Ruth 4

Updated
2001-05-26; 14:34:05utc

5. The Gate (4:1-12)

The scene at the gate takes place the next morning. In vs.13 of chapter 3 Boaz had promised to settle the matter that very day. We find ourselves here at a typical Oriental situation. The city gate was the place where public business was transacted. The picture is rustic and unhurried. Boaz just goes and sits down, waiting for somebody to pass. When the anonymous redeemer comes along, Boaz calls him over and makes him sit down and then he calls for ten witnesses, which are readily available also. The scene plays itself. If the first redeemer would have been out of town everybody would have known this, so there was no need to send invitations. It seemed to be out of the question that the man would not pass through the city gate. Bethlehem was too small a town for this not to happen.

There are some points in the business transaction that are hard for us to follow, since the customs of the time are not the same as in modern times. Of course, everybody knew the situation. Most of what Boaz explains is redundant. The only new and unknown point is the marriage with Ruth. The fact that she had made herself available the night before, was still a secret. By making the matter public Boaz is in danger of losing Ruth. He takes that risk because he wants to play by the rules.

We were under the impression that Elimelech had sold his land before he left for Bethlehem. But here it is presented as if Naomi is selling it. It could be that the Year of Jubilee had taken place in the meantime, which would have reverted the property back to Naomi. All this is hard to follow from the distance that separates us. The first redeemer offers immediately to buy, until he hears that it is a package deal and marriage with Ruth is in the package. Here again the reason for his refusal 'I might endanger my own estate,' is not explained. It could be that the man had no sons himself. In marrying Ruth the first son would bear Mahlon's name and this mans whole property would eventually be transferred to Elimelech's part of the family. It could be that the man had objections to marrying a Moabitess.

The matter of the taking off of the shoe, or sandal is interesting. There is some resemblance between the law regarding the Levirate marriage, given in Deut. 25, in which we read what a widow should do, if her brother-in-law would refuse to marry her, and what happens here. We read in Deut 25:9 -"His brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line." Here it is the man who turns down the marriage with Ruth, who takes off his sandal. Ruth is not even there to spit in his face. If there is a hint of insult at all, it has worn pretty thin. The man who refuses initiates the insult himself. We get the impression, however that the taking off of the sandal has a different significance here. It seems to affirm a transaction, not an insult. It could be remotely related to what we read in Deut.25, in which case the ritual would have lost its significance over the years. Even here, in the book of Ruth, the meaning has to be explained. Evidently at the time of writing this was no longer practised.

Sidlow Baxter elaborates on the significance of the fact that the kinsman first is not able or willing to redeem. I agree that we can see in Boaz a type of Christ. He is our 'gawal', our redeemer. But I don't think we can see too much in the man, who turned down the deal. He is no type of Satan, or of humanity in its failed efforts to redeem itself.

Even Boaz's act of redemption is only a vague image of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. The price Boaz paid to acquire Ruth does not compare to the shedding of the life blood of Jesus. However, as said before, Boaz's act brings out that God is the God of both Jews and heathen. The Gospel is for all.

In vs.9,10 Boaz declares openly, before ten witnesses that he is redeeming Naomi's property and marrying Ruth. The witnesses confirm the legality of the transaction. Their reaction is very interesting. They bless him with the words: "May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah."

Rachel bore Jacob two sons and Lea five sons and one daughter. The other five children were the offspring of the two slave girls, Bilha and Zilpah. This fact is conveniently overlooked in the blessing. As far as family happiness is concerned, there was very little that could be translated into a blessing. The elders' blessing for Boaz is more directed toward quantity than to quality. Also in the case of Tamar, who bore Perez to Judah, no mention is made of the fact that the birth was the result of a incestuous union. The tribe of Judah had little to be proud of in their family-tree. But you don't mention those things when you pronounce a blessing. It does make the blessing a mixed one though.

It could be that they purposely pronounced a blessing that was ambiguous in order to make Boaz understand that they could not prevent him from marrying a Moabitess, but that they did not approve of it. But maybe I am seeing too much in this. Anyhow, in spite of the fact that Judah's history is wrought with human guilt, the Lord turned it into a blessing. As we said before, both Tamar and Ruth appear in the genealogy of Jesus in Matt.1:3,5.

