The version used is KJV
Summary
This chapter summarizes how Boaz redeems Ruth and Naomi, and through the birth of Ruth's son Obed, Noami is redeemed and through the line of David, we are redeemed by our Savior and Messiah.
Property
Property is the hebrew words chelqah H2513 for parcel/portion of ground and sadeh H7704 for field, land. The first mention of the words are in [Gen33:19] when Jacob buys a parcel of field from Shechem's father for 100 peices of money. The property was a blessing from Yah, it stayed in the family [Num36] and it belonged to the head of household (men), but on ocassion when there were only daughters the inheritance flowed thru the daughters onto their husbands, so it stayed within the family [Num36:11-12]
The following are some key verses.
[Deu28:1-68] Entire chapter is on obeying commandments of Yah and the blessings shall come including, but going against the commandments will result in curses.
[Deu19:14] You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.
[Num33:53-54] And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.
[Psa115:16] The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
[Psa37:11] But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
[Psa2:8] Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
[Pro19:14] House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord.
[Lev25:23] The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.
When Naomi, sells her land, as per Boaz, the word used is makar H4376 which all means surrender, sell merchandise as well as give a daughter in marriage. Therefore the word used by Boaz [Ruth4:3] although is used for the piece of land, also is used in giving daughter in marriage. In contrast, there is a word shabar H7666 for sell, but is used exclusively for selling grain or merchandise.
10 elders
The word used for elder is H2205 zagen, whcih means elder, old in age, senator, ancient etc. The elders were men who were married with children, typically, with lot of life experience and were revered per Yah. [Lev19:32] Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.
The number 10 might be a throwback to [Gen18:32] when Moses asks Yah to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if there were 10 righteous men. This might have become a custom to conduct business in city gates requiring assembly of 10 elders. Currently in Jewish synagogues, the service doesnt start without 10 (bar-mitzvah'd) men.
Buy and redeem
There is interesting use of words around buy and redeem in [Ruth4:4]. Buy is H7069 qanah, which means to acquire, buy, possess, while redeem is gaal H1350. The first place the redeem equivalent shows up is in [Gen48:16], as part of Jacobs blessing before he dies
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
In [Ruth 4:5] Ruth needs to be bought alongside with the parcel of land. The same word H7069 is used. In NASB, the word acquire is used, while KJV states
Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
This then brings a better understanding of why Jesus our Messiah had to buy us, purchase us, studied in the application section.
In [Ruth4:7] the word redemption or redeeming is used, whcih is H1353 which is gu'laah, which is the right of redemption. So its a legally binding word.
Sandals
The word used for sandal is H5275 na'al, whcih means shoe or sandal. The main references we throwback to are of Moses and Joshua, when they are asked to remove the sandal since they are standing on holy ground, [Exo3:5] and [Jos5:15]. [Deu25:9] talks of the custom of the sister-in-law who is widowed has the right to bear an hier by marrying the next surviving brother, and when refused takes his sandal and spits on his face. In [Deu29:5], the sandals are preserved by Yah so it didnt wear out thru their walk in the wilderness. I think sandal in reference to how its indicated in teh custom, might show more than a covering of the feet. In [Psa108:9] and [Psa60:8], God talks of throwing his shoes to Edom, which could mean Edom is under His subjection and ownership. In [Gen1:28]
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Dominion is H7287 radah, rule, tread down, while subject is H3533 is to subdue, force, dominate bring into bondage. May be there is some connection between sandal and taking dominion. Therefore when you need to give your authority, you give the sandal/your authority back.
Obed the Redeemer
The verses [Ruth4:14-16] shows that prosperity comes not in owning stuff or having a steady income, but from having sons/offsprings. In our current context, for Naomi to be secure it would look like either Boaz setup a trust fund or have Ruth work a steady job with income for Naomi. Instead we see that she is being redeemed by having a grandson, thru her daughter-in-law and her grandson, Obed will be her redeemer, like Boaz was a redeemer for Ruth. The word used for nourisher in [Ruth4:15] H3557 kuwl, is to measure, sustain, nourish, feed, bear which shows that having children and grand children were seen as prosperity rather than money.
Obed therefore is called ga'al, the same word used for Boaz in Ch2/3. He will sustain and feed Naomi in her old age. Instead of a good retirement or pension and possible stay in nursing facilities that most of our current elderly experience, after a steady job, the Word of God shows the land and family and children being the wealth and the order that is needed for our long term safety/security/prosperity.
Line of our Savior
Ruth ends with the genealogy of David through Boaz and Ruth. If we study the lineage of David, we see some interesting points as well as thru the line of David we have our Messiah, through Solomon who was in the line of Joseph [Matt1] and Nathan who is the line of Mary [Luke3]
- Abraham came from the line of Shem and Eber, from Noah, from Seth, from Adam.
