2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
At the end of yesterday’s message, the story of Ruth was not finished. It is one of the keenest demonstrations of putting the God-given principle of the kinsman-redeemer into practice we have. We can see from this remarkable story how obeying God, even when you don’t know all the long-range benefits of doing so, blesses people’s lives. We left off with Ruth coming home to her mother-in-law, Naomi, bringing the gift of almost 25 pounds of barley from Boaz with her. Boaz had promised Ruth that he would see that she would be cared for whether or not he found the man who was an even closer relative to her than he was. Then, he set off to find this man.
RU 3:18 shows that Naomi knows Boaz’s character fairly well. “Naomi said to her, ‘Now be patient Ruth, until you see how this all turns out. Boaz will not rest today until he settles the matter.’ “ Meanwhile, Boaz goes to the town and gets ten leaders to sit down with him to discuss Ruth’s situation. If you are wondering why ten men were needed, it is a Jewish custom that a minion, a group of ten men, are to be put together before important decisions were made. Included in this minion was the man who Boaz had told Ruth was an even closer relative to Elimelech than he was. Boaz explains to him that Ruth wants to sell the field that belonged to her deceased father-in-law. The man expresses interest in buying it. However, when Boaz said that included in the deal is that he must marry Ruth, then the man declines it. RU 4: 6, “The man answered, ‘In that I will give up my right to buy the field, because it would mean that my children would not inherit it. You buy it; I would rather not.’ “
In those days, it was customary for the seller of something to take off his sandal and give it to the buyer to settle the matter. Because there are witnesses present, there can be no question that the sale has taken place. RU 4: 8-10, “So when the man said to Boaz, ‘You buy it,’ he took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz. Than Boaz said to the leaders and all the others there, ‘You are all witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech and to his sons, Chilion and Mahlon. In addition, Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, becomes my wife. This will keep the property in the dead man’s family, and his family line will continue among his people and in his hometown. You are witnesses to this today.’ ”
The next two verses, RU 4: 11-12 reveal both the Jewish mentality and a hint of the huge implications of this seemingly simple sale of property. “The leaders and the others said, ‘Yes, we are witnesses. May the Lord make your wife become like Rachel and Leah, who bore many children to Jacob. May you become rich in the clan of Ephrath and famous in Bethlehem. May the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman make your family like the family of Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar.’ “
To understand the comment made about Rachel and Leah, look at GN 29: 31. “When the Lord saw that Leah was loved less than Rachel, He made it possible for her to have children but Rachel remained childless.” Now look at GN 38: 27-30 to understand how Perez figures into this. “When the time came for [Tamar, the wife of Judah-one of Jacob’s sons] to give birth, it was discovered that she was to have twins. While she was in labor, one of them put out an arm; the midwife caught it, tied a red thread around it, and said, ‘This one was born first.’ But he pulled his arm back, and his brother was born first. Then the midwife said, ‘So this is how you break your way out!’ So he was named Perez [which means “breaking out” in Hebrew]. Then his brother was born with the red thread on his arm, and he was named Zerah. “ What makes both of these verses helpful to a deeper understanding of what is happening here is we are reminded by them of God’s ultimate love and justice toward His children first. Then, we are reminded of the Jewish custom of the first-born son inheriting the birthright in a family.
There is still another issue suggested in RU 4: 11 that has even more profound implications for all of us. It is revealed by looking at Micah 5: 2. “The Lord says, ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a Ruler for Israel, Whose family line goes back to ancient times.” Are you beginning to get the idea? Anyone who has studied Jesus Christ’s family line as I have knows that Jacob, Judah, Perez, and Boaz are all in the royal line of David. What happens next is seen in RU 4: 13-14. “So, Boaz took Ruth home as his wife. The Lord blessed her, and she became pregnant and had a son. The women said to Naomi, ‘Praise the Lord! He has given you a grandson today to take care of you. May the boy become famous in Israel!” RU 4: 17-22, “The women of the neighborhood named the boy, Obed. They told everyone, ‘A grandson has been born to Naomi!’ Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David. This is the family line from Perez to David: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David.” We can see God’s compassion for mankind and His mighty hand in all of this.
PRAYER: O Lord, so many times You ask us to obey you when we think the task is trivial or we don’t understand all its implications. Our faith, which You gave us through Your grace, is what fuels us to do this. The stories like that of Ruth in the Bible show us that when we listen for Your commands and obey them, our lives are blessed. Even more importantly, Dear Lord, Your will is accomplished. Your perspective on the world is so much more complete and accurate than ours, and Your agenda for us is always righteous. For those reasons, we dedicate ourselves to trusting and obeying You. Thank You for sending us Your Son, so that through our faith in Him we are saved and can look forward to eternal life and close fellowship with You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at some of the citations that shed more light on the concept of the kinsman-redeemer from the NT. In the meanwhile, know that the struggles you face in your life are not in vain. Our loving Abba is right there to help us learn by them and to equip us to be victorious. The greatest victory of all is the one He gave us when He sacrificed His only Son on the cross for us. Now, that Dear Ones, is real love! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn