Text:<\/strong> Ruth 4<\/p>\n In the morning Boaz catches the nearer relative at the city gates. As Naomi had predicted, Boaz did not waste any time keeping his promise to Ruth. Boaz invites the man to join him and then invites ten elders to sit with them. The gate of a city is where the older men gather. They serve as judges in small matters, offer advice, and act as witnesses to transactions (Deuteronomy 16:18). Boaz informs the man, in the presence of ten elders, that Naomi needs to sell the family land that belonged to Elimelech.\u00a0The wording in the Hebrew hints that Boaz is informing the kinsman of information that most, including the kinsman, would not know. Perhaps the man was not aware that he was the nearest relative. Boaz suggests that the man purchase the land to keep it in the family (Leviticus 25:23-28). He is first in line for redeeming the land, but if he decides not to redeem it, then Boaz plans to redeem it himself.<\/p>\n The proposition interested the man until he learned that Ruth was a part of the deal. If Ruth has a son by him, then that land he just purchased would go to the son. Thus, assuming he is already married, he would be spending money that could have gone to his children to purchase nothing on their behalf. Realizing this, he declines to redeem the land.<\/p>\n He indicates his refusal by giving one of his sandals to Boaz (Deuteronomy 25:7-10). By Ruth\u2019s time, it had become a custom to indicate refusal of a deal and not a matter of shame. It seems that by the time of the writer of Ruth even this practice had stopped since the writer had to explain the practice to the readers.<\/p>\n Boaz then announces that he would redeem Elimelech\u2019s land and that he would marry Ruth. He accepts that any children of this marriage would be considered children of Mahlon and that they would inherit Mahlon\u2019s property. The elders not only state that they have witnessed the transaction, but they give their blessing to Boaz and Ruth. They wish the couple abundant children, wealth, and fame. Rachel was well-loved by her husband Jacob (Genesis 29:30) but Leah gave Jacob six sons and a daughter. The blessing combines the best of the two sister\u2019s situations. They also mention Perez who was the firstborn son of a levirate marriage of Judah to a non-Israelite woman (Genesis 38:29). Likely many of them descend from Perez.<\/p>\n From this union comes a son named Obed (servant) by the neighboring women, perhaps in memory of what Ruth had offered to Boaz. Naomi finds her joy is restored. Since Obed was to be the heir of Mahlon\u2019s estate, he is viewed as Naomi\u2019s son and redeemer.<\/p>\n Ruth is praised as being better to Naomi than seven sons. The number seven is used for perfection; thus, Ruth is better than if Naomi had a perfect set of sons. She managed to give Naomi security and meaning to her life.<\/p>\n Obed is the father of Jesse, who is the father of David. Thus, we are brought up to the time of the writing of Ruth and the significance of this love story. The impact of what happened in the Book of Ruth carried on for generations.<\/p>\n A genealogy of David is then given. It is noted that the names listed could not cover the 430 years of slavery in Egypt and the approximately 400 years of the Judges. First, we need to understand that \u201cson\u201d in Hebrew means a descendant and not necessarily the immediate descendant of a person. Next, notice the number of names given: Perez, Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, Obed, Jesse, David. Ten is another special number in Hebrew literature that indicates a complete whole. Thus, this is a whole summary of David\u2019s lineage. Some people were very likely skipped. Interestingly, one of the people specifically mentioned is Salmon who had married Rahab the harlot (Matthew 1:5). Thus, we learn that Boaz\u2019s ancestors also included another strong non-Israelite woman of great faith.<\/p>\n The Book of Ruth provides a shining example of people who follow God\u2019s ways and prosper as a result. These aren\u2019t mighty men of war or famous people. They are ordinary folk, living out their lives, not realizing they occupied a significant place in history that leads to King David and ultimately to the Messiah. In addition, some find the story a foreshadowing of Israel\u2019s own forced exile, return and restoration to life.<\/p>\n Joy Returns Text: Ruth 4 Understanding What You Read: Why do you suppose the near relative is not named? Why did the near relative change his mind about redeeming Elimelech\u2019s property? How was the near relative\u2019s refusal to redeem Elimelech\u2019s property confirmed? Why wasn\u2019t Boaz concerned that marrying Ruth would jeopardize his own inheritance? In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":19844,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20424","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22407,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/survey-of-the-bible\/survey-of-the-bible-ruth\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":0},"title":"Survey of the Bible – Ruth","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Survey of the Bible - Ruth by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ruth 1:15-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The book of Ruth takes place during the later years covered by the book of Judges - Ruth 1:1 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It serves as a contrast to the overall gloomy description of the decay of Israel - Judges\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19817,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-ruth\/kindness-shown\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":1},"title":"Kindness Shown","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Kindness Shown Text: Ruth 1:19-2:23 Understanding What You Read: Why did Naomi\u2019s return cause a stir in Bethlehem? What new name did Naomi want to be called? Why? Who did Naomi think caused her problems? Was this a lack of faith on her part? What did Ruth volunteer to do?\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0015-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20418,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/a-study-of-ruth\/an-opportunity-to-repay\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":2},"title":"An Opportunity to Repay","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"An Opportunity to Repay Text: Ruth 3 Understanding What You Read: What did Naomi wish to obtain for Ruth? How was Ruth to prepare herself? How was she to gain Boaz\u2019s notice? What did Boaz praise Ruth for not doing? Where was it inappropriate for a woman to be? What\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19837,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/ruth\/ruth-chapter-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":3},"title":"Ruth: Chapter 4","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ruth: Chapter 4 1. Where did Boaz go to conduct the transaction? \u201cNow Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there\u201d (Ruth 4:1). City gates were the customary places to do public business in those days, where the elders of the city would hold court (Deuteronomy 21:19). 2.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19834,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/ruth\/ruth-chapter-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":4},"title":"Ruth: Chapter 3","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ruth: Chapter 3 1. What would Naomi seek for Ruth? Whereas previously Naomi had desired and prayed that Ruth would find rest with a new husband (Ruth 1:9), presently Naomi would proactively seek out her daughter-in-law\u2019s security with a new husband. \u201cThen Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, \u2018My daughter,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19830,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/ruth\/ruth-chapter-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":20424,"position":5},"title":"Ruth: Chapter 2","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ruth: Chapter 2 \u00a0 1. Who was Boaz? Boaz was \u201ca man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech\u201d (Ruth 2:1). Thus, he was suited to do the duty of a kinsman to Ruth, on behalf of her late husband. Boaz was the son of Rahab (Matthew 1:5), presumably\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0018-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0018-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0018-7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20424\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Understanding What You Read:<\/h3>\n
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Final Questions<\/h3>\n
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