Ruth 4:10
Ruth 4:9 Then In Strength (Boaz) said to the elders and all the people, “You all are witnesses this day that I have bought all which belonged to Elimelech and all which belonged to his sons Frail (Chilion) and Sick (Mahlon) from the hand of My Pleasant One (Naomi), his widow.
10 “And also, I have acquired Companion (Ruth) the Moabitess,
the widow of Sick (Mahlon), to be my wife
in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance,
so that the name of the deceased is not cut off from beside his brothers or from the gate of his birth place;
you all are witnesses this day.”
Introduction
Our text this morning continues our study of the book of Ruth.
Now remember, the closer relative has officially transferred his full right of redeemership to Boaz. As such, Elimelech’s line and Naomi and Ruth’s wellbeing are now Boaz’s responsibility.
But that said, what kind of redeemer will Boaz be? How will he do?
Last week verse 9 called us to serve as official witnesses to Boaz’s performance. Already Boaz has redeemed/purchased Elimelech’s land and thus faithfully fulfilled an important part of his obligation as redeemer. However, there is more to be done.
Therefore, in our text this morning our role as witnesses to the kind of Redeemer that YHWH has sent continues.
Verse 4:10
Notice at once verse 10 continues Boaz’s address to the elders and townsfolk gathered at the city gate: Boaz says, I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess. In other words, after calling the elders and the townsfolk to witness his redemption of Elimelech’s land, Boaz now calls them to witness his redemption of Ruth, a widow of Elimelech’s house. Importance: remember back in verse 5 Boaz informed the closer relative that the moment one acquires Elimelech’s land, he has bound himself to redeem Ruth as well. The two go together. In other words, Boaz is announcing before all the witnesses his fulfillment of the second aspect of his redeemership. Thus, unlike the other relative, Boaz is faithful to redeem/marry Ruth FN#1.
Next, notice the shocking surprise: Boaz specifically calls the folks to witness that he has acquired Ruth the Moabitess. The question is why in the world does Boaz bring Ruth’s pagan birth back up. Remember, the matter had already been addressed back in verse 5. Not only that, God’s people were strictly forbidden to marry unbelievers. Therefore, this needless detail could have proved offensive to the witnesses and derailed the whole proceeding. So why take the chance of rehashing it? But it gets worse. In the original Hebrew, Boaz does not simply try to slip this detail in and hope that no one notices. Instead, the word order that Boaz uses deliberately places emphasis on (draws attention to) this detail. Boaz literally says And also Ruth the Moabitess I have acquired. In other words, Boaz places this detail first and upfront. Why? Notice at once the Gospel in the juxtaposition: Ruth is Moabite born. However (in a book that is all about names) her name, Ruth/Companion, is a Hebrew name (it’s been changed). In other words, the change in Ruth’s name is a publically articulated declaration of her conversion. Notice then the point: by placing Ruth’s Moabite birth side by side with her Hebrew name, Boaz is intentionally calling every elder and every townsman to officially witness/attest that YHWH has redeemed this foreign Moabite woman, taken her as His child, and thus made her a fit/acceptable Companion for Boaz FN#2. Notice the result: Boaz’s deliberate wording insures that no one can go back and say that this union between Boaz and Ruth is null and void or that the heir to come is illegitimate (think the Davidic line) because Ruth is foreign born. Instead, Boaz has had Ruth’s publically know conversion officially certified by the leaders and people of the community. Importance: in a book that is building the case for the Davidic line, Boaz’s foresight is indispensable FN#3 & FN#4.
Next, notice specifically in what capacity Boaz has acquired Ruth: He is not merely receiving her as a ward. Instead, he has acquired her to be his wife. In other words, in this legal contract of redemption Boaz is carefully removing any room for confusion/dispute. Boaz is redeeming the land and marrying Ruth. Importance: by clearly articulating the capacity in which he has acquired Ruth, Boaz is once again getting the witnesses to certify both her acceptance as God’s child and her acceptability as a Hebrew bride.
