(note: this is an original translation from Hebrew by Pastor Bill.)
"And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And Look! The near-relative came by, of whom Boaz had spoken. And he said, 'Turn aside; sit here, Mr So-and-So.' And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and he said, 'Sit down here.' And they sat down." (Ruth 4:1,2)
The city gate is the courtroom—deals are sealed here. Mr. So-and-So, a closer relative to Naomi than Boaz, holds legal rights Boaz must address.
This is high-stakes business happening.
"And he said to the near-relative, 'The portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelek, Naomi -- who returned from the fields of Moab -- is selling. And I personally thought to disclose it to you, saying Buy it, before the presence of the inhabitants and before the presence of the elders of my people. If you will buy it, buy it. And if you will not buy it, tell me so that I may know, for there is no one ahead of you to buy it, and I am after you.' And he said, 'I will buy it.'" (Ruth 4:3,4)
Okay, this is one of those times you read a verse in the Bible, scratch your head, and say, Who cares?
The original audience got it—they knew the laws. Once you do, this will click for you.
There are 4 Laws that apply to what's happening here...
The Law of Inheritance
The Law of Israel specified a pecking order for inheritance. (Num. 27:8-11). The order goes: Son > daughter > brothers > father's brothers > nearest relative
Mr So-and-So is the nearest living relative, and then Boaz. If Naomi sells her land, Boaz is second in line with rights to buy it.
The Law of Permanent Possession
In Lev 25:23 God decrees, "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine."
Israel's land was divided by tribe, clan, family. No permanent sales were allowed—only leases. This protected families from losing their heritage, even in poverty.
How did this work?
The Law of Jubilee
The Laws of Jubilee are outlined in Leviticus 25. Here's what happened to property in that year: All property was returned to its ancestral owners. If you sold some land outside your family to pay your bills, you got that land back in the Year of Jubilee. You didn't even have to pay for it or return any of the money you got for it (Lev 25:13).
This meant that all property costs were influenced by the number of years till the next Jubilee. All property values spiked right after Jubilee, and then WENT DOWN for the next forty nine years (Lev 25:15).
This was super-important to Mr So-and-So. Why? Because Naomi has no heirs. And she was too old to have heirs. So, Mr So-and-So could buy Naomi's land at a discounted price, and add it to his own estate FOREVER. That's why Mr So-and-So so quickly agreed, "I will buy it."
This brings up the next Hebrew law.
The Law of Kinsman-Redeemer/Levirate Marriage
Under the Bible's laws for the Jews, there was a certain institution called levirate marriage. The laws of levirate marriage are found in Deut 25:5-10.
"If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel." (Deuteronomy 25:5-6)
The man who undertook such a marriage was called the kinsman-redeemer.
Every single interpretation of Ruth sees Mr So-and-So as the person who refused to be kinsman redeemer, and Boaz as the willing kinsman redeemer. And so they make Boaz the knight in shining armor, kinsman redeemer just like Jesus.
Every single one of them is wrong. Actually so wrong that they wreck the book. This whole thing is a fatal error.
The problem is that these laws don't apply in Ruth. Here are four reasons why not:
1. Because the law applies to BROTHERS, and Elimelek has no brothers. (Deut 25:5)
2. Because the law applies to brothers WHO DWELL TOGETHER and Elimelek and his sons died in Moab. (Deut 25:5)
3. Because the kinsman-redeemer laws were REQUIRED and would have been automatically enforced if they applied. (Deut 25:8)
4. Because if a man refused to fulfill the role of kinsman-redeemer for his brother, he was DISGRACED. His face was spit upon, and his name was changed (Deut 25:9,10). None of this happens here.
So Mr So-and-So owes nothing to Naomi and Ruth. Boaz owes nothing to Naomi and Ruth. Nobody owes them anything. Any favor that anybody does for them is pure grace.
You can almost imagine Mr So-and-So rubbing his hands in glee. "Absolutely I'll buy it! Where do I sign?"
Now, in verse five, Boaz begins the countdown to the GRACE-FIREWORKS:
"On the day that you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, indeed also I ACQUIRE RUTH, the Moabitess, wife of the deceased, to perpetuate the name of the deceased through his inheritance." (Ruth 4:5)
Don't miss what's going on here. Boaz breaks the news to the whole town that he is going to marry Ruth.
But even more, Boaz also announces that their firstborn son will not be legally his.
Instead, Boaz chooses that his firstborn son will be legally the child and heir of Ruth's late husband, Mahlon. Instead of Boaz Jr. this boy will be Elimelek/Mahlon Jr.
