Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

The gate of a city or town was where the civic elders or leaders would meet and make decisions about important matters. Individuals with an issue would go there for the matter to be settled. So that is where Boaz went to find out if the individual who was a closer relation to Naomi would purchase her property so that it would remain within the family. If Naomi the aged widow was alone, it would have been a straightforward situation for the relative because she could not bear children and the man would have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by purchasing her field. Eventually she would die, and her inheritance would belong to his family. But in this case purchasing the field also meant having to take Ruth as his wife to continue the family line. The man was unable to do this because it would cause problems regarding his inheritance. He was perhaps a widower who already had children who would get his inheritance on his death, but they would lose out if he married Ruth because her childre

​Different societies have their customs. They also have parents who may take steps for each of their children to have a suitable spouse. That search in ancient societies would have involved practices that seem unusual to us, and such are present in this story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. The narrator of this Old Testament book records how Naomi was concerned about her responsibility for Ruth’s future and of the suggestion she made to find out if Boaz was indeed the man for Ruth. Of course, Naomi took those steps because she was aware of the Old Testament requirement of the role of a redeemer in Israel regarding family concerns. Reading biographies about people in the past can cause us to think about practices and traditions that no longer take place. It may be of interest to know how John Knox discovered his second wife or perhaps how she was found for him. A female friend who belonged to the aristocracy noticed his need and suggested to him that he should remarry. He replied that he would