Loyalty Repaid

January 3, 2012

The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” Ruth 4:6

Boaz wouldn’t rest until the matter was settled. The beautiful Moabite woman he had met only weeks ago had come and lay down at his feet as he slept on the threshing floor.  “Spread your covering over me,” she said, “that you may redeem me.”

According to custom in Israel, when a man died without children, the next closest kin would marry the woman and raise up an heir in his name. But Ruth’s brother-in-law had also died while they were back in Moab. Her request to Boaz also came with a high price. Not only would Boaz have to purchase the family land belonging to Elimelech and his sons, he would also have to sacrifice his own heir. Their first-born child would bear the family name of Mahlon and not his own.

Yet Boaz expressed no such concern. He knew Ruth’s character, understood her loss, and watched her struggle. He had looked on attentively as Ruth sought to provide food for herself and Noami and did everything he could to ease her load. He considered it an honor that such a woman would request the right of redemption from him. Yet another relative of closer kin than himself had the first right of refusal. Regardless of how the circumstances turned out, he wanted to make sure that Ruth and Naomi’s needs were met.

As soon as the day began, Boaz hurried to the town gate, summoned the elders—or judges—, and waited. As the next-of-kin approached the gate, Boaz jumped to his feet and summoned him off the road. Quickly Boaz explained the situation, but when the man heard that it would involve a marriage to a Moabite widow and the financial risk to his own heir, he quickly lost interest. “Redeem her yourself,” he said.

And so he did. After a long and tiring journey to a new land and a new people, Ruth finally found rest. She and Naomi would be cared for, sheltered, and provided for under this faithful man’s roof.

How desperately we need this kind of character. How often do I go throughout my day so focused on my own needs that I forget—or fail to even see—the hurting people around me? Ruth and Boaz challenge us to a different way of living. One that thinks of others first and takes bold risks to care for their needs.

How can we demonstrate the kind of character Ruth and Boaz showed in thinking of another’s needs before their own?

 

by: Amanda DeWitt