Scripture
Ruth 4:1-10
"The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also
acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow
of the dead man, to maintain the dead man's name on his inheritance."
—Ruth 4:5
RESPECTING COMMUNITY
STANDARDS
4:1 No
sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz
had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, "Come over, friend; sit down here." And he went over
and sat down. 2Then
Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and
said, "Sit down here"; so they sat down. 3He
then said to the next-of-kin, "Naomi, who has come back from
the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land
that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. 4So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy
it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence
of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but
if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to
redeem it, and I come after you." So he said, "I will redeem
it." 5Then
Boaz said, "The day you
acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man's name on his
inheritance." 6At this, the next-of-kin said, "I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my
right of redemption yourself,
for I cannot redeem it."
7
Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and
exchanging: to confirm a transaction, one
party took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting
in Israel. 8So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz,
"Acquire it for yourself," he took off his sandal. 9Then Boaz
said to the elders and all the people,
"Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all
that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife
of Mahlon, to be my wife,
to maintain the dead man's name
on his
inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today
you are witnesses."
Red tape can
be one of the most
frustrating things to deal with, especially for idealists or dreamers. In our churches, it can be frustrating at times to have to go
through the
proper channels
when we want to see something happen. When a committee wants to raise money for a
pressing need,
to get the approval of the
congregation's governing body seems
like an unnecessary hoop
that will kill momentum. When
there
is a new idea for ministry, we want to grab hold of that excitement and run with it. Rules, policies, and procedures all presumably exist for good
reasons, though sometimes those reasons seem outdated or simply not applicable to
the task.
Boaz's attention to the red tape, to do things by the book, is rather jarring
in this narrative. In this short book, there has been so much action and forward
movement; this feels like a
screeching halt. Naomi and Ruth have been risk takers from the start. They haven't let things like social convention stop them from moving forward. If they
had, they would have gotten
absolutely nowhere! When Boaz suddenly pays painstaking attention to every legal
detail, it feels like he's dragging his feet. However, by respecting the rules and procedures of
the community, Boaz helps to pave the way for reconciliation in the community. After all of this, the community is able
to embrace Ruth as one of their own, and the
women gather around Naomi in support.
In Chapter
4 we learn for
the first time that Elimelech (Naomi's late husband)
still had some land. To keep land within families, such land had
to be offered for sale to the next of kin, who had right of first refusal. Women could not sell their late husbands' property on their own, so Boaz had
to act on Naomi's behalf to
broker the deal. Ruth and
Naomi assumed that Boaz was
the closest relative, eligible to purchase the land,
or "redeem" it. Boaz knows of another relative who is closer yet, who must
have the first right of refusal. Everything is done by the book.
Boaz meets this relative at the city gate, which
is where legal matters were decided in ancient Israel. He has gathered
the elders together to serve as witnesses to the legal proceedings.
Boaz tells the relative that Naomi wishes to sell the land, and he may redeem it if he chooses. The
kinsman says, "I will redeem it." Then Boaz tells the kinsman
that the day he redeems the land, he will also acquire
Ruth to maintain the dead man's name on the
inheritance. Israelite law provided that if a widow
was to remarry and have children with her new husband, the
children would maintain her late husband's
name and property. However, we do not know of an Israelite law that required a kinsman redeemer to marry Ruth in this situation. An alternate translation of the Hebrew could be that the day the
relative acquires the land, Boaz intends to marry Ruth, and therefore produce heirs that
would have legitimate claim to the land now
in question. At any rate, the kinsman who is first in line determines that if there is a chance of another heir in the
picture, he didn't want to risk his own inheritance, so he decides not to purchase the property.
Through the proper legal
channels, the closest relative relinquishes his claim on the property. Boaz declares his intention to redeem the property and to take
Ruth as his wife. He further
promises to maintain the dead man's name on the inheritance, to honor all
legal and social customs of the day. Therefore, when Ruth conceives and bears a son, Obed, the women of the neighborhood say, "A son has been born to Naomi," even
though the child is biologically unrelated to Naomi.
Until Ch. 4 the lines of what is proper and acceptable have been blurred, and in some cases completely
bypassed. Now, everything is done according to the letter of the law. Ruth, the
Moabite, is fully included into the family
and community, and after all of these
careful legal proceedings, the son that is born to Ruth and Boaz becomes the grandfather of David,
Israel's first great king.
All churches
experience disagreement over hot-button issues. Some churches divide over them. In times of question, discernment is needed, and in times of disagreement,
reconciliation is in order. How
else can we move together as a body of Christ, unless the body parts are all working in proper order?
The Hebrew word for redeem in v. 4 can also
mean "to cover."
In 3:4, Ruth goes to the threshing room floor to ask Boaz for help. The text says that Ruth went to
"uncover his feet." She went to Boaz when he was most
vulnerable, sleeping alone. If there was ever a time when he would hear her request for
help, this was it. Ruth and Naomi's plan was a reflection of their position, one in which they were left uncovered, unprotected, and vulnerable to the nearness of
poverty. Once Boaz wholeheartedly agrees to look after
Ruth, he is ready to
formally redeem, or cover, her.
For Ruth and Naomi, it meant even more than that; it meant that
they were given rights. For Ruth and Naomi, being covered
meant salvation.
When Boaz steps in as Ruth's kinsman redeemer, he does not have to give up anything. He willingly takes
on a new responsibility.
The story of Boaz
is reminiscent of the kinsman redeemer for all of humanity, Jesus Christ. However, when Jesus Christ acts as
kinsman redeemer, he gives everything. Jesus went about his
business openly, as Boaz did to redeem Ruth. Jewish authorities questioned Jesus throughout his ministry.
When the authorities came to take Jesus away, he went willingly. Jesus carried himself with dignity and lived
a life that angered the authorities because he
stood up for the people who were uncovered, those who
were most
vulnerable. In our society, money has become
the difference between covered and uncovered. With Christ as our kinsman redeemer, we should go
out in confidence
to speak for the uncovered as Boaz does.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
Are there ways that you have seen or experienced reconciliation in
the church because of work within the structure of
governance?
What
are some of the benefits
of following community rules and
practices?
Are there ever times when those rules or practices
should be suspended or ignored?
If so, under what kinds of circumstances?
Are there ways to legislate inclusion in a community?
PRAYER
Gathering God, we recognize that you call us into community, and only through you can we be the community that
you call us to be. Help us learn the practices of our community so that we
can be the body that you
would have us to
be. In Jesus' name. AmenCompiled from The Present Word and Congregational Ministries Publishing is not liable for for the content of this Bible Study and Blog.
From The Present Word © 2011 Congregational Ministries Publishing. Used by permission.
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