Friday, December 16, 2016

WOMEN OF CHRISTMAS - RUTH - IT'S A DONE DEAL

RUTH 4:9-12 (KJV)
IT’S A DONE DEAL

Ruth 4:9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.

Boaz bought everything that was for sale, that which was redeemable by the near kinsman under the law. This included the land belonging to Naomi’s sons as well as her husband, Elimelech’s total inheritance.

Ruth 4:10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

In addition, he was going to engage in Levirate marriage to redeem the name of Mahlon by having children with his widow. He was asking the elders to witness his right to do this in accordance with Deuteronomy 25:5-6. Boaz was rescuing both Naomi and Ruth from the certain destitution which befell most childless widows.

Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (NASB) When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

Ruth 4:11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

The men in the gate verified that they were witnesses to Boaz’s right to redeem the property and marry Ruth. They gave their blessing on the marriage and prayed Ruth would be like Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob, the mothers of what would become the twelve tribes of Israel. They prayed he would make a good name for himself in Bethlehem.

Ruth 4:12 And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.

Pharez (Perez) was the ancestor of the Ephrathites and Bethlehemites and was the firstborn twin of Tamar who you may remember had incestuous relations with her father-in-law Judah. However, the fact that she deceived Judah into impregnating her enabled his family line to continue and earned her a place in the lineage of Jesus, the Messiah.

Smith's Bible Dictionary
Perez
(breach). The "children of Perez," or Pharez, the son of Judah, appear to have been a family of importance for many centuries. (1 Chronicles 27:3; Nehemiah 11:4,6)

They prayed that not only would Ruth conceive, but that her children would be noteworthy citizens in Israel. The elders and the other people in the city gate not only witnessed the transaction but heartily approved. Their approval may have been due to the integrity of both Boaz and Ruth.

Ponder this: Blessings. The people blessed Boaz in response to his commitment to redeem Naomi and Ruth’s land and marry Ruth. Do we ever pronounce blessings on our family and friends today? Why or why not? It seems to be a practice that needs to be revived. 

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