- Abraham had Ishmael through Hagar [Gen16:15], and then had Isaac through Sarah [Gen21:3]. He also had 6 other sons through Keturah [Gen25:2]
- Isaac through Rebekah had Esau and Jacob [Gen25:26].
- Jacob thru Leah had Judah [Gen29:35], as well as through Leah, Rachel and their maids had 11 other sons.
- Judah had 5 sons [Gen46:12], Pharez and Zerah thru Tamar and Er, Onan and Shelah thru the shulamite. Er and Onan died early, so the descendents of Judah camr primarily from Pharez, Zerah and Shelah. [Num26:20]
- Pharez had Hezron and Hamul [Num26:21]
- Hezron had Jerahmeel, and Ram, and Chelubai [1Ch2:9]
- Ram had Amminadab and Amminadab begat Nahshon, who was the prince of children of Judah [1Ch2:10]
- It was Nahshon who was the leader during the walk through the wilderness for the tribe of Judah. He lead the tribe out as well as was the leader to make offerings. [Num2:3] and [Num7:12-17]
- Nahshon had Salmon or Salma [1Ch2:11]
- Salmon or Salma had Boaz thru Rahab [1Ch2:11]
- Boaz thru Ruth had Obed [Ruth4:17] and Obed had Jesse.
- Jesse had firstborn Eliab, and Abinadab the second, and Shimma the third, Nethaneel the fourth, Raddai the fifth,Ozem the sixth, David the seventh. [1Ch2:12-15]
- It was thru' David's line of Nathan, Mary came, who became the mother of our Savior.
Property & Sandal Application
Leading upto 2018, I have been a horrible property owner from a biblical standpoint. I have treated my property, mostly houses and RVs as just given with limited interest in taking care of them. When I had enough land to farm and grow, I begrudingly mowed and hired out help, as I felt like I deserved the weekends off, due to the hard labor I had done being on calls and staying in front of my computer, in AC-controlled rooms in the comfort of my house. I also justified the hired help using the economic logic of equating my earning power to a hired help, who I can pay under 20/hr to mow.
I also never took care of the house properly. I blamed it on not having ownership background or having a dad to show me around when I grew up, as we didnt own a house and always rented small places, due to my dad's job. I also relied on the experts to do even the basic of things around the house, pointing to the fact that I didnt have the specializations, and justifying it using the fact that I was busy with my fancy job or that it was better to have the hired help rather me spend the time, myself learning and doing.
Without my wife's diligence, most of the houses I owned, would have fallen apart.
I have repented of these sins, imputing it to my Messiah, Jesus Christ - as this is a violation of the first command that God gave Adam in taking dominion and in celebrating and cherishing what God had blessed me and my family. [Gen1:26-28]
In 2018, the more I studied the Bible, it became apparent that I was not applying the lessons of my Messiah nor comprehending the full depth of God's Word. Starting 2019, I humbled myself and started breaking pallets outside in the sun, every evening after my work, which was in the comforts of my house (when I didnt travel) for most of the summer and fall. I planned with my wife and built out the garden in our back yard, although I did it poorly and made several mistakes. The point I was on was to get my hands dirty and understad what the Creator had blessed me with in the .25acres we live on. Walking the land, one of the evenings on a saturday in winter, hit home the fact that I was finally turning from my old ways of comfortable living in climate controlled rooms and having every one of my wants satisfied to doing what God had ordained me to do. I also enjoyed seeing the hand of Yah, in growth of seedlings, animals and trees which made not only the laws in Deuteronomy more sense, but also the parables of my Messiah.
As I look to take dominion over the small piece of property Yah has blessed me, I need to make sure I understand His seasons, how He has created the plants and animals, so I work to glorify Him through how I steward the resources He has blessed me with. HalleluYah for showing me that there were more to His Word, than academic study of His Word, which I still enjoy, but its doubly rewarding, when I eat giving thanks to the Most High, the ripe tomatoes plucked from my own garden, that He made it happen - blessed us with the rain, good soil and the natural laws to yield the fruits in its time.
Buy/Redeem Application
[Acts20:28] states Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
The word purchased here is G4046 peripoieĊ - to make, to preserve, to purchase. This references [Isa43:21] which states This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise. The word formed is yatsar H3335, which also means to be created, pre-ordained or framed.
This word G4046 is only used once more in NT, in [1Ti3:13]
For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
In [Deu19:1-13] there are provisions for anyone who kills knowingly or unknowingly, the redeemer (KJV uses avenger, but its the same H1350 gaal) can avenge the kinsman's death.
This is how I see my Savior, who was sent to redeem me, as my death was certain due to what the enemy had done to Adam & Eve, and how I sinned towards certain death. Then Jesus not only purchased my life with His blood, but also redeemed me by throwing the enemey in lake of fire for eternity [Rev20:12]. This is a gift of the Most High.
Therefore, I must repent of my sins, turn my ways toward my Heavenly Father, be more vigilent, faithful and continue to follow my Redeemer, Savior, Jesus Christ.
Becoming an elder
To followup.