Boaz marries Ruth. It is Pentecost, the harvest feast. It is the feast that foreshadows the fulfillment of God's blessing to Abraham. God had told Abraham in Gen.12:3 -"all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." And the apostle Paul says in Gal.3:14 -"He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." The birth of Obed signifies new life for the family, that was doomed to die out and it forges the link to the fulfillment of the promise of the coming of the Messiah. In vs.13 it says that the LORD enabled Ruth to conceive. It is true of course that all conception comes from God. But it seems that the way it is put, indicates that Ruth had no children from her former marriage, because she was barren. No further children are mentioned. So probably the birth of Obed was the result of God's special intervention. The name Obed means 'serving'.

When Obed is born the women of Bethlehem praise the LORD and mention three things or three persons, for which Noami has reason to be grateful. It says in vs.14,15 "The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

The first is Boaz, the 'gawal', the second is Ruth, who loves her and is better than seven sons, and the third is Obed, the newborn baby. The sequence shows the unusual spiritual insight of the women of Bethlehem.

First of all, they recognize the supernatural in the events. This is the LORD's doing. Then they praise Boaz, who did not just do his duties as a family member, but who showed compassion and love in a way that went beyond the call of duty. "May he become famous throughout Israel!" is a testimony to the fact that every Israelite should be like Boaz. They make Naomi understand that she has no reason to be bitter. She is not dead, nor is her family. The Lord has renewed her life and has given her security for her old age. The last remark is an interesting observation. Obviously Naomi had been nervous about her old age. There would be nobody who would take care of her, when she could no longer care for herself. The LORD has given her someone in her son-in-law. There is no reason for Gods children to worry about old age. The Almighty God is the best life-insurance we can have.

Especially the praise these women have for Ruth shows their penetrating insight. They tell Naomi that there are more important things than the continuation of the family name. Within the framework of that time, this seems to me a testimony of extraordinary depth. It equals David's exclamation in Ps.63:3 -"Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you." Within the context of the blessing it is implied that Ruth's love comes from the LORD. It is more than just human affection. As Christians we know that there is a love that gives more significance to life than life itself. Naomi had no reason to be bitter, even before the LORD brought about a change in her circumstances. Ruth, who loved her better than seven sons, was with her ever since she arrived at Bethlehem. Naomi should have counted her blessings at that point.

They downplay the importance of the continuation of Mahlon's name, by saying about Boaz that Ruth has given a child to him. They never mention Mahlon's name. As a matter of fact, we see that in the genealogy that ends the book, the child is counted a Boaz' son, not as Mahlon's.

Naomi takes it upon herself to care for the baby, although physically she is not even related to him. The LORD knew what kind of medicine she needed to be healed of her depression. The joy of holding this tiny infant made her realize that she had not lived in vain. As Ps 8:1 says: "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger." The enemy that tried to break Naomi and kill her, has been silenced by this mighty act of God's redemption. A redemption that eventually would embrace the whole world through the other baby from Bethlehem that would be born from this baby.

The women of Bethlehem demonstrate their prophetic insight in giving to the baby the name Obed, which means 'serving'. Obed was the link between fallen man and he Who "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."(Matth.20:28).

The book ends with the genealogy, which we also find in I Chron.2:5-15. Nine names are mentioned from Perez to David, which would span a period of three- to four hundred years. It is quite possible, or even probable that names have been omitted. In Matthew's genealogy it is mentioned that Boaz's mother was Rahab. This would put Boaz among the first generation to be born in Canaan. We get the impression however that Israel was well established when the story of Ruth commences. It is doubtful that at those early times it would have been possible for an Israelite like Elimelech to go to Moab and live there peacefully. This seems the more reason to believe that several names have been omitted in these genealogies.

It should also be observed that, in spite of the theme of redemption and preservation of the name of Mahlon, that runs through the book, all genealogies mark Obed as the son of Boaz, not of Mahlon. In a certain sense this proves that the story doesn't prove what it says it proves! As we have seen, there are several indications that the maintaining of a deceased mans name is more a human tradition than a divine ordinance. The levirate marriage was evidently an accommodation to this human philosophy, that saw in the continuation of a mans physical life on earth, through his son, an expression of eternity. The reality of eternal life seems to have been very vague at that time and sometimes completely misunderstood.

The deepest message of the book Ruth may be that there is more to redemption and eternal life than meets the eye. The story points in the direction of David. We know that the one of ultimate importance is not David, but the Son of David. The prophet Ezekiel calls the Messiah 'David' when he says in Ezek.34:23,24 "I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken." And also in Ezek.37:24,25 "My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their childrens' children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever."

Ruth was the grandmother of the Son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hazlehurst,GA. April 22, 1993.