Next, notice the reason Boaz is marrying Ruth: Boaz says, I am marrying her in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance (that is, the land he just purchased from Naomi): Importance: notice Boaz’s wisdom and purpose here: by getting the elders and townsfolk to witness and thus agree to his stated intention, Boaz is guaranteeing the transfer of this inheritance to the child born through his union with Ruth. In other words, no one can go back and dispute the legitimacy of this child’s claim because it has been legally validated and officially sanctioned. Not only that, notice the redemption behind the custom of redemption: remember the whole point of perpetuating a person’s name on the land that God allotted to him is that it served as an outward sign/testimony of their ongoing place/continuation on the role and in the future of God’s people. Notice then, the very language Boaz uses in verse 10 to describe this custom of redemption points to/foreshadows resurrection (the very heart of that future) FN#5. How? Verse 10 literally reads, Ruth will be my wife “in order to cause the name of the deceased to arise or to stand up upon his inheritance” FN#6. Simply put, verse 10 describes the dead man standing/abiding/remaining on his land, which is exactly the promise that this outward custom points to and proclaims. In other words, the Book of Ruth is all about giving witness to the salvation and future that God has promised His people, even as this future and salvation are being set into motion by these very events (line of the Messiah).
Next, notice the point of marrying Ruth and raising up a child for Elimelech’s line: Boaz says that by doing so Elimelech’s name will not be cut off from standing beside his brothers. Importance: remember, the notion of cutting off meant far more to the Hebrew ear than just removal. When God made a covenant, Scripture literally says God cut a covenant. In turn, circumcision (the sign of the covenant) is a cutting. Thus, in this context, to be cut off is to be depicted as the portion that is removed from the sacred and discarded. As such, to have your name cut off (forgotten/lost) presents an image that is contrary to the promises of God. As such, it is to be publically rectified through the custom of kinsman redemption. Next, notice Boaz goes on to say that Elimelech’s name will not be cut off from the gate of his birth place (Bethlehem- the very gate where these proceedings are now taking place). Importance: remember the city gate was the center of the legal and civic life of the town. Thus, to not be cut off from the gate means that one has a continuing part in the very life, decisions, and direction of the community. Notice then the picture that verse 10 (and the entire custom of kinsman redeemer) provides: The picture is of Elimelech standing in place besides his kinsmen as an active part in the ongoing life of God’s people FN#7. In other words, the whole point of the redemption custom was to outwardly/faithfully depict the theology of God’s people FN#8.
Finally, notice that verse 10 concludes the formal transaction of redemption the very way that verse 9 began it. How? Boaz reminds the elders and the townsfolk that they are legal witnesses to the fact that Boaz has faithfully fulfilled both aspects of redemption. He has purchased Elimelech’s land and agreed to marry Ruth. However, that said, all is not done and all is not well. Why? The legal oath formula that Boaz has used, calling for witnesses, requires an official response/ consent/amen from those witnesses for the contract to be final (Joshua 24:22).
So will the witnesses give their consent or will they push back on Ruth’s Moabite birth like the other relative has already done? The audience holds its breath. The whole book has come down to this moment. And then without apology, the stage curtains swing shut, the theater lights come on, and the show is over until next week and verse 11
Footnotes
1] Note: the perfect tense of the verb used here (קנה -acquired) indicates that like the purchase of the land this transaction has already occurred. It occurred and was finalized in all the paperwork that happened between verses 8 and 9. However, while Boaz has officially purchased the land he has not actually married Ruth at this point (we don’t see any ceremony). However, just as Boaz informed the other relative back in verse 5, the moment one acquires the land, he has bound himself to redeem Ruth. The two go hand in hand. Thus, Boaz declares before the witnesses that he has both purchased the land and bound himself to marry Ruth. As such, by verse 10, both the land purchase and the commitment to marriage are official/settled. Boaz has faithfully fulfilled the second aspect of his redeemership.
2] Notice that Boaz places the same juxtaposition, the same wording before the court that he placed before the other relative in verse 5. In other words, Boaz is calling the court to make the same decision that he placed before the other relative. Having just seen the other relative’s hardness, worldliness, and disregard for the things of God how will they decide. Will prejudice also guide their decision or will they decide based on what YHWH has decided. Simply put, Boaz’s staging of this entire issue is both brilliant as well as extremely prudent. All future prejudice against Ruth will from here on out be officially shut down. The one who God has received as his child will forever be received by his people.
3] Notice then the quiet yet profound lesson: at once verse 10 reminds us that it is genuine salvation/redemption that makes this entire outward custom of redemption possible. How? God has redeemed His people and given them a share in His future. In the same way, it is genuine salvation/redemption that makes Ruth an acceptable bride for Boaz. In other words, in verse 10 the outward custom of redemption points twice to the salvation upon which it rests (it points to Ruth’s conversion and inclusion in God’s people as well as to the promises that God has given to those people). Not only that, from this very custom (with all its focus on salvation, line, and future) and from this particular union of Boaz and Ruth will come the line of the one true Redeemer who will accomplish the very salvation and future that God has promised. The book of Ruth is a book all about salvation and future.
