Social Responsibility ____________________________________________________________________ PRAY Almighty God, Your ways are awesome and mighty. As I read Your Word, sensitize me to Your will and ways. ____________________________________________________________________ READ Ruth 4:1-12 ^ Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you. So they sat down together. ^ Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. ^ And Boaz said to the family redeemer, You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. ^ I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you dont want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you. The man replied, All right, Ill redeem it. ^ Then Boaz told him, Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husbands name and keep the land in the family. ^ Then I cant redeem it, the family redeemer replied, because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it. ^ Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. ^ So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, You buy the land. ^ Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. ^ And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today. ^ Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, We are witnesses! May the LORD make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ^ And may the LORD give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.__________ MEDITATE Consider: Your story indwells Gods. This is the great promise of the Bible and the hope of those who are in Christ (Max Lucado). Think: I write these notes at the height of the phone-hacking scandal in Britain, involving corruption and illegality extending into the media, politics and the police. The motives behind all this range from simple greed to gathering newspaper stories at any cost. Boaz probably had motives such as a desire for a family, a wish to preserve the memory and name of dead kinsmen, or simply wanting to marry Ruth. However, he did everything legally in front of witnesses. He treated the man with the stronger claim with courtesy. He didnt take short cuts to get what he thought was best. So Gods providential loving purposes were fulfilled through Boazs integrity and trust in the Lord. The prior claim was fully laid out and then refused so that Boaz could claim Ruth and restore the land in the names of Elimelech and his sons. Over these few short months, the Lord has brought this couple together, fulfilling Naomis greatest longing, through the lovingkindness and responsible behavior of these ordinary people. As we have seen, even after the tragedy of their long years in Moab, the women never acted out of bitterness and envy. The response is public acclaim and a communal blessing for Boaz and Ruth. The richness of this book lies not just in the attractiveness of the characters and their strong faith in God, but also in the way the author ties this one year in Bethlehem into the Bible story. Here the people place this marriage into the context of the patriarchs and heroes of the past: Rachel, loved but initially childless; Leah, unloved but bearing Judah and Levi, ancestors of the kings and priests of Israel. They refer back to Boazs own ancestor, Perez, born to Tamar, a Canaanite, in unorthodox circumstances after the failure of levirate marriage. ____________________________________________________________________ APPLY How is your story like Naomis and Ruths story of how God cares? As you remember, take time to thank God._______________________________________ PRAY Lord, may I be like Ruth, Boaz and Naomi: true to You, whatever the temptation. I know Your love is unfailing
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 06:11:54 +0000
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