Transcript Boaz and Ruth

Firm Foundations
Lesson Titles
Sunday – Family Affairs
 Monday – Devotion of Ruth
 Tuesday – Boaz
 Wednesday – The Proposal
 Thursday – Redemption
 Friday – The Hand of God in
History

Lesson Emphasis

Week at a Glance:
 “In Boaz and Ruth we can see
many features that make a good
foundation for a successful
marriage and for a faithful life in
general.”

Summary:
 “Despite some aspects of their
situation not being ideal for
marriage, Boaz and Ruth had the
essential qualities for a solid
relationship. Both demonstrated a
spirit of caring and sharing, and
both were deeply committed to
God.”
Background and History

When did all this happen?
 In our Bibles Ruth is a separate book. In the
LXX (one of the oldest Bibles) it is a sort of
appendix to the Book of Judges.
1400 B.C.
Days of the Judges c.350 years
Time of Ruth
Rameses the
Great – Egypt
• 59 sons
• 60 daughters
Palamedes
invented
dice
Helen
of Troy
1050 B.C.
Moab
Started with Lot and his daughters (Gen.
19: 36, 37.
 Kinship with the Israelites.
 Religion

•The chief deity of Moab was Chemosh (kemosh), frequently
mentioned in the Old Testament .
•He was the national god of Moab, and it is pretty certain
that he was propitiated by human sacrifices (2 Kings 3:27).
•In Numbers 25, where it is also clear that their idolatrous
worship was corrupt.
Moab
Moab
Moab
Deut 23:3-6
1. “Ammonites or Moabites may not join the
assembly of the LORD. Not one descendant
of theirs may join the assembly of the LORD
for ten generations.
2. “They cannot join because they didn't greet
you with food and water on your trip from
Egypt. They even hired Balaam, son of Beor,
. . . to curse you. . . .
3. “Never offer them peace or friendship as
long as you live.” (God’s Word Version)
Customs in the Story
 Widows
and
mothers-in-law.
 The law of
levirate marriage.
 Land redemption
laws and
customs.
Ruth and Naomi
Sunday: “This must have been
some kind of family: a Hebrew
mother-in-law to two “pagan”
daughters-in-law wouldn’t, on the
surface, seem to form a great
relationship. It had all the earmarks
for disaster.
“And yet, the dedication to each
other’s well-being is phenomenal. We
don’t know all that went on in their
homes, but they obviously had
something many homes certainly
could use.”
Monday – Ruth’s Devotion
Ruth 1:14,15
•“Then Orpah kissed her
mother-in-law goodbye,
but Ruth held on to her
tightly.
•Naomi said, “Look, your
sister-in-law has gone
back to her people and
to her gods. Go back
with your sister-in-law.”
God’s Word version).
Monday – Ruth’s Devotion
Paulinus of Nola – an Early Church
Father
“But the broad road seduces many, and
those who glide on the easy downward
course are snatched off headlong by sin
that cannot be revoked.” (Poems 27:115).
Moab
Deut 23:3-6
1. “Ammonites or Moabites may not join the
assembly of the LORD. Not one descendant
of theirs may join the assembly of the LORD
for ten generations.
2. “They cannot join because they didn't greet
you with food and water on your trip from
Egypt. They even hired Balaam, son of Beor,
. . . to curse you. . . .
3. “Never offer them peace or friendship as
long as you live.” (God’s Word Version)
Monday – Ruth’s Devotion
Ruth 1:16-18
•“But Ruth answered, ‘Don't force me
to leave you. Don't make me turn
back from following you. Wherever
you go, I will go, and wherever you
stay, I will stay. Your people will be my
people, and your God will be my God.
•Wherever you die, I will die, and I will
be buried there with you. May the
LORD strike me down if anything but
death separates you and me!”’
•When Naomi saw that Ruth was
determined to go with her, she ended
the conversation“ (God’s Word
version).
Becoming a Jew – A
Contemporary Comment


