And there were in
the same country shepherds abiding in
the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night.
- Luke 2:8
The book of Ruth, a
traditional reading at harvest time
during the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), is
a book of only four brief chapters that
is both a classic love story and also an
essential book of prophecy. One cannot
understand
Revelation Chapter 5 without it. It
even has implications for our Christmas
season, which is one of the reasons for
providing a précis in this issue.
Background
The family of
Elimelech, due to a local famine, leaves
its home in Bethlehem and immigrates to
Moab. The two sons marry local girls,
but the father and the two sons
subsequently pass away, leaving his
wife, Naomi, and her two
daughters-in-laws destitute. Hearing
that things are now better back home,
Naomi decides to return to her native
Bethlehem. She urges the two young girls
to remain in their homeland and begin
new lives, but Ruth refuses and insists
on accompanying Naomi.1
The Law of Gleaning
One of the values of
this book is to highlight the operation
of the laws of ancient Israel. As a
landowner, you were permitted to reap on
one pass only: what was missed, or left
behind, was available to be “gleaned” by
the widows or the destitute.2
Naomi and Ruth are, of
course, in that situation, and Ruth, in
her support of the household, goes out
to glean after the reapers and “happens”3
onto the field of Boaz, one of the
wealthy landowners and the hero of our
story. Boaz arranges for his reapers to
drop “handfuls on purpose” to assure
Ruth an abundant gathering. When Noami
learns of Ruth’s good fortune, she is
especially delighted since it turns out
that Boaz is a kinsman of the family,
and that leads to the opportunity that
is the crux of the tale.
To properly understand
what follows, it is necessary to be
familiar with several other laws
operative from the Torah.
The Law of Redemption
When property is sold
in our culture, title is usually passed
“in fee simple,” in perpetuity to the
buyer. However, Israel’s land was
granted, in the days of Joshua, to the
tribes to be retained within the family.
(That’s one of the reasons genealogies
were so important.)
When someone “sold” a
property—to pay debts, or whatever—the
transaction was what we would view as a
lease: there were provisions for the
land to eventually return to the family.4
A “title deed” included the terms that a
kinsman of the family could perform to
“redeem” the property to the family.5
The Law of Levirate
Marriage
There was also an
unusual procedure to assure the
continuation of a family in the event of
the death of a husband without issue. If
a widow had no son, she could request
the next of kin to take her and raise
children to continue the family
bloodline.6
It is from this
background that we understand Naomi’s
opportunity in
Ruth Chapter 3. She realizes that
Boaz is a kinsman; therefore, there was
an opportunity to regain the family
properties lost by her deceased husband
10 years earlier and also a
chance for Ruth to have a new life.
Naomi instructs Ruth on how to proceed.
The Threshing Floor
The harvest included
winnowing the wheat at a “threshing
floor,” a parcel of ground where there
was a prevailing wind. The grain was
tossed into the air and the grain would
fall downwind a small distance; the
chaff, being lighter, would be carried
further downwind. When done properly,
two piles would result: the furthest
would be burned as trash; the closer one
would be bagged for the marketplace.
The harvest was, of
course, also a time for celebration, and
the evenings were accompanied by
festivities for having made payroll
another season, etc. After the
celebration, the owners typically would
sleep near the grain to preclude theft.
Ruth is instructed by Naomi to approach
Boaz privately at the threshing floor.
What follows is widely misunderstood by
the uninitiated reader.
The Request
Ruth approaches Boaz
while he is sleeping and requests him to
“spread his skirt over her as he is a
near kinsman.” This is not the kind of
proposition many people assume it to be.
The shul
(“skirt”), or hem, was the emblem of
rank or authority in Israel, much like
the stripes on the sleeve of a naval
officer or airline pilot in our culture.
(This insight is essential to really
understand David’s cutting Saul’s hem,7
or why the woman with the issue of blood
touched Christ’s hem,8
etc.)
Ruth was asking Boaz
to put the authority of his
house over her. She is invoking her
right under the laws of Israel for him
to take her to wife. Boaz was delighted
to accommodate her, but there remained
an obstacle to be overcome.
A Nearer Kinsman?
It seems that there is
a nearer kinsman who would have
to first step aside for Boaz to assume
his role. This is a cloud over the
otherwise joyous proceedings. Boaz takes
on the task of confronting this nearer
kinsman, in front of the city council,
to force the issue.
When a widow requested
the next of kin to perform the role of
the goel, or kinsman-redeemer,
he wasn’t forced to. In fact, there were
three conditions to be met:
He had to be
qualified as a kinsman;
He had to be
able to perform;
He had to be
willing.
