You Are Witnesses This Day
Naomi told Ruth that Boaz would give his attention to her request right away. That very day, Boaz had the close relative sit down with him and the elders of the city at the gate. He spoke of Naomi's return from Moab, and need for the land belonging to Elimelech to be redeemed. He was interested, until Boaz said,
On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance. (Ruth 4:5)
He excused himself from the right (responsibility) of redemption, handing the duty over to Boaz. So Boaz declared before the gathering of men,
You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's... Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance... (Ruth 4:9-10)
Those who had gathered at the gate proclaimed a pair of blessings upon the union of Boaz and Ruth. They said,
The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman. (Ruth 4:11-12)
A child was born to Boaz and Ruth, whom they named Obed. The ladies of Bethlehem praised God, for He had given offspring to Naomi by her
...daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons... (Ruth 4:15)
He was glad to honour her request. She had earned a reputation in town as the people watched her way of life. All esteemed her as a woman of virtue. Boaz was delighted to take her to be his wife, but there was a relative closer than he, and the custom of the land would have to be observed. She stayed the night, and left before dawn the next morning.
Through this child, Ruth would be etched into the history of Israel forever. Obed would be grandfather of David, king of Israel. She would be an ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Seed promised to Abraham.
“...Ruth would be etched into the history of Israel forever.”
Observations & Lessons
Some folks are interested in just themselves. Such was the way of the close relative. If he were able to purchase the land for himself, he was ready to do so, but learning that he would need to perpetuate the name of the dead, he bailed out. He chose shame rather than service (Ruth 4:6-7cf. Deuteronomy 25:7-10).
Boaz was eager to help Naomi and Ruth. He was happy to redeem the land and to receive Ruth as his wife, that he might perpetuate the name of Elimelech in Israel.
Boaz is a type of our own Redeemer. It was not a matter of losing a plot of land or our name being snuffed out at the gate of the city. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer who saved us from the eternal effects of sin. The land we would lose had He not redeemed us is heaven. The status we would have lost would be the right to be called the children of God. Our sin had us destined for hell, but He stepped in to redeem us from sin.
The blessings pronounced by the people deserve our consideration. Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob, were the matriarchs of the whole nation. As blessed as the nation was through these (for to them they owed their existence), the blessing confers upon this Moabitess the same type of importance. And indeed she was important - being the great-grandmother of the greatest king to reign in Israel, and an ancestor of the Messiah who would come.
The first blessing revealed national importance, while the second was regional. The Bethlehemites came from Perez, son of Judah. In giving this blessing, it is evident that the people of Bethlehem had received Ruth as one of their own, despite the fact that she was from a foreign land. A few significant similarities exist between Boaz & Ruth and Judah & Tamar.
- Both marriages were to perpetuate the name of one who died;
- Neither woman was from the nation Israel;
- Both women are ancestors of the Messiah.
Ruth is emblematic of all who have come to Christ in a few ways. We have been received into a nation which was not our own (1 Peter 2:9-10). We are kin to the Messiah (Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7). What a blessing!
God blessed Ruth and the lives of those whom she touched. She showed herself to be a faithful friend, a devoted family member, a hard worker, a fervent seeker of God, one ready to serve when opportunity arose, and one focused on doing what is right. What a wonderful example for all, both women and men alike. Let us seek to emulate the character of this righteous matriarch in the faith.
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Answering The Atheist
Complaint:
Which Jehoram began to reign first? 2 Kings 8:16 says that Jehoram of Judah began to reign in the 5th year of Joram, king of Israel. 2 Kings 1:17 says Jehoram of Israel began to reign in the 2nd year of Jehoram, king of Judah. Is there a contradiction?
Response:
An excellent question. As we look at those two texts, it certainly does seem that the writer of 2 Kings has contradicted himself. There is an explanation which is adequate and sensible to demonstrate both statements true.
An important text we must consider, though not mentioned in the question, is 2 Kings 3:1. There we find that Jehoram of Israel began to reign in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat. With this in mind, Clarke's Commentary says,
Jehoram king of Israel began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, which was the second year after this same Jehoshaphat had given the viceroyalty to his son Jehoram...
Though a surface look at 2 Kings 1:17; 3:1 and 8:16 seems to indicate an error in the record, the existence of a viceroyalty in Judah would explain the variance. Jehoram of Israel came to the throne in the 2nd year of the viceroy in Judah, the 18th year of his father's reign. Then in the 5th year of Jehoram of Israel, Jehoram of Judah was given full authority by his father.
There is no contradiction.
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