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.
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.
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.
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
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 Both Rahab and
Ruth are in Christ’s genealogy.)
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.” 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. 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 elsewhere
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,
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.
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,
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
Judah
for his selection: the curse
on Perez’s line hadn’t run out
yet.