The Jewish people do not seek proselytes. Our
Torah tells us that when a would-be proselyte wishes
to become a Jew, it is our duty to point out to him or
her all the difficulties this would entail, as well as the
burden of responsibility that rest upon the Jew in his
obligation to fulfill the Torah and its commandments.
We are to show him that he is choosing a very
difficult path, and a life that is not popular with the
rest of the world.
If, despite all these considerations and warnings, the
person still persists in his or her desire to embrace
Judaism, then indeed we can be proud to accept
such a man or woman into our fold, for they will
surely become devout and sincere Jews.
(chabad.org)
Boaz – Ruth 2: 1-12
 Ruth
2: 1
 “Naomi had a relative. He was
from Elimelech's side of the
family. He was a man of
outstanding character named
Boaz.” (GW)
What Did Boaz Know?
Ruth 2: 11, 12
“People have told me about everything you have
done for your mother-in-law after your husband
died. They told me how you left your father and
mother and the country where you were born.
They also told me how you came to people that
you didn't know before.
Deut .– “Never offer them peace or friendship as long as
 May
the LORD reward you for what you have
you live.”
done! May you receive a rich reward from the
LORD God of Israel, under whose protection you
have come for shelter.” (GW).


Tuesday - What
Did Boaz Do?
He gave Ruth full
encouragement to
glean in his fields.
He provided for her peace of mind by informing
her that the men had been instructed not to
bother her.
He provided for her further needs by making his
drinking water available to her.
He gave her spiritual encouragement.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Wednesday – The Proposal
The
“kinsman-redeemer.”
The law of levirate
marriage.
Wednesday – The Proposal
 The “kinsman-redeemer.”
 Lev 25:23-25 - “Land must never be
sold permanently, because the land is
mine [the Lord]. To me you are strangers
without permanent homes.
 People must always have the right to buy
their property back.
 If your brother becomes poor and sells
some of his property, then the one who
can assume responsibility, his nearest
relative, must buy back what he sold.”
(GW version)
Wednesday – The Proposal
“’The LORD bless him!’ Naomi
The “kinsman-redeemer.”
said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He
has not stopped showing his
kindness to the living and the
dead.’ She added, ‘That man
[Boaz] is our close relative; he
is one of our kinsmanredeemers.’” (NIV)
Wednesday – The Proposal

Lev. 25: 47-50 – “If an alien or a
temporary resident among you becomes
rich and one of your countrymen
becomes poor and sells himself to the
alien living among you or to a member of
the alien’s clan, he retains the right of
redemption after he has sold himself.
One of his relatives may redeem him: An
uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in
his clan may redeem him. Or if he
prospers, he may redeem himself.” (NIV)
Theological Implications
 Jer.
3:14-
“Return, faithless people,” declares
the LORD, “for I am your husband” (NIV)
 Ruth
4:13-15 – “So Boaz took Ruth and she
became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD
enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the
LORD, who this day has not left you without
a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous
throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain
you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who
loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,
has given him birth” (NIV).
Theological Implications

“Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you
without a kinsman-redeemer.”

Heb 11:13-16 - “All these people died having faith. They
didn't receive the things that God had promised them, but they
saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced. They
acknowledged that they were living as strangers with no
permanent home on earth. Those who say such things make it
clear that they are looking for their own country. If they had
been thinking about the country that they had left,
they could have found a way to go back. Instead,
these men were longing for a better country—a
heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed
to be called their God. He has prepared a city for
them.” (GW)
Theological Implications

Eph 1:11-14 “In him we were also chosen,

“having been predestined according to the plan of him
who works out everything in conformity with the
purpose of his will,
“in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ,
might be for the praise of his glory.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard
the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having
believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the
promised Holy Spirit,
“who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the
redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the
praise of his glory.” (NIV)



Theological Implications

Isa. 62: 4, 5 – “and your land [God’s
people] will be married. As a young man
marries a maiden, so will your sons marry
you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his
bride. so will your God rejoice over you.”
(NIV).

