Ruth 4

Ruth 4:1-4

Boaz's Bold Initiative

The city gate was like a combination of city council, courtroom, and the place where the men gathered to talk about politics or the events of the day (think barbershop or Hardees on a Saturday morning). Many of these gates were constructed to facilitate such things. The gates were covered structures with vestibules on the side for meetings, proceedings, or conversations. Boaz had business to conduct there. Regardless of how Boaz felt about Ruth, He could not act unless the nearest kin refused to.

Boaz had sent Ruth home, and she wasn't to tell anyone about her request (v. 14). Boaz did not want the man’s answer swayed by any cultural pressure or grapevine response. This man’s first knowledge of the request to be a kinsman redeemer would come from Boaz. His response would reflect his heart.

Boaz called the man aside, calling him a friend (KJV – Such a one). This is an attempt to capture the idea of this unnamed man that the writer addressed with two words: peloni almoni. The words are not known, but the idea seems to be “so and so” or “such as unnamed.” Some see this as Mr. So and So – a man underserving of the suspect of being named. It’s a curious expression when other clear expressions are available. The writer, careful to give us so many details up to this point, now leaves this man with no name or identity. This may be a precursor to his answer.

Boaz invited the man to sit down, a posture of conducting business. He called the elders as witnesses to what was about to happen.

Notice that he doesn’t speak of Ruth yet but focuses on the land. It appears that Naomi was on the verge of selling Elemelech’s land in order to survive or pay debt. Had she already sold the land, Boaz would not be able to redeem it from her.

Buying back the land could have been a lucrative deal. Once Naomi passed away, the land could revert back to this man. This sounded like a wise decision. Of course, Mr. So and So would buy the land.

Ruth 4:5

Boaz revealed the other part of this deal. He applied the levirate law even though this would be a stretch in the eyes of most. Since Naomi was older, the man wouldn't be expected to marry her to perpetuate the family. Instead, he was expected to marry Ruth. This responsibility went hand in hand with the purchase of land.

Boaz appeared to be acting in accordance with the levirate law of Deuteronomy 25:5-10. However, this was not fully acted upon. Some debate whether this was even applicable because Naomi was not in childbearing years. He was clearly acting as goel to redeem the land.

If the man provided a son for Ruth, then the land would go to him. The man’s action to act as goel would be charity and result in financial loss for him. He would lose the money from the land plus the added cost of caring for Ruth and Naomi.

The man probably already had adult children and his inheritance to them was established. To marry Ruth and have more children would cause problems in his family, depleting his assets and leaving his heir with little. The man stepped away from this responsibility and yielded to Boaz.

Ruth 4:7-10

Public Proclamation of Redemption

The writer told us that there was a custom in former times that required a formal rejection of responsibility in full application of the law.

“…his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.” (Deuteronomy 25:9-10)

What was first presented as a right of refusal of the nearer kinsman seems to have been understood in the earlier days as an obligation. This wasn’t the custom of these days (when everyone did what was right in their own eyes), so Boaz explained it. The man was to take off his sandal and give it to Boaz.

When Israel took the land God gave them, they walked it and claimed it. Where they set their foot, they set their borders. The man who would not redeem the land, in essence, refused to set his foot on it. Giving his sandal represented relinquishing his responsibility (some would say right) to redeem the land.
Should anyone contest this later, making any accusation against him, possession of this man’s sandal was evidence of his refusal to redeem.

The man told Boaz to buy the land himself. He took off his sandal and presented it to Boaz. Naomi and Ruth were not present. There was no spitting in the face or shaming. This may have been because the line would not have been cut off. Boaz was committed to fulfilling the responsibility.

Boaz made the legal claim to all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. In addition, he would marry Ruth to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance. The offspring of Ruth and Boaz would inherit the land of Elimelech.

Ruth 4:11-12

Those at the gate acknowledged they were witnesses. The legal transaction had been completed.

In the Hallmark version of the story, Ruth and Naomi would be hiding around the corner or lurking in the crowd undercover. Upon hearing the news, there would have been a joyous scream from these two ladies. Their lives would never be the same. Though it’s possible, there’s no evidence of this.

In addition to the legal confirmation, the elders gave their blessings.

May this woman Ruth be like Rachel and Leah.
1. The entire house of Israel were the offspring of Rachel and Leah. They were the mothers of Israel’s tribes that had become a nation of God’s people. This was a call for many offspring to perpetuate the tribes in influence, prosperity, and fame.
May they prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.
1. See Genesis 35:16 Rachel gave birth to Benjamin and died on her way to Ephrathah (that is Bethlehem). Jacob set a pillar on Rachel’s grave as a marker.
2. The family would be attached to Bethlehem.
  1. The reason there would be a call for a census driving Mary and Joseph there as her time for delivering her child approached.
May their house be like that of Perez.
1. In Gen 38, Judah’s sons were wicked and the Lord killed them. Tamar was a widow. She tricked Judah into fathering a child and fulfilling his responsibility to perpetuate his own line when he refused to give his third son to take her as a wife in a levirate marriage.
2. Tamar had twins. Perez pushed Zerah out of the way and was the firstborn (Gen 38:29-30)
3. Boaz was a descendant of Perez. To have a house like Perez was:
  1. To have a son by surrogate father as heir for the family.
  2. To have an unbroken line of male descendants.
  3. To be an ancestor for Boaz -whose mother was Rahab the prostitute of Jericho.
  4. To have a family in
  5. We know this line would lead to King David and the messiah.

Ruth 4:13-17

Joyful Fulfillment and Blessing

Boaz took Ruth as his wife. He went into the marriage tent with her, and they produced a son who would be the offspring of Mahlon, the heir of Elimelech. The women who had once heard of the Lord’s heavy hand upon Naomi and her bitterness now blessed the Lord who:

Had provided a goel for her. May his name be famous in Israel.
That he’d be the restorer of life.
The nourisher of Naomi’s old age.

Naomi took the son and became a nurse, caregiver, provider, foster parent, and more. It was her commitment to care for him and raise him. This is done in the sense that my child’s child is my child.

Obed means a servant who worships. He is quite special if you think about it. Elimelech, whether out of lack of faith or fear, left the land. He took his family to Moab for ten years. When the men died, this family was cut off through its poor decisions and the circumstances of life. Yet, we see God work through this goel to redeem this situation and family by the son of a prostitute and a Moabite woman. God is good!!

Obed would have a son named Jesse, who would father David. His throne would be established forever, bringing an end to the days of the judges. This prepared the way for the messiah.

Ruth 4:18-21

Generational Legacy of Redemption

This is the descendants of the Perez and those that settled in and around Bethlehem. This forms a link from Judah to to David. The line survived nearly being cut off at Tamar. It includes the Rahab the prostitute as a wife to Salmon. Then Obed being born to Ruth to perpetuate Elemelech’s line.

We can only wonder what spiritual battles were fought behind the scenes. On his death bed, Jacob had blessed Judah and said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah (Gen 49:10).” We see God’s providential hand maintaining the line without compromising or acting unjustly.

Note: Deuteronomy 23:2 says that an illegitimate son forfeits his right to enter the assembly of the Lord for ten generations. Some see this in the ten generations presented which ends with King David.

Ruth