“Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.” Ruth 4:1
This fourth chapter of Ruth gives us an interesting picture of how they settled legal matters in those times. The elders would gather at the City Gate and cases discussed, and a decision reached. The decisions made were binding.
Elimelech’s property was up for sale and there were only two who were eligible to purchase it, Boaz or the one who was a closer relative than him. At first, the other man said he would purchase the property, but then Boaz explained to him that there were conditions.
“Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.”
The other man was not willing to do it and told Boaz he was free to redeem it. To seal the deal, the man took off his shoe. What did this mean? I read this interesting commentary: “One thought is that the proof that land was yours was seen in that you were able to walk over it. Taking off your shoe and giving it to another was the sign that you were no longer able to walk over the land – it now belonged to the one to whom you handed your shoe.”
The other kinsman represented the law, with all its rules and regulations. Boaz represented the grace of Jesus Christ, a love that we did not deserve. We know that the law cannot redeem us. No man has ever been capable of obeying it completely. Only Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, lived without sin and is qualified to redeem us.
What love Boaz showed for Ruth, to meet the other relative before the elders, and publicly declare: “If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee.” Ruth 4:4
What love the Lord Jesus Christ showed for the world when He willingly went to Calvary and shed His blood for our redemption.
Romans 8:3-4 “ For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Prayer: Jesus, we thank you for being willing to do what the law could not do. You gave your life freely to redeem us, and to bring us into an intimate relationship with you.
Devotion by Anne Johnston
