![]() Judicial and legal matters were in their hands. Leaders ( v 4) Usually clan leaders or heads of household, served as the governing body of the city.Merchants set up their temporary shops near the gate, which also served as “city hall.” Here city officials gathered to conduct business. No one could enter or leave the town without traveling through the gate. Town gate ( v 1) This was the center of activity.Key Words and Historical Background Notes However, a legal complication could prevent Boaz from following through with his intentions. He also agrees to marry Ruth so that he can provide her children to carry on the name of her dead husband. In a dramatic encounter with Ruth on the threshing floor, Boaz agrees to do the duty of a family-Redeemer and purchase Naomi’s family land so that it is not lost. Boaz shows kindness to her and prays, “May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully.” The rest of the book tells how he proves to be the fulfillment of his own prayer. Her daughter-in-law gleans leftover grain and, as it turns out, finds herself in the fields of Boaz who is related to Naomi. Naomi arrives with Ruth in Bethlehem as the barley harvest is beginning. God’s law, therefore, provided that the nearest relative of the dead husband should care for the widow but apparently Naomi was not aware that any of her relatives were alive in Israel. Widows were taken advantage of or ignored. They were almost always poverty stricken. There was almost nothing worse than being a widow in the ancient world. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty.” She felt trapped in seemingly hopeless circumstances. When Naomi finally arrived home she instructed the women in her town: “Call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. She urged Ruth, her widowed daughter-in-law, not to return with her stating that: “t hings are far more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord himself has caused me to suffer.” Ruth’s insistence on returning with her was a strong indication of God’s care. After ten years she decided to return home to Bethlehem. In the beginning of our story, Naomi is deeply saddened by the loss of her husband and two sons who all died while her family lived in Moab (in modern-day Jordan). The question is, even in the hardest circumstances is God in control? If he is, that means he can change the bitterness of our hard experiences.ĭo you believe that God is in control of your most difficult circumstances? Getting Oriented He was the father of Jesse, ( T) the father of David.Life is like a grindstone, someone once said, and whether it grinds you down or polishes you depends on what you are made of. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. ![]() For your daughter-in-law, ( R) who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, ( S) has given him birth.”ġ6 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. ( Q) May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. ( N) 14 The women ( O) said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, ( P) who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, ( M) and she gave birth to a son. ( J) 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, ( K) whom Tamar ( L) bore to Judah.” Naomi Gains a Sonġ3 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. May you have standing in Ephrathah ( I) and be famous in Bethlehem. ![]() ( G) May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, ( H) who together built up the family of Israel. ( D) Today you are witnesses! ( E)”ġ1 Then the elders and all the people at the gate ( F) said, “We are witnesses. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, ( B) Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, ( C) in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. 9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses ( A) that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. ![]()
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