Tuesday, November 2, 2010

God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part IV - The Providence of God, Part 5 of 23

TEXT: "Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken came by. Boaz said, 'Come aside, friend, sit down here.' So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, 'Sit down here.' So they sat down. Then he said to the near kinsman, 'Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.' And he said, 'I will redeem it.' Then Boaz said, 'On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the dead on his inheritance.' And the near kinsman said, 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.' Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything, one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was an attestation in Israel. Therefore the near kinsman said to Boaz, 'Buy it for yourself.' So he took off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, 'You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day.' And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, 'We are witnesses.  The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel, and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman' " (Ruth 4:1-12).

IDEA: The understanding of a story is in its details.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand some of the details in the story of Ruth 4.

The story of Ruth is coming to its climax. Listen to the first half of the last episode (Ruth 4:1-12 above) and let's talk about some of the details in this scene.

I. What are the tension points at the end of Chapter 3?

Which of the two candidates (Boaz or the nearer kinsman) will become Ruth's husband?

Who are we cheering for? Why?

What stands in the way of what we want? Two factors favor Ruth's marriage to the nearer kinsman.

Ruth's splendid reputation. How could the kinsman decline to marry such a worthy woman who is strong and attractive (Ruth 3:11)?

Boaz's integrity: Maybe Boaz will passively acquiesce to accepted custom and thereby cede Ruth to the other man.

We ask, "Is it possible for Boaz to be both shrewd and righteous at the same time?"

What's going on in the legal process described here? Will it help Ruth or hurt her?

It is basically an administrative process, not a judicial one. No crime has been committed, nor has one party brought some kind of civil suit against the other. What difference might that make?

The law applicable is "family law" which would have governed cases like inheritances, the care of widows, the provision of heirs for childless widows and their dead husbands. How is that reflected in the encounter?

Boaz opens the proceedings by addressing the other kinsman and not the elders (Ruth 4:3). It's a family matter to be worked out by the relatives involved and then formally recognized by the society through the elders.

The conversation involves only Boaz and the nearer kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 4:3-8) until Boaz asks the elders to ratify his acquisition. The elders play the role of witnesses, not judges.

II. Is this an "objective" report of the proceedings? The story-teller doesn't give equal billing to the kinsman.

The New International Version has Boaz address the man, "Come over here, my friend." Actually in Hebrew the narrator refers to him as Peloni Almoni.

What does that mean? It isn't a Hebrew name or even a word. It was probably coined by the story-teller as derogatory farrago (like helter-skelter, hanky-panky, hodgepodge). In translating the Hebrew, "Mr. So-and-So" is better than "my friend."  Our "Hey, you!" also works in this context.

Why use this expression here? Certainly Boaz knew the man's name and used it when he talked with the man in court. (Earlier the story-teller names Orpah who serves as a foil for Ruth.) Several suggestions:

Perhaps to spare the man's descendants embarrassment over their ancestor's actions. He missed out on being in the line of King David.

Perhaps it is an implied judgment. This man who refused to raise a name over the inheritance of his deceased kin deserves no name in this story.

The effect is to diminish our respect for him. He is a foil, the opposite of Boaz.

The men and women God notices are those who demonstrate their love for Him by putting themselves out for others.