1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative 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, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair 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 drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and 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 act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Boaz went to the gates of the town of Bethlehem where personal and public business was attended to. There the redeemer who was closer in relation to Ruth’s late husband came by. This redeemer is not mentioned by name potentially as poetic justice for his refusal to become Ruth’s redeemer. Boaz presents the relative with the opportunity to redeem Elimelech’s land which may have been mortgaged when they moved to Moab. When the relative agrees to redeem the land, Boaz informs him that he will also be responsible for redeeming Ruth in order to continue the name and inheritance of Elimelech’s family. At this news the relative decides not to redeem the land. It is unclear how the redemption would impair his own inheritance. Perhaps he was concerned that if Ruth bore him a son, then that son would share in all of his property. Culturally the transaction was concluded with the relative giving Boaz his sandal which represented Boaz’s right to walk on the land as his own property. Boaz called on all present to witness the transaction. Boaz would redeem Ruth, marry her and have a son to secure the family inheritance. Implied in the transaction was his intention to continue to care for Naomi as well. The elders are glad witnesses of the redemption transaction. They pray a blessing of the fertility of Rachel, who was barren for many years before she had children just as Ruth had been barren in Moab. They also pray that Boaz would prosper in a worthy manner (The same word is used of Boaz in 2:1 and Ruth in 3:11) and that he would be famous in Bethlehem (Ephrathah is another name for Bethlehem). Their final prayer is that Boaz’s house is like that of Perez who was born of Tamar and Judah. Perez was also born of a levirate redemption even though it hadn’t been done in a God-honouring way (Gen 38). Perez was also an ancestor of Boaz.
Boaz is a picture of Christ in this redemption story. Christ became a man in order to be related to us. Jesus was willing to redeem us like Boaz and unlike the nameless relative. Jesus paid the price necessary to redeem us. Jesus wasn’t concerned about sharing His inheritance but included us in His inheritance. Consider how, like Ruth you are too poor to redeem yourself and how Christ did everything including paying the ultimate price to redeem you and secure you an inheritance from the Father.
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
Noah and The Flood: Genesis 6-7