Saturday, February 9, 2013

A Kinsman Nearer than I Ruth 3:12 - Equipped for Battle

The plan was made, and Ruth fulfilled her part. She was to go to Boaz in the middle of the night, uncover his feet when he lay down, and ask him to fulfill the role of the kinsman redeemer by marrying her. She fulfilled her part of the plan, and after Boaz recovered from being startled from finding a woman at his feet, he was not only willing but felt honored that Ruth asked him such a request. However, there was one obstacle in the way which needed to be removed before Boaz could fulfill his duty. He mentions it to Ruth in chapter three and verse twelve where we read:

And now it is true that I am your near kinsman: however there is a kinsman nearer than I.

Boaz affirms Ruth's conclusion that he is the kinsman redeemer by saying, “And now it is true that I am your near kinsman”, but according to Boaz' protection and provision for Ruth in the beginning of their encounters with one another, we might think that is only a convenient way for Boaz to get what he desired in the first place. It appears that Boaz has already been thinking about this possibility because he knew there was an obstacle impeding his opportunity.

We read, “however, there is a kinsman nearer than I.” It is not like Boaz was told after the fact about this other kinsman. He knew of him. If we think about this for a moment we might be able to hear the thoughts of Boaz previous to this encounter. It may have been something like this, “Now, this gal really appeals to me, and I would like to be with her. I wonder if there is any way? I wonder if she would even be interested? Why would she want an older guy like me? There are lots of younger men out there. She probably would be interested in them, however, even if she were interested, this other guy (he probably knew his name) is a closer kinsman redeemer than I am. It's probably never going to happen, so I shouldn't worry about it, but I really like Ruth. I really do. Oh well, I'll just have to see what the Lord decides about this one...” We don't know what Boaz' thought were, but we do see from our scriptures that he had a ready answer for her when the opportunity availed itself to him.

Boaz knew himself to be the true kinsman, however he knew there was one closer than he. As we ponder this today, is there anyone who is closer to us than Jesus? Is there any obstacle or relationship that impedes our being “married” to Him? Are there other loves that need to be removed before we can have a true intimate bond with Jesus Christ? Jesus said, “He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Mark 10:37) Perhaps there are “nearer kinsman” who interfere with our closeness the Jesus, if so, we must evaluate our relationships with them and allow the Lord Jesus to deal with them according to His perfect plan. Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. Would He conclude if He evaluated our lives that “there is a kinsman nearer than I?”

Next time we will find out Boaz' plan to deal with this obstacle, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore


No comments:

Post a Comment