Ruth 4: 1 – 22
Boaz Bundy – Shoe Salesman
1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came 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 close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 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.” 5 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 perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.” 6 And the close relative 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.” 7 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 a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and 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. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” 11 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. 12 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.” 13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
I like humor. In fact I know our Lord loves humor also. He was the one Who created us to enjoy a good laugh. One of my favorite TV shows is ‘Married with Children’. Good old Al Bundy’s life kind of reminds me of my life. His biggest claim to fame was that he scored 4 touchdowns in one high school football game. I outdid his athletic achievement by scoring 5 touchdowns in one game. How about that Al?
Al thought that he was only going to work at a women’s shoe store while in high school. But due to marrying Peg all his dreams were dashed. The mockery he received from his family and neighbors was that he was a failure because he was a shoe salesman. The reference to shoe’s in the bible can be a good or bad thing. Here is an example of each;
Exodus 3: 5, “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest [is] holy ground.”
Ephesians 6: 15, “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace”
In today’s story though we are going to look at a situation where the use of the shoe is not good. It will be a visible token of a man who will not fulfill God’s rules which are given to us in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25, “5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
So with this in mind let us get back to our story. In order to further his cause with Ruth, Boaz made his way to the city gate. The gate of any city, in which there would often be an enclosed space between an inner and outer gate, and a gate house, together with rooms/alcoves for conducting official matters, was the place where much business took place and where the elders of the city met to make decisions and act as judges. Markets would be held there. It was a center of activity. Knowing that the near kinsman he sought would almost certainly pass through there he sat down and waited, and sure enough the man whom he sought approached. Sitting him down and calling for the elders as witnesses, Boaz then began to put to him the situation. The land of Elimelech was for sale and he as the nearest kinsman had the first right to buy it, but what he had to recognize was the fact that whoever bought it would be obliged by custom to take Ruth the Moabitess as wife in order to beget a son for the dead husband. Learning of this the man declined and granted Boaz permission to take his place as near kinsman, at which Boaz announced to the elders that he would be purchasing Elimelech’s land, and marrying Ruth in order to bear sons on behalf of the deceased Elimelech and his deceased sons in order to perpetuate their names.
1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down.
Boaz knew that his first task was to track down and talk to the one who was a nearer kinsman than himself. So in order to do this he went to the gate of the city. It was, of course, morning which we find out in chapter 3 verse 15, and he was clearly aware that the man must shortly come through there, possibly on his way to his fields. The gate of a city was the hub of the city’s activities. It was there that the elders met to deliberate, and act as judges where it was necessary, and it was there that important business activities took place, especially those which involved witnesses.
Sure enough he soon spotted the nearer kinsman passing through, and called on him to turn aside and sit near him. The nearer kinsman or relative would recognize that Boaz had something official to say, or ask, and he therefore had no hesitation in taking a seat, intrigued as to what Boaz may want.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
The suspense deepened when Boaz requested that ten city elders should also sit with them. They were there to act as witnesses to the transaction that was about to take place.
3 Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.
Then Boaz explained his purpose. He explained to the near kinsman that Naomi, who had recently come out of the country of Moab, was selling the family land which had belonged to her deceased husband, Elimelech. But as we have seen above, it was not as simple as that. For the land belonged to YHWH, and it had been allotted by Him to a family in Israel who was represented by the head of the family (who had in this case been Elimelech). What was therefore seen as of crucial importance was that ‘the name’ of that family, in this case the family of Elimelech, should be maintained in Israel, and that would be done by the redeemer who bought the land begetting children through the surviving females in the family, where all the men had died. This was the responsibility of the goel (redeemer).
Now you have to put yourselves in the position of this nameless man. Here is the perfect gift. In his thinking he would get more land free. His only responsibility, he thought, was that he would have to take care of Naomi, who was too old to have children, until she died. Then all her land would be added to his estate.
4 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.”
So now he can’t believe the offer. The guy quickly responds, ‘I’ll take the deal!’ Little does he realize that Boaz has set him up for the kicker.
5 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 perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”
I think in today’s verbiage would go something like this, ‘Oh, by the way, in addition to the land, you have to marry a despised foreign wife of the dead. Of all hated people this woman is a Moabite, for goodness sake. I’m glad I’m not first in line to redeem the land.’
6 And the close relative 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.” 7 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 a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and 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. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”
The other guy now did not like the deal so much when he heard that he would have to take a despised Moabite as his wife and have her part of his lineage.
I can just see Boaz holding back a shout as he says, ‘Well okay, if I have to then I will take on the responsibility of doing this act. It is not recorded but I think somehow the other guy found out just how beautiful Ruth was and wished there was a loophole for him to be the one who could marry her.
11 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. 12 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.”
Please notice how the leaders spoke about Rachel, Leah, and Tamar. I know you bible students are aware that these three came from other countries, not Israel. So, these ladies had God’s involvement, and the leaders prayed that Boaz and Ruth’s marriage would also be blessed by Almighty God.
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed.
Naomi lost two sons and a husband. Our Lord God blessed Naomi with a grandson. In addition, Boaz and Ruth took care of her the rest of her life.
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
You see how the lineage with Perez from Tamar [ a foreigner] becomes part of the royal lineage. This points to the one who God selected to lead His people – David.
