Scene Four:
Bo’az Marries Ruth
4: 1-12
The best stories are filled with surprises. The plot twists and turns and we’re never quite sure where it will lead us. In the last chapter Ruth discovered, much to her disappointment that there was another unnamed kinsman who was closer relative to Elimelek than Bo’az. In one sense, you could say that meant Na’omi and Ruth’s redemption was guaranteed for one way or another they would be redeemed, either by Bo’az or the unnamed kinsman. Yet in another sense, we are still unsure about Ruth’s future. Would Ruth end up marrying Bo’az or this mysterious stranger? Even though we haven’t met him yet, instinctively, we feel that he can’t possibly be right man for her.
But the choice of a husband is not the only issue that will be resolved in this final scene. The storyteller also has another twist in the plot to spring on us at the very end of the book. This is not merely a story of ADONAI’s covenant chesed to Na’omi and Ruth; it is also about God’s covenant chesed to Isra’el. The Israelites haven’t even thought about asking for a king yet; they were still in the days of the judging of the judges (1:1a CJB). However, in His sovereignty and love, YHVH was already preparing the line of David, through which the One who would ultimately meet that need and be her Kinsman-Redeemer: But when the appointed time arrived, God sent forth his Son. He was born from a woman, born into a culture in which legalistic perversion of the Torah was the norm (Galatians 4:4 CJB).88 This chapter focuses on three people: the bridegroom, the bride and the baby.
Leave A Comment