Daily Devotional • March 1
A Reading from Ruth 4:1-17
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; sit down here.” And he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the town and said, “Sit down here,” so they sat down. 3 He 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. 4 So 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.” 5 Then 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.” 6 At 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: the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 I 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.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; 12 and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. When they came together, the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became his nurse. 17 The women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed; he became the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Meditation
Without any delay, Boaz goes to the city gate, the place where business is done. Ten elders are official witnesses to whatever is agreed on by two parties, and the decision becomes binding. We are not given even the name of the relative who comes before Boaz, nor the details of his place in the order of those who have the right of redemption; we are only told what is necessary.
The relative cannot act as redeemer since doing so would impair his inheritance. Details are not necessary, for the description of this event leads to the vital sentence, “Take my right of redemption for yourself.” Boaz immediately confirms to the elders that he will exercise the right of redemption: “You are witnesses this day that I have bought … all that belonged to Elimelech … Also Ruth the Moabitess … to be my wife.” It’s all done according to law to ensure that the property remains in the immediate family of Elimelech and that the widow of Mahlon is taken as a wife in the family to perpetuate the name of the dead. But underneath all of the legal decisions, there is a surge of energy that gives evidence that Boaz is eager to marry Ruth.
So the witnesses offer a blessing that the imminent wedding be that “rest” that Naomi had spoken of. Their blessing is rich with the names of worthy women in the history of Israel. Again without delay, Boaz marries Ruth. When their son is born, the women of Bethlehem pronounce a joyous blessing upon Naomi. And then comes almost a twist ending, in some ways the most exquisite of the many blessings that have come to the two widows, once so poor: Ruth the Moabitess is shown to be the great-grandmother of the great king David.
David Baumann is a published writer of nonfiction, science fiction, and short stories. In his ministry as an Episcopal priest, he served congregations in Illinois and California.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Diocese of Maine – The Episcopal Church
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Kerrville, Texas
