RUTH’S AND BOAZ’S FAITH, HQ Bible Study Team
BOAZ AND RUTH'S FAMILY
Passage: Ruth 4:1~22  
Key verse: 11
Boaz Marries Ruth
4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate(A) and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer[a](B) he had mentioned(C) came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders(D) of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.(E) 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek.(F) 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you[b] will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you,(G) and I am next in line.”
“I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,(H) the[c] dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”(I)
6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem(J) it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”(K)
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption(L) and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal(M) and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions(N) in Israel.)(O)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.(P)
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses(Q) that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite,(R) Mahlon’s widow, as my wife,(S) in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown.(T) Today you are witnesses!(U)”
11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate(V) said, “We are witnesses.(W) May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah,(X) who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah(Y) and be famous in Bethlehem.(Z) 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez,(AA) whom Tamar(AB) bore to Judah.”
Naomi Gains a Son
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive,(AC) and she gave birth to a son.(AD) 14 The women(AE) said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord,(AF) who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer.(AG) May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law,(AH) who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons,(AI) has given him birth.”
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse,(AJ) the father of David.(AK)
The Genealogy of David(AL)
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez(AM):
Footnotes
- Ruth 4:1 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 3, 6, 8 and 14.
- Ruth 4:4 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts he
- Ruth 4:5 Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew (see also Septuagint) Naomi and from Ruth the Moabite, you acquire the
- Ruth 4:20 A few Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Vulgate (see also verse 21 and Septuagint of 1 Chron. 2:11); most Hebrew manuscripts Salma
Cross references
- Ruth 4:1 : S Ge 18:1; S 23:10
- Ruth 4:1 : S Ru 2:20
- Ruth 4:1 : Ru 3:12
- Ruth 4:2 : S Ex 3:16
- Ruth 4:2 : S Dt 25:7
- Ruth 4:3 : S Lev 25:25; S Ru 1:2
- Ruth 4:4 : S Lev 25:25; Jer 32:7-8
- Ruth 4:5 : S Ru 1:22
- Ruth 4:5 : S Ge 38:8; S Ru 3:13
- Ruth 4:6 : Lev 25:25; Ru 3:13
- Ruth 4:6 : S Dt 25:7
- Ruth 4:7 : S Lev 25:24
- Ruth 4:7 : ver 8
- Ruth 4:7 : Isa 8:1-2, 16, 20
- Ruth 4:7 : Dt 25:7-9
- Ruth 4:8 : Dt 25:9
- Ruth 4:9 : Isa 8:2; Jer 32:10, 44
- Ruth 4:10 : S Ru 1:22
- Ruth 4:10 : S Dt 25:5
- Ruth 4:10 : S Dt 25:6
- Ruth 4:10 : S Jos 24:22
- Ruth 4:11 : S Ge 23:10
- Ruth 4:11 : S Dt 25:9
- Ruth 4:11 : S Ge 4:19; S 29:16
- Ruth 4:11 : S Ge 35:16
- Ruth 4:11 : Ru 1:19
- Ruth 4:12 : S Ge 38:29
- Ruth 4:12 : Ge 38:6, 24
- Ruth 4:13 : S Ge 8:1; S 29:31
- Ruth 4:13 : S Ge 29:32; S 30:6; Lk 1:57
- Ruth 4:14 : Lk 1:58
- Ruth 4:14 : S Ge 24:27
- Ruth 4:14 : S Ru 2:20
- Ruth 4:15 : S Ge 11:31
- Ruth 4:15 : 1Sa 1:8; 2:5; Job 1:2
- Ruth 4:17 : ver 22; 1Sa 16:1, 18; 17:12, 17, 58; 1Ch 2:12, 13; Ps 72:20
- Ruth 4:17 : 1Sa 16:13; 1Ch 2:15
- Ruth 4:18 : 4:18-22pp — 1Ch 2:5-15; Mt 1:3-6; Lk 3:31-33
- Ruth 4:18 : S Ge 38:29
- Ruth 4:18 : Nu 26:21
- Ruth 4:19 : S Ex 6:23
- Ruth 4:20 : S Nu 7:12
- Ruth 4:21 : S Ru 2:1
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Source:  BibleGateway
1. The kinsman-redeemer (1-12)
There was, however, a nearer kinsman than Boaz who had the first right of redemption. When Boaz told him about Elimelech's property, he wanted to redeem it. But when he learned that he must marry the widow of a dead relative, he backed out. Boaz counted the cost and became the kinsman-redeemer. His redemptive act reminds us of God's grace. The elders blessed their marriage. Rachel and Leah, wives of Jacob, struggled with each other, but they built up Israel (Ge 29-30). Tamar, like Ruth, did a hard thing to preserve Judah's family (38). The marriage of Boaz and Ruth was set on the foundation of God's history.
2. God uses and blesses Ruth's family (13-22)
Naomi's sorrow turned to joy. She was full. Ruth was better than seven sons, and God gave Ruth and Boaz a son. His name was Obed. He was called Naomi's son. Ruth, a Gentile woman who lived by faith, became a source of blessing to her mother-in-law and to the nation. Ruth's son became the grandfather of David, the great king who unified Israel, extended her borders and brought into her golden age.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for blessing the faith and faithfulness of one woman. Help me to learn Ruth's faithfulness.
One Word: God blesses faithfulness