One writer has given chapter 4 the heading 'The Peaceable Community'. Here we see human life within God's covenant of grace being lived out as it should be. It isn't perfect but it is a remarkable demonstration of what God can do in and through his people, even in days of great moral and spiritual decline. Again, there is much for us to learn here for our own lives.
1. At the Gate (v.1)
The first thing we see is Boaz going to the town gate. As a convenient meeting spot, this was the place where the town leaders gathered to discuss and to make any decisions that needed to be made. Boaz is not going to go about getting Ruth as his wife by any underhand means. He is going to go by the book; he's going to do it right. He is a man of integrity, even when he knows it might not work out as he wants it to.
How often do we cut corners because we fear that our wish may not come true unless we do? We need to learn from Boaz that God can be trusted at all times. Jacob was a deceiver and had to be dealt with by God; let's not have to learn the hard way but always look to honour God by acting with integrity.
And in this verse there is another clear indication that God is at work and will honour his servants who want to live by the right way. Just as he sits down to wait for this other kinsman, he comes along. The word in the Hebrew there is the same one that was used in 2:4. It isn't by chance that the man came along just then; it was God at work. Boaz was not mistaken in thinking to trust God and neither will we be.
2. Boaz: Innocent and Wise
Boaz is not deceitful but nor is he naive or gullible. We see that in the way he handles the situation with the other kinsman.
What Boaz does is to first raise an issue which is new to us but is clearly one that is well known in the situation. He mentions the fact that Naomi has some land to sell that belonged to Elimelech. This man has first refusal: does he want to buy it and keep it within the family?
The man's first response is to say that he will redeem it. It is an attractive proposition. And that's when we see Boaz's nouse: just when the man thinks he's got a bargain, Boaz mentions Ruth. If he's willing to redeem the land then he ought to be willing to take on Ruth as well, to preserve the family name of the dead man (Elimelech through Mahlon).
Now, the man isn't willing to do this because, he says, "I might endanger my own estate" (v.6). If he married Ruth and they had a child, that child would be classed as being of Elimelech's family and the land bought would be his and his family's, not this kinsman's. So at this stage he backs out and leaves the way open for Boaz.
Boaz has not tricked him, he's been upfront, but he has been careful in the way he presented the situation to him. He has cleared up the issue of whether the man wants to act for the family or not. He doesn't but Boaz will. Boaz has acted "as innocent as a dove and as wise as a serpent". That is a potent combination for good and we too need the same qualities.
3. Boaz: A Model of Grace
The way is clear for Boaz to act. We may view the other man harshly for not taking on both the land and Ruth but in the story there is no condemnation of him. He has, in a sense, taken the ordinary road; Boaz is taking the road less-travelled, the "more excellent way" of true love and in doing so is a shining example to us of what it means to be Christian.
It's clear that Boaz has a double concern here and that double concern is a reflection of the ministry of the Lord Jesus.
i) The Dead Man's Name (v.10). In Israel, for a family name to die out was a terrible tragedy and amounted to personal annihilation. Boaz acted to preserve the family names of Elimelech and Mahlon.
In doing that, he points us to the love and ministry of Jesus who sacrificed himself in our place so that our names might appear in the Lamb's book of life. If it was not for Jesus and his atoning love, we would have no hope, no future. We would be consigned to the waste-bin of history, consigned to hell itself. But such is his love for us that he came and bled and died for us. And in him we are eternally safe!
ii) Ruth's Integration into Israel The second aspect of what Boaz did was to secure the personal futures of Ruth and Naomi. But notice in particular how that is described by the people in v.11 - "the woman who is coming into your home".
Naomi has prayed that Ruth might find rest in the home of another husband. She needs protection, she needs love, and she needs to be integrated into the people of God (notice she is still being spoken of as the Moabitess). Boaz is doing just that for her.
It is what Jesus has done for us. He has saved us, he has brought us into his rest, he has loved us and he has given us a place in the family of God. How richly we have been blessed!
Boaz, as one who is redeemed and reconciled, acts to redeem and reconcile. In doing so, he is fulfilling what we see Paul write of in the NT - see 2 Cor 5:18-21. Those who are reconciled should act to bring about reconciliation.
Are there ways today that you can do that? Are there people who need to be loved and embraced and welcomed? Then we must do so, for Jesus' sake. The other kinsman-redeemer refused to act because it would be too costly - but we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 8:9).
4. A Community of Peace & Prayer (vv.11,12)
The passage closes with the elders and the people at the gate witnessing the event. What is happening here has significance not only for Ruth and Boaz but for the whole community so it is right that they are present to witness it. Marriage is between two people but is also a public union with a significance for the community. That's why we solemnise marriages in a public context. Our marriages are important not for us only but for the whole church, for the whole society. We need to see them in that light and work on them in that light.
And those who gathered at the gate also prayed for Ruth and Boaz. That's how it should be in a community that wants to honour God. That's how to become a community of peace.
In fact, prayer is key throughout the whole book - look at 1:8,9; 2:4; 2:12; 2:20; 3:10. What this tells us is that "every aspect of life...is lived in the faith that God is there and God cares". Prayer should be at the centre of all we do too, as a response to what God has done and in anticipation of what God will do.
The people pray for Ruth, that the LORD will use her in building up of the nation - if only they knew how God would answer that prayer! They want the best for her & are unafraid to pray for it.
And for Boaz they pray for further renown in Ephrathah and in Bethlehem. People who act and live as Boaz did deserve to be honoured among the people of God - not with awards but with esteem and affection. In the NT, we often see Paul and others in their letters commending certain people to the churches as being worthy of being received by them.
A worthy man, showing the grace of the Lord Jesus. A community of peace, praying for each other. And all in the days when the Judges judged! That is what we should aspire to be. May God grant us grace to do so. Amen.
