UT 3-4{M. Now Naomi said to Ruth, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? Then she told her that Boaz was going to winnow his barley that night, and that she must go down and stay with him, so Ruth did its Naomi told her. He lay down to sleep in his barn and Ruth went in very quietly and lay down too. And in the middle of the night he felt afraid and he called out, and, Ruth answered him. And he was pleased with Ruth for staying with him, and he told her that there was one man who was a nearer relation to her husband than he was, and that in the morning he would go and see him. And When Ruth got up to go away he made her hold her vail while he filled it full of corn to take home to Naomi.
S. Why did Boaz want to see the other man?
M. Because it was one of the laws of Moses, that if any man died, and did not leave any child to take his inheritance, the nearest relation should buy back his land, and also marry his widow. Boaz wished to do this but there was another man who had more right to do it than he. But Boaz went up to the gate of the city, and he sat down there, and when the relation of Naomi's husband passed by, Boaz called to him to come and sit down; then Boaz called ten men of the city who were elders, and they all sat down. And Boaz told how Naomi had come back, and he said, There is a piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech, and now will you buy it? And he said he would. And Boaz said; Will you also marry Ruth, who was the wife of one of Elimelech's sons? But he Said he could not do that because he had a wife and children of his own. Then he pulled off his shoe and gave it to Boaz.
S. Why did he pull off his shoe?
M. It was a custom in Israel to do so, as a sign that they had agreed about a thing gave Boaz the right of buying the land that belonged to his brother. Then Boaz said to the elders, You are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that belonged to Elimelech and his two sons, and I have bought Ruth to be my wife. And they said, We are witnesses, and the Lord make her like Rachel and like Leah which did build the house of Israel.
Who were Rachel and Leah?
S. Jacob's two wives.
M. Yes, they were the mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel. And they wished that God night bless Ruth as He had blessed Rachel and Leah. And they said to Boaz, Do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem. So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife; and the Lord gave her a son, which was great joy to Naomi. And the women said to her, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you without a relation that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be strength to, you in your old age. For the meaning of Boaz is, him is strength. And Naomi took the little child and laid it in her bosom, and she became its nurse.
S. I am sure she loved it very much.
M. Naomi was no longer the lonely one, in bitterness, as she said. The Lord had blessed her. And Ruth, the Gentile widow, was rewarded, for choosing to dwell with the people of God. They called the child Obed, he had afterward a son called Jesse, who was the father of David. I shall have many beautiful things to read to you of David, for he was a man after God's own heart.
S. Does the story of Ruth teach us anything?
M. Yes, a great deal, because Ruth is an example of one who had those two beautiful things, faith and love. To the eye of nature Naomi was only Mara, bitterness and sorrow. But, to the eye of faith, she was still pleasure and delight. Ruth had faith, so she believed that God cared for Naomi; she also loved Naomi and she went with her, to trust under the wings of Israel's God.
S. What right had a Gentile to trust to the God of Israel?
M. She had no right; that is what is so beautiful in this story —the one with no right gets a blessing, at a time when those who had a right did not value the blessing. It is beautiful because it shows us the grace of God. He would not turn any one away.
Boaz might have said, I will not have that Moabite girl in my field. But here he is a figure of the Lord Jesus Christ, who never sent any one empty away. Boaz pitied Naomi, and he had heard of the faith of Ruth, how she had loved Naomi, and how she had chosen Naomi's God to be her God. And when Jesus comes back to this world, He will be the Redeemer of His people Israel. He will find the nation poor and desolate, and like a widow, because they have forsaken their God.
The Spirit of God brings, in this story just when the people had forsaken God; as though God was saying, I will bless any one who seeks me. And he tells us that Obed was the grandfather of David to show us that God thought then of His own beloved Son; who would come to do His will. For Mary the mother of Jesus was of the family of David.
S. Do you mean that Ruth's little son was related to Jesus' mother?
M. Yes; that babe that Naomi laid in her bosom was needed to fulfill God's holy counsel. You will understand this better by and by. I only wish you now to see, how God thought of Jesus in those sorrowful days when there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes.
S. It is beautiful to hear about God's thoughts, I should like to know more about Him.
M. We have yet much to learn in this blessed book, which I told you was so full that we should never get to the end of it. Yet I hope to go on with our story. It is a story, without end, because it is a story of the love and mercy and holiness of God.