. Don't play games. Let your yes be yes (James 5:12).
- A final quote: "What a contrast between chapters 1-2 and chapter 4: from tears to joy, from hard labor to rest, from emptiness to fullness, from fear to peace and assurance. And the thing that made the difference was obeying the Word of God." (Chapter-by-Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren W. Wiersbe p158) God's Word is life-changing! Read it. Believe it. Obey it. It will change you and you won't regret it!
Feel free to comment or email me your thoughts!
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In Sunday School, we are going through the book of Ruth. This is the final chapter.
(BKC is the Bible Knowledge Commentary by Walvoord and Zuck where I learned the information shared up above.)
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