*Ruth 4:1-22
Boaz redeems Ruth and they marry, securing the future lineage of Naomi and continuing the story of God’s faithfulness.
- Boaz’s Meeting with the Closest Redeemer:
- Boaz goes to the gate of the city, where legal matters are typically addressed, to meet with the closest relative who has the right of redemption.
- Boaz invites ten elders of the city to witness the proceedings, ensuring that the transaction will be conducted in accordance with custom and law.
- Boaz’s Proposal to Redeem Ruth:
- Boaz presents the matter to the closest relative, informing him of Naomi’s intention to sell the land belonging to their relative Elimelech and to find a redeemer for Ruth, his widow.
- Boaz gives the relative the opportunity to redeem the land and marry Ruth, as was the custom among the Israelites.
- The Closest Redeemer’s Refusal:
- The closest relative initially expresses interest in redeeming the land but declines when he learns that the transaction also involves marrying Ruth, as it would jeopardize his own inheritance.
- He relinquishes his right of redemption to Boaz, allowing Boaz to proceed with redeeming the land and marrying Ruth.
- Boaz’s Acquisition of the Land and Marriage to Ruth:
- Boaz publicly announces his intention to redeem the land and marry Ruth, acknowledging her as the widow of Elimelech’s son, Mahlon.
- The elders and witnesses bless Boaz and Ruth, praying for their prosperity and fertility, and acknowledging Ruth’s noble character and devotion to Naomi.
- Birth of Obed:
- Boaz and Ruth marry, and the Lord grants them conception, blessing them with a son named Obed.
- The women of the city rejoice with Naomi, praising God for providing her with a redeemer and a grandson to carry on the family line.
- Obed’s Significance:
- Obed becomes the father of Jesse, who is the father of David, the renowned king of Israel.
- The genealogy of David, traced back to Obed and Ruth, highlights the significance of their union and the role of Ruth, a Moabite woman, in the lineage of Israel’s kings.
Ruth 4:1-22 shows us how faithfulness and kindness lead to blessings. Boaz kept his promise to Ruth, acting with honesty and integrity, and God used their story to bring about something greater than they could have imagined. This reminds us that when we live with integrity, care for others, and trust God’s plan, He can turn ordinary moments into something extraordinary. It encourages us to be faithful in our actions, knowing that God is always working for our good.
Ruth 4:1-22 (WEB)
4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. Boaz said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down!” He came over, and sat down. 2 Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here,” and they sat down. 3 He said to the near kinsman, “Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s. 4 I thought I should tell you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you.”He said, “I will redeem it.”5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.”6 The near kinsman said, “I can’t redeem it for myself, lest I endanger my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption for yourself; for I can’t redeem it.”7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of formalizing transactions in Israel. 8 So the near kinsman said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” then he took off his sandal.9 Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”11 All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which both built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.”13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel. 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and sustain you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him. 17 The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.18 Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, 19 and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab, 20 and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, 21 and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed, 22 and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.