Caring for One Another

August 28, 2011


Background Scripture: Ruth 4
Lesson Passage: Ruth 4:1 – 10

We conclude this series of study in the book of Ruth with today’s lesson. There are two great acts of caring depicted in our text today. Both are defined in the Law of Moses. The rationale for their existence and the methodology by which they were to be executed are recorded in the Law.

The first act involved redeeming the land of a brother who was deceased with no male heirs. This requirement was given so that there would not be a redistribution of the tribal lands as stipulated by God through Joshua. God insisted that the original allocation of the Promise Land to the tribes of Israel was to be maintained according to their original boundaries that would be established under Joshua’s leadership. The law allowed for a man with only daughters to have his inheritance passed to his daughters with the restriction that they could only marry within their respective tribes to keep the inheritance from moving from one tribe to another. If an Israelite had to mortgage or otherwise pledge his property because of poverty, in the year of Jubilee, he had to be allowed to return to his possession to avoid oppression of their fellow brethren and to not allow the land to be redistributed. Likewise, there were regulations concerning inter-tribal marriage that prevented the redistribution of the land between tribes. Moses provided the instructions for the year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25.

The second act of caring was the use of a surrogate husband to continue the name of a brother who died without an heir. A brother or near kinsman was to marry the widow and the firstborn which she bears shall carry on the deceased brother’s name rather than the surrogate father’s name. Moses provided the instructions for this act in Deuteronomy 25.

Both of these acts put the welfare of the disadvantaged or deceased brother of Israel above that of his tribe. These were extremely selfless acts that would not normally occur except that God required it be done. The history of Israel that is recorded in the bible shows that all were not willing to readily embrace these ordinances. However, that same history shows that there were some who had more mature understanding and readily applied the ordinances according to God’s instructions. Such is the case with Boaz in our lesson today. Boaz understood the plight that Naomi was in as well as the situation created by the marriage and subsequent death of her son—the husband of Ruth. Since Boaz was of the same tribe as Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, he used the ordinance to approach another family member who was nearer kin than himself. After that relative refused the offer to redeem Elimelech and his son, Boaz gladly accepted it and took Ruth to be his wife. Boaz’s action was more than an act of affection towards Ruth; rather, it was a great act of compassion towards his deceased brethren by taking upon himself the responsibility to redeem Naomi and Ruth because he cared for them.

Robert C. Hudson
August 15, 2011