There were two issues
at stake: the redeeming of the land for
Naomi and the taking of Ruth to wife. As
far as the land is concerned, the man
appears to be willing. But for some
undisclosed reason, he is unable to
perform where Ruth is concerned. That
clears the way for our hero, Boaz, to
fulfill his role as the goel.
The giving of the shoe
needs an explanation. If the nearer
kinsman declined the responsibility, he
would have to yield one of his shoes and
could also suffer the indignity of being
spit upon. When he declined, he
performed the traditional gesture by
yielding his shoe to Boaz. The shoe was
intended to be a symbol of disgrace, but
to Boaz it was a marriage license!
(It may seem
remarkable that Boaz, a wealthy Jew,
would take a Gentile to wife. Remember
who his mother was: Rahab, the harlot of
Jericho.9
Both Rahab and Ruth are in Christ’s
genealogy.10)
A Closer Look
This elegant love
story is a classic in literature, and it
also gives us some interesting insights
into the life of ancient Israel.
But if we look more
closely, we will discover that it is
much more than that. The plan of God
appears to be hidden among its colorful
symbols and roles. The Bible frequently
deals in symbols, models, or “types.”11
As we examine the role of Boaz as the
goel, or kinsman-redeemer, we
can easily see how he, in some ways,
pre-figures our own kinsman-redeemer,
Jesus Christ. Through his act of
redemption, Boaz returns Naomi (Israel)
to her land, and also takes Ruth (a
Gentile) as his bride. This suggests a
parallel with the Church as the Gentile
bride of Christ.
The parallels between
Boaz, Naomi, and Ruth with Christ,
Israel, and the Church have been widely
recognized, and it is remarkable to
notice how many additional details of
the story are consistent with this
viewpoint.
The Unnamed Servant
Who first introduces
Boaz to Ruth? An unnamed servant.12
This is suggestive of the role of the
Holy Spirit, and it is interesting that
in every example that the Holy
Spirit is viewed in such a role, He is
always the “unnamed servant.” In
Genesis 24, Abraham, as the Father,
sent his “eldest servant” to gather a
bride for his son Isaac. This unnamed
servant seems to be mentioned elsewhere13
as Eliezer,
which means “Comforter.” Why does the
Holy Spirit always appear as the
unnamed servant? Because Jesus said
“He would never testify of Himself.”14
It is interesting
that, no matter how much Boaz wanted
Ruth, as a gentleman there was nothing
he could do until she declared herself.
It was her move. No matter how
much Jesus loves us, He awaits our
response. How about you? Have you asked
your Goel to do His
“kinsman-redeemer” part for you?
The Nearer Kinsman
What does the “nearer
kinsman” symbolize? Most scholars view
him as the Law. What the Law could not
do, Jesus has already done for us. It is
also significant that at the
confrontation with the “nearer kinsman,”
it was Ruth’s position to confront the
nearer kinsman; however, Boaz stood
in Ruth’s place and took the entire
burden upon himself.
This Christmas season
we will, of course, think of those
shepherds who were visited by the angels
announcing the birth of the Son of David
in Bethlehem. It is interesting to
reflect on the possibility that these
shepherds were tending their flocks in
the very fields that had belonged to
Boaz and Ruth so long before.
We note that this love
story climaxes with Boaz “purchasing”
his (Gentile) bride.15
Jesus also has purchased us: it was with
His blood on a wooden cross two thousand
years ago. May His richest blessings
attend you and yours during this special
holiday season!
Appendix: The Strange
Toast
As they celebrated the
wedding of Ruth and Boaz at the end of
Ruth Chapter 4, we encounter a
rather strange remark in verse 12: “May
your house be like Perez…” If you
understand the sordid tale of Judah and
Tamar,16
which leads to the illegitimate birth of
Perez, you might be inclined to think,
“Same to you, fella!” What kind of a
“toast” or blessing is that?
To understand what
lies behind this unusual prophecy, we
need to remember that in the case of an
illegitimate son, there could be no
inheritance for ten generations.17
Appended to the Book of Ruth is the
genealogy from Perez, and ten
generations leads us to David, anointed
King over Israel!
When Israel clamored
for a king and Samuel anointed Saul,18
we often get the impression that David
was an “afterthought” when Saul didn’t
work out. Not so. Here, as early as the
time of the Judges, is a prophecy
that David was God’s destined choice for
King. Perhaps that is why Samuel had to
go to the tribe of Benjamin, rather than
the royal tribe of Judah19
for his selection: the curse on Perez’s
line hadn’t run out yet.