Ye are witnesses

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 4:9–12, “And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem: And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.”

Boaz spoke publicly to say that he was accepting the responsibility of a relative and would look after Naomi and Ruth. There were witnesses to the fact that the other relative had refused to accept his duty towards Naomi and Ruth so no one could argue that every propriety had been followed. He was, at that stage, officially engaged to Ruth and would soon marry her. The witnesses offered blessings and good wishes to Boaz and Ruth praying that they would be like the heroic Israeli women of former times.

Plucked off his shoe

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 4:1–8, “Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.”

Boaz had behaved properly at every stage of this episode. In order to take the last step he wen to the place where the important people in the town of Bethlehem went to conduct business and waited for his relative, the one who was more closely related to Elimelech than he was. There were other important men there as well, they were also conducting their own business. Boaz asked ten of those men to witness his transaction with his relative. Naomi was poor but owned land that had belonged to her husband. The Lord had established this principle in the Law as a form of superannuation so that older people would have proper security when they were no longer able to support themselves. If a relative bought the land it would stay in the family and also give the person in need enough to support themselves as well. When Boaz asked Naomi’s relative to buy the land he said that he was happy to do that. However, Boaz reminded that relative of his obligation to raise children with the childless widow he refused. He had imagined that the extra land would increase his own wealth and give his family extra wealth in future generations but he wasn’t willing to risk that because the land would return to Elimelech’s family rather than his own. In order to make the contract legitimate the man took off his shoe and handed it to Boaz, giving Boaz all the rights of redemption. This was a custom of the times and shows us that this history was written close to the time it happened otherwise the author would not have included a quaint custom that was practiced then but would have been forgotten if it was recored at a much later date.

Let it not be known

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 3:14–18, “And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. Also he said, Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.”

Boaz was a wise and discreet man who was still concerned with protecting Ruth’s reputation. He told her to leave early in the morning before anyone else got up so that there would no rumours spread around of a young woman sneaking away from his bedroom in the morning. On the way he provided her with a large amount of grain so that she wouldn’t have to go and glean any more. He had already accepted the responsibility of ensuring that she was properly cared for by a close relative and told her to leave everything in his hands because he had all the proper contacts to make sure that everything ran smoothly for Ruth and Naomi.

She uncovered his feet

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 3:6–13, “And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.”

When we deal with different cultures it is important for us to remember that children are taught to do things from a very early age. They accept these things without criticism and believe them to be right but, on the whole, they are not written down. One example is putting arms on the table during meals. Children brought up in Germany are taught to put their elbows on the table when they are eating, this is to show a person that they are not hiding a weapon. On the other hand, children brought up in England are taught that putting your elbows on the table during a meal is bad manners. Doing something in one country is proper while doing the same thing in another country is offensive. Naomi was born and grew up in Bethlehem while Ruth was born and brought up in Moab. Naomi coached Ruth in the proper etiquette for appealing to a close relative and Ruth did everything she was told to do. Ruth had to behave in a proper manner so that people wouldn’t think that she was trying to prostitute her body. Boaz was a good man and understood exactly what she was trying to tell him and the full implications of her request. He was flattered that such an attractive young woman was interested in an older man like himself. However, Boaz wasn’t the closest relative so he had to give the closer relative an opportunity to follow the procedures before he could accept the responsibilities of a relative.

He will tell thee

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 3:1–5, “Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.”

Naomi grew up in Bethlehem and understood the finer details of the local culture. She knew what was expected of a relative and how a woman in who needed help should approach her husband’s relative to get help. She carefully explained everything to Ruth so that she could follow the proper procedure and not cause any offence. Ruth listened carefully and did everything that Naomi told her. Ruth was not trying to take advantage of Boaz or act like a gold digger. She was following the Law precisely but making sure that everything was done in a culturally appropriate way.

He is a close relative

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 2:17–23, “So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.”

After Ruth spent the whole day gathering grain and at the end of the day she threshed the grain so that she could leave the husks and keep the good grain. She had gathered about 40 kg (more than 85 pounds) of grain and Naomi was impressed that she had been able to gather that much. Naomi, a local girl, wanted to know who had been so generous to he daughter in law and Ruth told her it was Naomi. Naomi thanked the Lord because she knew that Boaz was one of Elimelech’s closest relatives. She told Ruth to make sure that she went to Boaz’s fields for the rest of the harvest time, that is for the barley harvest and wheat harvest, which came after the barley harvest.

Whose damsel is this?

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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Ruth 2:4–16, “And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.  Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”

It is good to remind ourselves that this history occurred during the time of the judges when everyone did what they though was right for themselves. Even at this time, Boaz was a good and godly man, who put the Lord first in his routine and greeted his workers in the Lord’s Name. As soon as he arrived he saw a strange young woman and asked his workers who this woman was. They explained to him that she was from Moab and was called Ruth. She worked hard in the sun all day to collect enough grain to feed her mother in law and herself. Boaz knew who she was and asked her to stay in his fields among his workers and he would protect her from anyone molesting her or interfering with her. She was surprised that such a rich and powerful man should care for her, just a poor widow. Nothing like this would ever happen in Moab so she didn’t expect this to happen to her. Boaz looked at the situation from an Israeli perspective and understood that Ruth, a foreigner, was treating her mother in law with respect and dignity as though she had come from Israel and understood the implications of the Law. Boaz even told her to stay and eat with his own workers.