Ruth 4:1-12 (NIV)
Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along.
Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
Have you ever felt like there was no way any good could come from the pain you were facing? You’re not alone. Sometimes, it can feel like our life has hit a dead end, and we find ourselves in a repeating cycle of loss. It seems irredeemable.
I think that’s, at least in part, how Naomi felt at the beginning of Ruth. She called herself Mara, or bitter. And yet, she may also have had a small glimmer of hope. She had heard there was food in Bethlehem and was returning to her ancestral home.
We see now, that however small Naomi’s hope may have been in Ruth 1, her hope was not in vain. Her hope also grew as the events in the narrative unfolded. In the last blog, we saw how Naomi encouraged Ruth to boldly ask Boaz to marry her. Boaz sprang into action immediately. He redeemed Naomi’s family by marrying Ruth. There was hope for the future again. The people spoke out a a blessing of life and hoped for future descendants.
Once, it seemed that all was dead. Elimelech and his sons, Mahlon and Kilion, had died. In their culture, no male descendants meant that their family line was blotted out from the people of Israel. Their name would not continue into the future. It was a great shame for their family.
Boaz had chosen to redeem this situation. In Old Testament times, close relatives were called upon this duty. They bought back the land of relatives who fell into poverty. They bought back relatives from slavery. But they also revitalised the name of a deceased relative (Leviticus 25:25,47-49; Deuteronomy 25:5-10). [1]
It was a sacrifice for Boaz.
When Boaz redeemed Ruth, he knew that their first son would not count as Boaz’s own. He would count as Mahlon’s son. Boaz would also have to take care of Naomi. Further, the land that Boaz bought would not bear his own name. It would bear the name of Mahlon and his descendants. Ruth’s closer relative did not want to sacrifice himself in that way, but Boaz did. We just saw that Boaz lost no time redeeming Ruth and making her and Naomi a part of his family. He showed true kindness and love to Ruth and her family!
Jesus redeemed us from a much more hopeless situation. He was also very eager to make us a part of his family. He made a much more amazing sacrifice to do so.
When Jesus redeemed us, he also restored our identity and our name. He gave us a new identity, and made us part of his family. He changed our names. Where we were once shamed, we are now honoured!
Watch the following video about how God changes our name:
[1] Freeman, J. M., & Chadwick, H. J. (1998). Manners & customs of the Bible (p. 202). North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos Publishers.
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