The story of Ruth is the perfect example of how to apply Godly principles to complicated problems ESPECIALLY when clearcut solutions to those problems are NOT spelled out for us in the Scriptures.
Naomi and Ruth were both childless and poverty-stricken widows.
This was a death sentence to females in that era.
On top of that, the land that belonged to Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech was now under the control of a person OUTSIDE of the family.
So in a nutshell, there were two BIG problems Naomi and Ruth faced.
The first was their poverty stricken situation.
The second was how to return possession of the land back into Naomi’s clan because it was currently in the hands of an outsider.
In order to find a solution to these matters, Boaz had entered into a heated negotiation with the senior redeemer at the city gates of Bethlehem.
Let’s examine the dialogue they had with each other.
First Boaz said:
“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.”
The unnamed redeemer without any hesitation replied “I will redeem it”.
However, then Boaz said this:
“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.”
Once the unnamed redeemer heard that, he suddenly changed his mind and said:
“Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
Okay, so what in the world is going on here?
Why was the unnamed redeemer positive towards Boaz’s proposal in the beginning but as soon as he heard that he had to marry Ruth as part of the bargain he immediately changed his mind?
Alrighty, buckle in homies ’cause I’ve got some explaining to do.
Here’s what’s going on.
The reason why the unnamed redeemer was more than happy to redeem the land before he heard he had to marry Ruth was BECAUSE HE KNEW ELIMELECH’S CHILDREN HAD PASSED AWAY AND THUS THEIR WERE NO HEIRS TO THE PROPERTY.
In other words, an opportunity to add Naomi’s land to his own family’s property holdings and eventually pass it on to his own grandchildren. had just landed in his lap and there was no way he was gonna pass it up.
According to the Torah, the near relative who redeemed the land got to keep the land until the year of Jubilee.
Are you with me here folks?
The only reason the unnamed redeemer so enthusiastically said “Oh hell yes, I’ll redeem that land” was because he knew Elimelech (Naomi’s deceased husband) had no heirs.
Thus he had zero qualms about paying the mystery owner however much cash it took to gain control of that land because he knew in the long run it would pay off in spades.
He was chomping at the bit to close that bargain with Boaz…
But then Boaz threw a monkey wrench of gargantuan proportions into the whole equation.
“Listen up homie. If you decide to redeem the land, you’ve also gotta marry Ruth the Moabite”.
Well, that stopped the unnamed redeemer dead in his tracks and he did an immediate about face.
The question is why?
The answer is simple.
Because if Ruth had a child, that child would become the heir for her deceased husband Machlon (son of Elimelech)…
Which means the unnamed redeemer (the one now bargaining with Boaz) would have to hand over the land to Ruth’s son.
That was a double financial whammy for him.
He’d literally be paying money for property he’d have to forfeit to a son who wouldn’t be considered his own child but Machlon’s son (Ruth’s former husband).
It was all about the money man!
So the unnamed redeemer declined Boaz’s offer.
Fortunately for Naomi (and Ruth), Boaz was happy to take on all of the manmade obligations of that era and become the redeemer.
This ended up nicely solving the 2 BIG problems I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
FIRST, Elimelech’s land would be properly returned to the family.
How this worked is that Ruth and Boaz would produce a son named Obed who would be considered Machlon’s (Ruth’s first husband who passed away) child.
And since Machlon was the child of Elimelech (Naomi’s deceased husband), the property acquired would be considered to have passed on from Elimelech (the father) to Machlon (the son) and then to Ruth’s first born son.
Thus in this way the land stayed in the family.
I know that’s quite an indirect route but that’s how it would’ve worked.
SECOND, because of the union between Ruth and Boaz, Ruth now had a husband to take care of her and Naomi would be taken care of in her golden years by Ruth and Boaz.
It really was a masterful solution and I love how God tied all the loose ends together at the end.
But again, this all came about NOT because men were obedient to God’s commands…
Because there were no specific instructions about what to do in this situation…
But through the wise application of Godly principles to a thorny situation.
Remember, according to the Torah, it is NOT required for a redeemer to marry a childless widow unless he’s the brother of the deceased man.
Machlon (Ruth’s deceased husband) had no brothers.
So there was actually a void in the Torah.
How in the world to deal with childless widows?
That’s why the wise men of that time created a tradition that allowed a childless widow who had no brother in law to marry any near relative who agreed to step in to become the kinsman redeemer.
So yes, it was a manmade tradition…
But it was created in accordance with Godly principles to help those who were in dire straits.
And I think this is a great lesson for us today…
Because many times in our lives we will encounter sticky situations and thorny problems for which there is no clear remedy spelled out for us in the Scriptures.
In those cases, we have to ask ourselves the question “What would our Father in heaven do in this situation?”
And then act accordingly…
Even if it means creating an entirely new tradition.
See ya all next time.
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