legal settlement

Good evening friends,
In yesterday's reading Ruth basically proposed to Boaz as well as asking him to protect and support Naomi and her. Boaz tells her he will perform his obligation as next of kin, but that there's someone else even more closely related, so he has to talk to him first. We'll see how that conversation proceeds tonight.

God bless,
Sam

Ruth 4:1-8

No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, “Come over, friend; sit down here.” And he went over and sat down. ²Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here”; so they sat down. ³He then said to the next-of-kin, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. ⁴So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.”

So he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” ⁶At this, the next-of-kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” ⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. ⁸So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal.

a longer term plan

Good afternoon friends,
I hope your week has been a good on. We've read how Ruth has been gleaning in Boaz's field to keep her and Naomi alive. Now Naomi looks for a way to give Ruth some longer term security, which in this case means a husband. Her unconventional match-making makes for a good read. When you read threshing floor, think fishing trip: some time when men get together to work and celebrate. The next-of-kin stuff is hard for us to understand, but the short version is that in biblical Israel the next of kin had the obligation to buy the land for family in need so the land stayed in the family. In a case like Ruth's where she is a widow without children, her husband's next of kin also has the obligation to marry her so she can be provided for and to provide an heir for her dead husband. That way his family line and land are preserved and the widow would be cared for.

Blessings on your weekend,
Sam

Ruth 3:1-14

Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. ²Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” ⁵She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”

⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. ⁷When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. ⁸At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! ⁹He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.”

¹⁰He said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. ¹²But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. ¹³Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kin for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kin for you, then, as the Lord lives, I will act as next-of-kin for you. Lie down until the morning.” ¹⁴So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

gleaning to survive

Good afternoon sisters and brothers,
Today is Rev. Judy Lee Hay's last day at Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Church before her retirement. Judy has been at Calvary 40 year, in which time she's been an important part of the revitalization of the Southwedge and of constant work for justice in behalf of the gospel. Judy's been a mentor for many of us and I'll miss her presence at UPT. Please take a moment to give to God for Judy's ministry and to pray for her and for Calvary in this time of transition. May her well-earned retirement be blessed and the congregation find new strength in a new season.

Our reading for today continues the story of Ruth and Naomi. In those days one of the way people in need were supported was by reaping in the fields of those who had land. That meant they would follow the harvesting workers and pick up what they dropped or left behind. God's law also called landowners to leave the corners of their field unharvested to provide further for people in poverty. So Ruth sets out to glean in a nearby field so she and Naomi can survive.

God bless, 

Sam

Ruth 2:1-12

Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. ²And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

⁴Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” They answered, “The Lord bless you.” ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” ⁶The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. ⁹Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” ¹⁰Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?”

¹¹But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. ¹²May the Lord reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!”