The book of Ruth is a story of light and hope in a dark time. We see in Ruth 1:1 that there was a famine in the land and that Naomi was married to a man named Elimelech. Well, the family moved to Moab to find greener pastures. While there, Naomi’s sons married as well. We quickly see that Naomi’s husband and sons die and leave Naomi a widow. This was the worst of circumstances in the ancient world. She had nothing. A foreigner with no rights, no land, no provision, and no protection. It was a hopeless situation.
Well, the famine was ending in Israel, so Naomi went back with one of her daughter-in-laws, Ruth. It is barley harvest time when they return. Ruth goes to glean in the field of a man of prominence named Boaz. Naomi realizes that Boaz is a “go el” (kinsman redeemer). A kinsmen redeemer or family guardian is the nearest adult male relative who was responsible for coming to the aid of a relative in serious trouble or need. One didn’t have to take this responsibility, but it was expected.
Ruth met with Boaz on the threshing floor one night, and he made Ruth aware that there was another that was in line before Boaz, but that if he said no, then Boaz would legally take responsibility. The next morning, the legal parties met in the gate of the city (a place of prominence) and the relative said, “yes” until Boaz made him aware that Ruth was a part of the equation as well. At that point, the relative said no. He said no because it would put his family in jeopardy due to the family inheritance being compromised.
In Ruth 4:7 Boaz says, “I will do it”. In the custom of the day, he was handed a sandal to seal the agreement. In that moment, redemption had come to Naomi and Ruth. Someone has taken responsibility. Although God has not been mentioned in this story, we see that He has been there all along.
The rest of the story…Ruth and Boaz have a child, which is Naomi’s grandson, Obed. Obed has a son named Jesse, who has a son named David, who becomes king. Jesus comes through the line of a widow named Naomi. Jesus goes on to collect our sandal as he goes to the cross. He redeems us. He is in the family business of being a sandal collector!
