Thursday, November 4, 2021
Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there.
Just then the family redeemer he had
mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down,
friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. Then
Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. And
Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our
relative Elimelech. I thought I should speak to you about
it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the
presence of these witnesses. But if you
don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it
after you.” The man replied, “All right,
I’ll redeem it.” Then Boaz
told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that
you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That
way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the
land in the family.” “Then I
can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my
own estate. You redeem the land; I
cannot do it.” Now in those days
it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to
remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. So
the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the
land.” Then Boaz said to the
elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have
bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. And
with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife.
This way she can have a son to carry on
the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in
his hometown. You are all witnesses
today.” Ruth 4:1-10
The saga of Naomi and Ruth’s epic struggle to find peace, and even just
stay alive after losing their husbands, ends in joy. Mostly the big press for this story is the women’s
saga and the happy ending. But there is other
big news here – the integrity of a wise man.
Boaz acted with the kind of integrity that is different from the 21st
century norm. He chose to follow the
model of the prophet Micah:
No, O people, the Lord has told you
what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8
Notice the wisdom of Boaz:
He “did right”
In choosing to protect Ruth’s reputation he made the offer publicly to
marry her, but only after all the customary channels of redemption were
satisfied. There was no question in the
public of the law being observed with honesty.
He “loved mercy”
With her reputation protected, Ruth would have no doubt of Boaz’
intentions to care for her; their relationship was built with a strong foundation.
He “walked humbly with God”
Boaz placed this declaration of his care for Ruth (and Naomi) squarely in
public view, calling ten witnesses of the community. This was an “Accountability-101” step. When you make your intentions known (as
opposed to a back room deal), there is a certainty of
honor. It takes humility to placy
yourself in accountability to God and the community. It is a vow, and your legacy depends upon the
way you fulfill those promises.
For You Today
Because you are human, one day the forming of your legacy
will end…you will die and the books will be closed on this chapter. Your mission to create the legacy of doing
right, loving mercy, and walking humbly with your God will be a story of your
days and your integrity. Make sure the
story is well-worth reading!
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
[1] Title and Other Images:
Wikimedia Commons (public domain) Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
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