Ruth and Boaz: The Story of the Kinsman-Redeemer
The Jewish community has always looked upon marriage as a sacred and divine institution. It is viewed as a holy covenant between a man and a woman, a necessity for the divine plan to propagate the human race (Gen. 1:28), and so important that even the study of the Torah could be put aside to celebrate with and bring joy to a newly married couple. Statements from Jewish sources capture the imporGet More Articles—Subscribe Today!
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Ruth was not a gentile. Ruth was an Israelite of the Tribe of Reuben. Israel conquered the Amorites. The Amorites had conquered the northern half of Moab some 400 years before the Israelites arrived. This northern half, that the Amorites conquered, contained The Plains of Moab. The Plains of Moab (in Reubenite territory) was where Naomi went to sojourn. Ruth was born in The Plains of Moab in Reubenite territory. ALL THE AMORITES (AND ALL OF THE MOABITES THAT THE AMORITES ENSLAVED)…MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN…that were living in the Amorite territory were killed by the Israelites.
Ruth could not have been allowed to marry Boaz if she was a DAUGHTER of Moab (which she was NOT). A Moabite had to wait 10 generations.
Here’s the breakdown:
Ruth was already a Reubenite who worshipped YAHAWA. Ruth left the judges and the people of Reuben to sojourn with the judges and people of Judah.
Ruth did not convert to Judaism. Judaism had not yet been invented. Ruth worshipped the God of Israel, YAHAWA. All 12 tribes still formed the United Tribes of Israel (U. T. A.)…this was the time when the judges (allehayim) ruled (the time of the Book of Judges).
Your explanation is well understood. it makes me understand God’s plan of our redemption especially as a gentile. God through Ruth’s involvement in the genealogy lineage of Jesus reaches unto the gentile world.
Your thoughts on the love between Boaz and Ruth are beautiful. They touch my heart. I’ve read & studied their story many times but felt God’s Love in your description more than many other times. I believe it is because God put His Blessing on your words. God bless you.
I really enjoyed reading about Ruth and how she became in the lineage of Jesus. This is a marvelous story of love between two people. I feel all that happened for Ruth was in God’s hands. Thank you for this article to read and learn from it.
Thank you. I have always been curious about Ruth and I did not know that she became in the lineage of Jesus!! Interesting since she was a gentile.
Not only Ruth, but Tamar, the Jericho city prostitute, Bathsheba!
The Bible does not mention Bathsheba’s lineage. She was probably an Israelite,… because she was allowed to do the mikva ritual cleansing after her period. She married a Hittite warrior who would have had to have been a converted worshipper of Yahawa, and likely circumcised.
Rahab The Harlot’s name in Greek is ‘RaaB’.
The Israelite woman who married Salmon, her name in the Greek is ‘RaXaB’.
Note that Rahab The Harlot and her family had to reside outside of the camp of Israel.
It was highly inappropriate for the chief elder of the Tribe of Judah to marry a non-Israelite woman.
Yes, but Rahab was Boaz’s mother. This raises several questions for me: Did Boaz grow up outside the camp of Israel? It is likely, with Rahab’s actions to save the spies, her subsequent salvation from destruction, and her marriage, that she was grateful and lived a changed life. Is it possible Boaz had greater compassion for Ruth because he had grown up seeing his mother outcast–yet knowing her heart–and he could see something similar in Ruth? There are no accidents with God. Could it be…that Rahab was Boaz’s mother…in order to prepare his heart to willingly serve as kinsman redeemer for Ruth…in order that we might have a beautiful picture and greater understanding of Christ’s compassion for us as He willingly serves as our Kinsman Redeemer in spite of our unworthiness? What an incredible master planner is our God!
This really ministered to me today. Thank you for this article. God Bless!!
I really appreciate this article. I’m trying to do a study on the book of Ruth. I think there are so many things about ancient Israel that I don’t understand. I wish I knew more. The meeting between Ruth and Boaz can seem very clandestine. I wish I knew more about what was going on there. Was Boaz drunk the night after winnowing? Was Naomi trying to run God’s will for herself like Sarah and Abraham when they had Ishmael? It would be nice to have an intelligent discussion with someone who knew more about the history of this time.
When a kinsman redeemer would not perform his obligation to a widow, she would remove his shoe and spit in his face. When Ruth uncovered Boaz’ feet, it was a subtile reminder to him that she might have to remove his shoe and spit in his face if he didn’t perform his obligation. Laying at his feet was also, likely, a demonstration to Boaz that his age was not a problem for her.
Your explanation about marriage is impressed me a lot so I will teach it to the other.