It is based on this practice of Levirate marriage in chapter twenty-five that Ruth lays claim to Boaz. Because her husband had died and left her childless, and because his brother had died also, it would be the duty of the nearest kinsman to marry her and produce a son in her dead husband's name. This passage also speaks to the true kinsman redeemer who turned Ruth down. Remember, Boaz met him in the city gate to offer Ruth to him, and he refused, taking off his sandal and giving it to Boaz. It wasn't until I read this passage this evening that I realized this would have shamed him for doing so. Before, I had always thought it was simply contractual, but that in the man's shoe being taken from him, there is an element of shame. In fact, some commentaries back that assumption up, using references to the Bible as land being given to Israel where their feet had trodden (remember, land went along with marriage to Ruth). I am not sure that those verses support the passing of the sandal as contractual completion. I would think that this passage would also illuminate a little bit the cost of passing that sandal on: after all, this man, too, would now be known for his refusal to accept Ruth as his wife. It's something to look deeper into.
I have to say, this passage just further shows me God's provision for His people. A small part of the law, given generations before Ruth, Mahlon, and Boaz lived provides for Ruth's care after the death of her husband. This also, then, provides for the Messiah, as Jesus descended from Ruth and Boaz. But I'm sure Ruth wasn't the only woman to claim this law for her aid. Being left childless often meant a woman was left without livelihood or hope of support: if she had children, she could marry her daughter and live in her son-in-law's home and be provided for. If she had a son, he would care for her when he was old enough to work. Childless and a widow meant being left without a way to provide for oneself. Both levirate marriage, and the decree just a few verses up that the people of Israel leave anything fallen from the harvest for the poor, provided a way that these women could be provided for, either by another husband, by the family, or by the congregation of Israel itself. Our God is a God who provides!
Tomorrow's Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-68 (Less than a week, and then we will leave the Law behind! Seems strange, doesn't it?)
No comments:
Post a Comment