Meat for the Hungry

www.sarahbmartin.wordpress.com The morning sun was mid-sky when Boaz acquired the sandal from the nearer kinsman. In this crowded, open-air courtroom, Boaz held the sandal high and shouted, "You are witnesses to this transaction. I have bought all that was Elimelech's and his sons. In addition, Mahlon’s widow, Ruth, will become my wife and I will raise a son for Mahlon, so neither his inheritance is lost nor his position at the city gate.” www.anewdaywithchrist.blogspot.com “...All the people…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.’” What an amazing and grand blessing. This very wealthy, prominent Israelite would marry a Moabite, and they were excited about it. Nevertheless, what did their blessing mean, especially since they referred to Rachel and Leah building the house of Israel?

www.sarahbmartin.wordpress.com Ruth 4:1-10 Ruth waited, Boaz confronted, and the nearer kinsman declined. But why? Why was Boaz, the near kinsman, able to redeem, where the nearer one could not? Quickly assessing the opportunity, this closer relative realized having Ruth for a wife, would ruin his inheritance. He would be spending his own money to purchase something his children would not inherit. Elimelech’s field would accede to the child he fathered for Mahlon, and he was unable or unwilling to share his inheritance. Therefore, today we come to the most important lesson of this series.

www.sarahbmartin.wordpress.com Filled with nervous energy, Ruth could barely eat breakfast. Dare she consider the enormous sack of barley occupying their tiny kitchen an engagement gift? Naomi thinks so. Sweet Media But, what about the nearer kinsman? How long will it take Boaz to discuss the matter with him? Will he come to inform her of the outcome immediately, or will he delay until tomorrow? Ruth wanted to marry Boaz and no one else.

sarahbmartin.wordpress.com Before we can move our thoughts to the city gate and Boaz meeting with the closer relative, we must understand the Law of God in relation to the near kinsman. In Leviticus 25:25, God gave a close relative the right to redeem or buy back a possession a poor brother or kinsman had sold. With Deuteronomy 25:5-10, God conveyed His requirement for a man to marry his brother's widow, if they had no child to carry on the family name. When the surviving brother married the widow, the law would consider her firstborn son to be the son of her dead husband. A brother could refuse this familial obligation, but at great cost. The widow would then publicly shame him by spitting in his face and removing his sandal, thus disgracing his name in all Israel.