Isa. 54:5 - “For your Maker is your
husband— the LORD Almighty is his
name” (NIV)
Thursday - Redemption
 Lev.
25:25 - If your brother becomes
poor and sells some of his property,
then the one who can assume
responsibility, his nearest relative,
must buy back what he sold.”
Law of Levirate Marriage






Deut 25:5-10 – “When brothers live together and one of them
dies without having a son, his widow must not marry outside the family.
“Her husband's brother must marry her and sleep with her. He must do
his duty as her brother-in-law.
“Then the first son she has will carry the dead brother's name so that
his name won't die out in Israel.
“But if the man doesn't want to marry his brother's widow, she must go
to the leaders of the city at the city gate. She must say, 'My brother-inlaw refuses to let his brother's name continue in Israel. He doesn't want
to do his duty as my brother-in-law.’ Then the leaders of the city must
summon him and talk to him.
“If he persists in saying that he doesn't want to marry her, his brother's
widow must go up to him in the presence of the leaders. She must take
off one of his sandals and spit in his face. She must make this formal
statement: ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to continue his
brother's family line.’
“Then in Israel his family will be called the Family of the Man Without a
Sandal.” (GW)
Law of Levirate Marriage
The most famous Bible story about this
law is in Genesis 38 – the story of Tamar
and Judah.
 It is kind of twisted up, but the
motivation behind what Tamar did is the
law of levirate marriage.

Ruth 4 - Redemption
Ruth 3:3,4 – “Then go
down to the threshing
floor, but don’t let him
know you are there until
he has finished eating
and drinking.
 “When he lies down,
note the place where he
is lying. Then go and
uncover his feet and lie
down. He will tell you
what to do.” (NIV).

The Redemption – (Digging a
Little Deeper!)
 Ruth 3:3 – “Wash and perfume
yourself, and put on your best clothes.
Then go down to the threshing floor, but
don’t let him know you are there until he
has finished eating and drinking. (NIV)
The Redemption – (Digging a
Little Deeper!)
 Chrysostom
(Early church Father
and “golden tongued” orator).
 Agree or Disagree?
 “Thus
the church was not made
lovable to her spouse before she
had forsaken her prior customs.”
Boaz Confronts the Other
Kinsman



Ruth 4:1-8 – “Boaz went to the city gate and sat there. Just then, the relative
about whom he had spoken was passing by. Boaz said, “Please come over
here and sit, my friend.” So the man came over and sat down. . . .
“The man said, ‘I'll buy back the property’
“Boaz continued, ‘When you buy the field from Naomi, you will also
assume responsibility for the Moabite Ruth, the dead man's
widow. This keeps the inheritance in the dead man's name.’



“The man replied, ‘In that case I cannot assume responsibility for her. If I did,
I would ruin my inheritance. Take all my rights to buy back the property for
yourself, because I cannot assume that responsibility.’
(This is the way it used to be in Israel concerning buying back property and
exchanging goods: In order to make every matter legal, a man would take off
his sandal and give it to the other man. This was the way a contract was
publicly approved in Israel.)
So when the man said to Boaz, ‘Buy it for yourself,’ he took off his sandal.”
(GW)
The Wedding
How it all Came Out
And
They All Lived Happily
Ever After!
The Rest of the Story
 Ruth
4: 16 – “Then Naomi took the
child, laid him in her lap and cared for
him. The women living there said,
‘Naomi has a son.’ And they named him
Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the
father of David.” (NIV)
The Rest of the Story

Ruth 4: 18-22 – “This, then, is the family line of Perez
(Tamar and Judah’s son)

Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of
Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon (The man
Rahab married), Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the
father of Obed (Ruth’s son), Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David. (NIV)

Which leads to Jesus “The Son of
David.”