4] Because much of the content here has already been covered elsewhere, I have placed this section of the verse in the footnotes. However, it is important to include it so that we can give an account of every detail the passage provided:
Next, notice Boaz goes on to describe Ruth as the widow of Elimelech’s son, Sickly (Mahlon). Why? First, Boaz is reading an official contract before witnesses. Therefore, precision and exactitude matter. Not only that in the formal contract of redemption, Sickly is the legal connection between Ruth, the land, and Elimelech’s house. She is the widow of Elimelech’s dead son and thus the rightful object of redemption along with the land. However, in a book that is all about names, the deletion of this son’s actual Hebrew name and its replacement with a pejorative nickname (Sickly) recalls/underscores his apostasy and removal from the role/future of God’s people. Notice then, conspicuously, it is Elimelech’s name (not his son’s) that is being perpetuated through this redemption. At the same time, the author’s skillful play on names underscores the amazingness of God’s grace. Notice then, it is out of Frail and Sick’s apostasy that God has redeemed not only Naomi and Elimelech but also pagan Ruth (their names will be perpetuated on the land and in the role of God’s people- a true blessing of true redemption). Notice then message for God’s people both then and now: by faith and faithfulness, Ruth the foreigner is saved and counted among God’s people. However, tragically, through unbelief and unfaithfulness, Mahlon (Sickly) a native born Hebrew, is cut off and lost. In other words, from the very beginning, it is those who are of Abraham’s faith who are counted as Abraham’s children/descendants in God’s eyes (Gen 15:6; Gal 3:7).
5] Note: we must always be careful not to read a fully developed New Testament theology back onto an Old Testament text (before God had fully disclosed or explained the categories in question). However, in pointing out the “resurrection” language in verse 10 we are making no such mistake. Instead, the resurrection of the dead is an Old Testament notion. In fact, there is no New Testament teaching that is not first introduced in the Old. Now, while it is true, that Old Testament believers did not have a fully developed understanding of all the details surrounding the resurrection, the general framework of the doctrine was firmly in place. They knew that God had promised His people an ongoing part in the future of His people and that a large part of that future involved their abiding place on the Land that God had given. There are countless examples that we could point to illustrate this point, but for now listen to the understanding presented in the book of Job (arguably the oldest book in the OT)
Job 19:25 “And as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will His stand on the earth. 26 “And after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; 27 Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my own eyes shall see
Notice then, all the major aspects of a fully developed New Testament doctrine of the believer’s resurrection are already in circulation in Job. We have future, land/earth, and embodied participation long after death. Simply put, Boaz knew exactly what he was saying and exactly why the kinsman-redeemer law was such an important witness.
6] So to nerd out: the stem of a Hebrew verb often indicates the way that that verb is functioning in the particular passage. Thus, for example, the nifil stem indicates that the verb is a passive verb. Here in verse 10 the hifil stem of the verb (קום) arise, stand adds a causal factor to it. Thus, it means to raise up, or to cause to stand up upon his inheritance. As such, the imagery here behind the word is suggestive of resurrection and the dead man standing/abiding/remaining on his land, which is exactly the promise to which this outward custom gives testimony.
7] Notice the theology of the Elimelech’s ongoing place in and seat at the gate of God’s people will be outwardly demonstrated when Obed, the son of Elimelech (via Ruth and Boaz) stands to speak or is addressed at the city gate of his people.
To be a bit more technical: Obed is the proximate fulfillment of the kinsman redeemer custom. He is the outward witness who will stand in his kin’s place and keep his kin’s name alive. However, alone, this outward witness cannot explain why this custom or its witness was implemented and so important. Boaz’s language then in verse10 (as it suggests resurrection) describes the outward/proximate fulfillment in terms of the deeper (and ultimate) theological fulfilment behind the custom. Not only that, Boaz fully intends his listeners to hear both- both the outward fulfillment as well as the basis/meaning/reason to which God intended the outward to point. In turn, the folks at the gate heard and understood, for such was the standard understanding of this custom among God’s people (see note #8 below)
8] Importance: it is vital to note that Boaz’s language in verse 10 is not introducing some new teaching or some nuanced understanding of the custom of kinsman redeemer. Instead, this is a legal proceeding and the official certification of a completed contract. The last thing Boaz wants are elders and witnesses going “wait a minute, what? That’s not what we are signing off on at all”. Instead, everything that Boaz says about the custom of redemption here and the language he uses to say it, represent the standard and accepted view of the custom. Boaz says, this is what redeemership is, this is why it is, and this redeemership is exactly what we are doing here today. As such, verse 10 is so important because it gives us insight into the understanding in those days of future, the nature of salvation, and how this custom faithful sought to testify to both.