Ruth was at the feet of Boaz
during the middle of the night. She asked him to perform the duty of
a kinsman redeemer, and though Boaz was willing to fulfill this role
there was one barrier for him to overcome. There was another man who
was a closer kinsman than he, and if he could ever have Ruth as his
wife, this kinsman would have to refuse the opportunity afforded to
him. We learn more of our story as Boaz makes further plans for
obtaining Ruth in today's verse found in Ruth chapter three and verse
thirteen where we read:
Tarry this night, and
it shall be in the morning, [that] if he will perform unto you the
part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part: but if he
will not do the part of a kinsman to you, then will I do the part of
a kinsman to you, [as] the LORD lives: lie down until the morning.
Timing
is essential for most propositions. Although there are many things
desired, some are best waited for until an appropriate time. Boaz
knew this. His invitation to Ruth was, “Tarry this night, and it
shall be in the morning...” There wasn't much Boaz could do
about this dilemma at midnight, so his thoughts were to wait until
the morning. Can we imagine what that night must have been like for
Boaz and Ruth as they were close to one another during the evening?
We might wonder with all their excitement for one another if they
slept at all. However, Boaz knew if he were to ever advance this
plan, he would have to wait, and thus he and Ruth did.
Boaz
then shares his concern with Ruth, “that if he will perform unto
you the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman's part:”
Since this other fellow is closer in relationship to Elimelech
than Boaz, he has first rights to fulfill the kinsman redeemer's
role. Perhaps he will desire to do so, and Boaz will be out of the
picture. This is the unknown to Boaz and Ruth at this time. There is
the chance that this other man will fulfill the plan, and in the
morning both Boaz and Ruth would see where the Lord would lead.
Boaz,
however, speaks of the possibility that this other man will not
fulfill his role. He said, “but if he will not do the part of a
kinsman to you, then will I do the part of a kinsman to you, as the
LORD lives.” There was an option out available for the person
in line to be a kinsman. In the book of Deuteronomy chapter
twenty-five and verses five through ten we read:
If brethren dwell
together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the
dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother
shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the
duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, [that] the
firstborn which she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother
[which is] dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.
And if the man like not
to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the
gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuses to raise
up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of
my husband's brother. Then the elders of his city shall call him, and
speak unto him: and [if] he stand [to it], and say, I like not to
take her; Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence
of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his
face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man
that will not build up his brother's house. And his name shall be
called in Israel, The house of him that has his shoe loosed.
This is
what Boaz and most likely Ruth were hoping for in the morning. The
kinsman redeemer who was closer to Ruth would be called to task in
the morning, and if he did not want to take Ruth as his wife, then
Boaz was next in line to do so. The best they both could hope for
would be that this man would be happy to be known as the “man
that has his shoe loosed.” Only the morning would tell them at
this point.
Boaz
instructs Ruth to “lie down until the morning” with the
assurance that he will perform this duty if the other man doesn't
with an oath that includes “as the LORD lives.” The plan
is made, and the timing is set, but we will have to wait until next
time to discover what happens next.
Next
time we will discover what Ruth does and the further instruction from
Boaz, 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
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