RPG Adults
PROVIDENCE, RELATIONSHIPS AND MARRIAGE (3)
MONDAY, AUGUST 26
Ruth 4:1-10
Leviticus 25:23-25
“The land shall not
be sold for ever:
for the land is mine…”
PROVIDENCE, RELATIONSHIPS AND MARRIAGE (3)
The council of elders and the nearer kinsman having been successfully gathered, Boaz then addressed the kinsman in the presence of the witnesses. He approached his errand with wisdom and, in the process, offered the nearer kinsman the opportunity to be the redeemer and to perform the duty of the kinsman-redeemer. He advertised the property of Elimelech that Naomi was selling.
“…Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land…” (Ruth 4:3). Issues of land and property among family members are often emotive and hotly contested. But this ought not to be always so. Boaz advertised the property as “our brother Elimelech’s” but as under the management and authority of Naomi. This has caused many commentators to ask how Naomi came to possess the land, why she and Ruth lived in poverty with Ruth having to glean for a living if she possessed land. From the Old Testament law, the land belonged to the LORD and it was He who allotted it to the families of Israel. It is from this that the laws of Levirate marriage, the laws of release and the year of Jubilee find basis. Therefore, the important thing here was the continuation of the name of the family of Elimelech, and that was where the work of the kinsman-redeemer came into play. He would not only buy the property for the property’s sake, but, he would buy the property and raise up a seed for the deceased brother. That was why when the nearer kinsman was willing to redeem the land, Boaz introduced the marriage of Ruth, wife of the deceased.
“If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know” (Ruth 4:4). The matter of the land of Elimelech did not become a matter that generated controversy or dispute because of the approach taken, and wisdom used, by Boaz. Property matters become heated because of selfish interest. Boaz approached it from the perspective and provisions of the Law of God. What was important to him was not getting more land, but fulfilling God’s will.
THOUGHT: (Read 1 Timothy 6:6-8.)
PRAYER: Father, may my affections be on Christ and things above.