Ruth 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "Come aside, friend, sit down here." So he came aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 "And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it." 5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance." 6 And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it." 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. 10 "Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day."
This chapter focuses on three persons: a bridegroom, a bride, and a baby."
The key theme of this chapter is redemption. The words “redeem,” “buy,” and “purchase” are used at least fifteen times. There can be no redemption without the paying of a price. From our point of view, salvation is free to “whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord” (Acts 2:21, KJV); but from God’s point of view, redemption is a very costly thing.
Boaz went to the gate at the entrance of Bethlehem, and there (quite suddenly and unexpectedly, it would seem) he encountered the nearest kin. (One can only wonder why the nearest kin had not done what Boaz is now doing at an earlier time.) It is almost impossible to believe that this is the first time the nearest kin has heard of Naomi’s plight, of her return to Bethlehem from Moab, or of the sale of her husband’s property. Perhaps Boaz is giving the nearest kin the benefit of the doubt here. If this kinsman had chosen to merely ignore Naomi’s plight, he no longer has that option.
Shows God’s providence, Behold the close relative just happened to come by
This is surely a “divine appointment” arranged by God to facilitate what is about to transpire. God is in this transaction!
The fact that the man’s name was not given may have been poetic justice since he refused to become the redeemer. The words my friend became a catch phrase in Israel. Rabbinic writings used the designation for an unknown “John Doe.”
He who was so anxious for the preservation of his own inheritance, is now not even known by name."
The word redeem means “to set free by paying a price.” In the case of Ruth and Naomi, Elimelech’s property had either been sold or was under some kind of mortgage, and the rights to the land had passed to Ruth’s husband Mahlon when Elimelech died. This explains why Ruth was also involved in the transaction. She was too poor, however, to r
