BOOK OF RUTH - CHAPTER 4
VERSES 1-6
v1 Boaz went to the gate of the town. He sat down there. Then the other redeemer came past him. He was the one that Boaz had talked about. Boaz said, ‘My friend, come here and sit down.’ So the man went over and sat down. v2 Boaz had found 10 important men from the town. He said to them, ‘Sit down here’ and they sat down. v3 Boaz said to the other redeemer, ‘Our brother Elimelech had part of the field. Naomi, who has returned from Moab, wants to sell it. v4 I thought that I ought to tell you about it. I suggest that you buy it. Buy it in front of all the people who are sitting here and in front of our people’s leaders. If you will redeem it, then redeem it. But if you will not redeem it then tell me. Then I will know. There is nobody else to redeem it except you first and me second.’
‘Yes, I will redeem it’, the other man said. v5 Boaz said, ‘On the day that you buy the field from Naomi you also buy it from Ruth. She is the woman from Moab. She is the widow of the dead man. You must take her also to continue the dead man’s name on his land.’ v6 The other redeemer replied, ‘I cannot redeem it. If I did, I might put my own land in danger. You redeem it in my place. I cannot do it.’
COMMENTARY
VERSES 1-6
Boaz arranged a public meeting with this man. There were 10 witnesses. They met at the city’s gate. Men arranged matters there. And they decided what was fair there. It was necessary for men who were not in the same family to witness the arrangements. We do not know this other man’s name. Boaz said that Naomi had land to sell. Boaz had to offer the land to him first because he was a closer relative of Elimelech.
The man was glad to buy the land, so that it would still belong to Elimelech’s relatives. However, Boaz said that he must also marry Ruth. And he must make her son the owner of the land. He must be the one to give Elimelech an heir. That heir would have a right to Naomi’s land. This changed everything. The man could not risk his own family’s future. He would have to provide for Ruth’s child or children until they became adults. So, he would have less money to give to his other children. And perhaps, when he died, some of his own land would also belong to Ruth’s child. So again, there would be less land for his other children to own. For these reasons, this man gave Boaz his right to the land and to Ruth.
VERSES 7-12
v7 Now this is how they finished selling or redeeming anything in earlier times in Israel. A man took off his shoe and gave it to the other man. This was the proper way in Israel. v8 He said to Boaz, ‘You buy it.’ And he took off his shoe. v9 Then Boaz said to the important men and to all the people, ‘Today you saw what I did. I bought from Naomi all that Elimelech, Mahlon and Kilion had. v10 Ruth, the woman from Moab, was the wife of Mahlon. She also is now mine. This means that everyone will remember him. And they will remember where his land was. His family will not forget him and the people from his village will not forget him. You have all seen this today.’ v11 The most important people and everyone else said, ‘We have seen it. We pray that the woman coming into your home will be like Rachel and Leah. These two women built up the house of Israel. We want you to be important in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem. v12 We pray that your family will be like the family of Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah. We pray that this will happen because of your child. We pray that the LORD will give you a child by this young woman.’
COMMENTARY
VERSES 7-10
The man took off his shoe. This was the custom to show that he agreed to give up his rights to the property. He agreed to pass them to another man. Boaz took the shoe from him to make the arrangement final. Then Boaz said that he would take Ruth to be his wife.
VERSES 11-12
The agreement was now legal. There were witnesses to it. The witnesses were happy with what had happened. They blessed Boaz. The witnesses prayed that Ruth would be like Rachel and Leah. And they prayed that she would be the mother of a great family. Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob, and they were important in the history of God’s people. The 12 family groups of Israel came from these two women. The witnesses also prayed that Boaz would do many good things. They prayed that he would be famous for all these good things.
VERSES 13-17
v13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He had sex with her. Then she was going to have a baby. The LORD gave her a baby son. v14 The women said to Naomi, ‘The LORD is good. Today he has given you a redeemer. We pray that his name will be famous in all Israel! v15 He will give you a new life. He will give you help when you become old. Your son’s wife loves you. She is better to you than 7 sons. She is the boy’s mother.’ v16 Naomi held the boy in her arms. She took great care of him. v17 The women that lived there said, ‘Naomi has had a son.’ They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.
COMMENTARY
VERSE 13
Ruth and Boaz became husband and wife, and God gave them a son. All through this story, we see God giving good gifts to his people who are true to him.
VERSES 14-17
Now Naomi had a child to make her happy, too. Her friends praised God for the baby. And they prayed that the baby would have a good life. Naomi had returned to Bethlehem feeling bitter and empty. Now she again had a child to look after. She was hopeful for the future. Everyone shared her joy. Her name was still Naomi. (They did not call her Mara!) The baby’s name was Obed, which means ‘servant’. Like Boaz and Ruth, he served God.
VERSES 18-22
v18-22 This is the family tree of Perez:
• Perez was the father of Hezron.
• Hezron was the father of Ram.
• Ram was the father of Amminadab.
• Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
• Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
• Salmon was the father of Boaz.
• Boaz was the father of Obed.
• Obed was the father of Jesse.
• Jesse was the father of David.
COMMENTARY
VERSES 18-22
Perez was the son of Judah by his daughter-in-law Tamar, who was also a widow. Judah’s family gained God’s promise in Genesis 49:8-10. From this family came Boaz and, later, great King David. Jesus, the greatest of all kings, came from Bethlehem from the same family. Jesus was the son of Mary. Like Ruth, she obeyed God and always trusted him. There is no special book in the Bible about Mary, but God has given us this lovely book about Ruth.
In this book, we read about ordinary people. They are living as members of God’s family because they respect and obey him. It gives us a pattern for our own lives.
|
|
